Short stories

My Best Friend

My best friend is a good person. Every day, she smiles, laughs and points at beautiful things. She finds beautiful things everywhere. In pictures, in old furniture, in books, in songs, in food, and in people. "Everyone is so beautiful," she says, with a mixture of awe and wonder written in her eyes.

She's not very beautiful herself. It's not that she's ugly, she just looks ... normal. Brown eyes and brown hair. But she doesn't care anyway. Sometimes I think she would've been beautiful had she tried to be, but she doesn't. And that's refreshingly different from other people I know, she just doesn't care because it doesn't matter. And she doesn't judge others for it either.

People usually always have strong opinions. They get so stuck up in their minds with the blown-up importance of themselves that they forget to keep their worldview off their faces. I haven't experienced a lot of judgement from people that I meet. Normally, I find them kind and welcoming, like they are always searching for contact, and I happily oblige. I'm not invisible.

My best friend doesn't get noticed that easily. When I met her, I thought I had discovered a rare gem. She doesn't draw much attention to herself, but if you give her a chance to open her mind to you, you won't regret it. She thinks about life and mysteries in a way few people do, not really searching for patterns, just acknowledging the unknown and turning that into a somehow deeper and at the same time fuller understanding.

She is a hidden treasure, one that I am eternally grateful to have found. She has lots to give, way more than what most people recognise. They don't see all that she is, because she doesn't let it show easily, and while they turn away, blind to her bright light, I tuck myself inside her warmth and let myself be embraced by all the safety she provides.

My best friend is a good person. Whenever I come to her, she welcomes me with open arms. And she is a great listener. She's easy to trust. I can tell her anything, and she'll devote her entire, undivided attention to what I am saying, reply the exact words I need to hear, and she won't tell anyone else if I don't want her to. Not that she would have many to tell.

She's my best friend, but I'm her only.

Sometimes she tires me. She always follows me, ready to support me if I should need it, but with her clinging onto my back, it's often difficult to get around. I think that a part of the reason for why she sticks to me like this, is so that I can make friends for her when we meet new people. She's not very good at it herself and hesitates to put herself forward. But people don't dislike her when they meet her, they just underestimate her. They take her for a wordless child, a shallow optimist. They don't know her like I do.

I've got some good friends, but she's the best. Even though she can be clingy, she's fine with being away from me if I want her to be. And when I get back, she's just the same. Smiling, laughing and pointing at beautiful things. She's one I can depend upon, someone who won't change when I do.

Many people are fun getting to know, but after a while, when you've learned a certain amount about them, it's just not that fun anymore. It's not that the people change or become worse with the time. They just rely on me so heavily, expecting me to be there for them no matter what. A silent rock, waiting for them to come whenever they need help. My best friend is not like that. I don't have to stay for her.

When you find a gem, you keep it. You nurture it, and you keep it safe. Usually, gems come at high prices, and require strong protection. My gem is not like that. It only took finding it behind a block of coal, and then it became mine forever.

I am grateful for my best friend. She's one of a kind, and no one even knows.