Palaisipan kay Jenny Smith, 43, taga-Columbia, Mississippi kung paano nangyari na ang babae sa nakita niyang painting ay kahawig niya.
“Somebody posted the painting in a Facebook group in June, and a friend sent it to my sister and said, ‘This looks just like Jenny,'” kuwento ni Jenny sa Kennedy News via New York Post.
Nang na-foward kay Jenny ang Facebook link na nagtataglay ng misteryosong portrait, nagulat siya dahil kamukha nga niya ang babae, partikular ang red curly hair at malapad na noo.
“I was instantly like, ‘I’ve got to find this painting—I’ve got to have her,’” ani Jenny.
Inabot ng ilang buwan si Jenny sa paghahanap ng vintage painting. Tumawag siya sa antique shops at nagtanung-tanong via social media.
Nalungkot siya nang malamang ang painting ay nasa isang antique shop sa Spruce Pine, North Carolina, o higit 1,000 kilometers ang layo sa kanyang tinitirhan.
Pero desidido si Jenny na makuha ang painting.
Sabi niya, “I wanted the painting really bad, so I went to TikTok—I figured that someone, somewhere, had to be close to Spruce Pine. I even joined a Spruce Pine Facebook group.”
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GETTING THE PAINTING
Isa’t kalahating buwang nagtiyaga si Jenny, pero dahil walang makita na makakatulong sa kanya, sumuko na siya.
Hindi rin daw kasi sumasagot ang antique shop kung saan naroon ang painting.
“I tried for a good month and a half, and then I gave up because nobody was able to help me and the antique shop wouldn’t answer the phone.”
Hanggang isang araw, isang netizen ang nag-message kay Jenny at nagsabing nakatira ito malapit sa antique shop na kinaroroonan ng vintage painting.
Nag-offer itong tulungan si Jenny.
Binili ng netizen ang painting sa halagang $10 (PHP560), at ipinadala kay Jenny.
Lalo raw namangha si Jenny nang i-unbox niya ang vintage painting.
“We’ve got the same facial expression, it’s crazy,” aniya. “It felt kind of freaky when I saw it. It was such a ‘wow’ moment—like, somebody has painted this lady who looks just like me.”
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Nadiskubre rin ni Jenny kung sino ang pintor na lumikha ng obra.
Siya ay si Stephen Farris Jr., isang late painter na nagsilbing fighter pilot ng US Air Force noong World War II.
Nagawang ma-contact ni Jenny ang apong babae ng pintor.
Kuwento ni Jenny, “I asked if she knew who it was that he painted, and she said that he went to art classes where random people would sit for the paintings.
“It’s crazy thinking that there’s someone out there who looks exactly like me.”
Ang painting ay nakasabit ngayon sa living room ni Jenny sa taas ng kanyang bookshelf.
Pati raw mga bisita niya ay nagugulat kapag nalamang hindi siya ang babae sa portrait.