Abaddon

Unlikely Friendship

Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.

Proverbs 20:11

I found that Michael treated me differently after I had told him the story of my people. He sought my company more often than before. “You’re an interesting young lady,” he had said, “you’re fifteen, but you have this old soul.”

I laughed and nodded, “I swear, you must talk to my Rabbi, how else can you know so much about me? You seem to know things only he would know! You may even know things about me that only God knows!”

“I look at more than rocks,”

“Did I ever tell you what happens when we turn fourteen?”

He shook his head, “Some milestone before your time?”

“No, from fourteen until sixteen, we enter what is known as the Age of Questions and Doubts. It’s when we are at that age when we are old enough to think more complex thoughts, so we tend to question what we were taught, doubt what we are taught. So we are to ask questions and receive answers from any adult we ask. Honest answers,”

“Any adult? I am sure you mean any Binah adult, not any adult,”

“True but…”

“Why do I see where this is going?”

I smiled, “Because you’re an adult. You can answer something my parents cannot.”

His eyes grew wide, “I don’t think I should answer a question your parents are unable to answer.”

“It’s nothing bad, it’s just… experience our culture prevents, experience they’ll never have. I want to know what it’s like, where you live,”

“What do you mean?”

I lowered my voice, “What’s it like to… go on dates?”

His face turned red, “You’re asking me about dating?”

“Yes, what’s it’s like to go on dates. Not be betrothed at seventeen, but to meet people, all kinds of people, to be uncertain of who you will marry, to not have your parents choosing someone and then asking your opinion?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know how to describe it.”

“How do you meet people to date? What does it feel like to meet someone on your own, and not know for sure that is the person you’ll marry? I mean I know it has to be different from meeting friends like I do, but…”

“It’s not so different,” he told me. “You could meet them the way you do, fishing and swimming by a lake. Meet them at a library. Maybe at your school, or when you are at the store doing your shopping. Maybe friends introduce you. You meet up for dinner, or maybe go someplace like a museum. You spend time with them more often if you enjoy their company.”

“Do your parents ever introduce you?”

“Rarely,”

“So are your parents ever involved?”

“Only if I see someone more than once and feel they are worth meeting my family,”

I smiled, “It’s the opposite for me. My parents would meet them and determine if they were worth meeting me or becoming acquainted with me as a possible spouse.”

“Do you like that idea?”

I shrugged, “I’ve seen movies, read books, where people date. They fall in love, and then the other person may cheat on them, or decide they no longer love them. They’re always trying to look good in hopes they meet someone. I can’t imagine fussing over my looks in hopes that someone likes them.”