THE TEST

“I want to be your friend”, she told me this
I asked her, “Are you really sure? May be something’s amiss?”
“You wouldn’t like who I am beneath this façade of mine”
“I don’t care! I believe everything will turn out fine”

“Ok, then. But let me ask you one more thing.”
“Are you prepared to journey to the core of my being?”
Without a moment’s hesitation she said, “Yes”
So it begins now, her journey, her quest.

I showed her my mind; she found herself confronted by a maze
At times the path seemed easy, at times they left her in a daze
Amidst the choking and tripping vines, she still persevered
Assailed by phantoms and almost drowning in a quagmire, she showed no fear

Despite the confusing twists and turns, still she ventured forth
All the while believing that she will find something of worth
After countless hours, she found the maze’s end; she found a guy strapped to a hospital bed
One minute he was ranting like a lunatic; one minute he was quiet as the dead

I then showed her my heart; she saw a convergence of darkness and light
Infinite scenarios entered her mind; some eased her mind, some gave her fright
She saw visions of me ascending in goodness; she saw me as the ultimate evil
Finally it ended and she stood up weakly, for it had almost broken her will

 “You’ve seen my faults and weaknesses; do you still want my friendship?”
“I still do; the good and the bad are included in a budding relationship”
“There will be times when I will fail you; there will be times I’m not there”
“It won’t matter to me; I’ll forgive you; you’ll see how much I care”

“So be it, we’ll be friends from now till the day we grow old”
“I know we’ll last that long; as if this was our destiny foretold”
“I hope that I won’t make you regret your choice”
“I know you won’t; just listen to the sureness in my voice”

I awoke with a start, I was on my bed; it was all just a dream
Yet I can remember her face so clearly; I won’t ever forget it so it seemed
Still a bit shaken up, I went to class reluctant and dismayed
Still wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn’t know we had a new classmate that day

It was not until she sat beside me that I snapped out of my contemplation
I glanced at her and almost fell out of my chair from the sudden realization
She was the girl from my dream; here as real as can be
I said, “Hi” then I smiled at her; she said, “Hello” then she smiled back at me