Mona girl.

May 2021.

Her name is Mona Lisa and she was told Mona Lisa was a Queen of England who never stopped smiling and that’s why she was world renowned.

I, a post-grad with an MVA degree specialising in painting, couldn’t remember, for the life of me, the name of that guy that painted the thing whose namesake she is; Leofuckingdavinci.

I HAD TO LOOK THAT SHIT UP on Google as she stared at my face RIGHT AFTER I VOLUNTEERED INFORMATION ABOUT MY OWN DAMN SELF AND THE FACT THAT I SHOULD KNOW THIS INFO AFTER 6 YEARS OF STUDY IN AN ART INSTITUTION; which by the way, doesn’t mean shit because even if I weren’t a product of art school, ol’ Mona girl and ol’Leo boy are pop culture legends now and I have zero excuses for not connecting the two.

Zero.

I GOOGLED “MONA LISA” AS I DISSOLVED IN A PUDDLE OF SHAME.

Mona Lisa can talk up quite a storm.

Once she got started, uffff!

She’s very self-aware though, she’d keep stopping herself in between sentences to ask me if she should shut up.

We spoke about our beliefs and our families.

Mostly about Hindu Mythology at length.

About God and Menstruation and the beliefs surrounding gender discrimination when it comes to All things God-related in India.

We spoke about parents and children.

She isn’t unfamiliar with death.

Not only has she seen the act of it, but she’s also lost the lives that she’s conceived. 5 encounters with the other side and she’s only 28.

She still seems so cheerful and grateful; especially for the family she has and the people in her life.

As I mentioned, very in tune with her beliefs and her reality, grounded and grateful.

Unprompted. All this sharing.

I think she really wanted to talk.

I’m glad I can listen to her.

She seems happier and more energetic after we speak.

She’s still maskless.