u/An_Patt

The Woman in Red

I noticed her lipstick first. Red. Proper red.
She had silver hair, a long linen dress and a pair of sunglasses resting on top of her head.
In one hand, she carried a small paper bag of cherries.
We were standing next to each other waiting to cross the street, and I caught myself looking at her.
There was something about her. She looked like a woman who had lived. Loved deeply. Changed her mind. Taken chances. Probably kissed someone wildly inappropriate at least once.
And somehow arrived here, years later, buying cherries on a hot summer afternoon and wearing that fabulous lipstick as though Tuesday deserved it.
Then she caught me looking. I smiled. She smiled back.
Just before the light changed, she leaned towards me and said, “Wear the red lipstick.” II laughed.
She crossed the street, reached into the bag and ate a cherry as she walked away. I watched her disappear into the crowd.
This morning, I thought about her while getting ready.
I opened the drawer. Found mine. And yes.
I wore the red lipstick.

Hi, I’ve been thinking about this lately.
If you could create an online space from scratch for artists, photographers, interior designers, architects and other creatives, what would you actually want from it?
A place to show your work? Find other creatives? Collaborate? Get discovered by clients? Protect original work? Have better conversations?
What do you feel is still missing from the platforms we already have?
Genuinely curious what you would build differently.

Someone walked past me today wearing a perfume I hadn’t smelled in years.
For a moment, the whole day shifted.
The scent carried me somewhere familiar.
I found myself remembering a version of me I hadn’t visited in a long time.
The way she laughed….
The dreams she held so close…..
The quiet certainty that life was about to surprise her….
It’s fascinating how a fragrance can hold an entire chapter without saying a word.
Perhaps people do the same.
They leave with their footsteps.
A part of them settles into the smallest corners of our lives.
A favourite expression.
The way we reach for a coffee cup.
A song that still softens the air.
Some people become part of the atmosphere we carry within us.
Every now and then, a single scent opens the door, and everything feels close again…..

Today a stranger smiled at me. It lasted a second.
The feeling stayed much longer. I kept thinking about how easily we remember moments that ask for nothing.
A smile.
A quiet room.
Fresh flowers.
Warm bread.
Morning light finding its way across an old wooden table.
Perhaps life has always spoken this language.
Perhaps I have only just started listening….

For a long time, I thought life changed through big decisions. A new job. A new city. A new relationship.
A fresh start.
Now I think it changes much earlier. The moment you stop agreeing to the little things that quietly take pieces of you.
Another meeting you never wanted to attend. Another conversation that leaves you feeling smaller than when it began. Another "yes" that should have been yours to question. None of it looks dramatic. That's why it stays for so long.
One day you wake up in a life that makes perfect sense on paper. You just don't recognise yourself in it anymore.
Lately, I've been asking myself a different question.
Will this choice bring me closer to myself?
It's surprising how many decisions become simple once you stop trying to impress your past and start listening to the woman you're becoming.....

I noticed the lipstick on my coffee cup before I noticed the sunrise. A soft rose-colored curve. Beautiful in its imperfection. I wrapped both hands around the cup and stayed there for a while. The room filled with golden light.
The flowers on the table leaned toward the window.
Everything felt unhurried. Days like this remind me that happiness rarely enters with noise. It slips quietly into ordinary moments and waits to be noticed…..