So this is Chapter 3. Enjoy it!
Chapter 3
The following day Maria woke up way before daybreak. The excitement kept her restless. Unable to get back to sleep she put on her robe and decided to watch the sunrise on the terrace.
A few hours later the house was alive with the sounds of good cheer and excitement. Enjoying their breakfast on the terrace Maria turned to her granddaughters.
"What about if the three of us went out for a picnic tomorrow? You choose the place." Maria said. The two girls' face lit up with joy.
"Wow, that sounds good, grandmother. There is a nice lake in a beautiful nature setting not too far from here." Hedwig exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"No, I know a better place grandmother. There is a nice and quiet spot in the woods near here. " Erica corrected her sister.
"Alright, alright girls. We'll see okay? I'm sure we'll have fun no matter where we go." Maria said with a smile while taking one more sip from her coffee.
Christine, who after noticing the clock realised that it was time to leave, interrupted the happy chatting. Maria jumped up from her seat and excitedly followed her daughter to the car. Christine couldn't help but notice the happy excitement spread all over her mother's face. Maria sat in complete silence trying to arrange her thoughts and also to prepare herself for encountering her past. Christine's mind was also filled with a lot of questions, but she didn't want to invade her mother's privacy. Her mother was a remarkable woman she was very much aware of this, but still there was a side of this woman that was unknown for her.
Exactly at 11 a.m. the two women arrived at the former von Trapp villa. Maria was starring at the heavy iron gate with full astonishment and with tears in her eyes. Slowly she opened it and the two of them entered the property. Feeling an urge inside her Maria quickened her steps to reach the front door. Her heart was pounding in her throat when the door was being opened and they were greeted friendly and invited to go inside. For a moment she closed her eyes in fear what the sight of the house was going to be. With a slight reserve she opened them and for a long moment she was gasping for breath. There she stood in the foyer of their old home. A few young students were occupying the room, sitting, chatting or reading at the scattered tables. Christine was unable to contain her tears either. The two of them just stood there in silence until the manager of the faculty unit approached them.
"Baroness von Trapp? We have been expecting you. My name is Helmut Schneider. I'm the one who tries to keep this place under control." He said with a smile and shook Maria's hand.
"Thank you for receiving us, Herr Schneider. This is my daughter Christine." She motioned towards her daughter.
"It's our privilege to have you here ladies. We have heard so many stories about the famous von Trapp family." His statement brought more tears to Maria's eyes. "Please feel free to walk around the property and the gardens."
"Thank you for your kindness again, we are really grateful. You have no idea how much it means for us." Maria said.
The gentleman softly bowed his head to the ladies and returned to his duties.
"Now what about a tour around the house with the two of us?" Maria said in invitation to her daughter.
"That sounds rather tempting mother." Christine answered and the two of them started their journey to the past.
Standing in the foyer Maria was overwhelmed by her emotions. Doing her very best she arranged her thoughts.
"So, this is the place... where I first met your brothers and sisters..... and behind that double door there was a beautifully decorated ball room. I wasn't supposed to enter it, but I did and that was the place I first met your father. He caught me while I was bowing and curtsying inside." Maria laughed and Christine joined her in the laughter.
"Did he get angry with you?" She asked.
"Oh, yes.... But you know that door looks very tempting even now. Wish I could take a look at the inside." She gave a mischievous smile.
"Mother, there is a lecture going on in there... we mustn't disturb them as tempting as it sounds." Christine gave a worried look.
"Okay, you are right. Besides your father would be happy to see that I have picked up some discipline." Their smiles became even broader. "Then you see, behind that door we used to have a living room and attached to that there was a big dinning room." Maria went on.
"Oh, the dining room? Where my dear brothers and sisters put that pine cone on your chair." Christine laughed.
"How did you know about the pine cone????" Maria asked in suprize.
"Oh, I have heard all about the pranks they played on their poor governesses." Christine laughed.
After surveying the foyer one more time the two women headed the garden. The view of the well-maintained backyard left both of them breathless. The sunshine was giving a magical glow to the surface of the lake and the green leaves were shining bright on the beautiful summer afternoon. Slowly they started walking towards the lake.
"Uhm, I suppose this is the place where you fell into the water when father returned from Vienna." Christine laughed. "Somehow I can see the picture of that accident". Now both of them laughed.
