It had r
ained for a few days; my garden looked lovely and so welcoming. Sitting on the patio I watched the sun go down, casting its golden rays through the majestic cedars, the flowers spread lovely fragrance over the whole garden. Dusk was approaching with its magical tranquility. A flock of Canada Geese were squawking so loud, while flying north, supposedly trying to find new feeding ground, I love these birds, they always seem so organized, so protective of their young, so dignified. A soft knock on the garden gate……a visitor? I had not made any plans for that evening, who could that be? A little girl stood behind the gate, it was locked, a tiny hand was trying to reach through the wire mesh. I greeted her and started a conversation, she didn’t talk to me, she couldn’t speak. I ran back to the house to get a toy, found a Teddy Bear, ran outside and gave it to the little girl. She held it in her hands, wept and ran off. I stayed at the gate, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, what was happening! I started to feel trapped and haunted by my harrowing journey of WW ll again. I had been just as young as that little girl at the gate of my garden that evening. I couldn’t move, I just stood there, it became dark, very dark, just as dark as that night when I was trying to find my parents. We had made our way to Denmark, but separated again. They lived in the city but the Red Cross had found me another place to stay.The steal gate to their quarters was locked! There was a dim light in the attic window. I banged on the gate until my hands were bleeding, I called , nobody could hear me. It started to rain, went across the street, looked at window, the light went off. My cloths were soaked. Was it raindrops or tears that ran down my face? It couldn’t have been tears, I had none left, and there was no time to cry, I had to get back at to the place, my temporary living quarters. I felt forgotten and so alone. That was decades ago, why is the pain still so overwhelming? What happened is never over, I have learned to live with the pain. Now the only way to get through the day is to reach out to others….. “My tiny visitor, I wished I could dry your tears, wished I could hold your tiny hand and make your walk safe and happy.”
