So I used to know this woman by the name of Rae. Those of you who've been around for a bit might recall about 11 months ago when I discovered that she was basically a pathological liar and a grifter.
But about 8 months prior to that Rae called me over to her friend's house and arrived to find her in the nude, being painted by her friend. It was alarming, then awe-inspiring. I took pictures with my phone camera.
That was the first night I met the artist, who is now one of my closest friends. Rae had suggested this as a project for her (and I think she did a great job) but as it turned out Rae would use the photos to try and break the artist up with her girlfriend. I don't know where she is now. I expect in a decade or two she'll make a truly exceptional cult leader.
The artist was terribly hurt when the outward appearance of Rae fell apart last April. I would've been too, but by that time Rae had already broken my heart and I had cut her out of my life. I wouldn't admit it at the time but I was deeply in love with her. I would've done nearly anything for her, all of us (us being our circle of friends) would have. She was
alive in a very uncommon way, and the best I can describe it is that I "fell into her orbit".
I don't know why I didn't get rid of these. I was thinking about them today - I'm 90% sure I saw her while I was driving through town.