"What's so funny in it? I was soaking wet and your father didn't let me go inside to change. We had a huge argument, but it worked. That was the day when he returned to be a loving and gentle father, the way you knew him." Maria recalled while the picture unfolded in front of eyes.
"It's really beautiful and peaceful here... I often wonder how our life would have been like if you hadn't had to leave." Christine stated.
"Surely, things would have been different. Those times were different... but that world doesn't exist anymore. We had to move on." Maria replied. "Okay, let's walk further." And with that she headed the direction of where the Gazebo used to stand. Her daughter followed her and felt rather amused to see her mother's happiness and the glow on her face. As they continued their walk, after making sure that no one could see her, Maria suddenly stopped and crouched.
"Hold my purse." She told her daughter but before that she pulled out a little paper bag out of the purse.
"Mother, what are you doing?" Christine asked suprized and a bit shocked her eyes moving like radar to make sure that there was really no one around to see them.
Maria didn't say a word, but her one hand touched the ground to grab a piece of it. Holding the grains tightly in her palm she felt a few tears rolling down on her cheeks. She stood up and carefully slid them into the paper bag she had in her other hand. Christine didn't say a word and witnessed her mother's actions with her eyes full of tears. When Maria was finished with her task and the paper bag was safely closed and placed in her purse, Christine gently stroked Maria's back in understanding. She was really touched by Maria's actions and she suspected what her mother was going to do with that piece of property. As their walk continued another sight left Maria breathless. In the back of her mind she had hoped to see that little spot again, but knowing how many years had passed by, she didn't think she ever would. Finally there she stood in front of the little glass gazebo. She almost fainted at the sight, but surely her eyes were shining with tears as she was basking in the sea of memories filling her mind.
"Mother, are you alright?" Christine stepped beside Maria and grabbed her arm.
"Yes, Christine... I'm wonderful". Maria responded. From her mother's reaction Christine suspected that they had gotten to another special place, but she had no memories of ever hearing the story connected to this little glass building.
"What is this place famous for?" She asked her mother. Maria slowly took a seat on the stone bench in front of the gazebo. Her fingers softly rubbed the edge of the bench. She needed a few moments to arrange her thoughts before getting into the history.
"The walls of this little building have witnessed one or two things, let me tell you." She started. Christine's mouth remained open in a suspect of what her mother was going to say.
"Your oldest sister Liesl used this spot for her secret rendezvous' with the telegram boy. I don't know how often they had met here.... and Liesl told me that this was the place of her first kiss." Maria remembered with a smile.
"Liesl and a telegram boy???????" Christine got rather suprized. "She never told me about him."
"You know, it's a painful memory for her. She was really in love with him, oh, she was so young, 16 years old.... and I don't want to blame the boy, those times were different." Maria didn't know how she should finish Liesl's story.
"What happened to him?" Christine asked.
"Hitler and his men did a very good job to mislead people by putting wrong ideas into their mind." Maria said.
"Oh, I see." Christine nodded. "And what else did these walls witness???" Christine asked a bit shyly. First Maria turned a bit red, but knew that it was time for her love story.
"And you know." She started her heartbeat quickening." This was the place where I received my first kiss, too" Christine smiled broadly at her mother's embarrassment. "And also, I was sitting on this bench in the evening of my return from the abbey thinking about how messed up my life was... I was in shock after receiving the news of your father's engagement to the Baroness... I was so depressed... and your father found me out here." Maria slowly stood up and walked to the door of the gazebo. Softly she touched the doorframe. "He told me that he had called off the engagement to her because he was in love with someone else. I didn't want to believe it; it was like a dream for me. In the same evening, here within these walls he proposed to me."
There were tears in Maria's eyes again, so were her in daughter's. She slowly walked next to her mother surveying every single detail of the little building, a place that granted so many romantic moments for her mother and father, also for one of her sisters. Maria and Christine sat down in the gazebo to enjoy the view of this romantic setting. Christine looked around with full astonishment.
"Mother, when did you know that you loved him?" Christine asked.
"It's quite funny." Maria laughed. I first started falling in love with him when he blew his whistle on the afternoon I arrived. It was a sort of instant connection. I cannot explain it. I was not aware of my feelings until the evening we danced the Laendler together. I looked into his eyes and I was lost in them." Maria said with nostalgia in her eyes.
"And where did you dance? In the ballroom? Christine went on asking.
