First of June. Summer is officially here…
…and I am in Athens. Just for a while, but long enough to feel the rhythm of a city that is trying hard to keep the spirits up and gracefully manage the feeling of uncertainty that seems to be everywhere these days. Everything feels different, yet looks familiar; in the open markets you can smell the cherries and the fresh apricots. People wear light colorful clothes and they stay up late. If you take a night walk in the city, you can’t help overhearing people’s conversations as they have dinner or watch a movie out on their balconies. Children are waiting to splash each other with water balloons, just as they love doing on their last day of school.
I miss the childlike longing for the summer. The confidence that it will deliver a great adventure! The pure joy of eating ice-cream. The thrill of the first dip in the sea and the satisfaction of making a really big sandcastle… It is only this season that can give such promise of freedom.
Summer brings back poetic memories of a happy childhood.
At last, as H.D. Thoreau said, one must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter.
words: maria alipranti
photos: christos drazos