The Girl Who Doesn't Talk

My best friend lives in an apartment complex on the campus of the university I once attended. She lives with three other women and they each have their own room. I used to live with not only my best friend in this complex but with one of her current roommates. Every time I visit my friend I am obviously inclined to dwell with three other women as well. I think it's a neat situation actually. I've always been drawn to those of various ethnicities, and my friend's roommates derive from Asian, Trinidadian and Malagasy descent along with my best friend being half-Mexican. Their kitchen is full of food I've never seen or heard of and two of them speak to me with a heavy accent, which I'm forced to respond to with a smile and nod at times.

What makes this situation unordinary is that within the month I've lodged in their apartment on and off, I've yet to see one in particular roommate. I first found out something was "different" about this girl when I visited a year or so ago. She never comes out of her room. I have even slept on their living room couch for the past thirty days, and I would have thought to have seen her make a trip to the kitchen or bathroom at least a few times. For my friend and her other two roommates, they could seem to care less but I guess they've grown accustomed to it. Sometimes they'll just point at her door if she comes up in a conversation but other than that, they only seem to crack small jokes about the situation. I'll admit that I have asked questions any conventional mind would wonder. How does she contain her bladder for such a long period of time and is her small room filled with non-parishable food items and gallons of water like a natural disaster shelter? As far as I know, no one's seen the inside of her room; I know I haven't. She keeps the light in her room turned on twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Yes, she sleeps with her overhead light on... if she does sleep.

I have seen her before. Actually, I think the count is at two. The first time I saw her was when I was visiting my best friend awhile back. I didn't know anything about her ninja-like roommate so I thought nothing of it when I opened the front door to find the girl scurring out of a dark kitchen as I looked her in the eyes and said, "Hello." She returned the favor with a timid smile as she retreated to her sanctuary of a bedroom. I also witnessed her riding across campus on her bicycle. It's an old, multi-colored bike with a metal basket attached to the front of it. Apparently she rides it to and from her classes, which she never seems to miss. She wears glasses, baggy t-shirts and keeps her hair pulled back loosely. She has a brother who attends the same school and both my best friend and I have seen him around campus. He appears outgoing and similar to a typical college guy. At least once a week or so, allegedly, the girl's mom stops by the apartment and hangs out in her room for a day. She might restock her daughter's "shelter" with necessary items. I still have yet to hear words uttered from her lips. Not a sound can ever be heard coming from her room. I guess I'm just more amazed at catching a glimpse of her.

I write all of this because I've spent a lot of time thinking about how lonely she must get at times. Unfortunately, her personality issues may grow deeper than shyness or introverted classification on a personal survey. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe she finds ultimate bliss in solitude. Is that possible for a human being? As for myself, it makes me happy that through time, God's helped me open up and become more sociable and unreserved. As I've mentioned previously, I think I'll always long for my alone time but what's a life without others present? If I had the chance to move into my best friend's apartment, I would make it a priority to get to know the girl who doesn't talk. I would definitely have to get creative in my approach but that's one ability I'm blessed with. For now, I'll assume that I'm not the stranger who's supposed to befriend her. But I hope someone will walk into her life and reveal the beauty of friendship, the joy of laughter with companions.

I think I'm going to slide a greeting card under her door before I leave town Saturday morning. I'm going to sign it anonymous; I just want to get a point across: She's important.

And that someone's said a prayer of blessings for her today.