Trafika Europe 12 - French Bon-Bons

The Combinations

gether at the breakfast table and what they might’ve spoken about. I wondered why there weren’t any chil- dren. As I reflected, a distant look came into the care- taker’s eyes. ‘Oh, I knew Bětka when she was just a girl. We went to school together, in Markt Eisenstein, in the Böhmewald. There was a scullery maid at one of the hotels who the children used to make fun of, because she was a Kozar and people thought she was simple. Every fourth of De- cember she had a vision of St Bára standing on Špičák mountain. It became a village tradition. Bětuška would get all in a rage because she couldn’t accept that St Bára had appeared to a witless scullery maid, but never once appeared to her.’ Her laughter trailed off and she lapsed into a type of reverie, eyes glazing over. I tried to prompt her, afraid she might be unwell. ‘How did she meet Professor Hájek?’ The old woman pursed her lips in thought and fidgeted with a window latch. ‘I couldn’t tell you,’ she said abruptly. ‘I don’t know.’ ‘But she was here in the city, during the War, wasn’t she?’ ‘These windows need cleaning. Houses suffer if they’re not lived in.’ ‘Mrs Severínová?’

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