Nearly three years ago, I squeezed into Silvia's boarded-up house for the first time during a January thaw. My winter boot sought solid purchase as it dangled in the dark…
Continued from Shadow and Light, Braintree, Vermont, Part II From over a slight rise in the narrow dirt road, a tractor approaches through a collonade of nearly leafless maples. I…
A new year opens before her as blank as the paper on her desk. Picking up a blue, ballpoint pen she writes her resolutions. “There is nothing important happening, nothing…
In the short, six-hour day, the sunlight fades by mid-afternoon in the sitting room where Silvia is trimming the Christmas tree. Beautiful and majestic, it stands over twelve-feet high. Starting…
“Roaming in the woods or other wild areas has always been my main source of recreation and greatest pleasure. The woodlands are the only place I feel I belong.” The…
After my previous driving disaster, a friend offers to take me to Braintree, Vermont, where we are joined by the president of the local historical society, who becomes our knowledgeable…
At first, my phone call was harbored with deep suspicion. Why, the interest? She didn’t have time right now. She had nothing to say, even as she told me she…
I returned to the States in July, but not to the village were Silvia lived. Instead, I spent the remainder of the summer in a remote little cabin on the…
Ten months ago, when I first began my search for Silvia, I never imagined visiting Estonia. I was anticipating three weeks in Paris, but eventually, Silvia changed my plans. Tonight…
