"What are you looking for?" I asked, purposely attempting to be gentle yet firm and authoritative.
The young woman sitting across the table from Me was just barely a young woman. She was old enough to vote, but only by a few months. She definitely could not legally consume alcohol, which was fine in My opinion, as I did not want to deal with a drunk person -- not after having babysat a drunk girl in Vienna nearly two decades earlier.
The crowd of the small coffee shop seemed to fade away to nothingness as I awaited her response. The headlights of the cars and trucks passing by just a few feet on the other side of the window seemed inconsequential.
I simply raised the latte to My lips, My eyes narrowing as I focused upon her, waiting.
Her long raven hair seemed to shine in the glow of the recessed light above her head. The scant make-up was tastefully applied, contrasting greatly with the last few young women who had sat across from Me in this very coffee shop over the previous week.
"I'm looking for..." she began, then hesitated.
Her voice was sweet, soft, almost silky. If a butterfly's colorful wings could have a voice, it would be her voice -- such was the image which came to My mind as she spoke. The colors of a butterfly announce its presence and draw attention, yet the butterfly seems skittish -- and the same could have been applied to her.
"I'm looking for a Master who can teach Me to be more... confident in myself, while molding me into whatever He wishes of me."
"I see." I set the latte down and leaned back in the chair, folding My arms across My chest. "And just why do you believe I am the Master who can teach you confidence?"
For the first time in perhaps five minutes, she looked up at Me, looking directly into My eyes. Her hazel orbs were mesmerizing, displaying a confidence hidden deep within.
"Simply a gut feeling," she replied. "Just a gut..."
I smiled reassuringly. "Sometimes the gut can be a much better decision maker than the mind," I told her. "That has certainly been the case for Me in the past, and probably will in the future as well."
At last, she took another sip of her mint mocha. Her small hands seemed dwarfed by the large mug.
"As small goes," she whispered, more to herself than to Me, "at least that's good for my gut."