Magic Moments, Week Three
Unfortunately, nothing special stood out today. A gray, drab day…or maybe it’s my mood.
Day 16
Boogie Woogie and Rockabilly–it’s almost impossible that I wouldn’t have a good time, even if there wasn’t dancing. I love couples dance, but it wasn’t dancing with a partner that made the night special…it was the moments when I danced alone. Even more so when I found myself in a group of three. We were all doing our own thing until I noticed that a girl who taught swing was copying my moves. So, then I started copying hers. Proposal and acceptance of proposal: the interest in dancing with another, mirroring them for no other reason than to enjoy a piece of time and rhythm together.
This with a girl I had thought to dislike. I had found her a little pretentious as a teacher, but we definitely were in agreement on an improvisation level. Who knows how many judgments I’ve passed erroneously?
Day 17
As I was walking up the hill near my apartment complex today, I observed the plants on the side of the road. Some were still a deep green while others had begun decaying, withered leaves waiting to let go of their branches. Still others were touched with brown only on their edges.
What really fascinated me was that the leaves of one plant were half brown, half green–not just a spot or a sprinkling. This relationship between halves reminded me of the yin and yang–a visual representation of death co-existing with the living.
I started crying without really knowing why. Maybe it was because it was a visual reminder of something I still needed to accept internally.
Day 18
That tingle that ripples through my body when I am truly held. For a brief moment, I forget that we are two. I feel loved and wanted and beautiful.
Day 19
o The cold breathes on me as I throw off the covers to go to the bathroom. Gray upon gray out the window.
I rush back under the cozy covers and Sophie sits on me. I sip my herbal tea and absorb Sophie’s vibrations. She is happy, and so am I.
God, how lucky I am to have time to savor these moments.
o “Crunchy peanut butter!” I said with wonder.
Peanut butter is a rare commodity where I am at the moment, crunchy peanut butter even more.
The image of peanut butter toast for breakfast danced in front of me…the warmth of the bread melting the peanut butter so the peanutness would be all the more pronounced. Crunchy and smooth–a perfect combination.
A woman to my left started laughing, bursting my bubble. “Well, you can eat it without feeling guilty!”
That thought never entered my mind. “It’s just–it reminds me of home.”
Day 20
How purrfect is this moment sitting cross-legged with Sophie purring in my lap while the sun blasts through my window, a fierce bringer of the day.
Day 21
After buying a new book of Spanish arias, I notice a new mural next to Orpheus. It is so captivating that I stop to really observe it: a geisha sitting under an arch…wait a minute! The creator of the mural is still here, adding the finishing touches in gold. He is outlining the pages of the book that the geisha is reading. As I stare at the image, I notice all the lines brushed into the wood frame surrounding her, and the same gray-blue highlighting her dark hair and her gown.
The artist turns to me and smiles. I ask if I can watch for a bit, and he nods. How his mind is able to transfer so many details to his hand is a fantastic mystery to me.
Photo: Armiche Bolanos Quesada
Text: Kristen Mastromarchi
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