Andra

You wouldn’t know it by looking at her, but beneath those kind eyes and disarming smile, Andra harbors enough pain to make most wills crumble. Despite all the demons pulling at her feet, she keeps her head held high and is a shining light in the lives of all those lucky enough to cross her path. And of all those who cross her path, some also cross her, but her ability to see the best in people and her capacity for forgiveness are unmatched.

Life hasn’t always been kind to her, at times it’s even been cruel, but that hasn’t stopped her from becoming joy personified, finding beauty everywhere she looks. The more punches life throws at her, the harder she becomes, like an ever-refining diamond. She bleeds like everyone else, but she brushes it off like no other.

Andra is one of those rare instances where inner beauty manifests itself in every spoken word. She is a unicorn for anyone willing to spend a minute in her presence. The downside, however, to being the stuff of myths, is the difficulty in finding another half to perfectly complement her magic. She let herself believe she’d found it several times throughout the years, oblivious to the fact that her life doesn’t flow by the rules that others’ lives do. When you’re living a fairy tale, it’s never the first one that stays with you, or the second, or the third, or the fourth, or even the fifth. It’s the one that shows up when you’re at your lowest, when you’ve given up. When all others have failed you. Exactly when the time is right. Exactly when they need to. Exactly the right height, exactly the right look, exactly the right smile, exactly the right touch. Exactly everything she never knew she was looking for, until now.

She is oblivious now, too, but in a different way. In a good way. She is oblivious to the fact that there will never be another one. But don’t tell her this. Don’t rob her of the wonder of finding it out on her own.

Andra saw Roxana’s story the other day and was curious what I’d write about her. She also happens to be Teodora’s best friend, who actually drew a photo of Andra a few months back, which you can see here.