Love U lifeline

Sally didn’t pursue me like the others, which was my main reason for preferring her from the gathered guides in front of the tourist office. I had spotted this girl in a flimsy and faded Dirndl, standing a little aloof from the crowd with only an intense appeal in her brown-black eyes which gave away her deep desperation to acquire the engagement. However, the moment I confirmed her selection, the look in her eyes changed character quite drastically.

The Austrian town of Salzburg is a striking collage of timeless architecture. One of its choicest treasures (Schatz), the Mirabell palace is a baroque jewel nestling amidst an expanse of lustrous green and bordered with woody heights.

“The palace is a symbol of long-lasting love. It was built out of love, for love. It hosted Gretl Braun’s (sister of Hitler’s fiancée Eva) marriage in the summer of 1944. Hitler too graced the occasion and on that day he substantially softened towards Eva. Such is the magic of the place that it managed to melt even the iron man!”

Sally’s narration made me see the place in a new light and I could almost imagine the dictator momentarily shedding his stiffness and metamorphosing into a romantic lover, yielding to the yearnings of the heart.

My time with Sally, like all good things in the world, ended sooner than I wanted it to. As we were about to part, I asked her as to from where she had collected the just-narrated detail about the palace and its association with the German legend.

"My husband worked as a tour guide here!”
I enquired about the young man’s present whereabouts, assuming him to have moved on because of better employment prospects.
"A year ago, he came under the wheels of a speeding car while returning home with our daughter...." Sally paused, lowering her head. The decibels plummeted and a sudden tide of subdued emotions surged anew.

I was stumped.
The girl, whom till a short while ago, I had presumed to be a carefree spirit eager to earn some extra cash, was actually a weathered wife forced into the profession of a tour guide by destiny, her only capital being the basket of knowledge inherited from her husband.

And in a single moment, the monumental edifice of love dominating the skyline of Salzburg was dwarfed by a living epitome of the same, a chance encounter with whom helped me realize the real meaning of the four letter word, which we all pretend to patronize but seldom embrace with fullness of spirit .