Hello, darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again...
I bet that those of you who read these words will immediately remember the song The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel, which will linger in your ears for a while. At least, that was what happened to me in this place. The other day, when I had a free hour (a student got sick and cancelled her lesson, but I had to stay because of an event I had later that evening), I took a walk through the streets of this town already so well known to those who have read some of my posts. Altea.
Obviously, it was already dark, but the streetlights were doing their job diligently. In silence, without complaint, the lights contrasted the darkness and offered to a few souls that happened to be around to walk there without fear. Only this steep street separated me from the old city centre. Step by step the distance became shorter and shorter and the car that I saw as a small dot became a little bigger. On this part of the street, only the stairs remained. If you wonder how a car can drive here...? Well, it can't, but cars didn't exist when these houses and streets were built.
Within the sound of silence, In restless dreams, I walked alone. Narrow streets of cobblestone, 'Neath the halo of a street lamp... The music in my head continued and it was odd to experience the same scenes as the song suggested. I walked alone in those narrow streets of cobblestone, beneath the lamps but I didn't see more than ten thousand people. And I was not dreaming.
Instead of people, I have seen the copper sculptures, which I already know very well; they remain in their place, silent. They are surrounded by thousands of people who pass by daily, they appear in a myriad of places around the world through the memories of the visitors of this town; they foolishly believe what people tell them. These copper sculptures can have their own torments and darkness, as well as their own light.
Continuing my walk through these deserted streets, just when I thought this walk was getting pretty sad because of the darkness and no people around, an elephant appeared. One cute elephant, I thought. 🐘
But I was wrong. It was not just one...
On one of the most famous streets in Altea, the one that leads to the church in the centre, lives another friendly elephant. It has been hanging on the wall for so many years that not even the elephant himself remembers how long it has been there.
Ok, two cute elephants, I corrected my initial thought. 🐘🐘
But I was wrong once again. It was not just two...
The surprise came from the window of that shop, gaia. A small knitted elephant, now it indeed is a cute one! 😍 Ok, three cute elephants, 🐘🐘🐘 I had to correct all my previous statements.
The song already faded when I headed toward the church with the dome covered with blue tiles. I can assure you that this spot is the most photographed one in this town, with or without people.
Passing the blue domes, the square, the tower and heading to the street from the beginning of the post to get back to my car, with the thoughts of three elephants... guess what! I had to correct myself once again as I met the fourth elephant in another shop window, a ceramic colourful one.
! [Hidden Spoiler Text]
I took a photo, a very bad one so I can post it just in the hidden version but now for real, without further corrections, I can say that four elephants 🐘🐘🐘🐘 accompanied a two-legged one 🐘, in the pace of the song of silence.
