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Third day in the same forest. It would get monotonous now…
Hair as black as ebony, lips as red as blood and skin as white as snow! Surrounded by little men, she walked
like an elegant deer with her neck held high, letting the wind kiss her face. She was no Snow White with her
like an elegant deer with her neck held high, letting the wind kiss her face. She was no Snow White with her
seven dwarves, she was just a kindergarten teacher with her charge of two year olds!
The little children, all clad in waterproof overalls and equipped with a pail and spade instead of pick axes,
stamped in all the available muddy puddles. Some of them knelt in the mud and scooped up the wet clay into their buckets and carried them to their building site to build a castle. ( The Germans start as engineers from an early age!) good thing the mothers were not around- surf or no surf the mess these tiny tots made would turn any hausfrau’s heart!
I stopped for a moment ( for I had time to stand and stare) and greedily took in the video of unfettered joy into
my subconscious. They looked at me curiously. The boldest of them walked up to me, wiped his hand on a little towel tucked in his pocket and put it out towards me. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement! My heart turned a somersault and I picked up the still dirty hand without hesitation. He talked to me in a burst of
speech and I spoke back as if I understood everything! Then Snow White came to my rescue and spoke to me in English.
my subconscious. They looked at me curiously. The boldest of them walked up to me, wiped his hand on a little towel tucked in his pocket and put it out towards me. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement! My heart turned a somersault and I picked up the still dirty hand without hesitation. He talked to me in a burst of
speech and I spoke back as if I understood everything! Then Snow White came to my rescue and spoke to me in English.
I learnt how she rescued these kids everyday from
their harassed working mothers, to let them feel the joy of freedom and allowed them to do what every child wants to do. Soon they would go back to the school and get cleaned up and be presented to their
mothers, scrubbed and clean as little angels. A little drowsy and with less energy so that the mums would have time to recuperate to face another busy day at home.
It was time to say “Auf wiedersehen” and I continued on my walk with the picture of the little ones and
Snow White ( her name was Anke by the way) etched in my memory.
The woods were dark and deep. The promise of
sunshine in the morning was fading fast. I had lost some time playing with the children so I increased my pace and followed a new road. This was away from the main road. Soon I was deep inside the forest. The
tall trees with their leafless branches brooded over me but they were like kindly guardians rather than menacing devils. Spring was trying hard to make its presence felt . The dry stalks were pushing forth green leaf buds, the tiny grass flowers were nodding at me and though I could find no birds around, there were lovely man made bird houses hung high on the trees ( I wonder how they reached so high on the slim trunks!)
sunshine in the morning was fading fast. I had lost some time playing with the children so I increased my pace and followed a new road. This was away from the main road. Soon I was deep inside the forest. The
tall trees with their leafless branches brooded over me but they were like kindly guardians rather than menacing devils. Spring was trying hard to make its presence felt . The dry stalks were pushing forth green leaf buds, the tiny grass flowers were nodding at me and though I could find no birds around, there were lovely man made bird houses hung high on the trees ( I wonder how they reached so high on the slim trunks!)
I walked with my head up at the sky, looking up at the interweaving arms of the branches. Occasionally a biker
or a jogger would pass by, but they were in their own world and only the swish of the tires or the thump of the running feet would warn me that there was someone behind me. The absolute silence was so therapeutic that I pondered on the possibility of just sitting down on the fallen tree trunk to soak in the ambience.
or a jogger would pass by, but they were in their own world and only the swish of the tires or the thump of the running feet would warn me that there was someone behind me. The absolute silence was so therapeutic that I pondered on the possibility of just sitting down on the fallen tree trunk to soak in the ambience.
The road was never ending and I had to decided on a point to turn back. Every step I took forward, brought me
into a microcosm of a new world- complete and perfect! My greedy parched heart did not want to miss out on any experience so I walked on.
Suddenly a shaft of sunlight cut through the darkness of the woods and streamed on a clearing in the forest. There were two beautiful black trees covered with white blossoms. The whole area was filled with dark green moss which were sprinkled with the fallen white flowers. A few magpies with their tails up in the area trilled their songs. My God! What a setting it was! I wished I was Rapunzel sleeping under the tree, letting the soft
flowers caress me as I listened to the songs of the birds, maybe I would weave the flowers into my long hair! I wished there were a few rabbits peeping from their burrows to complete this picture of my fairy’s glade.
My walk was now complete, the almighty had given me a perfect gift to take back for the day. It was time for
me to go back. I took in great gulps of air as if to save this wonderful picture in my hard drive. I literally spent five complete minutes to grasp at this experience and turned back with a satiated heart and energised mind, to a life now so filled with magic. It now started to drizzle….
me to go back. I took in great gulps of air as if to save this wonderful picture in my hard drive. I literally spent five complete minutes to grasp at this experience and turned back with a satiated heart and energised mind, to a life now so filled with magic. It now started to drizzle….
We all need a little bit of the fairy tale and magic to spice up our monotonous lives. The important thing is for us to realise that it is always around us and it is in our hands to scour and dig and discover the enchantment!
The Parallel World 