The Dreamer

Chapter 23

"Wanna go to a park?" Ali suggested when Sarah drove the familiar way to Ali's home.

"I mean, I am unemployed. I guess," Sarah laughed.

Within the next twenty minutes, Sarah was parking the car in the street. Ali stood in the sidewalk, orchestrating the parallel parking. When Sarah successfully positioned the car not too close to the car behind and the car in front, she turned off the engine and joined Ali in the sidewalk. She verified that the distance she had measured in her mind was accurate. Good enough!

They walked for a little bit, and sat at a bench that was right in front of an artificial pond. Ducks swam around, many of them followed by a line of ducklings close behind. A couple of kids were running around the pond screaming in excitement while pointing at the birds.

Sarah laughed. "You should bring your granddaughter with you sometime."

"I should. Her mother is not fond of strangers, so it won't be easy. But I am sure I can do it."

"If it is a big deal for her, maybe don't get yourself in trouble. The last thing we want is for you to go through unnecessary drama."

"Uh-um. I guess you are right," Ali replied.

They both stared at the horizon, Ali with her arms on her knees and a blissful smile, and Sarah with her arms crossed in front of her chest and her gaze lost.

"Why are we here hon?" Ali broke the silence.

"What do you mean?" Sarah replied taken aback. "You suggested we come to the park, so here we are. Don't tell me you are forgetting stuff. Should I call your daughter?"

Ali laughed and clapped her hands. "Don't be silly. I mean, what is in your mind? I feel it, there is something you need to get out of your chest. We have time now, don't we?"

Sarah hesitated. She had learned to trust Ali, but she was tired of living a constant drama. For once, all she wanted was a walk in the park without any deep conversation, any meaningful event after it, or anything related to dreams. She sighed.

"When I was young, I wanted to be a nurse," Ali confessed. "My auntie wouldn't hear it. My momma didn't really care you see. But my aunt, she was a warrior and did all in her power to stir me in the right direction. But when it came to my desire to be a nurse, she opposed stubbornly."

Sarah listened intently while letting her gaze wander among the ducklings.

"She did what she felt was best," Ali continued. "Growing up she was humiliated when she tried to blend into a white society, so when I told her that it was safe for me to go to college, she talked me out of it daily until I listened to her. Who knows what would have happened if I had gone to school! Maybe she was right and protected me, or maybe she was wrong and I lost the opportunity to follow my call."

Sarah swallowed hard, filled with discomfort. She didn't make any comments; she didn't know what the appropriate comment was. She had never befriended a woman of color, and it was a new window to hear firsthand her struggles. Growing up she didn't even have any black friend, and now she could see clearly why. It wasn't the custom in her area. Her parents didn't befriend anybody that looked too different than them, and so she learned to behave in the same way.

Ashamed, Sarah turned to face Ali and gave her a tight hug. There are so many things we learn unconsciously after all.

"What did I do?" Ali laughed loudly.

Sarah let go and touched Ali's face. "You are beautiful Ali. I am lucky you are my friend."

"Yes, you are," Ali laughed. "But anyways, my point is that when you close your eyes and just feel your breath, and talk with your heart, the answers to all your questions are right there," she pointed a finger at Sarah's chest. "After I gave up on nursing I walked through life without a purpose. Sure I learned to make a living, decently and I was fortunate to work for kind people. I took care of elders when I wasn't one of them, and it was similar to providing the care a nurse provides.