Polarity – Shyam Poduval

The bitter-sweet tinge of the daylight spread through the labyrinth of Marburg’s narrow winding streets. The closely packed cobblestone buildings basked in its warmth and a wrinkled face peered out of a dilapidated sash window. Rust ran along up the pipes besides the window and the rain had left moss everywhere, growing out of every nook and cranny of the wall. Checkered nylon curtains laid rest on the old woman shoulders but she kept a straight face. European robins flew over the town singing their evensong while the chatter of the townsfolk heading back home from a long day of work filled the air. Conditions were harsh. The recession of 1920 had hit everyone in the Weimar Republic, but not equally. Inflation was on the rise and so was national debt and unemployment. Oblivious to this all, young Hans Meyer skipped down the street, whistling along to the tune of the robins.

After all what an eleven year old know about the economy. Hans’ biggest worry of the day was whether Ilse from his class would ever like him back. “It is a lover’s tragedy!” Hans exclaimed. His brown jumper was well complimented by his jet black shorts and shoes. Suddenly his attention turned towards the old lady aimlessly peering out of the window. She peered off into the distance. Hans thought to himself, “Maybe it is the run down house that is making her sad today. No worries, even luck favors the ill-fated one day”. He did stop to wonder why his house was much better than hers. He scurries off into the intertwining roads before his mother would get angry at him for being late again. On reaching home, he is greeted happily by his grandma. “How was your day, my boy? “, she asked joyfully. Before getting to bed, Hans thinks about the old woman again. “Why is she unhappy? My grandma is so happy all the time and both of them live in this same world”, he wondered. Pondering over this question, he drifted off into deep sleep. The next day, Hans couldn’t stop thinking about the old lady the whole day in school.

Once again Hans, made his journey back home. He could see the silhouette of the medieval castles in the distance and the clock tower overshadowing everything. The clouds had blocked off the sun and it was much darker today. Hans took in the sweet petrichor and his mind felt much lighter. The same familiar streets day after day made his life so much more meaningful. “Why can’t the old lady appreciate things like this”, he scoffed. The darkness masked the old lady’s face. He could not see much this time. “In times like this my grandma spend time around the bonfire with family”, he thought to himself. “Maybe she is all alone. That would make me sad too. ”, Hans justified to himself. Hans had seen that people around these parts were laborers and worked late into the night ever since the war ended. “Klaus lives around here and he never heard from his father again after the war ended.” Hans remembered. Regardless, Hans shrugged this off as a matter of coincidence saying to himself “thinking too much will only do harm”. This became a daily occurrence in the life of Hans Meyer. Every day he would walk down that familiar street and think about the old woman with the wrinkled face peering out of her run down window. He could never muster up the courage to interact with the old woman nor would he try to understand her unhappiness.

Days passed and Hans’ monotonic routine was cut short by influenza epidemic. Schools had shut down and nothing could bring more joy to Hans. “Life is merry!” he exclaimed. Hans devoted a lot of his time to reading and spending time with his family because of the sudden epidemic. His mother sternly warned him not to mingle with the common townsfolk. Hans would often think about the familiar streets of Marburg and the old lady, often reminiscing about the old days with a tinge of nostalgia. Influenza seemed to be more of a chapter in his life than anything life threatening. His father would often use his power to get any medicine readily available for Hans’ grandma and him. He missed his friends from school like Klaus but knew he would see them again eventually. “Influenza really is a pain”, he softly muttered to himself.