The most beautiful Day (Translation of the original story written in low German in to English)
It
was on a Saturday at lunchtime with nice summer weather, no clouds in
the heavens and so warm, that even a shirt was too much. But I was
not as happy as I should be according to the nice weather. Everything
went wrong, nothing went as it should go. I set outside in our garden
on a bench reading the newspaper backward and forward several times.
“This is really not my day”, I just thought, as my friend Gerd
came with his bicycle around the corner. “How are you”, he said,
“what on earth are you so sad about sitting around with hanging
wings?” I did not say anything. Should we not better do something
nice because of that nice weather? What about driving towards the
North Sea? There is always something to be seen”. “In Norddeich
is low tide at the moment I have just read in the newspaper”, I
answered crabbily. “That doesn't matter, even
then we could go in
the ooze around, maybe we will find some nice girls there”, he said
to cheer me a little bit. “OK”, I said“, still afflicted, “I
will go with you, I think there will be among those thousands of
gulls also some nice pretty girls walking around.”
As we
arranged our bikes on top of the dike in Norddeich, I felt already
much better. My friend
Gerd with his friendly kind of character and
his fresh attitude found the right words to help me out of the hole.
He
was already quite far away in the tidelands while I was much slower
that day, I could not stop thinking about all my problems.
When
I finished changing my clothes and swaddling them into my towel and
just wanted to follow him, came two girls down from the top of the
dike. “Before you go away, I have a question”, said the nicest of
them. “OK then go ahead”, I said. She was blond and her long hear
was at the back of her head mounted in a knot and even then it was
still about twenty inches hanging down between her beautiful brown
shoulders. “My goodness”, I thought, “is that girl beautiful!”.
“Do you know something about that place here?”, she asked, “I
think yes. I mean, up to now I knew”, I said most roguish, “but
since I have seen you, I forgot everything”. But that did not bring
her out of her path and she said: “Is this place here right to go
into the tidelands I mean is the ground here not to soft, that you
sink to deep into the slobber”.
“No,
no”, I said, “here is the best place to get most riskless into
the tidelands. Only the first part is a little bit soft, but then is
it almost as walking on sand. As you see my friend Gerd out there,
already there it is marvellous”, I said eagerly.
“OK,
that sounds quite good”, she said, “but I didn't introduce
myself: I am Anne and that is my sister Lisa. We come from Osteel and
are not very often here at the coast.
My
name is Hans”, I said, and my friend Gerd and I myself are from
Norden and we like to walk during the summer in the tidelands that's
why we know quite well the best tracts. Place your bicycles there on
top of the dike because then you are able to watch them from far away
and you can see if someone is fumbling there around”.
Then
we went together slowly towards my friend Gerd. And sometimes, if the
mud got softer, then Anne reached even for my hand
but unfortunately
she left my hand immediately when she got aware of it. I liked to
feel her little hand in mine and I was
disappointed, when the ground
got more and more solid because then it was not any more necessary to
take care of her.
After
a while we reached Gerd. But after making-known each other I could
not stop Gerd saying: “Didn't I tell you before, …” But then I
was able to interrupt him by saying: “But here are almost no
gulls!” Just in order to stop him with his stupid talking. Because
he was on a best way of destroying my new and tender connection. But
he understood immediately, slapped me on my shoulder and walked
together with Lisa happily ahead. So was I with Anne for a longer
time alone and I was very happy about that.
“My
friend Gerd is a good fellow”, I thought, “ I can trust him very
much”. But then in the distance I found out, that he together with
Lisa was also on a good way to a close friendship and that he had not
gone out of his way to do me a favour.
Anne
and I had much to talk about and we were very happy and had a lot of
fun together. So I almost didn't know where we went along until we
reached a large tidal creek. The water still run northwards but not
any more quick. It was good for us to cool a little bit down. My
backside was already painfully burned in the sun. We where also able
to hear Lisa and Gerd in a distance to whoop with joy when they were
swashing in the tidal creek. The water was deep enough and the
suction not any more dangerous. Anne told me that she didn't learn
how to swim perfectly up today, so I was able to teach her that
everyone is able to swim in saltwater without going under if he is
not afraid and she need not to be afraid as long as I kept my arm
under her backside to give her safeness. Because of this swim studies
in that nice warm water Anne and me got somewhat closer together and
I was able to have a look into her beautiful blue eyes and all over
sudden I heard myself saying: “Anne I love you very much!” And I
was astonished about my own courage. But I think also Anne got short
on breath when I took her into my arms. “Also I feel the same as
you”. She said cautiously and I think I saw a little bit of a red
colour in her face. “Already when I saw you coming down from the
dike with your affectionately but also melancholy eyes you had me
full in your hands”. As I heard these affectionate words I had a
warm hearted feeling.
Gerd
and I gave them accompany on there way home to Osteel with our
bicycles because we wanted to see where they are living. Just
opposite from the schoolhouse was it where we told, because her
father was a teacher there. On the way back say Gerd with a deep
sigh: “Who would have thought at lunchtime that the world would
have turned so much alright in the evening”. Right was he!
When
we were at home again it looked like as if my mother immediately got
how much things where changed (As mothers so often do!) “Hello my
boy”, she said, “is that the pretty girl you where waiting for
after Gisela had harmed you so much?” “Yes”, I said, “that
seems like it”. And then I had to tell her: “My dear mother, that
was the most beautiful Day in all my life and I think it shall be
forever, I believe it can never be better!”
My
mother got after all moist eyes and I belief I saw glimpsing a light
up in her face when she turned around and went into the kitchen. At
that time I had no idea what was going on in mothers head. But she
thought: “Wasn't it a good idea to call Gerd at lunchtime?”
(That
she told me much later, when Anne and I where already a long time
happy together.)