Two Stories in Memory of Two Special Friends.

I was happy that Hennie became my friend even though she lived in a village further on.
On chilly winter days we often visited each other and had a coffee together. We both were fond of gardening and went quite often to rose growers and garden centers. We also followed a hobby course together, we tryed to make beautiful things like dols and theepots, painting them, many more things. She was much better because she had more patience than me, but doing things together made both our lives happier. Also we read the same books and talked about them extensively. Every time we cozily sat outside in her arbor drinking coffee or tea, she told me about her many travels to Brazil, South Africa, Tunisia, Norway, etc. One day she said: ”my husband wants to take me to Thailand”. “Oh lovely, Hennie”. “Yes Dinkie, but I don’t want to go. It’s not the first time that I don’t want to go and every time he starts talking about it again”. “But why Hennie, why don’t you want to go there?” “Dinkie, I don’t know. I am scared to death to go to that country”. We have talked about it for hours, but she still had nightmares about Thailand, she was so scared and she didn’t know why. In the beginning I thought it was strange, but at a certain moment we stopped talking about it, it made here always upset, because she herself did not understand. Five years, and many countries later, on December 23rd, I met her again at her daughter’s place. “Dinkie, you will never guess where I’m going on the 4th of January?” I didn’t guess of course. Thailand, she said, how do you like that. We have met a couple in Spain, who go there every year during the winter for two months and they asked us to come along. With them I dare to do it, it actually is nonsense that I shouldn’t. It is beautiful there and we are only going for one month. Of course, I’m still frightened, but I will try it any way, how about that. I said: ”Hennie, are you sure, you’ve been so frantic about it for so long, is this really what you want?” “Dinkie, it’s now or never. With the four of us I’ll dare to do it.” “Okay, dear Hennie, have a good trip, be careful and have lots of fun”. Hennie left and on January 7 her daughter called me in the morning and in tears she told me that here dear mother had died in Thailand. I cried and screamed how is this possible, than she told me that after dinner the evening before she was not feeling well. The next morning she still felt terrible she had to vomit and felt sick, here husband wanted to call a doctor, but as he was being busy doing that, his wife got worse and before his astounded eyes, his wife died, she had been ill only for some hours. No one knew what caused her death. Her husband didn’t want an autopsy to be conducted in Thailand, he wanted to come home as soon as possible, he was completly in shock. And so Hennie came home in a lead coffin and there I saw the lovely woman Henny again, who had been so afraid to go to Thailand. My heart was crying for here, all this time she had somehow known that she should not go there. We said goodbye to her in our community center. Hennie was only 52 years old, much too young. I lost a dear friend, she was too young to die. 9 of january I recieved a postcard from here:" Dinkie I am here and everything is oke, beautiful hotel and beautiful wether, all is wel, see you in Holland again.
Dinkie