A Knock at Cardiff Market

Ro'n i'n gwerthu caws yng Nghaerdydd, yng nghanol sŵn y farchnad ar fore Sadwrn prysur.

I was selling cheese in Cardiff, in the middle of the market's noise on a busy Saturday morning.

Dim byd arbennig oedd yn digwydd, tan i rywun daro'n ysgafn ar y cownter, fel petai'n trio fy neffro o fy meddyliau.

Nothing special was happening, until someone tapped lightly on the counter, as if trying to wake me from my thoughts.

Troais, a dyna hi: Mali, wedi diflannu i Lundain flynyddoedd yn ôl, yn sefyll yno gyda chwerthin yn ei llygaid.

I turned, and there she was: Mali, who had vanished to London years ago, standing there with laughter in her eyes.

Ar ôl i'r syndod ddiflannu ychydig, cawson ni cwtsh mawr, a chyn bo hir roedden ni'n chwerthin fel plant.

After the shock faded a little, we had a big cuddle, and before long we were laughing like kids.

Dywedodd hi ei bod wedi dal trên yn syth o'r gwaith am ei bod wedi blino ar hiraeth a thrafferthion y brifddinas.

She said she'd caught a train straight from work because she was tired of hiraeth and the hassles of the capital.

Mi wnes i gau'r til am hanner awr, a daeth y bos draw i ddweud, 'Dos, paid poeni — mae gan bawb angen paned weithiau'.

I shut the till for half an hour, and the boss came over to say, "Go on, don't worry — everyone needs a cuppa sometimes."

Es i a Mali lawr i'r Arcadau, lle roedd sedd wag wrth y ffenest a bara brith yn arogli fel cartref.

Mali and I went down to the Arcades, where there was an empty seat by the window and bara brith smelling like home.

Wrth gloncian am y dyddiau yn y coleg, sylweddolais fod pethau wedi newid: nid ni oedd wedi mynd yn estron, ond roedd y pellter wedi colli ei afael.

As we chatted about the days in college, I realised that things had changed: it wasn't us who had become strangers, but the distance had lost its grip.

Dywedodd hi ei bod yn symud yn ôl i Gymru erbyn y mis nesaf, ac mai fi oedd y cyntaf i glywed.

She said she was moving back to Wales by next month, and that I was the first to hear.

Ces i wefr fach o feddwl sut y gall diwrnod arferol droi'n bont dros flynyddoedd heb gyswllt.

I felt a little thrill, thinking how an ordinary day can turn into a bridge over years without contact.

Cyn i ni wahanu, addawsom fynd i'r stadiwm pnawn Sadwrn, os bydd y tywydd yn garedig, a rhannu bag o sglodion ar ôl y gêm.

Before we parted, we promised to go to the stadium on Saturday afternoon, if the weather was kind, and to share a bag of chips after the game.

Pan ddychwelais at y cownter, roedd y farchnad yr un fath, ond ro'n i rywsut yn ysgafnach, fel tasai ffrind wedi agor ffenest yn y galon.

When I returned to the counter, the market was the same, but somehow I was lighter, as if a friend had opened a window in the heart.