Fading OuT

Nobody was here all week and everything is happening at once today. One day there are so many things around and after that no one will see us for the whole week. This upsets me. There is so much emptiness for the whole week.’Vierka and Zdenka. Sisters. Twins. 88 years of age. They live together for the last 15 years after Vierka became a widow. Their whole world is concentrated in their 2 bedroom flat in Holesovice in Prague. It is a place where they feel safe. ‘Well, now we’ll get a coffee and we’ll be ready’ says Vierka and takes a cigarette out of the wooden flowerpot, where the supplies are. Both of the sisters are troubled by progressive loss of hearing and eyesight for the last 10 years. Despite the handicap, Zdenka is capable to take care of the household. Vierka never leaves the flat. ‘You know, when somebody is healthy, visitors keep coming. But if someone is ill, no one wants to see them. It’s easier for our relatives to call us, so they don’t have to see how we live here.’ Zdenka puffs a cigarette. ‘Once I retired I thought I will visit my cousins and now I sit at home all the time. When I could do so I didn’t have time, now that I have time, I cannot. I would love to go Pilsner to see my father’s side of the family, where I was born. I would love to see my brother there, but I cannot like that.’ Weird energy is thrown out at you, energy of two women, hurt by their health condition. ‘I don’t know how this is possible. Mummy and daddy could see really well. Even when they were old, they used the glasses. I tell you; sometimes I don’t sleep, because I think about my eyes.’