I was waiting for the bus, alone at the stop. An old woman in a strangely wealthy-looking coat comes walking along. She stops to talk to me. She has a heavy accent. She talks about the weather, about how it is still cold. I agree that yes it is, despite the nice sun, it is indeed still cool.
I’m from Poland, she says. There we have four distinct seasons, not like here, where you don’t know when the season will change. I see, says I. My family was originally from Russia she says. I nod.
And then, I don’t know exactly how things went off the rails, but she is telling me that Russians are smart honest people. Her family knew someone whose ancestor knew the Czar. (I nod.) And they were smart. They hid their beautiful things so the Nazis couldn’t steal their stuff. Hitler and the Nazis they tried to steal everything, but they hid their treasures from Hitler.
Then she says: I see your bus is coming. True. It was. I will bid you good-bye. I said: Have a pleasant evening. And she shuffled away.
I predict I will dream about Nazi looters tonight. Or the Czar.
4 comments:
At least this nutty Pole, you know,
Didn't reach in her bag and pull out snow
Throw it on you and proceed to say
"This belongs to everyone", then run away.
JAW fan
your father is smiling at this story you know.
WHERE exactly do you catch that bus?
It was the 103. Which is surprising since it's the 105 that I have heard referred to as "the Moscow express" (what with all the new Russian arrivals taking over the neighbourhood)
Turns out I didn't dream about Hitler or the Czar. oh well.
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