Kristian once told me that when I walked into her Starbucks for my first day, she took one look at my purple-streaked hair and knew I was destined to be one of her new best friends. I had no idea I had been tapped for such an honor, but when she proposed a lunch date at a favorite restaurant of mine, I accepted happily, excited to spend time outside of our milk-covered aprons with one of my new favorite coworkers.

We spent the whole morning in nonstop discussion, silence only falling when we were stuffing our mouths with the S&S’s French toast croissants and boneless tenders. After our first friend date and realizing we only lived a short walk away from each other, Kristi and I became inseparable friends, sharing many common interests like books, poetry, space, and fantasy.

Many memories of my twenties can be told as if they were fairytale adventures and that is very much because of the magic Kristi brings with her everywhere.

 Life with Kristian is pirate-themed bar crawls, escapades down narrow corridors that lead to unsuspecting elevators that lead to hidden mummies, poetry open mics at the cantab lounge to spill our hearts across stage like home alone marbles, scrambling down barnacle crusted breakwaters to race the tides for buried treasure and viewing parties of haunted house vistas over clam chowder while the atlantic thrashed beneath us. 

When we met, Kristi was studying for her master’s at Emerson and has gone on to write many amazing stories and publish two poetry books. You can find more about her and her writing on her website — Kristian Macaron. Her latest book, “Recipe for Time Travel in Case We Lose Each Other,” results in a perfect meal for the weary cosmic space traveler who is feeling listless and lost, for after reading it you will be once again filled with wonder & a strange craving for adventure and raspberry sorbet.

These days Kristi has been in search of desert magic in New Mexico with her companion R2, providing a much-needed southwest oasis outpost for our band of misfit friends. They have graciously hosted me a number of times, and I can’t wait to tell you about some of the stories from dancing in the desert with them. 

It has been over 12 years since our first date at the S&S, which is a lot of nights cuddled close while sharing secrets over chilled brandy with berries & covered in glitter like we are fairy girls, wiping up each other’s spilled milk and tears, afternoons of drafting plans for an intercontinental portal, and shared looks across a table at a party that say more than a dictionary. I wouldn’t trade the rarest treasure in the sea for my best friend. After you meet someone like Kristian, you begin to understand why planets might accidentally crash into each other out of curiosity, how a sword might accidentally end up enchanted and left on the sidewalk, or how a tiny spark of light could make a whole world.

 I hope you all find a Kristi of your own, but until then, I’m so excited to introduce you to one of my best friends, the Poet, the Time Traveler, the Story Spinner, Kristian Macaron.