In 1981, I attended an international religious gathering in Hessen, Germany, with a friend from Vienna for a few days. Made some interesting, enjoyable acquaintances. Met a young Spanish woman named Julia who was at that time living as an au-pair with an English family and came with a female friend.
Her friendly, spontaneous and vivacious nature fascinates me. We drink coffee together, talk about our hobbies and families. I remember hearing from friends too, that opposites can attract and complement each other.
We discover things in common, such as enjoying music, art and nature. I tend to be quiet and introverted. Some friends have said in the past that an extroverted partner would be good for me. Is it destiny that we meet among many people? We definitely like each other.
Her English at that time was much better than my school English. It caused little misunderstandings which we laughed later about it. For example, I tried to explain to her that I was in a phase of self-discovery and very busy with myself.
It came out with my broken English as “I’m self-employed”, which translated again means “independent”.
So, for a moment she thought I was self-employed. Julia told me about her siblings, sister Marie, brother Jesus and brother Angel. I wondered and believed that her family had encounters with Jesus and angels.
I remember well. Once, when we were drinking coffee together, she asked me “Do you like the coffee?” I said no. We sat outside, not inside, and she just poured the coffee under the table. Which made me smile.
A friend had a Polaroid camera and that’s how we took our first photo together. We exchanged addresses and after our return to England and Austria, a lively exchange of letters began.
These were precious, warm memories, many of which I have saved.
Sequel follows ……
© Franz Kellner 2023-02-23