saronai and i have known each other since the del rey days, so many years ago. has to be 5 years now that we've known each other. maybe longer? not much longer, but maybe. we've never met in real life, but never really needed to either. we'd like to, but our friendship will never depend on it. in recent days, she's been scarce. she moved from her home state to the north east, from family and stress to unfamiliar surroundings and stress, but a place where she's cared for and loved. but the move made her a bit of a hermit. we've missed her at dii (where she's been a member since it opened) and i'm certain some of the newer members think she's an imaginary friend or something.
i'm so happy for her. she's found someone to be happy with, someone she feels connected to, and someone who cares for her son like he's his own child. a rare find. and i really wish i could be there for her. but i can't. even if i had been invited, there's no way i could afford it (which is why, i'm sure, no invitation was forthcoming).
but she found a way to have a piece of me there.
saronai has supported me with my first novel (still in revision!) since forever. she's among a numberoffriends who have put up with the stops and starts, the various versions, and read the first 3 chapters 10 times as i tried to figure out how to write a novel. (hang on here, i am connecting the two shortly!) she's among the few still hanging in, still reading, still supporting. she believes in this novel, she believes in my writing, and she believes in me.
one of the races in that novel is the lyanthry. they are my version of the elves (and, yes, there are differences). these people have something called a fyal. fyal are strands of beads worn in the hair. each string reflects something about the individual wearing it, making each string unique. they reflect things like what family a person was born into, social class, training, occupation, gifts and skills, and so on. one lyanthry will often wear several of them, each reflecting a different aspect of his or her life. the fyal is also one of those details that saronai particularly enjoyed. for her, it made the culture more real.
yesterday i called her and she was in the process of getting ready for her wedding -- doing those little last minute things that often come up just in time to drive a bride frantic. family was over, dinner was planned for the evening, but she took time out to talk to me. and while we talked, she finished the first real fyal. she plans to wear it today.
and i am so touched. honored more than i can say.
congratulations lady. may you and your man have a wonderful, love filled life together.
and i want pictures!
word of the moment: creativity
imaginative ability: the ability to use the imagination to develop new and original ideas or things, especially in an artistic context