Writing 121
10/11/12
What Makes a Place Special?
I was sitting in a train and looking outside of the window. It was six o’clock in the morning. The train was slowly going toward the main station through the sleeping city. My favorite walk through lines of chestnut trees was covered by snow. Every house was decorated for the coming New Year. A lot of small green Christmas trees with lights were at every store entrance and canopy. Garlands of lights and street lights on the dark background made the city look fabulous. Sitting there, I was pretty excited and couldn't wait to arrive.читать дальше
Every school vacation, I took the night train and came here to Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. I have loved the city because of its beauty, the Baltic Sea, and the pine forest. However, the main reason was that my cousin, Irisha, lived there. We were ten at that time, and she was not only my sister but my best friend. We had so much fun together. During the vacations we were playing with dolls, painting, walking a lot, and in the summer time, we went to the sea. Tallinn became a place of meeting and gladness and the city of our childhood. Hardly anybody knows about the old beautiful town on the Baltic Sea, while for us the place is still like Paris for most people. It’s our place. It’s our city.
We met together every New Year. Not being afraid of the frost, we spent a lot of time outside; moreover, we loved the bracing chill in the air. A long walk flushed our cheeks. Our mittens and pants got wet because of playing in the snow. When we got home, we couldn't feel our legs due to weariness. While we were taking off our wet clothes, in the warm air our cold fingers were aching. Then we put on soft dry pajamas and spread our wet clothes on heaters to dry them. In winter time, nightfall comes earlier, so it was dark outside. Lights on the Christmas tree were turned on. The smell of green fir-needle was so lovely. Irisha’s mom cooked something. There were many quiet, but never boring, evenings ahead, and all of these made us happy.
Being independent, we could wander wherever we wanted. Our favorite place has been the heart of the city called Old Tallinn. The modern city had spread around, but here time would stop. Century-old towers and old houses with red-tiled roofs along the pebble pavements made the center of the town similar to a fairy tale. The most wonderful thing here is that the old town isn't just like a museum. This architectural heritage has still been kept alive and functions like a regular city. Every building is occupied by stores, hotels, offices, cafes or usual residential apartments. On Town Hall Square, there was a decorated tall Christmas tree. The white snow covered the pebble pavement. I still see the picture: turning away the darkness, lights were everywhere. Choral singing was heard from somewhere. It was a beautiful national Estonian song. On both sides of the entrances, placed directly on the earth, there were burning candles. Small cafes, full of fresh amazing pastries, irresistibly tempted passers-by to enter. Oh, how I love a pastry with a cup of hot coffee while sitting at a small bar table and looking outside at the street. The music, lights, and snow created a unique atmosphere of celebration.
When we were twenty, my cousin was gone from Tallinn, so I stopped visiting the city. There was no reason to come anymore. She moved to the USA; I still lived in Russia, and we didn’t see each other for a long time until ten years later when Irisha came to Tallinn for a vacation. Then I also took some days off and went to Estonia to meet her there. It was the middle of July. Like ten years ago, my train arrived at the main station. When I got out of the train, I noticed Irisha waiting for me on the platform. It was so stirring and worrying to see each other after a gap of ten years when we both had become adults. Meanwhile, our meeting was pretty quiet. We both are very shy and couldn't show our emotions, keeping them inside, but our hearts were full of exultation.
Now we desired to visit all our favorite places from childhood. Certainly, we went to Old Tallinn and the house where Irisha used to live and we spent so much time wandering around. Also, in the summer time, we usually went to the Baltic Sea, even if the water was almost always cold. The sea is special to us. We loved being there. One summer, our parents sent us to a retreat on the small island of Aegna. The retreat was unusual because we lived there alone, like adults. It was a two-floor wood house, similar to an old hotel, where we occupied one of the ten rooms. To eat, we went to a separate small building. We visited the island’s library, played, and walked a lot in the forest. Because it was an island, it was impossible to get lost, so it was very interesting to go astray and then to find a way home. Every day we went to the coast. We couldn’t swim due to cool water, but we loved to watch the waves, marvel at might of the sea and gaze into its endless expanse. The time is embedded in our memory, evoking very warm feeling.
So, for the last day of my visit, we went to Aegna in order to find this camp that was located in the middle of the island in its pine forest. A straight wide path led through tall, perhaps century-old trees to this camp. When we entered in the woods, we were so glad to smell the same aroma of fir-needles and blueberries. In the blue height of the sky, the wind was swaying the treetops, making noise which has always reminded me the sound of the sea. Solar beams went through the branches, reaching every corner of the forest. When we came to the camp, we could barely recognize it. The buildings were almost completely destroyed. Obviously, for many years nobody had lived there. Being regretful, we went to the coast, found a convenient place, and sat on a log. It was so peaceful to watch waves indefatigably running on the beach one by one, one by one. On the horizon line, there was a white sail. The wind was quiet, and the sky was clear. Everything was simply perfect. The sea, its noise and smell, was very dear, familiar and felt like home. Why does the freedom of its nature always draw us toward it?.. I looked at Irisha. She was sitting, inclining under a large wood stub. She was counting its annual rings, slowly skimming her finger on its scratchy surface. How old was the tree before it was cut down? She raised her eyes at me. “Bid farewell?” she said. “Farewell,” my answer was sorrowful and quiet. A few hours later I took my train to Moscow, and the next day Irisha flew to her home. It was my last time visiting Tallinn.
We always carefully cherish the memory of the city and dream of going there again. What makes the place special? Tallinn became the city of our childhood. It is like our secret place because nobody knows that it is hidden in our hearts and what it means for us. However, I don’t want to go there alone. I simply cannot be there alone, without sharing everything from the experience being there: feeling, smelling, every recollection, and every small detail. I need to share all of them but not with anybody. Only Irisha can understand all the emotions which arise at the place since our emotions are the same, since we abided here together. The place is special but not because of its beauty and uniqueness. A special person makes a place special.