"No, actually it happened on the terrace attached to the ballroom. There was big party held in the house. I was outside with the children when the soft tunes of the Laendler caught our ears. Kurt asked me to show him how to dance it. Oh, he was so cute looking at me with his eyes begging. I started teaching him, but he was such a little boy. Your father witnessed it and in the next moment he was standing in front of me reaching out his hand." Maria said with a smile.
"Oh mother that's so romantic. Wish we could see the terrace again. As you said it was attached to the ballroom then I'm afraid we won't be able to enter it due to the lecture going on in there." Christine stated in a disappointed tone. "I'm sure you did it beautifully. I remember the two of you dancing the Laendler when we celebrated your 25th wedding anniversary."
"I think we should try to take a look at the inside again. I wonder what they did with my bedroom." Maria said curiously and the two women returned to the house to further continue the little tour. When they reentered the house they realised that the door to the ballroom had been opened. Maria carefully peeked around the corner to see the interior.
"It's a lecture room with lots of chairs, really nothing inside. The decoration is practically gone." Maria stated her voice reflecting disappointment. Despite the disappointment Maria slowly entered the lecture room and headed the front door that led to the terrace. She didn't say a word, just looked around in full astonishment. Closing her eyes her thoughts went back to that night while the soft tunes of the Laendler were echoing in her ears. Slowly she opened her eyes, looked at her daughter and softly nodded.
They turned around to reenter the house and headed the stairs. Once upstairs all they could find were closed doors. The former bedrooms had obviously been transformed into offices and smaller classrooms and they couldn't enter them. Their tour led them to Maria's former bedroom.
"There is no way to go in. I'm sure it has been refurbished anyway." With a slight smile she nodded to continue the tour.
They kept on passing the closed doors when exhaustion caught up with them after such an eventful day. Despite her exhaustion Maria felt very happy to have seen the place where the most special moments of her life took place. Christine was touched by the events of the day and her heart was filled with delight after learning more from her parents' past.
"Come mother, I think we should get going now if we want to get home for dinner. You know, the girls are the cooks tonight." She smiled. Maria softly nodded in response.
To be continued....
PLEASE don't forget to leave a little feedback! Thank you.
Chapter 3
The following day Maria woke up way before daybreak. The excitement kept her restless. Unable to get back to sleep she put on her robe and decided to watch the sunrise on the terrace.
A few hours later the house was alive with the sounds of good cheer and excitement. Enjoying their breakfast on the terrace Maria turned to her granddaughters.
"What about if the three of us went out for a picnic tomorrow? You choose the place." Maria said. The two girls' face lit up with joy.
"Wow, that sounds good, grandmother. There is a nice lake in a beautiful nature setting not too far from here." Hedwig exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"No, I know a better place grandmother. There is a nice and quiet spot in the woods near here. " Erica corrected her sister.
"Alright, alright girls. We'll see okay? I'm sure we'll have fun no matter where we go." Maria said with a smile while taking one more sip from her coffee.
Christine, who after noticing the clock realised that it was time to leave, interrupted the happy chatting. Maria jumped up from her seat and excitedly followed her daughter to the car. Christine couldn't help but notice the happy excitement spread all over her mother's face. Maria sat in complete silence trying to arrange her thoughts and also to prepare herself for encountering her past. Christine's mind was also filled with a lot of questions, but she didn't want to invade her mother's privacy. Her mother was a remarkable woman she was very much aware of this, but still there was a side of this woman that was unknown for her.
Exactly at 11 a.m. the two women arrived at the former von Trapp villa. Maria was starring at the heavy iron gate with full astonishment and with tears in her eyes. Slowly she opened it and the two of them entered the property. Feeling an urge inside her Maria quickened her steps to reach the front door. Her heart was pounding in her throat when the door was being opened and they were greeted friendly and invited to go inside. For a moment she closed her eyes in fear what the sight of the house was going to be. With a slight reserve she opened them and for a long moment she was gasping for breath. There she stood in the foyer of their old home. A few young students were occupying the room, sitting, chatting or reading at the scattered tables. Christine was unable to contain her tears either. The two of them just stood there in silence until the manager of the faculty unit approached them.
"Baroness von Trapp? We have been expecting you. My name is Helmut Schneider. I'm the one who tries to keep this place under control." He said with a smile and shook Maria's hand.
