An unexpected encounter......................

It started to rain.

At first quite gently, but not for long.

The skies opened up.

I decided to run for cover.

Not far off, I saw a sign for Starbucks.

That became my destination.

The coffee shop was full of people, wet people,

loud people, laughing people, and talking people.

Some duff-duff music was trying to permeate

the highly charged atmosphere in the coffee shop

but it fell on deaf ears.

I managed to squeeze myself just inside the doors

and then tried to shake off some of the rain off my clothes.

I didn't really mind being wet, but I did mind the throbbing

headache that had begun a few hours earlier.

There is probably a scientific explanation as to why

coffee can get rid of some types of headaches,

but at that time in my life all I knew was that a strong

cup of coffee could make a headache go away.

Slowly, but surely, one customer after the other 

made their orders until finally, it was my turn.

''Double-shot-medium size-latte, please.''

I paid and then walked to the back of the coffee shop

and waited for them to call out my order.

One by one orders were called out and people left.

When the people at a table next to me left, I quickly

sat down on one of the empty chairs.

That's when I saw her.

Dressed in a crisp off-white shirt dress, short white

hair and immaculate facial make-up, there she stood,

looking like she had walked straight out of a glossy

fashion magazine.

There was an air of grace and stillness about her.

In my imagination I saw her surrounded by cherry blossoms

and beautiful old Japanese tea houses.

I was transfixed.

As though she could feel that I was staring at her, she suddenly

turned around and looked straight at me.

I felt obliged to say something to her, so I stood up,

walked up to her and asked: ''Would it be okay if I took a photo of you?''

She smiled, clasped her hands in front of her torso, and then

 nodded a ''yes''.

I pulled out my camera (which I happened to have on me)

and shot three photos.

I thanked her, she nodded again, and that was it.

When I came home and had a look at the shots

I had taken, I knew that I had to try to make a painting

of her.

A painting that somehow would capture some of the grace, 

and some of the stillness, 

that radiated from and through her presence.

''Whether we are aware of it or not,

hide it or not,

the energy(vibes) that drives

and or consumes us,

often finds a way to become visible

to others.''

(Citizen Z)