It was a normal day. With normal sunshine, normal time, and normal noises. I sat next to my elderly friend, we smiled & she looked deep into my eyes – as if seeing a truth no one else could see. I smiled. She nodded.
I flowered her with compliments & told her she was strong; that I admired her strength.
“41 years divorced, dear. Single mother. Strong’s not the word, but I do thank you.”
Not the answer I expected. My face showed my confusion. I had her prerequisite response perfectly formed in my mind, you see. A simple thank you. A back & forth of compliments that tend to fall flat, now that I think of it. Her response forced me to pay close attention.
“You know, don’t you dear? Single. Divorced. You’re doing it, Love.”
Again. I was surprised & felt like laying my head in her lap for comfort.
“41 years divorced” she said. “He was a bad one. I picked a bad apple. Had to leave. Simple as that. Beat my son so bad, he almost died.”
I stared at my 80-some-odd-year-old friend. I wanted to change the subject. I sat frozen.
“You know, don’t you dear?”
I finally responded. “Yes. Took one time & I was gone.”
She smiled, shrugged her shoulders, and smoothed out her hands. I pictured her then – 41 years ago. Her screaming child being beaten. Her trying to stop it. Her son going eerily quiet. Leaving in a mad rush when it was finally safe.
I looked at her & she was staring at me intently.
“Of course you know. You always have. We both did. We still do. We know. One can just tell.”
I responded “It’s in the eyes.”
“Yes, dear. The eyes.”
She shrugged & I said “It’s a code.”
“Most definitely a code.”
Like lighthouses
we respond
to every storm
large or slight
a sweeping signal
silent
yet so bright
it cuts through
fog & mist
twist & list
beacons
for battered souls
to find refuge
to see a shore
that at one time
seemed too far away
My darling friend is more than a survivor. I have yet to attach a word to her. Webster doesn’t have 1 that will suffice. She encompasses strength & grace. She is humble & elegant.
I wish I could put into words how today’s conversation makes me feel. I cannot. It’s so deep. I have a myriad of emotions, just thinking about it. And I will quietly let you, the reader, draw your own image or emotion.
~KendraLynn 2/26/18 ©
Photo credit: unknown. Photo found on Pinterest.
Kendra Lynn 