An Angel’s Smile

The majority of women wearing masks somehow appear beautiful to me. Which made me ponder—does that mean the mouth, the nose, and the contour of the chin occupy a large weight as elements of beauty? When I put this question to a woman I know, back came, “I’m homely even with a mask on—what a pain.” Since we were on close terms, I quipped, “In that case, why not put a mask on your eyes, too?”—and she shot back, “If I did that I couldn’t see ahead, I’d trip and bang my face and get even homelier, wouldn’t I,” and we looked at each other and burst out laughing. Had I been having this conversation with some other woman, I might have become a sexual-harassment man who let his tongue slip and gotten sued. Considering that, she seemed just like a Buddha, and her smile struck me as more beautiful than anyone’s.