Smile And The World… Gets Defensive?

When I’m walking somewhere with a lot of people, like a hallway, I tend to unintentionally make eye contact, smile, and then look away, whether or not I know the person. Most of the time, the only thing that happens is once in a while someone will tell me it’s cute that I smile at everyone. This is not one of those times.

I’m at a park, getting some family photos taken. While my mother and I make our way to a new photo site, I make accidental eye contact with a woman passing us on the path, so I smile, look away, and think that’s the end of it. Instead, the woman sees me smiling, stops, and doubles back to catch up with us.

Woman: “Do I know you?”

Me: “No?”

Woman: “But you smiled at me.”

Me: “I smile at everyone.”

Woman: “But you don’t know me.”

Me: “No.”

Woman: “But you smiled.”

She walked off, still muttering about how I’d smiled at her even though I didn’t know her. I’m still not sure whether to laugh at her confusion or feel sorry about whatever circumstances led her brain to short-circuit over something as simple as a stranger’s smile.