Continuation of being invited to tea and remembering  a visit…

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

Both of us were standing on the balcony with our hands on the smooth iron rail above the elaborate ballastrade.  Would we have noticed if an army of Matabele ants had decided to cross the floor or a  tree snake had slowly untwined to find a more comfortable position. Would either of us have said anything if we could get over this feeling of keeping the silence of the bush unbroken.

We both turned and took the few steps back into the elegant lounge with its red velvet antique chairs.  We were with the family again and we soon said our thank yous and good byes and that week I left to study away from home. I was away for six months.

Upon my return we all fell into our routines as best we could. Then towards the end of my break  Mom said that there had been a phone call and it was that night that the silence was broken.

We met in our lounge. I was very talkative, chatting about life away from home but all the time knowing intuitively something important was going to be said.  I then turned the conversation to my first year university mathematics classes and how difficult they were and that Roy was helping me rather a lot.  The evening soon ended with him asking if he could write to me and would I answer. I reassured him that I would. It took five days for letters to reach us so ten days for a communication to be shared. There weren’t that many letters before I needed to tell him that Roy and I were “going out.”  He was gracious and in his last letter he said that should I change my mind he would be there for me. I knew there were a lot of my friends more his age that were fond of him and that it may have been sad for us but happy for another relationship.

He left the box of chocolates with the red rose on the sofa and I never ever forgot the importance and lasting influence of silence.

My sister added the following when I told her of my memories. Apparently during our tea one of the fine antique dining room chairs collapsed with the back legs giving way. I don’t remember the lady of the house getting hurt. My sister then went on to say that the chocolates were delicious . I must have left them at home.

Speech is silver, silence is golden.

Thomas Carlyle 1795-1881 Scottish essayist historian and philosopher.

Silence is not the absence of something but the presence of everything.

Gordon Hempton is an acoustic ecologist and Emmy Award winning sound recordist.

Silence is of different kinds , and breathes different meanings.

Charlotte Bronte

Thank you for letting me share my memory with you.😊 I wonder how silence has played a role in your life.