Loneliness makes things happen. It’s when you haven’t spoken to a soul for days, when your whole being feels possessed by the rage for company, that even the withdrawn social coward feels an invigorating rush of desperate courage. Then you start risking things you wouldn’t dare at home. Steeling yourself, you make that call; you go over to the stranger’s table; you gratefully accept the dubious invitation. This is how adventures begin. This is why people find themselves waking up in strange beds and don’t go home again.