Don’t send anything else.
“We didn’t need that. From now on, we will send everything back unopened.”
Anna reads this line several times and stumbles over the missing “u” in the hastily written email. She circles the now unoccupied rooms.
Anna hesitates at one of the many portraits hanging on the light blue wall of the room. She reaches for the picture of her son and puts it in the box with the others.
She hangs up other pictures: The Dalmatian, the tiger and two photos from her own childhood. Back then, when she didn’t wear glasses. She must have been about four years old. Fine hair falls curly over her shoulders. Another picture shows her together with her older siblings. Three children are standing in the sand without shoes, wearing shorts. The sea in the background.
Anna now turns to the windowsill. She takes the cacti out of the yellow planters and places them in the red ones. They have grown noticeably since they left.
Anna pours. Imagines what her son looks like. How his voice sounds. Is his voice already breaking? And what do they have to deal with?
Anna carries books down to the cellar. School books, youth books, Fear Street books, Greg’s diaries, Harry Potter books.
Anna sits down on the basement floor and looks at the colorful wall. She can still remember how she ordered the spray cans. In the graffiti madness of their children.
The lightning-blue shark takes up half the length of a wall. On the other side is the formula E = mc2. Red and yellow hearts: green, yellow, blue and black paw prints are scattered in between. The black knife dripping blood even has a silver-colored blade.
Anna puts the books in the box. Should she lose it then?
A parcel that is not accepted by the recipient must be returned. The sender will be charged for this return shipment. About 20 euros.
