I remember life after the war. Hiding in the ruins of the bombed buildings. The man with no legs pushing his way on a tiny platform. I remember playing alone. I remember playing with the other children. We did not have any toys. We were making our own. I remember the girl on the third floor. She never played with us. She was a ballerina. I remember the stale smell of dark corridors. I remember the drowned man exhausted from his last fight. I remember faces that never smiled. I remember my first day in school. Hiding my face in the teachers lap and crying. She let me go home. I remember cold waters of the Baltic sea. I remember sunsets and the silent silhouettes along the shoreline. I remember the forest full of secrets. I remember an unfinished painting and nobody around. I remember the white aprons and the golden glow of fish in the baskets. I remember the music teacher striking my fingers with a pencil. I remember marching in a column. I remember laying flowers to the monument of Lenin. I remember my first glass of wine. I remember the first girl I loved. I remember my childhood. |