“People come and go in your life but they never leave your dreams.  Once they are in your subconscious, they are immortal.” - Patricia Hampl

I’m full of thought today.  Memories have been swamping me, leaving me feeling a little breathless.  I’m not sure what has triggered them all, but I know that these days in March always leave me a little sad.  I lost people dear to me over a span of days in subsequent Marches some years ago, and the anniversary of those losses has never gone away.  Does it ever? Can you ever get through an anniversary without thinking about it? I doubt it.

My dreams have also been filled with old, old friends, some of whom I haven’t seen in at least a decade.  Why are they all stopping here now?  Why are they so fully with me that I want to ring them up to make sure their voices sound the same?  Echoes and memories and 17-year-old versions of us are giving me shivers up and down my back as I let them in.  They are so close I can almost smell them.

Big stuff must be surfacing.

In 2006 I wrote a poem about a friend who we lost one March a lifetime ago.  It has been one of the voices in my head so I need to put it here. I ask you again ~ do anniversaries ever get easier?

For M ~

When you died
we were twenty.
Two souls -
three days apart.
Salt and pepper
light and dark
girl and boy.

It doesn’t get easier -

It gets harder
because some days
I don’t think of you at all
and then when I do
I remember.

Where is the line?
The one that you crossed.
The one between
sadness and darkness?
Why couldn’t you see
the way back?

I miss you.

There is a hole inside of me
where you used to be
It is surrounded by questions
that you can’t answer.

You’ve missed a lot
you know.
I’ve danced alone at two weddings
and you’re an uncle now.
I’m an aunt, too.
Or do you know that already?

Please
come back.
Explain it all to me.

Two souls.
Three days apart.
One will be twenty forever
and one never will be again.

xoox

“Invite someone dangerous to tea.” – SARK

Here is story number two.  It was inspired by this image from Pinterest, but when I tried to find out who took the picture originally my computer broke (and is still broken, which is why I haven’t been here) so if anyone knows who I can credit, let me know.

I hope you enjoy this little tale!

~*~

The Queen Who Went to Dinner

“I am going out,” the Queen announced, putting on her best shoes and prettiest crown and slipping a purple coat over her shoulders. “Cancel my trip to Spain and clear my schedule for the next few months.  I have something terribly important to do.”  Allowing no discussion and giving the King a quick kiss, she got into her car and drove away.

At the first little house she saw, she pulled over and parked her car.  Tipping her crown to a more queenly angle, she marched up to the house and knocked on the door.

“I’m here for dinner!” She exclaimed to the startled woman who answered the door.  “I hope you don’t mind one more mouth to feed?”  The woman shook her head, rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t dreaming and showed the Queen to the dining room.  When she regained her wits the woman secretly sent her husband to the attic to bring down the box of good china, and the table was set with their most beautiful linens and glasses.  Dinner sparkled with magic and conversation, and they laughed late into the evening.

When it was time to leave, the Queen thanked them warmly and leaned in to whisper something to the woman.  A light flashed in the woman’s eyes that hadn’t been there before and she smiled and nodded, promising the Queen that she would do as she was told.

From top to bottom, no matter how big or tiny, the Queen visited every house in the land.

Sometimes she surprised her subjects at breakfast and joined them for scrambled eggs and coffee.  Sometimes she knocked at lunch, and every night she joined someone new for dinner.  No matter what time she knocked, the result was always the same: they would drink from the most exquisite glasses and eat off of the most beautiful plates in the house.  The tablecloths and napkins were pristine and fresh, and the towels in the bathroom were always fluffy and soft.  Every time she took her leave, she would thank her hosts warmly and lean in to whisper in their ears, leaving a light flickering that had not been there when she arrived.

When she had eaten in every home in the land, the Queen finally returned to her castle for dinner.  Hanging her purple coat in the wardrobe and putting her crown on a bookshelf, she kicked off her shoes and snuggled with the King on their big green couch.

“Were you successful?” He asked, kissing her head.

“Yes,” she smiled.  You should have seen them when I left, they were sparkling!”

“What did you say to them?” He asked.

“It was easy,” she said.  “I simply said that they could stop saving their best things in case I came to dinner!”

“That couldn’t be all,” he laughed. “That wouldn’t have made them sparkle.”

“No,” she answered, a gentle smile on her lips.  “I also gave them a command.”

“A command?” He said, raising one eyebrow at her.

“Yes,” she smiled wider, turning to him and giving him a squeeze.  “I commanded that from that moment forward, they were to treat themselves exactly as well as they had treated me.”

“Now anything is possible,” he grinned.

And then they skipped dinner.

xo megg.