Such a meeting • Years passed, many years • A short story

A goodnight kiss to a beautiful girl who is not yet seventeen and less than a dozen years after this kiss and the birth of two children she will no longer be among the living.

About twenty minutes, even more, before the appointed time, I had already left the house. I had to go out the door, cross the road and walk about nine seconds and I arrived at the meeting point. I had plenty of time to walk and smoke a cigarette leisurely. I walked with my head tilted in the direction of the wind in order to preserve my hairstyle intact. The exit from our building goes through some stupid gusty wind tunnel that ruins hairstyles that have been designed for many hours. A well-known tunnel on Herzl Street in Haifa, at the end. At most hours of the day, the walkway could serve as a wind tunnel for long-range missile engineers. There is no other way to get there, and not one meeting has been ruined because of a ruined, inappropriate hairstyle.

I had put out my cigarette a long time ago. The appointed time had already arrived and my partner was gone, parked for the meeting. I walked two steps to the right and two to the left, not far from the stop. Several buses had already stopped for me, their doors were wide open, and the driver was waiting for me to board.

Maybe it's common for couples to be late on a first date, so I decide to wait a little longer. It's already eight thirty. I realized that the matter is lost and I have to hurry up, so that I can at least meet my friends and fit in with the evening's program. Let's say Hannah is an hour late and finds me standing around waiting. Someone will look unwell and it's probably me. I ran across the street. A taxi hailed me and within minutes I was in the center.

Armon Cinema in Haifa. The small screen has not yet taken up any good part of our lives and restaurants are intended only for those who do not have food at home and are hungry, and not as entertainment. The best of the young people of Salonika meet in this area and there is a lot of hustle and bustle. A few rounds in the area will bring you together with everyone you could ever want to meet. In the early evening, everyone who is healthy and can stand on their feet wanders around the area. Except for the elderly, of course. I arrived at the meeting place of the guys angry and disappointed. Hanna agreed to meet with me perhaps too easily, maybe she was setting me up.

Someone comes up to me and says that he met Hanna who is upset and doesn't want to see me anymore. He points to the other side of the road and I do notice her standing and talking to a friend. I decide not to approach, because I'm angry too. Still overwhelmed and hesitant, Hanna notices me and waves her hand in greeting. A cute and inviting wave with no sign of anger or resentment. I didn't need more than that. I get out onto the road to cross while maneuvering between the many cars that are slowly pulling away and absorbing curses from angry drivers. An impassable road at this time of year in the early sixties. There's no thought of the possibility of getting hurt. A body in such high spirits can't be run over.

I reached her, panting heavily, not from running on the road but because of the excitement. Hanna didn't wait long and launched a full-scale attack, her face close to mine to overcome the noise of the road. Even in her anger, her beautiful face remained calm and soothing. "How could you let me stand alone on the side of the road for about half an hour and finally
"Wouldn't you also be kind enough to come?" In all strategy books it is indeed recommended to anyone who desires good defense, to go out
For a heavy attack. Hannah had just taken one of these important steps and indeed showed good sense in strategy, but she did not know that in front of her stood a great inventor in the field and a strategist no less good than her.

A brief inquiry cleared up the mystery for both of us. We both waited at the appointed time near the Herzl Street stop of line 42. Neither of us was late, there was just one small difference. I was waiting at the stop for the bus coming from downtown and Hannah was waiting at the same stop in the opposite direction. The distance that separated us was a few steps around the corner. The curve of the road obscures the field of view between the two stops. My acquaintance with the most beautiful woman was halted by a few steps from a hidden corner. It is difficult to grasp and draw a conclusion from any given fact, even if it is clear and you do not decipher any other possibility. The desire for her caused the hasty conclusion to be disregarded. What happens if there is no desire? Fates are often decided based on mistakes. Instead of investing thought and arriving at this possibility, I was preoccupied with my hairstyle and the wind that spreads the front curl.

The anger issue became an amusing curiosity and we decided that we would try to continue our acquaintance on the right foot. According to the original plan, we were supposed to go to the movie. A taxi, a few minutes away and we were at the Ron Cinema. The diary had already begun when we entered and the few minutes remaining until the movie started we used for a quiet conversation with my body leaning towards her in order to hear her whispers and voice mine. The touch of her shoulder to mine was pleasant to me and the movie became a very marginal thing. In the way we are sitting with our shoulders close together, I can see about half of the big screen. The lady in front of me sits upright and her curly hairdo covers most of the screen area. The year is 1961. A lady without a hairdo, a tower on her head, did not dare to show her face in public. I do not remember the beginning of the movie, nor the rest of it, and I do not remember the end. I only remember that we were at the movie. I was a teenager and I have also grown up and I do not remember that the touch of a shoulder to shoulder could cause such great pleasure.

Intermission. We went out to the cafeteria, joking, laughing, and happy. The popsicle I bought her crashed to the floor when she tried to put it in her mouth for the first bite. I went back to stand in line and bought the same type of popsicle again in the place spread on the floor. Hannah accompanies the crash with her rolling laughter and calms down with the arrival of the new popsicle. The bell that returns the audience to its place at the end of the intermission interrupted us and we returned to the hall.

I knew the film was over when the entire audience stood up, which is usually a sure sign. We walked towards her house. I told her about my intention to leave the country in the near future to continue my music studies. The German Broadcasting Authority is looking for highly paid sheet music readers. I tried to direct my studies there. No.
I imagined how much this meeting would change my plans and my life.

While we were talking, we had already crossed the Rushamiya Bridge. Turn right onto a steep climb to Al-Kanasa Street. At the end of the climb, it turns into a dirt road and here we stop. Hanna asked to continue alone. I looked around and looked for a point of light. The right side of the road is a cliff abyss of several dozen meters, a place called Wadi Rushamiya. The left side is a mountain range with high cliffs and gaping caves. In between all this idyll, a dirt road passes and I have no idea where it leads. Hanna reassured me that home is close and that I should take my worries away. She is already used to this road and invited me to visit her at her house on Saturday morning.

When I asked for a specific address, she explained that the walking route was along a dirt path until I would eventually reach a large, lonely farm where she lives. I was about to say goodbye when Hannah offered a goodnight kiss. We hugged and kissed. Just a kiss. What's the equivalent of a kiss like that? I walked home feeling seriously on top of the world. I wanted to, but I couldn't, sing Gene Kelly's "Song I'll Sing in the Rain" because, first, it wasn't raining and, second, I'm not a singer, and I don't even know the exact words. The pounding of my heart and the excitement, the elation. Any other thing that should be
To occupy my mind, dwarf.

"When the hell is the next meeting?"