TE19 Iberian Adventure

Three Stories

answered by others, until they resolved themselves into recognisable fits of crying. All that unsteady breathing gathered strength, merging finally as the sobbing of a single deep-voiced being. Thatday, the residentsof thehousedidn’twait for thepower cut. There theywere on the fifth floor in the morning. They had forgotten to lower their voices and were interrupting each other. The building controller said that the borders were open, that there were no checks on those leaving the country. Half an hour later he was already taking filled suitcases to his car, not wanting to miss this opportunity. Even through all the noise, you could hear his wife crying quietly and evenly. By the next day, half the country was dashing towards the western border. The only people coming back against the flow were our parents. They were bringing us shoes with Velcro fastenings, marbled jeans, Walkmans and loads of Danube Pebbles.

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