August 2, 1914: Germany has declared war on Russia; I went swimming in the afternoon (from the diary of Franz Kafka)
I WAS SUPPOSED to visit my grandma around 2PM on a Saturday (I recall it was 2014; I was still in high school at that time) but I ended up arriving at least an hour late. She wasn’t angry but seemed a little bit unsettled, disappointed. She was waiting for me outside, pretending to garden, watering the flowers in vain; it was early spring and we’d already had plenty of rain.
She couldn’t have cared less that I was late. Her eyes, as always, were lit up with joy and such sincere love to the extent that it was impossible to detect any camouflaged dismay because of my remiss behavior. Note that I’m not German, I’m from Romania, and here being late every now and then doesn’t call for crucifixion. Something more serious was troubling her though.