For quite some time now I have been travelling by train. I let myself be spellbound by its magic. From time to time, I got my nose out of the book I was reading and contemplated the scenery passing by in front of the window. Lately, it has been hard not to give in to nostalgia. The trees are to blame. Actually, the green leaves of the trees. Wet with rain and wind-beaten. They made me remember a trip from my elementary school. My first school trip. I was so thrilled to be going on a trip! I had lunch, wrapped in a special box. In those days that seemed rather big since only adults carried around lunch boxes. Every evening I used to watch my father preparing his lunch box and I took it as a great honor to be sharing the same experience with him, even though I was not yet an adult.
The night before the trip was like a train going through a tunnel. One could not wait to go out into the light. In the morning, when I opened my eyes - disappointment. It had rained. I hurried to school even though my mother told me that the trip might be off. In the schoolyard, my colleagues were facing the same worries. The teacher came. She told us to get into the classroom. She explained to us that due to the weather we could not go on that trip. But we would have a picnic together and go home early. Therefore, my first picnic took place in a classroom. As glad as we were to be getting home early, we were disappointed. Still, this could have turned into something worse - a regular schoolday.
But the thing I remember the most is the sight of wet leaves across the window. Not long afterwards I had my picnic outdoors. But even better, I was repaid for that lost trip - with a lot of trips.
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