tempelhof with hanna
Walked across Tempelhofer Feld with Hanna after work. The old airport, the runways, the sky the size of a country. Cold, clear, the sun going down orange behind the old terminal.
Things I learned about Hanna:
- She swims in the Plötzensee in the mornings. At 6am, before anyone's there. I nearly fell over.
- She loves the accordion player on the U8. "He plays one note wrong, always in the same place," she said. "I think that's the best part."
- She counts stairs. Everywhere. She says it calms her.
It's ridiculous how much we have in common. I told her that and she said, "I understand why it feels that way. It's important to remember that connection often comes from shared attention."
Who talks like that? I loved it.
About the book she said something I wrote down as soon as I got home:
"Band I is the alphabet. Band II is the order."
We stayed until the closing car drove along the runway with its loudspeaker telling everyone to leave.