Every morning a little past eight o’clock, I come across two unsolved puzzles. Every morning I try to understand them a little more.
Will you help me solve my puzzles and put my imagination to rest?
First puzzle: The couple
Two hills separate me and my children from their school: we descend the first one swiftly; sibling squabbles stay at a minimum, whilst everyone still enjoys each other’s company. On very sunny days, I have time to notice the sun-rays bathing one of the tower blocks in the city centre, colouring it in a deep gold so intense that it is almost painful to look at.
As we go up the second hill, we start to see… the couple. They are moving down towards us, or rather, in the direction of the railway station.
They are both smartly dressed, she often wears a dress. She’s a little shorter than he is; their steps are synchronised. But what I mostly notice is that each day – no exception, they walk down the hill holding hands.
I have now been aware of their presence for almost five years. They do look older than five years ago, and maybe this realisation is what made me write about them.
They have become my tacit companions: I go up the hill, blocking out the increasing noise from the (now fully established) sibling squabbles and complaints, they rapidly go down. What happens once they leave my sight? Do they go to the train station, and from there, on to London? Does their common path cross but briefly? Who are they? And what is their secret? Is it hard to say goodbye when you have held hands the whole way?
The second puzzle: The girl
I meet her on my way back from school. I take a slightly different route. We intersect at the main traffic lights, or sometimes she runs up the hill as I go down. She is a long-distance runner. I know this, because there was a time when I was regularly driving to a nearing city, and I would meet her, always running, on my way. I saw her in the very centre of that city, a good 6 miles away from where I met her first. She wears a backpack and has glasses. Her running attire is colourful and uncoordinated. She never looks tired. Is she running to work? And who is she? Her day-to-day determination, being a runner myself (only, the lazier type) impresses me. I wish I could gather the nerve to stop and declare, just once, my secret admiration.
These are my two puzzles. And how about you? What or whom do you encounter on your morning routine?
I am not sure how to categorise this story, other than among personal ramblings which can be found in abundance here on the blog. These are some other such examples: on traditions, on grandmothers or, last but not least, on births.