cecelia

Yesterday, I walked through a few skyways from my building and had lunch at Bruegger's Bagels. It was nice out so I sat outside to eat. A woman came from behind me and passed by my table. She looked to be in her early 70s, and had really long, flowing, curly gray hair. She was dressed in a velvet evening gown, with a shawl and high heels. She walked rather slowly, kind of robotic, but I figured a 70 year old woman in heels HAD to walk slowly or she'd fall and break a hip. What was even more strange about her was that she was wearing a 5-6" beautiful rhinestone tiara, and had on a sash/banner, the beauty queen type. Since she walked by my table from behind me, I couldn't read the banner, but I was sure interested. The area I was in was full of "suits", people who worked in the downtown high rises, on lunch break. There was the occasional homeless person walking by, a vendor selling roses, and a few random shopper coming from the nearby Marshall Field's....but this woman really stood out. After she turned a corner and walked out of sight, I hoped she would come back....I really wanted to read that banner. I thought that maybe the "Ms. Senior Minnesota" competition had took place that day and that she had just come from that at the Ordway or the Xcel Energy Center, but a woman who was awarded a crown that big, surely wouldn't be walking by herself toward a Walgreens. She'd probably be with family, and friends, celebrating or something. I also thought that maybe she was just a crazy lady who enjoyed getting all gussied up and walking around town and that her banner said "#1 Grandma" or "Hot Old Granny" or something like that. 10 minutes later, I had finished my sandwich and was packing up to head back to my tower, when I saw her come around the corner again. Just as before, she was walking very slowly, and kind of rhythmically. As she got closer, I looked at her banner. It said nothing. It was blank. For a minute, I was really confused. I thought "Ok, so we'll go with the 'crazy old lady' option, that's what this is....". And I looked around at the people in the busy courtyard. I wanted to look for someone subtly pointing her out to their lunchmate, or see someone else looking at her, but no one did. And while my attention turned back to her, I watched her walk away and I honestly wondered if I was the only one who could see her. And it really freaked me out. I thought about her for the rest of the day, and when I go back to work tomorrow, I'm going to ask around my office if anyone knows anything about her....and hope to God no one thinks I'm a looney.

Is it really that far-fetched to think she's a ghost of a woman who spent her life trying to be a beauty queen, or something, and now spends eternity roaming E. 7th Avenue and Wabasha Street in downtown St. Paul?
Fun to think about. If I never find out anything about her, or never see her again, I'd rather believe that she's a ghost. Crazy lady is just not exciting enough. I think I'll bring my digital camera tomorrow, and hope that she's there....see if I can get a picture for proof. (That is, if she SHOWS UP in the picture!)

Update - 12:56p.m.
I just realized how weird this story sounded and I wanted to clarify, that this story is indeed fact. Just FYI