Maddie or so they all called her, I was sure she was Madeline, looked up at me with those empty eyes and I believe I saw a smile or a spark even. Her eyes twinkled for a moment. Then with the deep sigh of boredom from one of the members, the dullness quickly returned. "Never mind, I was almost finished anyway." "Well good then, I am dying to hear the ending." I was not giving up, I wanted to be her voice.
Have you ever met anyone that you wanted to make happy, someone that you saw potential in, and wanted to take the time to share that with them? Maddie had so much potential.
Everyone ruffled their papers and moved around in their chairs, making her feel even more uncomfortable. I could not help but wonder how someone so quiet and shy ever joined a writer's group.
"I know, lets move to a quieter table, so we won't be disturbed and I can listen without being distracted." I finally blurted out at a tone higher than normal. I believe I was actually disgusted by the others. She looked at me and smiled, as if I had defended her from a bully at school. Everyone was silent as we gathered our things and moved to a corner table away from them, away from everyone. As we placed our books on the table, I noticed that Maddie was also an artist. She had several drawings on her notebook. Several good drawings.
"You know Maddie, I am looking for some drawings to hang up in my new place, could I maybe pay you to do some work for me?" Maddie looked shocked, and quickly covered up her notebook.
"I'm serious Maddie, your sketches on your notebook are nothing that you should hide."
Why was Maddie so timid, what makes a person so withdrawn? Maddie slowly took out her notebook and handed it to me. "I have some more on the inside." Now I had the warm smile and smark. Maddie was confident and proud of her work, she just had never had anyone who was interested before. As I opened her sketchbook, she started to point to some of the images and tell me what they were and what inspired them, Maddie was a great story teller! I was not only impressed but appreciative. "I enjoyed your story last week, I wanted to say more, but it got to loud." Maddie said in an almost child like voice. "Well for my first week with this group, I was sort of shy myself. And now for my second week, I realize there wont' be a third week!" I laughed as I said it, hoping that Maddie felt the same. "I have been a memeber for over a year, but I think I would rather join your group" Maddie said with a smirk. Maddie was making a statement, I could tell she was feeling better about herself already. Isn't it amazing how others can make you feel?
Maddie finished her story and as we sat, for what seemed to be hours, she shared her drawings and her laughter with me. I told Maddie about a friend of mine that owned an art studio and was always looking for new talent. Over the next several weeks Maddie and I became joined at the hip. We spoke of our pasts and realized how much we had in common. From our alcoholic fathers to our unpopular High School days. We had our "girls only lunch" every Wednesday and we shopped until our feet felt like they would fall off every other Sunday. And of course our joy for writing was a true passion for us both. It seems that I allowed my writing to be my escape, and Maddie allowed hers to encage her. But, with the introduction to my art friend, and daily conversations with myself, Maddie had begun to break free of her past. She was now embracing the future.
After a few years of this frienship, Maddie had a chance to move to New York and persue her art career with her fiance (my art friend). As I watched them both drive away with thier belongings in a U-Haul trailer and watching Maddies arms wave about, as she hung out the car window, I could not even picture the shy girl that once sat across from me in the writers group.
How many people do we influence without even knowing it? Is being a friend and accepting a new friend so hard? What would Maddie's life be like if I had not joined that horrible group? I am not patting myself on the back, I mean I learned plenty from Maddie, it was and still is a very rewarding friendship. Maddie needed to be unlocked from her cage and I needed to be assured that I was on the right side of my cage. I was going to miss Maddie, but I looked at this as an opportunity to build a new friendship with another stranger....All I had to do was figure out which new group I was going to join and keep my eyes opened.