Written by

emDesigns

With her ramrod, unyielding posture that makes her broad frame seem taller than it is, Jean possesses the unusual capability of commanding immediate respect in others. She does not demand respect with her attitudes and airs, as some might, but her presence inspires a sense of deference and almost of fear. Possibly this is due to the lack of transparency that she adheres to during her initial meetings with others. Very few people can claim to know her well, and even fewer are able to lucidly describe her. After conducting the usual formalities upon first meeting someone—hand shaking, polite nods, the exchange of names—a veil drops in front of her eyes and she slips away onto another plane of existence. She manages to display both insatiable interest and no interest at all in knowing you. You will discover that she is an alloy of endless contradictions, and she will become even more of a curiosity to you. Yet in the midst of the mystery and the curiosity, your respect for her will grow. On occasion she will snap out of her reverie and her vivid, varied thoughts, whirling and clashing against one another like grains of sand on a desert, will suddenly snap together, and she will speak—perhaps one sentence, perhaps two—nothing more. Her words will engrain themselves into your memory, as will her ability to draw refined and perceptive conclusions from all the nonsense you have chattered about in the last five minutes. You will have a growing sense of awe at the quick and natural connections she makes between ideas, but your apprehension and hesitancy will also grow. Her silence is thick and intense, and yet when she speaks, her words are loud and resonating—not in volume, but in essence. One admires her eloquence, the way she elucidates the meaning of your words as a master alchemist coaxes gold out of lead. Yet one also fears the ease with which she does so, when the entire time that everlasting veil still flutters before her eyes…