A Memorable Evening in Tyrol

“In the cherry blossom's shade there's no such thing as a stranger.” ― Kobayashi Issa

The recent bomb blast at a Concert in Manchester has been ostracized by everyone in the world. The news spoke about the loss of eight year old Saffie Rose Roussos, who never had a clue that the event would be the last one in her life. The news said that the little girl was beautiful in every aspect of the word and was loved by everyone for the warmth and gentleness. She had an imaginative panache, and was soft and unpretentious. Saffie’s picture and her qualities shoved my thoughts to Isabelle in the small village in Tyrol. The locale could be compared to a paradise owing to its greenery, cleanliness, with majestic snow capped peaks of Alps overlooking the valley far and wide. The place was interspersed with fields and beautiful cottages which were tastefully decorated with tulips, tables with fresh flowers, tiny handcrafted carts filled with flowering plants and heaps of wood chopped and stacked neatly in a calculated manner.

We had reached the village in Tyrol at six in the evening and had plenty of time before dinner. The sun sets here at ten in the night; at times the dark sky is visible after eleven in the night. At six in the evening the place was sunny with a cold wind blowing from the fields glazing a breathtaking view of the Dijon mustard fields, and many other beautiful plants.

I met Isabelle, Elizabeth and Annabelle on the way to the shopping mall SPAR, which was situated on the highway in Tyrol. SPAR has a large cottage on the opposite side, a bus stop to its right close to a Cathedral and a beautiful open turf spaced with trees and benches for visitors like us on the opposite side. Isabelle and Annabelle cycled dangerously fast on their bicycles while little Elizabeth ran hither thither. Annabelle was nine years old while Isabelle was eight and little Elizabeth just six. They were tall, and well built pretty girls. We suddenly felt an urge to ride rented bicycles, we kept asking them about it, but they did not understand us. We kept speaking in English while Isabelle spoke in German. She understood a few words like name, come on, but quickly called Annabelle who spoke a few other words.  When we did not understand them, and they could not understand us, we waved our hands saying goodbye.

Suddenly the sisters jumped with joy as if they knew what they needed to do with us. They called us saying ‘come come’ and showed us a house. 

We felt we were being invited and that we could drop them home on the way back to our hotel. As we walked, the trio kept cycling, turning back and yelling ‘come on’.  We were led to an open space between a few cottages where we found Isabelle dangling from the wall of a stable; we saw brown German breeds of horses in the stable. She introduced us to the horses calling out their names. Elizabeth ran hither, thither with fodder in her tiny palms, we watched in dismay as we saw four horses run into the stable, but the girl remained unperturbed. Next to the stable, there lay a piece of land which was fenced for the Billy goats and the Alpine French goats which stood on stumps of wood, making us fear that they could jump out of the secure place, but they did nothing of the sort. The girls wanted us to feed the goats, horses, jump in and play. We began rushing homewards, they pleaded saying “please come in” and took us through a wooden tunnel bound by steps carved like the entrance of the Swarovski Crystal World, and asked us climb up the tree house. 

They hung in the dark spot willing to pull us; we had to tell them we were large and could never squeeze ourselves through the secret space. That evening we sat on a swing, which had a  vehicle tyre as a seat. We could thankfully swing while they climbed the stretched rope lattice similar to rock climbing. The girls were agile, and active, but wanted us to be their playmates. They escorted us to a large wooden seesaw. As soon as we began swaying we saw little Elizabeth stand like the Batman and sway on the central lever.

The play area was constructed, thoughtfully with the large logs of wood in the picturesque place. We felt weary after a couple of hours, and asked them ‘where could we get some water to drink’? Here, water is more expensive than beer or any other drink. Isabella took us to a spot where water flowed from a spout. Water flowed continuously in a rectangular wooden planter, but not a dropped spilled out. It must have been connected to a rivulet that flowed through the pastures in the village. She smiled as we tried asking her whether it was potable. She slid her mouth under the spout and took a mouthful to demonstrate her accountability.

The trio taught us cycling, telling us to tie our clothes which were overflowing due to the cold wind. As it neared eight we walked back to our Hotel for dinner.  

Hotel Tyrol is a huge mansion that has been converted into a hotel with majestic rooms; each room has been tastefully furnished with glass doors and wooden carvings that open into the pompous view of the valley, and the village.  The dining area has large transparent windows with an exotic view of the village. As we ate the hot sumptuous dinner we watched two tiny figures searching for us in the garden. Annabelle and Isabelle were looking out for us. A surge of fear flowed within us as we had made the trio vulnerable to tourists by being friendly. We now feared their safety. Though our heart flipped beats for these beautiful human beings, we stood and watched them go back disheartened.  Saffie must have been as beautiful as Isabelle in touching the lives of many in trying to make the world a happy place. No tribute can confer comfort to this beastly act.

“Whenever you go on a trip to visit foreign lands or distant places, remember that they are all someone's home and backyard.” ― Vera Nazarian,