I met F last November in Morocco. It was a one-time encounter in a messy bar. Her openness and trust stuck to me. F’s eyes glitter like black opals, but only when she laughs. Her lower eyelid is perfectly straight, the zero line. Below that line: sorrow, tears. Above that line: joy, victory. She triumphs, but is weakened.

It is too much, she has to carry too much. In her job as a makeup artist, she paints little children's faces like lions, cats, predators. They're supposed to be strong.

"I believe in the present moment, the happiness of the present moment.

I believe in my mother. I believe in my art, breakdancing. I believe that no matter how hard I fall, I'll get up again. That's important”, she said.

“What is the connection between believing in your mother and always getting up again?”, I wanted to know. The present moment, I understood later, was always good because it's so narrow and small, like a glittering opal, that it can deflect everything – the struggle, and the push-back into the past, the downward movement, the fall. Does F have her mother's mouth? The thought forced itself upon me, but I don't know if it's true. It feels true. F's mouth is quite remarkable, with sharp corners and the fully formed, pointed M in the middle of her upper lip, and it betrays her age. Maybe her mouth says "Mother". F kept stretching her arms.

"When I was little, my brother ran away from home. My mother showed me that no matter what happens, she always keeps going. Crawl, if you can't walk anymore. But go further.” Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at the wall beside her. We were sitting in that dark, gloomy bar. There was an aquarium with jellyfish drifting up and down. A small cockroach scurried past the wall next to her, and she looked at the strange little creature with indignation, but also with acceptance.

F’s smallest shows her eye with the straight zero line. The background came from somebody else’s unfinished smallest, a first attempt that I later discarded: A soft plush hoodie, pink and black. When I talked with her, I wrote: Create a pillow for her. F has the strength and determination to get up again no matter what happens. I wish you feel a softness that can catch you.