Fascination Street

It was a rainy June day when I saw her in the distance, twirling an umbrella decorated with imposing dragons breathing fire, one that seemed to have no effect in appeasing the downpour. Yet it did protect its owner from the rain with its life, like some divine shield that broke each raindrop on contact. It was as if there stood a perfect invisible wall around her. She was in a lime green kameez that saw not a drop of water, and was making slow, measured steps along the footpath. There were tales about Judy, the mystical beauty from some faraway land, but I never did pay any attention to them. My interest was always in her aura - her appearance always seemed incidental.

I asked her once why she wore the local dress, and she said that she wanted to fit in, but also that she thought it very pretty. On that day, seeing her moving as a column unaffected by the tears from above, I noticed the floral patterns of her dress, and I think it was the first time I saw why people thought her beautiful. But there is a deeper force at work here, I told myself. I found myself struck with the desire to acknowledge these powers, hoping not only to appease them, but also to ensure that the story would not be forgotten. In the years to come, I told myself, people will speak of an enchantress from another land whose presence brought good luck to all who came across her path.

This was many years ago, and sadly today there is no sign of the revelation dawning on those around me. It was not many days after I saw her in the rain that she left abruptly, some say back to her native land. I would coyly try to find out more details, but no one seemed to have any. And so, Judy lives on as a phantom, walking along the footpath on a rainy June day, splitting the waters in two.