Many of them were very happy to tell their life stories; interesting, joyful, even less joyful. How they used to live, how they used to celebrate Christmas, Easter, Carnival... Their favourite memories were of making nativity scenes. By themselves. From paper, wool, clay or wood. They told stories about what their mother cooked, what kind of cakes she made when she had no flour or nuts. But whatever the cake was, they were very happy as children. Even after so many years, they still remembered that piece of cake with gratitude.
Of all the stories, the one about the carnival got the most laughs. Especially the one about the son and father who, without knowing it, dressed up as each other; one as a handsome young woman, the other as a big boy. They saw each other in the hall, danced together and then danced together all night. At midnight, when they had to take off their masks, then ... Yes, then they flirted and ...
"They were both single and each of them wanted one fletne women," said Lojze, recalling these memories.
"You were really clever," I had to admit and laugh with them.
Then came the viruses and flues, and Darinka no longer dared to go into the home.
"I would never forgive myself if I gave someone an infection that made them very ill," she said.
But she missed the people there; their cheerfulness, the joy of being with them and their stories of life in a time when everything was different.
Then, up there on the mountain where Darinka has her holiday home, the hollies bloomed. Every year, shortly after the New Year, she would pick a bouquet and bring it to the children. That year, she didn't dare. It saddened her, but she soon thought of a way to surprise and delight them. She picked a big bunch, divided it into bouquets, put them in jars and called the head sister. She asked if she could take the bouquets to everyone in her group. She left them in the reception area and waited until the situation with the viroses had subsided.
When she visited home after a long time, she was greeted by such happy eyes and smiling faces that she was moved to tears. Mrs Jolanda, who was bedridden and wheelchair-bound due to serious health problems, took her to her room and showed her the flowers that had already completely wilted.
"You cannot imagine how happy you have made us with these bouquets. You have given us a piece of nature, one that has become inaccessible to us. You have brought us flowers, sunshine and the love you feel for us. Thank you," she said.
They were all of the same mind, and in Darinka's head came the words she wrote to her friends on New Year's Eve: "You have to be happy to make someone happy. You have to make someone happy to stay happy."
Darinka Kobal, 10.3.2025
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