After graduation in college I didn’t know where my way would lead me. I admire those who know, and even more those who thought that I knew, just because I had mentioned a plan once, a plan that I would not follow at all in the end. How do people know where that want to work for half the time of their lives? How do you decide where to be stuck after finishing your studies? Who the hell decided that I have to know?
...
man winkt, man spricht,
und dann
lügt sie mich an.
Lass sie rangeln,
mich stört‘s nicht.
Ach deine Laune
wundert mich.
Gestern, wie schön,
da ging alles doch,
heute gibt‘s Streit,
wer erinnert sich noch?
Einigkeit vergeht,
steigt einsam auf,
verfliegt in Dunst und Wolkenstaub,
verweht in alle Länder.
...
After creeping further down the steps, I sneak into my dim-lit basement.
One marmalade jar, just something to mix watercolours in - can’t be too hard to find down here? “If you’re watching, Mom, you’ll see that this stuff is useful after all.”
Rushed, I fumble around, finding ugly glass vases, old Power Ranger action figures, a rustling bag with electronic wires…
A flicker and the grim room disappears in blackness.
I revolve and throw my back against the shelf, a fierce grip on the board. Next, an ear shattering glass strikes the nauseating stillness.
What’s happening?
...
Normally, you receive these kinds of things from your boyfriend or your girlfriend, but sometimes, only ever so often, does a friend, a very close friend, feel obliged to do you a similar favour. When I look at this photograph, I can’t help but visualize the smile that is hidden behind the paper heart my friend is holding up.
I still remember the thoughts that I had when I received these pictures. First, I wanted to know what weird occasion had triggered this idea. For months I haven’t heard from her, for I was abroad for a while. Then, suddenly, she sends me this lovely series of pictures. The second thought was about how typical this way of communicating is for her. Everybody knows that she is arty and likes to step out of the normal boundaries as often as she can. Instead of saying she misses me, she holds up papers which express how she misses me. The odd thing about that is, it is much more effective, just because it’s so individual and embodies everything she is.
...
Jack brought his glass from the kitchen into the living room and squeezed through the space between two chairs to sit down on his seat. He took a sip from his glass, his fifth coke that evening, and leaned forward to place it on the table. Thinking, he held on in midair and decided to keep it in his hands. He’d probably take another sip any minute. There wasn’t much else he could do.
Family meetings were always quite hard. He had wondered so often why that is, but his mind wouldn’t come up with a plausible answer. Was it because he had a boring family? He actually didn’t think so. In fact, he looked forward to seeing his family whenever they haven’t done so in a while. When they all met, his parents, his aunts, his cousins, his grand-aunts and their children and last but not least his grandma, he enjoyed their company for a bit; they were funny, had interesting topics and never really sat in silence.
...
Dana ran into her door and bounced back with a strange look on her face. Oh, the key, right. She seemed to have locked the door when she left without even noticing. That was probably due to the clashing thoughts that fought for attention in her mind. There was just too much going on in her life, she wished God would give her some rest every once in a while.
Once the door was unlocked, she pushed hard against the heavy wood and unscrewed the bottle of water that she had just gotten from the kitchen. Her hair was greasy and small sweat peals ran down her forehead. She did not like it, but there were more important things to care about right now.
As the water ran down the hot desert in her throat, she sat down on the chair and breathed in deeply for a few times. She just wanted a few seconds until she headed off again. It took her some more seconds in the silence of her small room than she expected, but finally she straightened her back and screwed the bottle. “Let’s get started”, she said to herself.
...
