I am sitting on the terrace, at a large wooden table, and some aromatic juice flows down between my fingers. My hands are so brown that I almost cannot recognize them. Hands of the inhabitant of Spain. It still sounds like a fairy tale in my head. Hands of a person who just combined the ingredients of an unusual jam, for which the recipe is just indescribable. Why? Because of this special combination of flavours, shades, tones and dreams.
A real fantasy in the world where I am lucky to live in.
I love the colours of this country. Everything is so intense here, as if the sun gave energy not only to the inhabitants of Andalusia, but also to things, plants and even air. Despite the logical indications and advice of good people, I do not like to put on sunglasses because they darken my vision of the world. By the way, I left the darkness some time ago… Definitely, the joyful colours rule here, loudly shouting out their belonging to this sunny land.
The sea is shimmering in the distance, every day different and more interesting. Sometimes shiny azure, other times in a pure blue shade, and from time to time gray, reflecting the few clouds of these days that are less bright. In the background, exotic ficuses and palm trees create a green garden curtain, and multi-coloured flowers complement the available at your fingertips picture.
I so I sit here, enchanted by this beautiful world around and I enjoy peeling oranges. The fruit of my garden that soon will turn into delicious jam…
In one moment, some image of an old lady and her small market stall appears in front of the eyes of my imagination. You can buy unusual fruit every Saturday there. Unimpressive from the outside, affected by dark flaws, but delicious, aromatic, with deliciously sweet flesh in hearts. The flash of vitality in the eyes of a market lady completes their taste. And price. Or rather pricelessness.
I smile to myself widely.
And suddenly comes the dazzle!
I still hold the pen and notebook in my hand, well, I always keep them close to me. The sweet nectar makes stains on the sheets of paper, but words and sentences flow slightly and mix with the intense aroma of oranges. And this is how a unique mixture comes into life. It will always commemorate this moment.
Then I begin to ask myself a question – in what way can you add to your stories the sounds made by six-week-old cicadas, the morning twitter of birds, or the buzzing bees? They also belong to the ingredients of this solar jam, they also create a picture that will fit in an ordinary pot. How to define them?
The smile appears on my face again…
Who am I? An incurable idealist with a thousand thoughts and emotions flying in my head. These thoughts are unstructured, charming, but dispelled at all angles of imagination. With the passing time I am slowly heading towards the house of internal harmony, peace and understanding. It is so wonderful just to feel and believe in things, without any obligation to understand every single detail.
I need to trust deeply and love even intensely. To trust that all that comes to us has a deeper sense. And then, when the orange jam is ready, just to tighten the jars well to create the opportunity of opening them during the cold winter.
Magdalena Szymańska 