Twin words

TWIN WORDS

Yet again the question arises: What do people love in the world?

Is there something which everyone, without exception, always says yes to? To love, perhaps? But that word has too many meanings.

Yes, there is one thing that we all desire and we are always happy to accept: Words of truth. But there are so many countries, people, ideas…How do we know if we have truly been understood? Does one single truth exist amongst us all?

Russian is my mother tongue. Then came Swedish and English.

Now Spain is my home.

When you reach a new country, there is much you need to learn, understand, express…”Twin words” are the first stars to shine in your verbal universe. Words which sound alike in different languages. “Visual sounds” which help us to be understood, and bring happiness. Someone approaches…Across from you, he begins to perform a foreign melody of letters; he stands in the fog. Suddenly you hear: “violin”, “ocean”, “planet”, “literature”…You understand them, they are shared words. The fog begins to lift and the meaning becomes clearer, like film being developed. We smile. We both know what a “mandarin” is. The fragrance of orange blossoms envelops the atmosphere.

I have spread my wings. I have flown over borders and reached another country. The first things I find are the words we have in common, and I love them and feel grateful for having found them. With the words in this book I shall begin to weave a beautiful new language.

-Then… What should we do, do you think, to know each other better?

-Abolish borders.

-Which borders?

-National borders.

A. Tarkovsky. Nostalgia.