Saturday, July 2, 2011

The new old-fashioned girl.

I met her in the hall. She looked lost, but was smiling bravely. Where had she come from? Probably from a place far far away or a time long gone by. From the beginning it was clear that nobody would ask her to come in, stay for dinner or an evening in front of the fireplace. She wasn't cuddly. She was holding up. Holding back her tears. Not giving in to misery and loneliness. The air of uprootedness that she exuded was most likely what made people aggressive. Some put old gum or candy wrappers into her little basket when they passed by. Others pulled up her dress and let her stand there exposed. Four days ago she vanished. I couldn't quite believe she had just walked away. When I went out to have breakfast this morning I saw that she was back. She was standing in the same spot, looking out of the window, her hair a little disheveled. We didn't talk much but I asked her if she needed a place to stay and she said yes. And that's all that counts right now.