MARIA'S SKY
More than any memory of Europe I still hold, is the memory of Maria.
We met Maria in Sarlot, France, in a light and pleasant rain. A tiny, slim light-olive complexioned, brown-haired woman with glasses. she had a small suitcase on wheels. an umbrella. simply dressed - composed, in black....
she came up to us in a friendly and forthright manner and asked if we were interested in seeing 'the caves'. she smiled her big smile and announced that she was Maria. She was going to 'the caves' early in the morning, she wanted to go with people who would share the cab fare. and the experience, of course. there were cave paintings that were original there! only a few people could go in daily....
we were intrigued and, suddenly, quite happy.
Maria had that way about her. she could make you feel happy, in a comfortable and good-hearted way. It was her bright, sincere eyes. but, as well, it was an intelligence about every move she made. every word she said.
How to explain an unusual woman. a one-of-a-kind person, in this difficult and complex world. Maria is such a human..
Early the next morning, very early, we were outside of our small hotel, waiting. up pulled the little cab, with a smiling Maria on board....the whole lovely, winding trip into the hills she taught us about the cave we were going to see. it history. its anthropology. all alive to her. not facts, but wonderful stories of life thousands of years ago. she was animated with excitement! clear and so articulate. we were mesmerized by the knowledge she had. and, by how wonderfully she told the story of this little Dordogne cave and the lives and art it held.
Winding up the trail to the cave, Maria managed to make immediate friends with two men from Peru. They chatted about all the trips she and they had taken in Peru. They were like old friends by the time we reached the caves. They included us in her warmth and friendship....
and, of course, the cave paintings and the cave were all as exciting and beautiful as she had described....
We walked, after, over to the little village nearby - Maria is a Walker without parallel! - to have a coffee and wait for a bus to take us back to Sarlot...or...would we like to go to see the Anthropology Museum with her....she was an anthropologist! of course, we would be delighted to! we were falling in love with this fantastic teacher and new friend!
The museum was wonderful through Maria's eyes.... every beautiful artifact and art piece were so real and special to her, that she made them all like jewels to me...I can still see some of the sweet little sculptures of horses that she admired there....we spent a long time following the line of each back...each mane, the tiny hoofs....her delight in these objects from the time of early mankind, early artists, was touching and delightful!
We parted, exchanging addresses and phone numbers and all....Maria found that we were going to go to Spain....while she could not put us up in her small apartment, as her mother was going to come to stay for awhile, she would be happy to meet us and show us her Madrid...she lived close to the Prado, where we were going to see the famous art of Madrid...
We traveled more...remembering Maria: how tiny and spunky and capable and kind she looked when we last saw her, walking briskly on the path along the river, to her next destination....
Then, Madrid!
Madrid was a very strange and exciting place...right when we arrived, there was a huge demonstration of Spanish citizens on our very street off Prado Blvd., with flags and slogan banners and posters...against pay freezes by the government....the sunset, harsh and gold. the buildings all the colors of earth. the sky an impossible blue. flowers of deep, sunset hue everywhere...the colors of Spain.....
The very next day, we would go to the Prado and then to see the Guernica...the real one! at the Regina! And, we would see Maria! even the bookstores on the Blvd were wonderful...I bought prints of Don Quixote, one of my favorite novels, and musicals!
We met Maria at the Botanical Gardens...wandered through a wonderland of early fall trees, vegetables, flowers, colors, textures, under, this day, an indigo sky...still, with few clouds....even the bonsai were perfect!
Maria was our gracious hostess in every single way...these were her gardens, her world....
She told us about her companion for life, a man she had loved very, very much...who died....now she told us that they had not been married...but that she was closer to him than any other human being...."With him," she said, "it was heaven on earth...." We sipped our coffee at a cafe with the contented silence of old friends....
So, there it is...this friendship is based on two days of actually being together...sometimes there are lifelong relationships that begin with less contact, tho.
Maria and I are Friends. We email each other about where we are in our lives all of the time. she shares stories of all of her wonderful travels with me all of the time. I help her to correctly translate her web site on her travels into personable English...because she is my friend.
I wish she lived here in California. I would talk with her a bit every day...unless she was traveling...then, I would travel with her vicariously, to all the places I'll never go....
There are especially unusual friendships in this world. This one between Maria and me, opens the whole world to me more....
this friendship makes me happy every time...
It brings me Maria's Spain.
the colors of Spain.
Her kind smiles...brighter than
the skies
of Spain....
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