Thursday, August 20, 2009

Best Friends: Part 3


She carefully wrapped a red glossy ribbon around the letters and postcards, took down the photographs and drawings, and placed them one atop another in a small satin pillowcase. She saved only the few notes and emails that would confirm her own version of reality, mostly so she would not forget. She enlarged each adobe photo, all the faces and places, the micron squiggles and palette knife paintings, and she looked closely at each one before she slowly, thoughtfully pressed delete, once, and then again and once more. She listened a final time to the reassuring song from West Side Story she'd received one stormy day when the longing had gotten the best of her, and she understood that she would not be able to listen to Fields of Gold sung by Eva Cassidy, not then, and not for a long time.
.
She scanned the double spaced pages of the Flight of the Heart Sob Story she began when hope was bright and moved it to a folder on the far side of her workroom, and she folded the monster illustrations and the story she had written for it in half, hoping someday it might make her smile again. She reread the final and revised words that severed and then erased who they had been together, and she pushed herself to burn a certain incense known for honoring the road behind and the path ahead.
.
She sat in her chair and prayed for the highest and best for both of them; then carefully put the letters and postcards and photos and folders into a sturdy small box which she tucked into a protected back corner of her bookcase.
.
She took a deep breath to remind herself that the love and all that came with it could not be lost because it was now part of who she was. Then she stepped away and walked into the crisp spring air and straightened her gaze.
.
It was moving day.

26 comments:

  1. A beautifully poignant way to move on and heal, KJ. Blessings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I can feel the pain. You have written it down. It will always be there, but it has a place of its own now. Thanks for sharing, KJ. .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Honey. That's a sign that you're moving forward. Never to forget but to put it now behind. I have a little pile of letters from a long lost love also tied with a scarlet ribbon. That was then, this is now . .embrace it . . don't dwell. You now have an amazing partner who is known only by her silence and her zany sox but she loves you and you owe it to her to love her back.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Every day is moving day. Either moving out or in, makes little difference the direction. As long as there is movement there is life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. oh kj....you are so special and loving.

    hope the end of summer is good to you

    ReplyDelete
  6. a beautiful ritual, including the writing of this three party story to help through the pain and sorrow, to open toward the moving onward.

    ReplyDelete
  7. kj are these excerpts from your new book. Very well written.

    Love Renee xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very wise. Letting go is hard, but must be done before we can move on down the road. Love and hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  9. yes walk and keep walking....

    ReplyDelete
  10. kay, thank you very much. blessings of course to you too.

    wieneke, i very much like thinking that this kind of special pain "has a place of its own now" thank you for that.

    baino, i love you very much.

    walking man, how hot-damn true! :)

    mim, i say the same to you: you are so special and loving. thank you most sincerely for your friendship.

    suki, i wrote part 3 a while back but i've not been ready until now. and i'm ready now because i will lose too much not to be ready now. thank you as always for understanding. xo

    renee, no, not written for the new book but perhaps some parts may find their way there. xoxo

    thank you, annie.

    soulbrush, sigh...

    xoxox

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, what timing. I am working on a rituals post, and I so understand the need for them. Someday, those mementos will not sting so much (that is my hope for you, anyway), but for now it is best that they be packed away.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kj, this is a very moving piece. I hear you moving on - I hope you have. I also hope that in time, when you revisit that sturdy small box, the bitter-sweetness will be bearable. Does that make any sense?!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, KJ. I'm catching up on blogs after are time away ... this is beautiful, poignant, painful and so full ... and I bet it's very good for you, too. Awesome work! And all those little rituals you mention move "the narrator" (grin) to a better, stronger place. xo

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi kj... I've just been catching up on all that I have missed in recent times. Great writings...

    Experience has taught me that time does heal all wounds when good care is taken.

    Take care and all the best wishes
    Ribbon x :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Moving often brings great new adventures.

    ReplyDelete
  16. kj, I'm just catching up on blogland. I think losing friendships is the hardest and most terrible of things. You wonder how you could change the story, how you could make it better, what you could have said to change the way it ended. But in the end, every relationship teaches us countless lessons, and the ones who are supposed to stick? They stick.

    ReplyDelete
  17. cs, we understand eachother. i am ready to move ahead. i know i must. and i want to do that with love and gratitude, not to say that i will let myself get knocked around much more. you and i, we understand.... xo

    caroline, how sweet and kind of you to offer me this reassurance even though we are just getting to know one another. thank you. i'm counting on time.... xo

    my dear wonderful friend melissa, "the narrator" thought it best to finally release her sadness in words and hoped that she did so with respect for both parties. xo

    ribbon, thank you. i like your reference to "good care". i will remember those words, ribbon. xo

    oh god sully, i don't think i could handle another "adventure" like this. too much was risked and too much was lost. (at least that is how it feels now. i know i may see this very differently in the months and years ahead.)

    kris, "the hardest and the most terrible of things". yes, these words are so right-on i swallow hard reading them. thank you kris. please let me know how the big move is going. are you happy? excited? i am happy and excited for you!

    debra kay, thank you very much.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you for the beautiful card kj. These are little treasures for me.

    Love Renee xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  19. Beautifully and bravely said KJ.
    Thank goodness for satin ribbon for all of us to tie our memories in. That experience was meant to be a part of your journey~perhaps that will be clear when you reach your destination.
    Here's to new friends who will help you along the way, and to JB who never stop believing in you.

    xoxo
    Lo

    ReplyDelete
  20. Babes can only get better with every step they take x

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sometimes the emotions of separation have to be revisited from time to time to remind us where we were and where we must go...to heal

    ReplyDelete
  22. So beautifully written KJ!!!
    Hugs!
    >M<

    ReplyDelete
  23. Saying goodbye is seldom easy.
    Good to move on.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Powerful stuff, KJ. Warm wishes, A

    ReplyDelete
  25. lo, here's to new friends: thank you so much. and yes jb is very wonderful. xoxo

    miladysa, oh god, i'm glad to see your avatar here! xo

    teri, you inspire me every time. i think you are amazing.

    marianne, thank you my friend hugs back to you plus a little kiss on the cheek.

    peter, moving on without comfort, but moving on....

    thanks sag, i like seeing you here.
    xo

    ReplyDelete