That Was There

 Erin tended to live in her own head. Being an introverted kid she created distractions to escape the world around her. It worked for her. To be sitting in a crowded subway and imagine being on a ferry ride crossing the water. It was how she maintained balance in the world around her. No one she knew really understood. They knew she drifted off during conversations or remained quiet when a lot of people were around but no one truly knew what was holding her attention. How she could stand up in front of a class every day and teach about physics. They had no idea that every time she turned to face the class, she imagined that was not there. She imagined she was in the living room of her grandmother explaining her heart’s desire, her life’s work. 

      No one knew what she daydreamed of, until one day. She met her best friend Marcy for an early morning coffee before her lecture to discuss the happening of them both. They figured it’s what mature women did before 11am. They met and discussed and after the appropriate hour, they drank and discussed, preferably with the involvement of tequila. They both graduated from the same university two years prior with doctors in opposite studies. Marcy was a social worker, at least trying to be with every job interview she prepared for. Her interest was child services, helping the children she once was. 

      It was a regular Tuesday morning when they met for coffee, yet something about the day felt different to Erin. She had no reason to imagine a different world because she was comfortable. She had no reason to take the subway because a taxi was parked right outside her door and knew exactly where she needed to go. She thought it was odd but went along with it. He didn’t have it on the radio so she had no need to tune it out. She was able to look out the window and watch life pass before her eyes. 

      She sat at the coffee shop and waited for Marcy to arrive. She began to feel awkward, sitting outside alone holding a warm coffee. Before she could imagine Marcy being on time she appeared. She appeared in the seat as if she had been there all along. She had a coffee in hand her legs were already crossed under the table and her purse was hanging off the side of the chair as it always had. Erin found it strange that she hadn’t seen her friend arrive though having a perfect eye line of the street and incoming customer traffic. 

      She hated that Marcy kept her bag on the side of her chair. It gave Erin anxiety about the ability for someone to just run past and grab it. She usually tuned it out but she kept looking at it. She hadn’t seen Marcy place it there yet there it was. She began to imagine a safer place than it could be and like the snap of someone’s fingers there it was, in Marcy’s lap. Marcy wasn’t even aware of it. Erin began to panic. She had no idea what was going on, she assumed it was possibly a joke from Marcy. She played those on occasion, each more annoying to Erin than the last. 

      She asked Marcy aggressively what radical joke she could play but Marcy denied it. She had no clue what Erin was referring to and her reaction seemed genuine. She was offended by the accusation and left Erin at the table alone once again giving her time to ‘cool off’ before they saw each other again that night. Erin immediately felt guilty and wished that she hadn’t said anything to Marcy and as she thought it, it came true. Marcy had reappeared as if she never left and continued in her story, sharing about one of her students that she was exceptionally proud of. 

      Erin excused herself, giving the excuse of needing more preparation for the class she had to teach in a few hours, and darted to her office. She decided to walk the few blocks and avoided eye contact with anyone on her way there. She did her best not to imagine something but she couldn’t help herself. She was three blocks from her destination when a woman bumped aggressively into Erin’s shoulder. It was hard enough to stop Erin in her tracks. In the split second, she wished that no one would come near her and it’s what happened next. She looked ahead of her and people parted to opposite sides of the sidewalk. She stood amazed. It was a perfectly clear line to her office but she didn’t understand why. She could make her wishes come true and she was wasting it one apologizes and her desires are not touched in a crowded space. She realized the things she wanted were mundane and she had no idea what she was going to do. 

      She stood there on that busy street watching as people passed by her as far away as possible. She decided there at that moment that she would use whatever she had for good. She started by making a wish that all her students knew that her classes were canceled for the day. Then, she wished that a path to a ferry would be laid out for her. She had lived in the city her whole adult life but had never been o the water that many travels daily. She followed the path of her favorite flower. Before she stepped on, she picked up one and wished they’d all be returned to the ground except the one in her hand. The flowers disappeared not leaving a trace and Erin enjoyed the rest of her day. She wished for happiness in a family with no sign of smiles all sitting apart on the ferry. She wished for a woman to get back the breakfast she had dropped rushing to a seat. She used her day making people happier, even only for a moment. Erin didn’t want anything big, she figured wishing for world peace would have its consequences. She decided to focus on the small things, she thought of a phrase her grandmother used to say to her.      

      “One sight of happiness can spread throughout the day.” Erin thought of it as she wished Marcy got the job she desperately wanted. Erin wished for one thing for herself before she closed her eyes that night. She wished that she’d do go in the world, bring a smile to someone’s face without having to wish it to be so. The next day when she arose, her wishes remained in her head and she was met with a smile from Marcy as they grabbed coffee and planned how they would spend their night.