My beautiful best friend moved to London this year. She's there for just a year, so before life got out of hand, I promised I'd come visit her. After a long day of hauling around my bags through cold airports and bustling trains, I felt comforted to arrive at this cozy home in the Clapham area of London. Natasha being there in all of her hospitable glory is what really made it feel like home. After a few hours of unplanned sleep, I awoke to freshly appreciate this historic little flat's charm on a rainy day. It's happily tucked in a long quiet row of identical white houses that each have a different color front door. Natural light breathes freely throughout each spacious room, and the lush green garden warmly hugs the house, inviting what's inside to come out. In the calm of the mornings, we drank hot tea in the natural light that softly fell through the french doors, just before we headed out to explore London or work in coffee shops. At night, we had some of the most fun times over dinners with her multi-cultured European roommates -- dinners that usually involved floods of red wine and champagne, dance offs, and theatrical accent imitations.
I never had a sister, but if I did, I imagine that she'd be something like Natasha. That's what she is to me -- more than the best friend and spunky duo that people know us for. No matter where we are and who we're around, as long as we're together, it feels comfortable and we can be ourselves. We can't comprehend or tolerate any concept of a filter. We could be cracking up uncontrollably on the tube (London's underground train) at all the crazy people that walk in around midnight, have really deep talks over red wine for hours, or sit at home and stare into space all day without saying word. Everything is what it is, no matter how great or ugly it might be, and we love each other regardless. It's cheesy, but I consider that one of life's greatest gifts, to have that comfort and acceptance in someone. We have gone through the same phases and funks of life at the same times, which has made the emotional roller coaster of our 20's more tolerable. In some ways, she's the only person who can understand some of the deepest parts about me. Despite if we are living in the same city or across the world, she never feels that far away, because I know she'll always be there.
