The Road - Silence and Distance

Between one place and another, there were long hours on the road.

At first I watched everything through the window, trying to notice every change in the landscape. After a while, I stopped. The same fields, towns and stretches of empty road began to pass without demanding my attention.

Conversation became less frequent. We sat quietly and let the kilometres go by.

What I remember most is how different time felt during those drives. There was nowhere else to be and nothing to do except continue. After a while, even the need to make sense of everything began to disappear.

On the road, outside Cape Town.

By the time we reached the next place, I was usually quieter than when we had left.

The hours on the road had slowed me down.
I arrived less eager to understand everything immediately and more willing simply to look around first.