Chapter 9 Nine

The small shops and workshops in the large arcades are open, and people are standing or sitting inside, doing activities related to plants, herbs and spices.The great arcade flooded with sunlight, illuminating the fine particles of yellowish mist suspended in the air.The scent of spices and flowers wafted in the air. It was very warm in the Winter Garden, and the temperature in the sun could be as high as eighty degrees Fahrenheit (about 27 degrees Celsius).Elsa and I took a quiet walk.Birds were singing, flies and bees were buzzing.A squirrel jumped onto a stone pine branch, stopped from time to time to bite off a small orange pine cone with its teeth, grabbed the pine cone with its front paws, ate it quickly, and then ran away quickly, jumping to another place in a leisurely and confident posture. on a branch.We continued on, through olive groves, past rose bushes, and into citrus groves where the trees were covered with white flowers, filling the air with fresh, sweet fruit.We walked out of the orange grove at the other end, where the vegetation was thicker and more tangled, and down the avenue of tall and short trees to a large meadow.People lie or read on the grass, or just relax in the sun.We walked along the edge of the lawn, past springs and fountains, and under trellises covered with vines, roses, sweet peas, honeysuckle, clematis, and bougainvillea.We walked through narrow paths of overgrown grass and bushes and ended up in Monet's Gardens.Aisha came to a large flower bed composed of forget-me-nots and pink and red tulips, and stopped suddenly.We were standing, in the real Giverny gardens, where the pink house would be.Forget-me-not beds and two yew trees There is a flower bed at the far end, with rows of flower beds and gravel paths in between.Aisha looked around and said loudly with confusion:

But I have been here!I don't mean here, but I came with my good friend.She invited me to go on that trip.We carry that book, you know, the children's book that we read together at home, and then we're why we're here, I mean there. Aisha's cheeks were flushed, she was very excited, and quite excited, obviously something in her heart was touched. Linia in the Artist's Garden, I said quietly: that should be the title of the book. Elsa didn't answer, and started walking again, and I followed her, through the colorful flower beds, the gravel crunched under my feet.The same floral and vanilla smell as last night, but the air is drier and the scent is less pronounced.We walked through the underground passage to the water garden, walked through the shade of trees, and walked along the path by the pond.We walked to a green bench and Elsa sat down, and I sat down beside her.She sat upright, not leaning on the back of the chair, staring forward, looking at the lotus pond, without saying a word, and I also remained silent.I wondered if I should ask her how she was feeling, or if she wanted to tell me about the woman she went to Giverny Gardens with, but something held me back.After a while, Elsa sighed, leaned back in the chair, crossed her arms, and crossed her legs.Then she shrugged, sneezed, and looked back to normal, the blush fading from her cheeks.All that remained was a vigilant expression, his eyes slightly narrowed.

It was strange, she said: it felt exactly like the real Giverny Gardens. Yes, I said: I know. Not only is it real, but it's also romantic.That tone reappeared, perhaps coldly or ironically.Maybe they want to create a romantic atmosphere for us.Warm and romantic.eternal summer. At that time, she didn't know, and neither did I, that the eternal summer she talked about was close to the truth.In fact, in the winter garden, there are two seasons of spring and summer all year round.Mimosas, bougainvilleas, rhododendrons, roses, peonies, tulips, forget-me-nots, bloomed week after week, month after month.Each flower is either about to bloom or is in full bloom, and there is absolutely no yellowing, withered or dead flowers to be seen.Nothing in Winter Garden is dead, but everything is real, there are no stage flowers, plastic bushes or plastic trees.These were real plants, living flowers with stamens and pistils, and buzzing bumblebees around them.The flowers and leaves can be plucked and placed in vases, or used to make tea and dye cloth.If you pick off the flowers, put them in a vase, and fill them with some water, the flowers will wither slowly, just like ordinary flowers.But on the flower bed or tree you pick the flowers, new buds or buds will soon appear.The grass is also covered with real grass, which needs to be mowed, fertilized, and watered.Shrubs and trees also require regular pruning and pruning so that paths and courtyards are not overgrown with vegetation.Every plant is evergreen all the year round, and the color of the leaves will not turn from green to yellow, then red and brown, and they will never wither and wither.Oranges, lemons, oranges, grapefruits never ripen on citrus trees.However, the small, fragrant white petals drop after a short bloom, drifting slowly from tree to tree, forming a snowy carpet on the ground.The pistils that shed their petals will not grow into fruit, and will bloom again after a while.But Aisha didn't know this at this time, and continued to say:

Maybe they want us to experience summer and romance one last time. Or for the first time.I said. Maybe.Aisha said, and then asked: Do you miss the Nordic winter?Snowy, windy, cold? I thought about it. I will miss autumn and late winter, I replied: I will miss late winter graduating into spring, just like the season outside now.I picture my garden from the morning before yesterday: winter dowers and snowdrops just emerging.I saw the mottled white paint on the exterior walls of my house, patches of moss on the roof, and the transparent heat of the stove coming out of the chimney, trembling slightly.I saw myself in my heavy jacket, hat, scarf, and gloves, going out with Yorke for a long walk in the slanting early spring sun.I shook my head, trying to get rid of the image in my mind but failed, so I stood up quickly and said:

Can we go any further?I feel like I need to move around. It must be obvious that I want to get rid of something, so Elsa nodded and stood up immediately.She took my arm and walked with me through the nearby heating locks onto the Aceh track, just in time for two joggers, their feet barely making a sound on the track surface. Hi Dolly!One of them gasped, wiping the sweat above his eyes with his sleeve.Thank you yesterday. That man was Johannes, and he stopped going, and his companion stopped and ran on the spot. This is Dolly, she can dance very well.Johannes turned to his companion.I feel absurdly flattered.I don't think I'm blushing, but in fact I may have flushed my cheeks.

