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“It’s quiet in Amsterdam”, once sung by Ramses Shaffy. I left my car at home and went into Amsterdam on foot. It’s very late.
The lights of the lanterns shine on my loneliness. The lights of the houses stare at me. Occasionally I see people moving behind the hushed windows. The night cherishes my thoughts. Summer has me nuzzled with her warm arms. The trees along the canal are accustomed to the leaves. The night embraced me with her silence. The terraces are hushed. I leave the last seat on the terrace.
Only the lanterns are not extinguished. They look down on me with their cold light. The chill of that light intensifies the chill of the night. I want my legs to carry me further, so that I walk, walk, walk ….
The warm wind caresses my hair. I pause for a moment and stare over the hushed streets. August holiday month. The sky above Amsterdam glows from all the artificial light. This suppresses the darkness and reinforces the emptiness of it all.
I look at the reflections of light in the canal. Everything I see standing is lifeless.
Occasionally I pass a vagrant, who with a stiffened glinting gaze looks at me for a moment.
In the distance, the rumble of ascending and descending planes from Schiphol Airport can be heard. The birds have long since fallen silent.
