Space in time

„Excuse me please, how can I get to the meadow? I can’t find my way.“ She is holding a crumpled piece of paper in her hand, and really looks a bit lost. No wonder, whoever ends up here must have gotten off the track, or at least forgotten that they were on their way elsewhere.

„Let`s have a look, where are you heading?“ It’s not like I actually know my way around here, but I have resigned myself to the fact. Wherever I am in the world, people will ask me for the way. She holds out the paper to me, it is tattered and has been folded and unfolded too many times. Maybe it was all she has had to hold on to. When it leaves her hand, it’s as if it slips out of her mind. She turns and moves towards one of the windows.

The room has seven or eight of them, depending on how you count. It is square, and each wall has two big lattice windows. They are painted white, with deep window seats, and wooden shutter blinds. On one end, there is a door instead of a window. The building sits on a little hill with a good view all around – on the office towers as well as the allotments and the woods in the distance. Sunshine casts the scene in a friendly, inviting light.

She is moving to the window that is furthest away from me, and looks at the garden outside. There is a bush close to the window, just short of sprouting new leaves. Birds are hopping from branch to branch excitedly, chirping and twittering. Sparrows, tits, robins. She seems fascinated and remains so very still that I can observe her. 

I take in worn-out slippers and tights with ladders. Her skirt is hanging loose, maybe it was meant to be calf-length but the front is much longer than the back. Her pullover has seen better days, the elbows are threadbare. Around her shoulders is a beautiful blue shawl, delicately knitted, yet it looks warm. Cashmere? Her grey hair is freshly cut, but needs a brush. On the back of her head, it lies flat, and in other places tufts of it stand off, as if she has just gotten out of bed. I see her from an angle, her skin is smooth and glows almost rosy in the sunlight. Her expression is restful, enchanted by the birds. I believe she has arrived.