Wednesday, February 07, 2007
A Brand New Feeling
I needed to think.
My house felt like a cage.
I couldn't think.
I couldn't even breathe.
So,
For the first time in so long,
I went outside,
And walked.
I didn't know where I was going.
I didn't care.
I just needed to move.
So I walked.
And walked.
And walked.
I walked blisters into my feet.
I walked until I didn't know where I was.
And I found myself at a the corner of two busy streets.
And on the corner,
There was an old woman sitting behind a table.
I stopped and stared,
Trying to figure out where I had seen her before.
The longer I thought about it,
The more blind I felt.
I knew where I was.
I pass this corner everyday.
And everyday,
The old woman is sitting there behind the table.
I waited until the light was red and crossed the street.
The woman didn't even look up when I came to stand in front of the table.
Of all the times I passed this corner,
I have never stopped to look at the old woman and the items she sold on the table.
But I couldn't believe my eyes.
There were bracelets and necklaces and dreamcatchers,
So beautiful,
I could have sworn they were from a dream.
I took a closer look at the woman and noticed that she was weaving.
The colors were rich and a her hands moved without stumbling as she weaved another dreamcatcher.
I stood and watched her for a moment.
Just watching the fluid motion of her hands as they weaved.
In and out.
In and out.
In and out.
No second thought or hesitation.
When I finally looked up,
I saw that they old woman was watching me.
Her eyes stayed on my face as her hands weaved.
In and out.
In and out.
I couldn't believe how confident she was in her hands without her eyes supervising.
"Where did you learn to do that?" I asked.
She said, "My grandmother taught me. It is an art that has been handed down in my family for generations."
I asked her if it was hard to learn and all she said was,
"Here, let me show you"
And she pulled out the chair next to her.
Not having anything to do or anywhere to go,
I sat down and she gave me a circle and some thread.
"All you do is fold one over the other, like this."
I folded one over the other.
And one over the other.
And one over the other.
And before I knew it,
I had made my very own dreamcatcher.
I looked up from my work beaming,
To see that she was smiling right back at me.
I looked at the table to see that she had made four in the time it took me to make one.
Sensing my thoughts,
She said,
"It took me years to learn how to weave this fast, you did wonderful."
I smiled again.
She smiled back.
I sat that there with her for another hour,
Talking and weaving and laughing.
When I finally checked the time,
I sighed and stood up,
Before saying "Good-bye,"
And reaching out to shake her hand.
She didn't say anything back.
She just smiled,
And lifted her hand,
And slid a ring off of her thumb,
And placed it in my hand.
"Thank you," she said, with a smile.
I smiled too.
She shook my hand and I walked away.
I walked the six miles back to my house with the dreamcatcher I made,
And the ring I was given.
Just for sitting and talking to a stranger,
Who desperately needed a friend.
posted by shanfan5690 at 4:45 PM -
5 monkeys in the barrel:
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