A friend of a friend

A friend of a friend grew some feelings recently.  She put down her gloves and she unlocked her door and she let someone step inside.  As soon as she did this, her fear overcame her.  The moment the extra feet passed the threshold, she invited them back out.  See, she tried and tried to clean up the mess left behind by the last intruder, but there was no bleaching away the marks of a brutal death. The guest promised to wait while she freshened up, though.  So, she took a breath and started to fix up the place.

A friend of a friend saw the chance to change her path recently.  She tried really hard to walk like the new crowd and talk like the new crowd and believe like the new crowd.  She looked around at all of the smiling faces and, despite never having been one, she made it her goal to blend in without anyone noticing her effort.  "These people", she thought "they have so much to show us."  So, she put her head down and guided her little posse into the stream.

A friend of a friend was reminded recently.  Reminded of what she already knew.  Reminded of the scars she couldn't erase.  Reminded of how unfair lessons can be.  Reminded of why she stopped believing in magic.  Reminded of people who dress themselves in the costumes of sincerity and promises.  Reminded by the unseen change of seasons and the way the air suddenly disappeared from the room.

A friend of a friend.  Yes, she was familiar by face but I forget her name.  This friend of a friend of mine was a stranger in all but the way her voice echoes in my head.  A friend of a friend whose face I don't recall, but the creases in her back remind me of a map I once memorized.  And, as she walks back down the one way road, I remember what our friend once said... "Sorry about her, she just needs to do it alone."