Secret of old lady

(dedicated to Ivo Schwarz, former director of czech foreign intelligence)

Every of us has some secret. And some of us have even bigger secret. For example - there is an usual working class guy, but in night he is the "poèt maudit". And some boring programmer fellow transforms himself into sado-masochistic monster at night. And finally there is an old lady which is very important spy in retirement. Miss X from East London can told you a lot about that, but our story begins in Prague...

There is one supermarket on certain Prague's periphery. Very usual supermarket, very usual wednesday: Old people wandering between shelves. Bobby McFerrin singing his "Don't worry, be happy" in shop's PA system, but nobody cares. Everybody looks bored and tired - employees, customers and even the sky. It's raining a bit outside.

Self-employed mother choosing better ones from bananas. Construction worker from Ukraine choosing between an Budapest spread and garlic one. And an old lady taking litter for her cat.

Very usual wednesday in very usual supermarket. Nothing can be more boring but... but... Every of us has some secret. And some of us have even bigger secret.

Let's look on that old lady. She takes some goods - potatoes, coffee, joghurt with müsli and bananas. She reads titles of newspapers placed at cash register: "Police raid at Prague's town hall" - "UFO sighting over Čáslav military base" - nothing new at all.

A little later we see her walking on a busy street. She walks slowly. She has no reason to hurry. She is too old to hurry.

And now there is a final point of her journey - big building with armed guards, barbed wire and "Ministry of interior" sign on a massive doors. Old lady pushes the bell button. Glass eye of camera looking on her while massive doors are slowly sliding apart. She walks in.

In the gatehouse a nameless guard checking her shopping bag: potatoes, coffee, joghurt with müsli and bananas - as usual. He gives bag back to old lady and she walks through the detection frame and waits for another guard.

Later the guard walks in. He walks slowly. He has no reason to hurry. "Come please" he talks to the lady.

They are silent during their journey through the 70s era building labyrinth. Old lady once tried to talk with the guard, but those nameless guards are not much talkable. Together they silently pass some silent people in the corridor and finally they are at old lady's flat door.

"Goodbye" - "Goodbye" says to each other and old lady walks into the flat. She unpacks the shopping bags, turns on radio and looks through the window to periphery of Prague...

TO BE CONTINUED