Fruition

   It was approaching dusk when I peered around the corner and turned down the winding road. A few fruit trees and more ordinary trees like poplars and aspens could be seen here and there on each side of the long, but narrow road. There was no sign at all. Indeed no sign even was needed. It was the biggest house in this district, so I managed to find it quickly. In a certain sense, this house was the only thing that had come to fruition for the owner. I heaved a deep sigh, closed up my warm coat tighter and went quickly to the front door.

   In all likelihood, some will certainly say that this period of the day is sometimes a bittersweet moment, but for others that may be another part of the day. Pushing the door slightly, I took my coat and scarf off and threw them onto the couch. Knowing her well, I knew that she would be in the back garden sipping slowly on her belated after-dinner coffee by nightfall. There among numerous boxwood bushes and roses was not only her fondest, but also the only place where she preferred spending time. We used to think that there were only small fireflies and crickets in the weeds, which reminded us of the beauty of nature. Nevertheless, we knew that that wasn’t true enough. Every one of us had always felt like there was something else… silence. Silence is equal for everyone and it doesn’t matter who we are. We all experience it sooner or later.

   Smoking in this place wasn’t allowed, but surely she was an exception. Coffee and cigs… Cigs and coffee… For just a second, I thought about some of the things she had actually achieved before and those which turned out to be fool’s errands, based on what she had told me in the past. Previously it had seemed to me she had calmed down, but after a while, I realized I had seen it once before in her frosty eyes and cold face, that she was old version of herself from the years gone by. She didn’t ever want to get stuck like this in the past.

   I turned on the light in the kitchen on the first floor and put the kettle on while I was sorting through the thoughts in my head. Through the window, I saw how she, with some frustration on her face, held out her hand as if she was trying to catch a gust of wind. “There is probably going to be a storm,” I thought as I took a sip from the cup.

    
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