..... a memory .....

Everything in this part of the world slept. In deep undisturbed slumber, and only I it seemed was awake and will remain in an awaken state receptive to the quiet peace of the wildness of this place.

A small wind rustled the tall conifers. A thick smell of pine hung in the air. A peculiar half-light came from behind the mountains giving the horizon a lilac hue. The mountains seemed blue and grey but they didn't stand clear of the sky. The hung somewhere between heaven and earth, like impersonal beings. The air was damp and chilly and the silence stared back at me.

I gradually felt myself sinking slowly, merging with the cold silence. Till a dim oil-lamp lit up the doorway, and I was escorted up the stone steps, into a polished wooden floor. The silence still somewhat unbroken, but there was warmth radiating out of the fire in the fire-place.

I remember clearly the dampness and the silence. I never grew to like the damp climate, but I will always cherish the silence that the Convent offered and the very peaceful time I spent in the Hills.

My first evening in School. In the early '60s.