To tell you the truth, I have been thinking more about some of the things we talked about when my father and I were there, than I have about the world’s political climate. You asked me about my leg and life in Berlin. I have many questions about God. Thinking about him in this new and close-up way, as your father described it, has changed my whole way of looking at everything.

Matthew McCallum

Lieber Matthew!

The cold of winter is just around the corner. Autumn is such a changeable time, beginning so warm and peaceful and fragrant, then turning yellow and gold and beautiful as the leaves die and fall, and sometimes ending with snow and freezing rains.

I love autumn, yet it always brings a certain sadness with it as well. I know growing things need their sleep as well as human creatures. Sleep and rest seem important for all of God’s creations. But somehow it is always sad to see Papa put his garden to sleep for the winter. He has been pruning and clipping all week, digging up bulbs, getting all his trees and plants and bushes ready for their long, cold nap. He loves them all so much and takes care of them as if they were his own children, which I suppose they are. Even the way he prunes the rosebushes shows how much he loves them. A few varieties are blooming yet, and he cherishes every blossom he finds from now till year’s end. He always leaves a few varieties unpruned, just to see what they might produce even in winter. He says there are always surprises, and he looks for them eagerly even in the bitterest of cold weather.

I was in the garden alone several days ago, and it was the oddest thing! You know how much I love the garden, but this time I had an uneasy feeling. It was almost as if I was being watched. It felt like someone was in the garden with me, so close I could sense that person’s presence. I looked around, but saw no one. Still, the longer I sat there, the more I became frightened, and finally I just ran into the house. Do you ever get feelings like that, Matthew? I was afraid to go back to the garden for two days!

That has all passed now though, and I am enjoying the last of the autumn colors in the garden as much as ever.

God bless you!

Sabina

Dear Sabina,

I am sorry for not writing back to you sooner. My studies have kept me busy, and Father’s business at the embassy has become more and more busy. There are always new people to meet, and important names to remember. I suppose it is exciting in some way, but dinner conversations get long, and I wish for conversations once again with you and your father in the garden.