At this point in the conversation Leonette had arrived on kaiila and spoke to me. She told me of the beast she was training .. name of Kael. She thought I would be pleased with the kaiila and I told her I would indeed check him out. She told me a little more of him and I mentioned the desire to see her ride sometime .. not something I have seen her do much of. She said any time but that I better bring a fast mount for Kael was quick.
She asked me then how I was and I told her I was all right .. a nod her way that she appeared to be doing well. Seeing her thrive is a personal reward for me. It means I have made a good decision .. a wise one. She said she may win the hearts of the Tribe over yet. I told her I knew of no one that she had not. She really was doing that well as far as I knew.
Then she asked me if I remembered being a prospect. Oh hell yes I did .. she asked me then if it was nerve wracking .. just frustrating at times. And my reply to that was .. an understatement indeed. I told her I was not very well liked. Which was true. And she assumed for a moment that I had eventually had to win all their hearts over as well and I had to clear that up that I still had not.
She said there was an old saying that if everyone liked you that you were not doing something right. Then she asked me to tell her something I learned.
I thought about that for a small bit. I had learned a lot actually but what was one of the most important things I learned? What would be a valuable lesson to share with Leonette? And I replied to her that I learned to let what people thought go. That it did not matter.
She said that she was learning this as well .. though there were some people's opinions she valued.
And I told her told her how I felt .. that you learned to value what is important .. that people are important ... more than what they think. No matter who they are.
She said Cana was teaching her that lesson .. one among many. I told her my opinion of Cana .. that Cana had proven to be a very good friend.
She then said something to me .. that I value very much .. she said once I had asked her what I wanted from her ... and of all the things that is what she wanted the most. To be considered my friend.
I told her that was not really that hard .. that with me all you need to do is be one and I will consider you a friend.
She gave me an object lesson to explain why she thought she had missed some things along the way .. and I did not exactly understand her example but I told her I would think on it. She said she did not have all the answers .. that was the sum of it. And I had empathy for that statement .. a lot of empathy.
She asked me if I saw the line of cliffs on the horizon .. they were too far away but I knew where they were. So she offered me a wager. That the cliffs held all the answers .. and we would race there in our lifetime .. with the agreement that we would share all the answers we learned along the way.
It sounded good .. all for one thing and I said to her ... but what of the things I learn you do not wish to know of? And she said to me .. No ... There may be many things that are hard to share .. painful .. perhaps even frightening but she would prefer to share all that is important to her friend.
I told her if she had changed so much ... that I would accept the wager. With the understanding that should her words to me prove to be untrue or spoken to me without knowledge .. that I would refrain from further sharing.
She said that trust was going to be new to both of us .. and that it would take each of us to make it work.
I told her I had trusted her once .. to take the good with the bad. That I would do so one more time before I learned not to with a finality. I told her there were many things about how her and I worked that I did not understand and might never understand. But that I had never failed to be up front with her and honest to the best of my ability. That this was how I felt .. that these were my thoughts.
So a pact was made between Leonette and I. A wager .. a race. And though neither one of us can see the cliffs from here .. we know they are there and we also know there is a lot to learn on the way. A lot to share between friends.
She asked me then how I was and I told her I was all right .. a nod her way that she appeared to be doing well. Seeing her thrive is a personal reward for me. It means I have made a good decision .. a wise one. She said she may win the hearts of the Tribe over yet. I told her I knew of no one that she had not. She really was doing that well as far as I knew.
Then she asked me if I remembered being a prospect. Oh hell yes I did .. she asked me then if it was nerve wracking .. just frustrating at times. And my reply to that was .. an understatement indeed. I told her I was not very well liked. Which was true. And she assumed for a moment that I had eventually had to win all their hearts over as well and I had to clear that up that I still had not.
She said there was an old saying that if everyone liked you that you were not doing something right. Then she asked me to tell her something I learned.
I thought about that for a small bit. I had learned a lot actually but what was one of the most important things I learned? What would be a valuable lesson to share with Leonette? And I replied to her that I learned to let what people thought go. That it did not matter.
She said that she was learning this as well .. though there were some people's opinions she valued.
And I told her told her how I felt .. that you learned to value what is important .. that people are important ... more than what they think. No matter who they are.
She said Cana was teaching her that lesson .. one among many. I told her my opinion of Cana .. that Cana had proven to be a very good friend.
She then said something to me .. that I value very much .. she said once I had asked her what I wanted from her ... and of all the things that is what she wanted the most. To be considered my friend.
I told her that was not really that hard .. that with me all you need to do is be one and I will consider you a friend.
She gave me an object lesson to explain why she thought she had missed some things along the way .. and I did not exactly understand her example but I told her I would think on it. She said she did not have all the answers .. that was the sum of it. And I had empathy for that statement .. a lot of empathy.
She asked me if I saw the line of cliffs on the horizon .. they were too far away but I knew where they were. So she offered me a wager. That the cliffs held all the answers .. and we would race there in our lifetime .. with the agreement that we would share all the answers we learned along the way.
It sounded good .. all for one thing and I said to her ... but what of the things I learn you do not wish to know of? And she said to me .. No ... There may be many things that are hard to share .. painful .. perhaps even frightening but she would prefer to share all that is important to her friend.
I told her if she had changed so much ... that I would accept the wager. With the understanding that should her words to me prove to be untrue or spoken to me without knowledge .. that I would refrain from further sharing.
She said that trust was going to be new to both of us .. and that it would take each of us to make it work.
I told her I had trusted her once .. to take the good with the bad. That I would do so one more time before I learned not to with a finality. I told her there were many things about how her and I worked that I did not understand and might never understand. But that I had never failed to be up front with her and honest to the best of my ability. That this was how I felt .. that these were my thoughts.
So a pact was made between Leonette and I. A wager .. a race. And though neither one of us can see the cliffs from here .. we know they are there and we also know there is a lot to learn on the way. A lot to share between friends.
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