“Whenever I’m in a foreign country, I ask myself if I’d be happier there. When I walk down a street and see people standing on a corner, talking and laughing, I imagine that if I lived there, I might stand happily on that corner, talking and laughing. When I walk past an outdoor café and a man walks up to a woman seated at the table, and they greet each other warmly, I think, here I would meet a woman once more who would be happy to see me, as I would be happy to see her. and when the evening lights in the windows go on! Every window promises freedom and safety, freedom from the old life, and safety in a new one. Now, even the simple act of reading awoke a yearning for a different life, in a different world.”
Bernhard Schlink, The Woman on the Stairs
Photo: A. Brownstein, Złoty Stok, Poland