"Thank you for receiving us, Herr Schneider. This is my daughter Christine." She motioned towards her daughter.
"It's our privilege to have you here ladies. We have heard so many stories about the famous von Trapp family." His statement brought more tears to Maria's eyes. "Please feel free to walk around the property and the gardens."
"Thank you for your kindness again, we are really grateful. You have no idea how much it means for us." Maria said.
The gentleman softly bowed his head to the ladies and returned to his duties.
"Now what about a tour around the house with the two of us?" Maria said in invitation to her daughter.
"That sounds rather tempting mother." Christine answered and the two of them started their journey to the past.
Standing in the foyer Maria was overwhelmed by her emotions. Doing her very best she arranged her thoughts.
"So, this is the place... where I first met your brothers and sisters..... and behind that double door there was a beautifully decorated ball room. I wasn't supposed to enter it, but I did and that was the place I first met your father. He caught me while I was bowing and curtsying inside." Maria laughed and Christine joined her in the laughter.
"Did he get angry with you?" She asked.
"Oh, yes.... But you know that door looks very tempting even now. Wish I could take a look at the inside." She gave a mischievous smile.
"Mother, there is a lecture going on in there... we mustn't disturb them as tempting as it sounds." Christine gave a worried look.
"Okay, you are right. Besides your father would be happy to see that I have picked up some discipline." Their smiles became even broader. "Then you see, behind that door we used to have a living room and attached to that there was a big dinning room." Maria went on.
"Oh, the dining room? Where my dear brothers and sisters put that pine cone on your chair." Christine laughed.
"How did you know about the pine cone????" Maria asked in suprize.
"Oh, I have heard all about the pranks they played on their poor governesses." Christine laughed.
After surveying the foyer one more time the two women headed the garden. The view of the well-maintained backyard left both of them breathless. The sunshine was giving a magical glow to the surface of the lake and the green leaves were shining bright on the beautiful summer afternoon. Slowly they started walking towards the lake.
"Uhm, I suppose this is the place where you fell into the water when father returned from Vienna." Christine laughed. "Somehow I can see the picture of that accident". Now both of them laughed.
"What's so funny in it? I was soaking wet and your father didn't let me go inside to change. We had a huge argument, but it worked. That was the day when he returned to be a loving and gentle father, the way you knew him." Maria recalled while the picture unfolded in front of eyes.
"It's really beautiful and peaceful here... I often wonder how our life would have been like if you hadn't had to leave." Christine stated.
"Surely, things would have been different. Those times were different... but that world doesn't exist anymore. We had to move on." Maria replied. "Okay, let's walk further." And with that she headed the direction of where the Gazebo used to stand. Her daughter followed her and felt rather amused to see her mother's happiness and the glow on her face. As they continued their walk, after making sure that no one could see her, Maria suddenly stopped and crouched.
"Hold my purse." She told her daughter but before that she pulled out a little paper bag out of the purse.
"Mother, what are you doing?" Christine asked suprized and a bit shocked her eyes moving like radar to make sure that there was really no one around to see them.
Maria didn't say a word, but her one hand touched the ground to grab a piece of it. Holding the grains tightly in her palm she felt a few tears rolling down on her cheeks. She stood up and carefully slid them into the paper bag she had in her other hand. Christine didn't say a word and witnessed her mother's actions with her eyes full of tears. When Maria was finished with her task and the paper bag was safely closed and placed in her purse, Christine gently stroked Maria's back in understanding. She was really touched by Maria's actions and she suspected what her mother was going to do with that piece of property. As their walk continued another sight left Maria breathless. In the back of her mind she had hoped to see that little spot again, but knowing how many years had passed by, she didn't think she ever would. Finally there she stood in front of the little glass gazebo. She almost fainted at the sight, but surely her eyes were shining with tears as she was basking in the sea of memories filling her mind.
"Mother, are you alright?" Christine stepped beside Maria and grabbed her arm.
"Yes, Christine... I'm wonderful". Maria responded. From her mother's reaction Christine suspected that they had gotten to another special place, but she had no memories of ever hearing the story connected to this little glass building.
"What is this place famous for?" She asked her mother. Maria slowly took a seat on the stone bench in front of the gazebo. Her fingers softly rubbed the edge of the bench. She needed a few moments to arrange her thoughts before getting into the history.
