Do any other aphantasia folks have the experience of like, that one time they saw a very vivid image, but it only ever happened once for a short time?

That happened to me a few years ago. It was a very interesting experience.

It’s surefire subjective proof that aphantasia is real - the image I saw was so vivid and colorful, even animated. I can say for sure that I almost never have that experience.

At the same time, my one experience was surely in many ways much more limited than some others normal visual thoughts.

The mind is an interesting place.