A very strange encounter in the supermarket....help me figure it out.

MineralMan

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Tue Nov-09-10 07:58 PM
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A very strange encounter in the supermarket....help me figure it out.

I went to a suburban supermarket about 1 PM this afternoon, just outside of Saint Paul, MN. It's my regular store. Here's what happened:

As I came into the market, I noticed two women in the produce section. One was mid to late 40s, dressed and looking like a typical middle-aged woman in this area. She was picking out produce. With her was a very tall (probably 6') slender woman of an age I couldn't determine at the time since her back was to me. She was with the other woman, clearly. She wore a black vinyl mini-skirt, a lace blouse, and black stiletto-heel shoes. Her hair was dark and perfect, in a sort of page-boy style. As the other woman shopped for produce, this tall woman stood stock still, and did not move a muscle. She didn't seem to be watching the other woman, but stood beside the shopping cart. I thought it a bit odd, but went on with my business.

As I did, I noticed several people looking intently at the taller woman, but shrugged it off.

After I finished my first pass at shopping, I headed past the deli counter of the supermarket. The two women were there. The tall woman was now standing next to the cart, still absolutely still. As I came closer, I could see her face. She was in her early 20s, I think. But her face was quite extraordinary. She had some sort of heavy, even-toned pancake makeup on that was absolutely flat, and a pale Caucasian flesh color. She had eye make-up that was almost doll-like. No lipstick, and she had extremely thin lips, set in an absolutely straight line. Nothing moved. She did not blink. There was absolutely no movement in her body or face. I tried not to stare, but several other people were staring frankly at her. Zero reaction to anything. Not to the other woman. Not to anyone nearby. She looked into middle space, and seemed to pay no attention whatever to her surroundings. Her face simply reminded me of a doll of some kind.

I passed within four feet of her, and the closer I got, the more her face looked like a doll's face. Artificial, like a fully made-up geisha, but not that style of makeup at all. The makeup blurred all her features and simply looked like a mask of some kind, but not garish in any way. It was as though she was some sort of automaton, like those Japanese robotic figures that simulate human expressions, but when not actually doing something are completely unanimated.

I saw the two a couple of other times in the store, but at a distance. Each time, she was standing stock still, completely motionless as the older woman shopped. Each time, people were staring at her. It was that strange.

I believe the older woman was her mother, for some reason, but I'm completely puzzled by the young woman. I've never seen anything like it in my 65 years on the planet, and the strangeness was so striking that many other shoppers were frozen and staring at her.

Does anyone have any idea what this might have been? Was the young woman in makeup for some sort of play? Does she have some sort of mental illness? The older woman acted perfectly normal, like any other shopper in the store. It is so puzzling, and that doll-like face and the very out of place clothing have me wondering what this all was. I get around a lot, but this was the strangest thing I've ever encountered in a public place.

Any ideas?