“So, here’s what I need you to do.” Bea was saying, as she sat cross-legged across from Lena. Both laughed. Bea’s fingertips were glowing emerald green and had begun to leak. A golden, almost watery glow swirled from Beas’ hands.
The carpet could be seen illuminated by the light traveling. Lena leaned in closer and cautiously passed her hand through it, it cast a shadow and came away dry, she brought her palms in close to her face to confirm.
“Doink.” A splash of energy pushed Lenas’ hand into her nose. Beatrix burst into laughter.
Lena yelped in surprise and then joined in with her friend. Unlike the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. When she wiped it away, it wasn’t there, but remained. She could feel it. Sense it when she closed her eyes. She could feel the wetness, but it wasn’t there. She reached out and touched the green fingertips. They were ice cold.
“Oh, my gosh, how is that even possible?” Lena murmured, watching as a tiny green stub appeared just above the surface of the pot soil Bea was focused with all her attention on. She frowned, honing in her concentration before rolling her eyes, realizing something she kept to herself.
The tiny green stem curled around itself for a moment and then found its bearings, it began to climb into a larger, and larger stalk.
“So, here’s what I need you to do,” Bea spoke naturally now, using words of all kinds.
She learned quickly, a natural at everything she did. Was forgetting everything the key? Lena considered this for a moment. Endeared further to the characteristics this oddball brought to the table. “I need you to make us some coffee and I’ll keep working on this.”
Lena nodded, happy to have something to do. Apparently, even some miracles take time.
She nearly stopped in her tracks, and what felt like a roar at first, was followed by a tiny giggle.
I wonder where that came from? She used the technique Bea had taught her. To reclaim her space. A massive switch appeared in her imagination. She flipped it from its ‘On’ into its ‘Off’ position. The buzz and hum building fell away.
She waited a moment, until satisfied it had worked before dancing along to the music blaring from the open bedroom door she’d left in her wake. It trailed off and the smell of fresh coffee filled her senses. Her heart lit up with the warmth of the sun shining through the bay windows.
The view had changed, Lena slowed her steps. But what was different? The walls were the same. Had Bea cleaned while she was sleeping? She was drawn to the open windows, She was sure they’d been smaller. Buildings had blocked the sun mostly, she was positive. She blinked through the brilliance, her eyes adjusting to the radiant attunement. She walked closer to the open pane.
In this view, the sun was reflecting off of everything and perfectly pointed into the windows from every direction. She closed her eyes, drinking in the warm light. She could even hear birds chirping from the branches of a… Small tree. and a row of bamboo, What? She made her way to the door to the outer deck.
Lena walked to the balcony.
“Um, Bea, can you come here? Please?” She stammered. “BEA!” A small flock of tiny birds burst from the tree limbs. She looked into the pot housing it. There’s no way, the roots? where are they? She circled the newest occupant. “I’m sure you weren’t here before…” She grumbled, distrustfully.
“What’s up?” Bea walked out and nodded, smiling knowingly.
“What is all this? How are you doing this?”
“More like did,” She chuckled, then straightened realizing Lena was less comfortable. Why wouldn’t she be, she didn’t understand how easy it was, and Bea didn’t understand how differently they operated. She was beginning to, take most things useful for everyday functions, and throw them away, institute new ones that take ten times the time, and suddenly the stakes are heightened to outway the outcomes that seem within reach. That’s how it seemed to work in this reality.
“I grew that one yesterday.” She smirked.
“Yesterday?” Lena frowned. “You mean you bought it and brought it here to die? Where is it supposed to through down it’s roots? I don’t even know how you got them to all fit into that small pot, did you cut them off?” Even while Lena was still talking, Bea was shaking her head and motioning with her hands that she had it wrong.
“No, stop, that’s not how it is.” Bea looked into her friends eyes, Lena suddenly pictured a movie she’d seen as a child, and not really thought of much since. A woman with a bag, that came with everything. She could reach in and pull out
“Mary Poppins?” Bea cocked her head.
“Hey! I switched it off,”
“I’m just sorting through relevant examples in your energy. I’m not even looking through your inside view.” Her eyes widened, as if she was surprised again by Lena’s lack of understanding.
“You can’t do it either, can you?” She lifted her hand resolutely.
“No!” Lena leapt back, “No more brain zaps, not right now at least. I can only take so many new things in a week.
“In a week? Not a day?” Bea seemed to ask more to herself, but Lena felt a sense of claustrophobic panic over the reality of every moment being full of one thing inevitably, Change. Maybe that’s why we need to appreciate the Constants that help us find our feet.
Lena slowly looked her friend over… “Bea. Are you telling me you made this entire thing grow in here, and even though the pot looks small, it could contain an entire field worth of soil and I’d never know the difference?” She looked around, her hands dropping from her hips. “are, you… telling me that you stretched my porch in the same way, and somehow imagined a fountain, and two beanbag chairs just like the ones I grew up with…” Her voice trailed off into wonder. There was a mini golf course, and a little blue energy well. A portal she’d called it. Lena walked toward the deep turquoise glow.
“Are you telling me, that from the outside, this hasn’t changed, at all, but… we are in, like, a version of that pot?” She gasped and choked on a laugh.
“Now you’re gettin’ it!” Bea whooped. Dancing in a happy little circle.
“So, are you saying… I can do that same thing?” Beas eyes sparkled.
“YES! And so much more!” She threw her hands over her head and laughed big.
“Hey seriously, chill though, we don’t want our neighbors to think we’re down here talking crazy.” Lena’s voice was low and conspiratorial.
“No one can hear us. I sound proofed it.”
On a whim Lena pulled out her phone. “Sure as shit…”
Bea repeated the phrase and giggled. “I guess it is, isn’t it.”
