Billie Holidays’ unmistakable voice came to me soft and caressing, it was so sweet and lazy on a warm March afternoon. I stepped forward to understand where Billie’s soft voice, which I have always adored, came from. The buildings around me, clearly Spanish in style, typical of California, had a straw yellow tone, perhaps also due to the reflection of the afternoon sun on the walls. A beautiful peace reigned between the courtyards of those buildings, I didn’t hear people’s voices or other noises and I didn’t even know if those courtyards were living quarters of upscale shops, I just knew I was attracted to enter. I sat on the staircase to enjoy those notes of the past and then everything changed around me. It was intense, it was magic.
Suddenly, my surroundings were in a different America, I was projected into another era. I saw women and men dressed in 1940s style, their voices were far away, some women smoked with long cigarette holders in their hands and men greeted respectfully people they knew by gently lifting off their hats. Everyone seemed friendly about enjoying life. Some sat at tables in restaurants and cafes, others walked relaxed. Those two-tone colour shoes…I couldn’t avoid admiring them, so fashionable.
I felt an inner peace and was in no hurry to go anywhere else, I wanted to stay there in that yellowed time like an old film. A brown bird sat perched on the stair railing and looked at me. He had eyes that looked human, he looked at me as if he wanted to say: “Everything will be fine.” I stayed there for a while basking and watching the bird.
The loud screaming of a child playing interrupted my journey into the past. The 1940s were certainly not the best years in the world, but today’s reality is increasingly cruel and grey. I woke up reluctantly and continued my tour as a tourist in a city that, despite not being my city, I have lived it for many years.
Nearby, the Stanford cinema was showing a period film with Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger, it was the best thing to do to keep dreaming on that warm March afternoon.
How common is it for you to slice through time and be projected into an unfamiliar territory? It happens to me often, perhaps I have the need to escape reality or perhaps I don’t belong in these times. Ciao,
Valentina
Copyright © 2024 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble
Valentina Expressions 