Monday, April 16, 2007

Strangers With Comments

On Thursday evening, I was shopping for jewelry for my bridesmaids and got stuck trying to decide between two pairs of earrings. While I was taking some time to mull over my decision, I wandered into the sunglasses section to see if I could find something stylish for my upcoming honeymoon. I had just put on a pair and was admiring my reflection when from next to me came, "those are cute."

I looked over, and there was a woman standing a few feet away. I thought maybe she'd been complimenting my choice, but she wasn't looking at me, didn't seem to be talking to me. She didn't seem to be talking to anyone, actually. I did a mental shrug and went back to my business, and a minute later, she did it again.

"Oh, those are really cute." This time, I was sure she was talking to me, but when I glanced at her again, again, she was facing the other direction.

To whom was this lady speaking? I had no idea. There were other people milling around, so I thought maybe one of them was a friend of hers, but eventually, they dispersed and she and I were the only people in the area, and the comments continued.

"I've got to go find a dressing room. Where are the dressing rooms?" I thought about answering her, just on the off chance she really had been talking to me this whole time, but it just seemed weird. It was like she was talking to a pal, but the pal wasn't there. And she didn't seem to be on a cell phone or anything; if she had, the person on the other end must have been unbelievably perceptive to know what she was talking about.

Eventually, the woman walked away, and I returned to the jewelry, but this woman's one-sided conversation left me with a creepy feeling. Did she not realize she was alone? Was she, perhaps, shopping with a ghost friend no one else could see? I guess I'll never know.

1 comment:

Kari said...

I tried on a pair of shoes in a shop once and this old woman I've never seen in my life came up to me and told me I looked like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

It put me right off.