👗 The Woman in the Lavender Dress

Auschwitz. Not long ago.

Some encounters leave no trace. Others leave a mark forever.
At the Auschwitz exhibition, I came to bear witness — to history, and to the silent grief of a stranger I will never forget.

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I came to accompany.
To accompany my husband, and his best man.
I came quietly, to listen. To bear witness.

The space was sober. The words carved. The objects few. The silence heavy.
An exhibition on Auschwitz — Not long ago. Not far away.

And as I moved through it, I saw her.

A woman in a lavender dress.
At first glance, nothing unusual. She stood tall. She made no noise.
But she was overwhelmed. I can’t say exactly how I knew. I just felt it.

At first, it was a tremor.
A quickened breath. A hand clutching her purse too tightly.
Then it became a wave.
Then a tsunami.

She never lost her dignity. She could have gone unnoticed.
But I was sitting. I was still. And maybe that’s why I saw her.
Really saw her.

I don’t know her story.
I don’t know who she lost.
But she carried something.
Someone.

And I was there for that.
Not just to look at the displays.
But to bear witness.

To horror.
To memory.
To the strength of a stranger.

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🕯 Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.
I will not forget the woman in the lavender dress.