Anna

It's been a year since I saw Anna alive for the last time. I visited her twice last October. She looked so thin, so fragile and at the same time so beautiful. No wrinkles! (yes! the illness magically wiped out the wrinkles from her face.) On my first visit she was wearing a light olive kashmir sweater, olive cargo pants and a scarf on her bald head. Elegant as ever. I did not stay long then, as she was expecting some other friend. On my second visit though I stayed the whole day. We exchanged presents: I gave her pijamas, small woolen hats and a calendar for 2010, she gave me her newest translations. In the afternoon Paweł and Kuba came from school, and the three of them had soup cooked by a helpful neighbor. Anna was afraid she would not be able to retain it, and in fact, as soon as she finished eating she rushed to the bathroom, but few minutes later she came back smiling and triumphant. "I've kept it!" This evening meant to be happy. We all were seating around the table next to her bed, the boys were telling us funny stories from their schools, Anna was talking about Piotr's planned Christmas visit, and how she would not let him smoke inside. She was her old self. We laughed a lot, and I kept thinking „Verweile doch, du bist so schön…“  If only we could stop time. If only.  Anna died on November 17, 2009.