"The walls of this little building have witnessed one or two things, let me tell you." She started. Christine's mouth remained open in a suspect of what her mother was going to say.
"Your oldest sister Liesl used this spot for her secret rendezvous' with the telegram boy. I don't know how often they had met here.... and Liesl told me that this was the place of her first kiss." Maria remembered with a smile.
"Liesl and a telegram boy???????" Christine got rather suprized. "She never told me about him."
"You know, it's a painful memory for her. She was really in love with him, oh, she was so young, 16 years old.... and I don't want to blame the boy, those times were different." Maria didn't know how she should finish Liesl's story.
"What happened to him?" Christine asked.
"Hitler and his men did a very good job to mislead people by putting wrong ideas into their mind." Maria said.
"Oh, I see." Christine nodded. "And what else did these walls witness???" Christine asked a bit shyly. First Maria turned a bit red, but knew that it was time for her love story.
"And you know." She started her heartbeat quickening." This was the place where I received my first kiss, too" Christine smiled broadly at her mother's embarrassment. "And also, I was sitting on this bench in the evening of my return from the abbey thinking about how messed up my life was... I was in shock after receiving the news of your father's engagement to the Baroness... I was so depressed... and your father found me out here." Maria slowly stood up and walked to the door of the gazebo. Softly she touched the doorframe. "He told me that he had called off the engagement to her because he was in love with someone else. I didn't want to believe it; it was like a dream for me. In the same evening, here within these walls he proposed to me."
There were tears in Maria's eyes again, so were her in daughter's. She slowly walked next to her mother surveying every single detail of the little building, a place that granted so many romantic moments for her mother and father, also for one of her sisters. Maria and Christine sat down in the gazebo to enjoy the view of this romantic setting. Christine looked around with full astonishment.
"Mother, when did you know that you loved him?" Christine asked.
"It's quite funny." Maria laughed. I first started falling in love with him when he blew his whistle on the afternoon I arrived. It was a sort of instant connection. I cannot explain it. I was not aware of my feelings until the evening we danced the Laendler together. I looked into his eyes and I was lost in them." Maria said with nostalgia in her eyes.
"And where did you dance? In the ballroom? Christine went on asking.
"No, actually it happened on the terrace attached to the ballroom. There was big party held in the house. I was outside with the children when the soft tunes of the Laendler caught our ears. Kurt asked me to show him how to dance it. Oh, he was so cute looking at me with his eyes begging. I started teaching him, but he was such a little boy. Your father witnessed it and in the next moment he was standing in front of me reaching out his hand." Maria said with a smile.
"Oh mother that's so romantic. Wish we could see the terrace again. As you said it was attached to the ballroom then I'm afraid we won't be able to enter it due to the lecture going on in there." Christine stated in a disappointed tone. "I'm sure you did it beautifully. I remember the two of you dancing the Laendler when we celebrated your 25th wedding anniversary."
"I think we should try to take a look at the inside again. I wonder what they did with my bedroom." Maria said curiously and the two women returned to the house to further continue the little tour. When they reentered the house they realised that the door to the ballroom had been opened. Maria carefully peeked around the corner to see the interior.
"It's a lecture room with lots of chairs, really nothing inside. The decoration is practically gone." Maria stated her voice reflecting disappointment. Despite the disappointment Maria slowly entered the lecture room and headed the front door that led to the terrace. She didn't say a word, just looked around in full astonishment. Closing her eyes her thoughts went back to that night while the soft tunes of the Laendler were echoing in her ears. Slowly she opened her eyes, looked at her daughter and softly nodded.
They turned around to reenter the house and headed the stairs. Once upstairs all they could find were closed doors. The former bedrooms had obviously been transformed into offices and smaller classrooms and they couldn't enter them. Their tour led them to Maria's former bedroom.
"There is no way to go in. I'm sure it has been refurbished anyway." With a slight smile she nodded to continue the tour.
They kept on passing the closed doors when exhaustion caught up with them after such an eventful day. Despite her exhaustion Maria felt very happy to have seen the place where the most special moments of her life took place. Christine was touched by the events of the day and her heart was filled with delight after learning more from her parents' past.
"Come mother, I think we should get going now if we want to get home for dinner. You know, the girls are the cooks tonight." She smiled. Maria softly nodded in response.
To be continued....
PLEASE don't forget to leave a little feedback! Thank you.