Painting the Face(Marla) “Mindy, please, will you watch this booth for just a few minutes?” Gabby sounded desperate.

It was the day of the Halloween carnival that the community center held every year. Mindy, who had been on her way to the help with the fishing game, paused and looked at her coworker. Gabby was seated at a small table that was covered with several containers of face paint, a jar of brushes, and some Q-tips.

“Umm, I can’t do face painting. I am not an artist.” She was telling the truth.

“Just do something easy, perhaps a spider. I will be gone for only a few minutes. I need to run to the ladies’ room.”

“Okay…but…”

Before she could finish, Gabby dashed off.

Mindy sat down and immediately felt nervous. There was no way she could make any kid happy with face paint. Maybe no kid would show up. She looked around the room, and saw happy kids playing the various games. Then she saw a little girl heading straight towards her. Mindy looked away. Maybe if she didn’t make eye-contact the child would go somewhere else.
Within moments, the little girl was at the table. She hadn’t been deterred in the least.

“Hi! Here are three tickets! Can I have a face painting?”

The child looked so excited; she had full confidence in Mindy. Of course she did. Mindy was at the face painting table. Therefore, Mindy could do a fabulous job. Reluctantly, Mindy took the three tickets, wondering if she could stall for a few minutes. She looked across the room, hoping to see Gabby. She saw children and parents. She saw other coworkers, but she didn’t see Gabby. “Hey, actually the real face painter will be back in a few minutes. I’m just here until she gets back.”

“Oh. Well, can you try? Please?” Mindy looked at the girl, and she noticed that there was something different about her. She looked adorable in her T-shirt with a row of pumpkins printed on it, complete with glitter, a black tutu skirt, and purple and green striped tights. But something in her eyes didn’t seem quite natural. They looked kind and innocent, yet, well, Mindy couldn’t quite figure out what her own thoughts were. The girl was just different. She was waiting for Mindy to answer.

Mindy blinked a few times and drew in a breath. “Okay. Okay, but I may not be able to do what you want.”

“That’s okay! Can you do flowers and swirls? Like that?” She pointed to a girl that was walking by, her face expertly painted, because Gabby had done it and Gabby had done a fabulous job. The design was beautiful.

Mindy picked up a brush and dipped it into black paint to start the swirls. “I will try,” Mindy answered, knowing that she couldn’t do the job nearly as well.

The girl smiled encouragingly. “Well, thank you.”

Again, Mindy noticed that the girl seemed a bit odd. She started on the girl’s forehead and then to her surprise, the brush moved easily, making beautiful swirls. Mindy watched the smooth strokes as she tried to comprehend what was happening. She held the brush, but she felt that she was merely watching, not painting. On its own accord, her hand moved gracefully, rinsed the brush, and dipped the brush carefully into some dark purple paint. Then she found herself painting flowers along the swirls. These were followed by green leaves. Before long, the painting was complete. Mindy stared in amazement at the result.

“May I see?” the little girl asked.

Still stunned, Mindy held up the hand mirror for the girl to see.

“Wow! Thank you!” She paused a moment before she said, “Sometimes, all you need is some encouragement. Of course, a bit of magic always helps.” She smiled. “Have a fun Halloween, Mindy.”

She slid off the chair, skipped a few steps, and then turned back and gave Mindy a wave. And then she skipped away.

A moment later, Gabby returned. “Sorry. I got a bit held up. There was a line for the bathroom and as I was walking back, a parent stopped me to ask a few questions. How did it go?”

“It was…I…well, it was fine. I’m glad you are back! I need to get to the fishing game.”

“Okay. Thanks again for helping me.”

“Sure,” Mindy answered. She walked to the fishing game, wondering what had just happened and how in the world the little girl had known her name.

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