Blissfully lost

She stands there, clearly at a loss. Catapulted into a strange world. Admittedly, she had been thoroughly trained on Auroris for her mission in Basel. She had mastered a perfect Baseldytsch (Basel dialect) with the intonation of an older woman, been introduced to the Basel carnival tradition, and had even studied the rules of conduct at the Basel Daigg in depth. Appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the station, effectively disguised by a carefully crafted anonymity, she embarked on her mission on Earth.

Yet it had not been foreseeable on Auroris that she would experience a state of complete isolation—one characteristic of people of this age and from which it is difficult to break free. Thus, within this artificially created isolation, joyful and spontaneous interaction with the human species is practically impossible for her. The best she can manage is to remain entirely within her deeply inner state of happiness and, in this way, amidst all the indifference she encounters, to come across an innocent smile of a child now and then.

© Chandra Mäder