Lena held the device out for Bea to see. “Look, no bars. Nothing can hear us in here.” Bea nodded excitedly.
“It’s like… a Faraday cage,” Lena mumbled. “Go check out your other plant.” She smirked and pointed toward the room they’d first come from.
“No way,” She was on her feet and through the sliding glass door. Squealing with excitement from the other room before Bea had a chance to stand up again. She chuckled and shook her head. Funny, the things they each got excited about. It felt so simple to her, what Lena saw as magic. And what Lena didn’t seem to blink about, left Bea mystified and full of questions. Cooking, for example. Bea had never thought of it. She saw something that looked good, wanted it, imagined eating it, and it would appear. She never would have pictured asking for the individual pieces to make it for herself. But now, she was obsessed over baking, and cooking. Or rather, watching Lena and learning as she felt inclined to teach.
“No Frickin’ way!” Lena squeaked. “It’s ready to be harvested!! How did you do that? NO FRICKING WAY!” She screamed.
Bea’s eyes bulged slightly as she rushed to the door. “I said out here was soundproof, not in there! I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries or put you in danger in case something happened and someone needed to hear you.”
They both laughed and Lena continued in an excited whisper. “I don’t know how to thank you enough, Bea this is amazing! This is rent for three months, and so much home entertainment, I wouldn’t have to leave if I didn’t want. Mini golf, the water feature?? It’s like… you knew exactly what I’d always wanted as a creative sanctuary. Bea’s eyes shined. “You never lied to me. You told me what you thought, and now I can’t imagine being close friends with anyone outside of you. Like, family.
Lenas’ eyes watered. “Sisters.” She smiled. “I’ve always wanted one of those.”
“Feels like I’ve always known you.” Bea smiled, mischief written all over her face. “Then again, I’ve known you for half of my life as far as my memory is concerned.”
She leaned against the entryway to the master bedroom. “How come it seemed to take forever at first. I wasn’t gone that long.” Lena frowned, her eyes far away for a moment, lost in the memory. “Only long enough to make coffees. Unless… Does time operate differently on the deck?” Lena asked intuitively.
“BINGO! AGAIN!” Bea smiled. “Two things, first, everything happens according to plan, but if you plan on something taking forever, it will take as long as it possibly can. Big asks require big belief in lifes’ ability to achieve. What seems big is just as small as what seems small. And what seems small is really just as largely mysterious and easy to understand all at once. Everything is a first and a last. Isn’t that strange, and awesome, and terrifying, all at once.” Bea shook her head, amused at the whole thing. Lena gulped loud enough to catch Bea’s attention.
“On a better note, I fixed a different issue you seemed to be having.” She smiled her reassurance. “You always said, that time got away from you, you wished you had more of it, or could stop it, or whatever.” She rolled her hand in a continuous motion, insinuating she’d mentioned it often enough to leave an impression. “Well, there is no time on that balcony. You could stay out there for days, and then come back in and no time would have passed, at all. That’s what that little portal is for.” Her face was grave. “Don’t get lost. In the rabbit holes. It can make things… different when you try to change or control certain things. So only use it when your heart really tugs you into it.”
Lena was glowing with excitement. She danced around, grabbed the plant, and carried it without feeling like she’d lifted more than a feather. “Is this you? Or me? Did you make it feel like it didn’t weigh anything?” Lena asked.
“Nope, that’s all you.” Bea retorted, “Once you decided you were going to pick it up and take it outside, it was as determined to comply as you were. It’s basically moving itself. See, let go.”
Lena made a face, still not understanding the woo-woo talk. She pulled her hands away, half expecting the pot to drop. It faltered, then continued forward, set to the course Lena had mapped out in her mind. It would go at the beginning hole of the mini golf course. and another just like it would appear at the other four holes. each one shifting to another course set different than the last after each putt through. Lena smiled as the magical plant made its way to the destination. Plopping down without a sound. And suddenly, a plant of the same variety was at the beginning of each of the putting greens, as if it had always been.
Woo-woo talk, but the real thing. She was seeing what it described in action. Not so woo-woo after all, guess you’re the asshole. The thought sank in pointedly. She had to wonder; had all the gurus and self-help guides she’d ever listened to, ever actually witnessed what they tried to put words to? For once in her life she was speechless and satisfied to remain as such, words could only do so much justice.
“What do you want for lunch?” Lena asked out of nowhere.
Perfect example. What she could imagine being as its whole, Lena could create from broken down ingredients. It took longer, which made her appreciate the swiftness of it simply appearing. One needed the other. Just like light needed the dark, and dark the light to either be what they are, together, meeting and dancing at both ends while fully what they were in their rotations. Never changing in anything but perspective.
“Don’t drift away in it. Okay?” Bea punched Lena lightly in the arm. The physical touch sent a shock through her body.
“What do you mean?” Lena asked.
“I mean, don’t let the reality you create become separate from what everyone sees. It’s good to plant seeds through the surroundings. One nice tree in an otherwise creepy forest doesn’t do anything but put a target on its back. Ya know?”
Lena’s heart warmed, “So, you’re saying I can use it to help brighten other people’s lives?” Her eyes welled up. “Like… Santa? or… Jesus? Thoth? Buddah? You may call me, Lena Claus” Her inner child came to the surface, eyes wide, excited that a childhood dream was about to happen. Become a way of life. She rubbed her eyes. Letting the bigness sink in, waiting with bated breath for Bea’s answer.
Bea watched her friend’s reaction, a smile slowly split and slit every feature on her face. “Yes.”
That’s all she said. But, it said everything. Lena burst into tears. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted…” She whispered.
Bea’s eyes welled to join in the sentiment. “I think that’s why we became friends.”