Finally, back to my normal self, well, partly. I am still weak and my voice is still monstrous after the illness, but glad to say, I am much better. This week was unique for me for the simple reason that I wasnt alone. I shared my pillows, moments, dinner, lunch, breakfast with friends Selmin, Pavlina, and Mark. Mark I just met. Selmin is my old-wine friend (red wine) she is getting wiser and more intelligent as she is getting older(Selmin, forgive me for using this word old, I dislike it as much as any beautiful, intelligent, self-confident woman would do!:)) So, of course, there are regrets, but sweet ones, Selmins birthday went without special celebration, I was sick, and no special plans were made. And there are those sweet moments I shall cherish forever, me and Selmin at Madeleines having my favorite coffee and breakfast, eating Napoleon, and chatting.life couldnt getter better than that. Selmin is the last intellectual of our rapidly sinking age. Her wisdom is like her name, deep and flowing to all sides; she could teach me in five minutes the secret of life, the meaning of existence (at least she would recall precious anecdotes quoting personas from her mental library).I promised her we would go to Adams Morgan, to the coffee I liked so much when I first saw it, but I neved had the time to go back. I was hoping to revisit this crowded space with her, alas, I was confined to my sofa as we had to scale down our grandiose plans to visiting the Holocaust Museum; not that it is not a place to see, but rather, because it is not what Selmin and I would have done if I had not been sick. Levent stayed with me as Selmin, Pavlina and Mark visited the Holocaust Museum.
Pavlina is the one friend (closer than friend) I deeply respect and admire, and I have to say, there aren’t many in my book in my old age of 29. I have grown to be more bitter and cynical as time goes by, yet I have in my life this cult personality that reminds me life is really about the moments we spent together with people we adore these moments are so few. And we can still adore and admire someone even we are ourselves not teenagers anymore. I will miss her terribly and I dont know how to manage in DC without these precious people that gave me so much of their energy as they were around.
And Mark.I know enough about him to say he is of those real rare people we keep looking for all our lives, and only get to meet them thanks to the strangest of serendipities.