a simple vision

this one is for you, mar.

for several weeks now i have been carrying around an image in my head that i return to over and over again. it is of two girls who were walking down a crowded hallway between classes at school. i was behind them as the three of us were negotiating our way down the hallway. they weren't close enough that i could hear anything that they were saying, and really, it wasn't necessary. one was tall and the other shorter, and the shorter one was holding the taller one's hand. their heads were leaned together and they were talking, seemingly obvious to the chaos around them. it was just the two of them, and only they were important.

the aura around those two wasn't one of conspiracy or secrecy. it was one of two best friends making a connection. it was kind of that sisterly sort of love that happens to girls at that age. but today, i rarely see the physical connection of closeness that was so offhand, whimsical, but so important. talk just doesn't always do it. touch sometimes can seal the closeness.

and i saw my awkward self 30 or more years ago, walking down a different, but same, hallway. a shorter person had her arm linked in mine, or her hand on my forearm, and we were talking, and i remember a nice feeling of connecting with somebody. it was important because someone wanted to talk to me, just me. it made me feel special, chosen. i don't recall ever being the one to reach out and so naturally link my arm with someone; my best friend could do that, as it was as natural as air to her. and she can still do it, when she is in a space where she doesn't have to think about it. and it might have been good for her, too, to have a loyal friend to listen to what she was feeling. i never thought much about that connection being important to her or not. i was just glad that someone wanted to talk to me.

a fleeting glance at two whispering friends reminded me of how important it is at that age to make those kinds of connections. usually, they don't last, as we grow apart in interests and locations. however, for me, i know that those friends that i made in that era are ones that i could pick up the phone and call now, and they would know what i needed and how i felt. they don't have to link their arm in mine to make me feel touched. as the voices connect across the hills and oceans, it becomes a visual walking down the hall moment for me, and i am blessed.