Redemption

We live embedded in a mosaic of people. And some of its parts matter more than others.

The one who who seemed so alien until the first time you talked...
... deep into the night. And then you realized that you could have been twins. Years later you have the same connection. You spend months in silence. Then you pick up the phone and in an instant it’s as if you’re in the same room again, talking about the discoveries you’ve made and the life you’ve lived since the last time you talked. Everything's changed around you but nothing's changed between you.

The one whom you did not expect.
Lunchtime conversations. Exchanging notes on movies, on food, on the past and the future, and on yourselves. And just like that, you were friends - long before you realized it. And when you did realize it, what a delightful surprise!

The one who was cool and then became warm.
You were boys who thought they were men and together you set about making mistake after mistake. Back then it seemed better to be clever than to be wise. Back then it seemed style was substance. When your paths crossed again you had both realized it was okay to not be as cool as you used to pretend to be. You sat across a table and showed yourselves and you liked what you saw and it felt good.

The one whom distance brought closer.
When you were in the same place you were unfailingly cordial. It was only after you went your separate ways that you started talking. Most bonds abrade under the twin frictions of space and time. Unexpectedly, this one matured and strengthened.

The one who laughed...
... who laughed hysterically with you as you traded whimsical theories on the extinction of saber-toothed tigers. You wouldn’t dream of saying that you value each others’ friendship (that would be too … transparent) but you show it at every opportunity. Perhaps it is time to put it in words?

The one you saw once and could never forget.
Maybe it was the tilt of the head. Maybe it was the open, utterly uninhibited smile. Maybe it really was the purple eyeliner. Who knew that two people so far apart could be so inseparable? Despite others. Despite even themselves. Perfectly unmatched, but a perfect match. The most important piece of the mosaic.

(There are others but these are the ones whom, over the past few days, I’ve had the chance to let them know they matter. I hope they heard me.)