Johannes introduced his friend, I introduced Elsa, and we shook hands.They jogged away, and Elsa and I took the A elevator to the next floor and went straight into the library. The library is not big, it looks like an ordinary suburban branch of a library, the vast space inside is separated by countless bookshelves.We went around in circles.The books on the shelves are neatly arranged and up to date, with many recent publications. The CD and DVD display area is small, but it also has a wide variety, and there are many new films. The librarian was a thin man in baggy brown corduroy trousers.As we stood looking at the display on the shelves, the librarian came up and stood behind us with his hands in his hip pockets, and he didn't speak for a while.We quickly noticed that his tone was rather sombre, whining, and that whatever he said sounded negative.He said:

You can borrow music CDs and videos from those real libraries out there. You mean, it's not really a library?I said jokingly. He didn't answer, just took out his right hand from the back pocket, raised it slowly, shook hands with me and Aisha, and introduced himself as Shell. I used to work in the library in Lund, Schell said: I saw you there once and recorded a book you wrote as an audiobook.Anyway, I've been taking care of these things for two years.He stretched out his hand and waved towards the whole space.At least it's a full-time job, which means you still have to work overtime.

I see.I said. Uh, because there are a lot of intellectuals here, that is, people who can read. I see.I say it again. People who can read, he continued: it is easier to become an unnecessary individual, and this tendency is very obvious. That's it.I said. right.He said. I turned to look for Elsa, only to see that she had slipped away and was flipping through a gardening book a few bookshelves away. Shell put his hands back in his pockets and seemed to be going back to the counter but stopped. Yes, that's how it works here, he said: but books cannot be ordered from the General Library.He sighed.If I didn't enter the book, you can only download the e-book to read.If you haven't applied for a library card yet, you can do so here.

We filled out the application form, got our library cards, and sat in armchairs in the corner, flipping through the dailies and magazines.In one armchair sat a sleeping man, whose newspaper he had been reading fell to the ground in front of him.He was breathing loudly, but instead of snoring, it sounded like something was wrong with his airway, making a grinding whine. Maybe he has a cold, I whispered to Elsa.Neither of us wanted to be infected, so we got up and left. A few days before I arrived at the unit, I encountered many people falling asleep in various places, and they made the same breathing sound, which sounded like snoring.Not long after, someone told me that it was a side effect of a series of sedative tests in the unit, in which participants found that their ability to absorb oxygen was severely impaired and the yawn reflex disappeared.These two side effects also cause them to fall asleep easily.Some suffer permanent subtle damage to the brain, possibly from a lack of oxygen, and severe cases may have difficulty walking, speaking, or not knowing where they are or what day it is.

In other words, the man sitting asleep in the corner of the library probably didn't have a cold, and we don't need to worry about catching it. On the first day, we didn't borrow anything from the library, we just got a library card and left empty-handed.As we left the library, we passed the counter and nodded to Shell. Thanks for coming, he said darkly: Come back anytime. We walked into a large indoor plaza surrounded by department stores, small shops, cinemas, theaters, art galleries, and restaurants with tables outside.The square is paved with mottled gray polished stone slabs, similar to the tombstones commonly found in cemeteries.There is a rectangular piece of thick glass in the center of the square, and a statue of a bronze fishing boat is surrounded by many stone chairs.Through the thick glass, you can see the dancing light and shadow of blue and turquoise. It turns out that the swimming pool is directly below.

Among the small shops around the square are two boutiques, one for new clothes and one for second-hand clothes.Guitars, wind instruments, keyboards and drum kits line the windows of a music store.A handicraft shop displays the work of artists in the unit.There's also a hardware store and a store with collectibles, office supplies and art supplies.Calling them shops or shops can be misleading so I must emphasize that there is no money in circulation or to be more clear there is no shopping here at all you just walk in and take what you want Yes, only certain items must be registered.Sometimes there is a stock out in the store and an order must be placed, or a request form for a particular product or brand must be filled out, and future stores will stock accordingly. There are two halls in the movie theater. Currently, there is Double Crane, which is a psychological drama about a family in crisis. The movie has received very good reviews, and the other movie is the action comedy Maniac 3. The gallery is not open, and a new exhibition is being prepared inside. It will be open for visits next Saturday, and Meghan's works will be exhibited.She told us at the banquet last night: This is my first solo exhibition! The theaters aren't open either, but the posters say Chekhov's The Seagull is about to premiere, with Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice coming in late spring. It's a pity, I said: now that we have stage plays for free, they're all old classics. It doesn't matter anyway, does it?Aisha said: A stage play is a stage play, and the point is to go to the theater to watch a play, isn't it? I laughed, Aisha's words were not unreasonable. Well, let's go swimming then!she said, grabbing my arm and gently tugging me toward the elevator on the other side of the plaza.