Cleopatra

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I knew one day I would have the courage to tell this story.  I’ll never forget the first time I met a young woman with the name of a queen.  Cleopatra is her name and we met in the autumn of 2012.  Our introduction was precipitated by a very loud, visceral, blood-curdling scream that came from the depths of Cleopatra’s being.  It felt as though all hairs on my body stood up at attention and I literally shuddered and wanted to cry upon hearing her primal wails.

She was in my salon having her hair done and was inadvertently burned on her neck by the steam from boiled water, a technique used to smooth braids, which had been performed hundreds of times in the salon without incident.Part of me was frozen by the shock and horror of her hearing her pain expressed.  Another part of me went into high gear on how to address this crisis.  I ran over to her and after realizing what had occurred, I immediately ran to the basement of the salon, where I had a supply of high quality botanicals.  I knew that lavender oil was good for burns.  I grabbed the bottle of lavender, some cotton swabs, and ran back upstairs and began to gingerly apply the lavender to her neck.Shortly thereafter, I drove her to the nearby hospital. Though very shaken, in shock and great pain, she remained calm, poised, and forgiving.After an hour or so she was seen by a very cool and hip doctor who informed us that there was really nothing much they could do but apply an ointment she was prescribed.  The doctor then assured her that she would be all right.I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you another element of the evening, and that was the external beauty of this young woman.  Cleopatra had on a fabulous dress that would easily put you in the mind of Dorothy Dandridge; classic, sophisticated and gorgeous. Who dresses like that to have their hair done, except a queen? And even the white, female doctor couldn’t help but compliment Cleopatra on how beautiful she looked in that dress.As I drove Cleopatra across the bridge to her apartment in Chelsea, I felt that we had created a bond out of what started out as a very frightening and painful experience.  Together we turned lemons into lemonade.A couple of days later I left for vacation, but we remained in contact as Cleopatra followed my request to text me daily photos of her neck.  Over those days as the healing process began, Cleopatra’s neck changed colors and texture a few times.  A couple of weeks later I treated her to brunch and once again, I was amazed by not only her physical beauty, but her innate sweetness and humility.  I asked her why hadn’t she sued us.  Surely those close to her were recommending she do so.  She confided in me that indeed family members were trying to convince her to sue, but she could not and would not because she knew it was an honest accident.Here I was in the presence of a young lady in her twenties with sound principles, grace and class, who would not be swayed, even by family. I would have totally understood if she had sued.  But her decision not to sue was an incredible testimony to her extraordinary bearing, particularly in our very litigious culture.  Cleopatra’s neck healed beautifully with little to no sign of ever being burned.  I believe it was the initial application of the lavender oil that went to work on the first stage of healing.  And that is just one of the reasons why we offer our line of Fresh Body Products they are infused with the healing elements of natural lavender oil.Cleopatra has since modeled and worked for Anu Essentials at a couple of our events.  Most recently when she saw a video that I posted of my newly-arrived Vintage Burners, she immediately ordered one.  It truly warmed my heart that this young sister and I are still in each other’s life and she continues to be supportive of my new endeavor of products for body, mind and spirit.I wanted to make Cleopatra’s order extra special and I believe I succeeded.  Along with the photo below, this is what she posted: “I am learning to cleanse my aura and clear out negative energy and when I saw this antique resin burner on Anu Essentials social media, I had to have it.   As you can see it came beautifully packaged and with a sample of their charcoal, Frankincense and Myrrh resin (which I was not expecting).  It’s a vibe.”Thank you, Cleopatra for being the Queen that you are.  Given the name of a Queen at birth, you exemplify royalty and loyalty. You never cease to amaze me.  I’m delighted that our offerings are of use to the cleansing and clearing your person and your new home. Enjoy!   [/fusion_text][fusion_products_slider picture_size="fixed" cat_slug="home-fragrances" number_posts="5" carousel_layout="title_on_rollover" autoplay="no" columns="5" column_spacing="" scroll_items="" show_nav="yes" mouse_scroll="no" show_cats="no" show_price="yes" show_buttons="yes" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]