New Beginnings: How to trust again

 

Winter in Vienna seemed infinitely long. Not that these temperatures for mid-February would have been unusual, but the cold season started much earlier this year than expected and had now continued for six months. The people longed for warmth and those who had holidays, flew away, towards the sun.
Daniel had missed many appointments and simply could not cancel any more. It seemed to him as if the Viennese population was afflicted with seasonal affective disorder and everyone seemed to want an appointment. Since he had changed from research to clinical psychology, he had his hands full.

 
On top of this was the call from his uncle. After many years in which there had been no reason to contact him, his uncle called today and asked if he could spare an hour for him. He said it was urgent and they should definitely meet. Since Uncle Gabriel was retired and had the time, he offered to come in person to Vienna to tell him what was going on.

 
So Daniel had invited him to his home this evening and he had called his wife to prepare for their visit. At around four o’ clock he closed his psychologist's practice in the 13th district and headed home via the subway. The ride home took half an hour, but he did not use this time as usual to get mentally and emotionally disengaged from work, but tried to find an answer to the following question: “What can my old uncle so desperately want from me?”

 

His uncle was about seventy years old and lived with Daniel's aunt on a farm near Miirzzuschlag, a little town, 200km from Vienna. His cousins hadn’t lived in Austria for years but Brigitte, the youngest daughter, studied medicine in Graz, the second largest city. What could the old man suddenly want from a psychologist? Or was it nothing to do with his profession? But then what else could it be?

 
As a student of human nature, Daniel was accustomed to predicting the reasons for the behaviour of people and mostly he succeeded. However, this time he could not imagine what this was about.
He opened the door of his apartment and the voices from the living room alerted him that his guests were already there.

 
“Uncle Gabriel, Aunt Lena! I never thought that we would ever see each other again,” he expressed with joy when he saw his relatives. “You have not changed, though. Have you discovered a secret elixir of life? “

 
“Thank you, my dear. You've grown into a real man. Come on, give us a hug.” His aunt and uncle hugged him and he greeted his wife with a sweet smile.

 
“How long has it been? Eight years? Ten years? Why do we see each other so rarely?” Daniel wondered aloud.

 
“You're always welcome to visit us, and you know it! Why have you not even come to us in the country for the weekend? The fresh air wouldn’t hurt you!” Aunt Lena, whose face had not changed in all the years, inquired.

 

If she had not had grey streaks in her hair, one would hardly be able to see that she had grown older. She still had the typical twinkles in her eyes, and her cheeks were red, just as Daniel had remembered. However, her eyes seemed to him to be gloomy at the moment.

 
“Yes, Aunt Lena. You know how it is. We work until we drop. But it's true; the 200km to Miirzzuschlag are no distance. I am ashamed! But now we are all here, let's celebrate that. Would you like Red or White to drink? “Daniel asked.

 
“This is fine already. The coffee Christine has made us is delicious. And the tap water tastes better than ours in Vienna,” his uncle praised the hospitality of Daniel's wife.

 
Daniel noticed that there was concern in his uncle’s eyes too.

 
“So, then I shall drink a Red, although Champagne would be more appropriate, now that I am seeing you both again!” the nephew said solemnly. “I always have a Blaufränkisch from your area in the house, so I can often think of you, even if we see you so rarely.”