En, the Japanese for destiny/fate. If you ask me what am most grateful for in life, I would answer without any hesitation, that I truly have the best en. A message came in via my website to me 2 years ago, asking for a commission portrait of the sender's lovely granddaughter and mentioned that we have met, both grandfather, granddaughter and I way back in Spring 2016 at Jalk Coffee, where I was holding my exhibition. She was 12 at the time, and now is turning 17, and I have since relocated back to Vancouver, moved three times, still trying to settle back into my hometown. Who would have believe this? An almost 80 year-old gentleman, who English is not his first language, searched the internet for me, reached out in a wonderfully written message in English, and asked for me to paint a portrait of his granddaughter? I really was too much—meaning, I was beyond humbled and delighted for someone to remember me from just one encounter and then to find me 5 years later.

We corresponded over the course of a week and then longer to update each other on preferences, progress, details, and most importantly, things that have nothing to do with the commission itself—about how are we doing and what has been happening in our daily lives across the globe. During this process, it was decided that instead of 1 portrait, 2 would be commissioned, since we both or his family can't decide which sketches would be "the one" that would be her birthday present. She would in the end choose which one she would like as her present, and he would keep the other. To me, one is of her "now" a young girl in summer, enjoying an iced coffee, and one is of her "future" a young lady in thought, enjoying a hot chocolate. Both the same and different at the same time—but still very her.

After having them safely shipped off to Tokyo, I heard that the girl, now a young lady, would be spending time here in Vancouver to study English. I have since met her a number of times, and ended up meeting both her parents as well, enjoying great food, stories, and laughs together. Of course, all this was reported to her grandfather, who happily took great time and effort to write back to me. Every word of his correspondence was as sincere as sincere can get. she did return to Japan the following spring, and we all promised each other that when I do go Tokyo again, we would all visit Jalk Coffee, where our meeting filled with en first happened and hopefully not end there. Side note, we are still in touch!