The Intricate Adventures of an Alien [antikvár]

Austria I remember our zigzagging run very well. We were feverishly descending a steep hill on November 28, 1956. We acted like fi-ightened young animals. I forgot whether it was a shared hill between Austria and Hungary: it must have been. Certainly it didn't occur to me that with every step I took, I penetrated farther into Austrian territory. This was certainly no cause for grand celebration. Exchanging one's country - no matter how wretched at the moment -for another is an inherently sad experience. Although it was quite chilly, a few of us were bathed in sweat, drenched like after an inner shower. We assumed that the hill at the border had been mined. Taut, we scurried between the trees. We were quickly dropping in elevation; the trees were effective brakes. Dazed, we got to the bottom of the hill. There were two authoritarian figures waiting for us. Erect and in uniform, they certainly didn't give birth to trust. We had seen too many of their Idnd in Budapest. Their deliberate, forbidding gestures and their guns evoked fear out of our long-carried psychological baggage. But abruptly they changed in the dim light. They began handing out chocolate bars. Candy in beautiful wrappers! And, astonishingly, they bent down and hugged the children. 'Gott sei Dank, you're here!' they said gently. 'You've gotten through.' 7