My best friend is a lunatic. I’m pretty sure I misunderstood her, but then again, maybe not. And why should I be surprised? She is always giving me crystals and paraphernalia with supposed various benefits and instructions on what to do with it all. I have numerous chakra bracelets, books on meditation techniques and sachets filled with all kinds of oils and God only knows what else to fix something or help banish whatever ails me at the time. Why should this be any different?
I’ll never forget the first time we met. Walking into my assigned freshman college dorm room, nervous, yet eager to meet my new roommate, I didn’t at all expect what I encountered. I was already feeling on edge about the fact that our cohabitation had been arranged rather than chosen, and feared that we wouldn’t get along or have anything in common.
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and I had spent a fair part of the morning convincing myself that this would be a great experience. I practiced a friendly and warm hello that was now ready on the tip of my tongue. I entered, peeked over the boxes in my arms, and my practiced greeting quickly fell flat. Stepping into the room, I felt my jaw drop to my chest; my head slowly turn from side to side as my eyes bulged from their sockets. I was simultaneously seized with wonder, amazement, and a strange aroma. Part of me thought I should run and hope that I had misread the number on the door. My roommate had not only arrived ahead of me, but had decisively claimed her space. Half of the room was completely decorated. A large dream catcher hung from a wall, along with a tapestry full of sequins in a complicated pattern of bright colors. Sheer curtains hung from the window over one of the beds, along with a curtain of crystals. Incense burners sat on the dresser, one holding a still burning stick. A statue of Buddha was proudly displayed at the end of a row of books on her desk, and moving slightly closer, I read – or tried to read titles on their spines - certain they could not be associated with a chosen curriculum. Looking up, plastic glow in the dark stars like those I had seen in magazines as a child, were stuck to the ceiling.
All of that paled into comparison to my roommate, sitting cross-legged on her chosen bed holding some sort of rod-like object in her hands. Her eyes were closed and I became aware of gypsy like music playing in the background while weird sounds emanated from her mouth. Again, I thought to drop my boxes right there and run away screaming down the hallways, but instead, I counted to ten, took a deep breath, and stepped fully into the room to introduce myself. Who would have guessed that the strange girl would inevitably be my best friend? Perhaps if I had immediately used her Ouija board or crystal ball, I wouldn’t have been so freaked out.
Blinking away the memory, I return to the conversation, “You think I should do what, now?”
I take in Mischa as she sighs at me. Today she’s got her long dark hair in gorgeous waves that fall to her lower back. She’s wearing a long, flowing, chiffon tank dress that swirls about her legs when she walks. Her feet are bare, and she has gold ribbon tied around the top of her head. When she moves, I can hear the light jangling from all the bracelets, necklaces and anklets she’s wearing. While she may be a bit eccentric in her spirituality, she’s a true beauty through and through – and I really do adore her. Even though I personally don’t believe in any of it. I do listen, because it does matter to me, simply because it matters to her.
We’re currently hanging out in her New Age Metaphysical store, Moonstones, and I’m watching her put away boxes of Tarot cards that just arrived in a recent shipment. “It’s simple, Aspen. I don’t know why you are having such a hard time with this. What is there not to understand?”
I barely manage to keep myself from rolling my eyes at her. “I guess I just find it hard to believe that it really works.”
“Like I've never heard that from you before. Need I remind you of other times you have felt that way? You won’t know if it works unless you try, now will you? In fact, it wouldn’t hurt you to have that attitude towards everything in this store, Ms. Cynic. And besides, what do you have to lose?” She’s looking at me with her big brown doe eyes and while part of me wants to laugh at her quirkiness, I never will, because even if I’m not sure about whether or not something like this will work, she is. Besides, I have to admit, I can’t imagine her not being this way. It’s a huge part of who she is. She is so sincere, so genuine. And the truth is, I wouldn’t have her any other way.
