Dear,

last night I couldn't fall asleep. My imagination was replaying the exhibition of Vanfleteren, over and over again. I am not exaggerating when I say that some of the portraits took my breath away, for a split of a second.

So much beauty in all those rough faces, hard looks, wrinkles and crooked postures.

You know how it is, my dear, when something touches you in there. For you it's music, or maybe a movie, or a book... For me - people captured on paper. I looked in their eyes yesterday, from very close by.

I actually tried to look INTO their souls. Hoping to see something more inside of their iris. A reflection of the scene, perhaps. Tried to imagine what they were talking about with the photographer. Were they in a hurry?

It was a 13km walk, to and from the museum. Many thoughts had been shared.

Construction of a friendship is a process, which cannot be rushed. Like weaving a cobweb - piece by piece

- it needs time and kilometers of streets to be walked through. It needs coffee, wine and silly talks. And being together in silence. And trust. Friendship is a precious and a fragile jewel, like a cobweb covered in raindrops.

You know what happens when you...

I couldn't fall asleep, for a long time. In spite of the warm good night kiss of my beloved. Even the music of book pages turning wasn't helping yesterday.

Under my eye lids, Vanfleteren's fishermen were drifting on the see, strong, African men were staring at me, expecting answers on friendship-related questions. Which I didn't have.

Life, dear, is so good and so intense sometimes.

("Present" with the photographs by Stephan Vanfleteren is absolutely beautiful.)