Ein Sonnenstrahl hatte sich durch den Hinterhof ins Stiegenhaus geschlichen. Die alte Frau bog gerade um die gewundene Treppe und ich lief ein paar Stufen hinunter, um ihr den schweren Korb abzunehmen. Warum tue ich das, fragte eine leise Stimme in mir. Mein Herz klopfte aufgeregt. Etwas zog mich in ihren Bann. Wieder trafen sich unsere Blicke, sie gab mir den Korb und wir erstiegen die wenigen Stufen bis zu unseren Wohnungen gemeinsam. Dort angekommen, gab ich ihr den Korb zurück. „Nana“ Was meinte sie? „So heiße ich.“ Sie griff nach einem roten Apfel und reichte ihn mir. Ihre Stimme klang etwas rau, war tief, aber trotzdem auch weich. Wieder war es ihr gelungen, mich zu überraschen. Mich in ihren Bann zu ziehen. „Sarina“ Ich räusperte mich. „Wenn Sie etwas brauchen. Sie dürfen gerne klingeln.“ Sie schwieg und musterte mich weiter in aller Gelassenheit. On April 1st, a short, elderly woman moved into the apartment next door . At first, I thought it was an April Fool's joke. I had been promised a young Italian man, attractive, charming, and full of life. And now this. I looked out of the window and watched her watching the removal van. She stood there motionless for a moment, then turned and looked up, directly at my window. Startled, I took a step back, but immediately stepped forward again and hesitantly raised my hand in a small wave. She didn't move a muscle, her dark eyebrows were drawn together, and she stared at me critically. Then she bent down, picked up the large basket standing next to her on the sidewalk, filled to the brim with red apples, and, slightly bent over, made her way into the house. From above, I looked at her sternly drawn gray parting and the gray hair tied together at the nape of her neck. "A witch!" I thought, startled, and listened to the slow footsteps coming from the staircase. The old wood creaked audibly. As if magically drawn, I moved through the hallway to the apartment door. Hesitantly, I pressed down the handle, opened the door, and looked into the stairwell. A ray of sunlight had crept through the backyard into the stairwell. The old woman was just turning the corner of the winding staircase, and I ran down a few steps to take the heavy basket from her. Why am I doing this, a quiet voice inside me asked. My heart was pounding with excitement. Something drew me to her. Our eyes met again, she gave me the basket, and we climbed the few steps to our apartments together.
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