Suffering a loss - and then moving on

I lost my best friend last year, my partner, my intimate companion, my confidant, my buddy, my pal - one who had carried me without complaint, through storms and sunshine alike. The sense of emptiness and loss was profound.

Yes, my bicycle was stolen.

I left it cabled to a steel fence near a Beijing shopping mall and ducked inside for a few minutes. When I returned, the bike had vanished.