The Alps


As I was flying across the Alps, I just felt myself lost in the beauty of it.
The top of the mountains were so close to the plane that I wonder how high they were.
In between the mountains, in the valleys, just lie the small Swiss villages.
It is quite classic Swiss village situated at the feet of the Alps.
Just like Heidi story.
Have you ever read Heidi??
If you have, you would understand what I meant.
When I was 11 years old, my mother and I liked to visit the garage sale in Auckland.
The Kiwis would sell the old stuffs that they didn't need anymore and the stuffs were pretty interesting.
I would bowse through the old stash of children's books and brought home a box filled with so many stories.
They were so cheap.
I had my own collection of story books. I created my own reading spot in my room and loved to spend hours reading and daydreaming. It was a place where I used to dream, lost inside the stories and that was where I found Heidi.
She was an orphan who lived with her aunt until one day she sent Heidi to her grandfather whom, Heidi has never met.
The grandfather lived in small village at the feet of the Alp. Her grandfather was a very grumpy old man and he at first saw her as a nuisance. However, the adorable, friendly and innocent Heidi has somehow made him become fond of her. They lived together happily. It was a beautifully written story which made me imagine when Heidi had her climb on the mountain in spring, how she watched the flowers bloom and the watched over her grandfather's sheeps as they grazed through the meadow.
The sunset casted the mountains Alp into a golden shade as if the whole mountain caught a big glare of fire. While the falcons circled around ready to join the other birds to fly home.
This was the place where Heidi played, made friends, cried of sadness, fed her loneliness and laughed of joy.
She was an orphan who knew how to love and in return made everybody loved her back. She touched the heart of an old blind grandmother to a young rich girl, Kayla who was a handicapped.
They became fast friend.

It was such a wonderful story. The book was thick therefore I couldn't tell you the whole story but I will tell you this, Isabella will have her own Heidi book when she is old enough to read. She will love it as much as her mother did. I carried this book with me until I went to further study abroad and when I came home, all my books were given away to charity. Yes I was pissed but it was too late to dwell on it. I moved on. Never mind, because the story lives in me.

I knew that someday, I will set foot her to where Heidi lived. I will relived my childhood dream again.
If you go to Switzerland, Heidi is part of their souvenirs.


Here is a photo of me in Park Guell Barcelona. We left the stroller behind because it involved a lot of climbing.

Comments

Popular Posts