“Ouch!” the girl said, grimacing as she bent down to examine her feet.
The first thing that struck me about her was her brightly-coloured hair. The second thing was that she was barefoot. I hurried forward to help. “Did you step on something?” I asked. “Probably not a good idea to go barefoot in this park...” I stopped, slightly astonished at something else I had just noticed.
She returned my gaze, with just the slightest hint of weariness at having to explain things for the umpteenth time. “I can never find shoes that fit,” she said, waving her hands. Those hands, too, that were another source of wonder...
She agreed to come back to my studio to pose for me, in exchange for a little first aid. And a cup of coffee. We talked for a while, then she suddenly decided she had to go. And she was gone.
I never did get her name.