Читать книгу Die Katze namens Mülltonne - Egon Harings - Страница 10

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Augusta, finally they have reached this place. Augusta is where the Blackwood River flows into the Indian Ocean. The place was founded in 1830 and is named after Augustus Frederick, 1^st Duke of Sussex, who was the sixth son of King George III of England. The Flinders Bay Caravan Park, which Walter is now heading for, is only a short distance from Augusta. This park is part of the Holiday Park that is an easy access paradise for wind and kite surfers, stand up paddle boarders and surfers when the ocean swell is up. A short 3 minute walk away is the grassed Flinders Bay picnic area situated on the calm, clear and child friendly Flinders Bay beach. This is where Carla plans to go with Dustbin to enable her cat to sniff the ocean surf. To go? Yes, Dustbin should be kept on a leash. “It will be unusual for Dustbin, but it will have to get used to if it doesn’t want to be alone in the trailer”, Carla says to herself.

Before Walter can drive into the caravan park, he must register at the reception. He hopes to be allocated a free space, because the caravan park is well occupied, as he finds out himself. He’s lucky; he gets a space near the end of the park. The trailer is allowed to stand there, but not the car. He must park it outside the camping area. “I like the space where the trailer is now, but not the space where our car is now, outside of the camping area”, says Walter when he had parked the car where he was allowed to and has returned to Carla. “Well, at least there’s no smell of exhaust gas where we are now, gas that we both don’t like”, replies Carla. “Thus Dustbin can also enjoy the clean air and is not disturbed by car noise”, she says too.

The following day Carla is alone with Dustbin on the caravan site. Walter went to Cape Leeuwin the most southwesterly point of mainland Australia, to fish. The cape was referred to as t landte Leeuwin on early Dutch maps around 1622. The cape was also sighted from the Dutch ship De Leeuwin, which means the lioness. In the years that followed, the cape was seen by many Dutch, French and English explorers, such as François Thijssen on the Gulden Zeepaaard in 1627, Louis François Marie Alesno de St Allouam on the Gross Venture in 1722, Matthews Flinders on the HMS Investigator in 1801. In 1830 the area around the cape was settled. – Not far from the lighthouse, the largest in Western Australia, Walter lays his fishing rods from a small ledge. A drink and a sandwich that Carla gave him should be enough to spend a few quiet hours by the Indian Ocean and then bring two or three caught fish to Carla to secure dinner.

While Walter is fishing in the ocean, Carla is sitting far away in the caravan space on a camping chair in front of the trailer and reading a book. She enjoys the fresh breeze that comes from the ocean and does not notice that Dustbin is taking the opportunity to seek the distance outside of the trailer. Dustbin jumps out of the trailer behind Carla and quickly moves away. It takes a while before Carla goes into the trailer to see what Dustbin is doing. “Dustbin, where did hide yourself? Come out so I can give you a treat.” There is nothing that moves. Carla looks into every corner of the trailer inside. Dustbin is nowhere and Carla is worried. She jumps out of the open door of her mobile apartment, starts running and calls out loudly: “Dustbin, Dustbin where are you?” When a woman hears this whose trailer is only a few meters away, she answers just as loudly: “A dustbin is about 50 meters from here. I can show you the dustbin.” “No, that’s not necessary. My cat is called Dustbin”, Carla replies. “I see. But that’s a strange name for a cat.” “Yes. But my husband and I chose this name because the cat likes to rummage around in dustbins that are not locked.” “Sill a strange name you gave your cat … But I’ll help you find your cat”, replies the woman, already shouting out loud: “Dustbin, Dustbin, we are looking for you.” So they both walk separately across the large campsite.

At one point they meet calling and walk now a part of the way together, but calling again and again: “Dustbin, Dustbin.” Another woman hears this and shakes her head. “Dustbin? A dustbin is right in front of you. You just have to open your eyes only.” Carla replies: “Dustbin is no dustbin. Dustbin is the name of my cat that ran away ant that we are looking for now.” “I see; a cat with a strange name. But guess what, I’m a cat lover and so I’ll help you find it.” With these words, the woman joins the search. Together they now move across the campsite and call: “Dustbin, Dustbin.” A couple who sees this now shakes their heads and the wife says to her husband: “There were just two crazy people running across the campsite calling for a dustbin, now there are three. Not that an epidemic breaks out and everyone is going crazy, walking past dustbins, not seeing them and continuing to look what is in front of them.” “That can happen”, replies the husband and is amazed when one of the three women comes back, points under a trailer and calls out loudly: “There it is, there it is.” “Can I help you or do you need a doctor”, the husband says to the woman who is still pointing under the trailer. “No … but these are not kind words of you that you utter. You’d better help me catch Dustbin now that is under the trailer because crawling is too hard for me.” The man laughs and replies: “Madam, I really think you need a doctor. There’s no dustbin under my trailer.” As soon as the man has uttered these words, Carla is already there with the other woman. “That’s what we’re looking for.” The man shakes his head and calls to his wife, who has meanwhile moved a few meters away to run errands: “Honey, you’re walking away while I’m dealing with three crazy women.” “We’re not crazy”, Carla replies indignantly, throws herself on the floor and crawls under the trailer to carefully grab Dustbin, who has crawled behind a wheel in fear. Then she crawls back, holding Dustbin, and comes out from under the trailer. “Since when have cats existed that hide under my trailer?” “Since today”, Carla replies angrily, while the other two women shake their heads blankly, when they hear the man’s question. “No heart for animals”, says one of the women before she leaves with the other and Carla.

“You are sure to be happy to be able to hold your cat in your arms again”, says one of the two women with whom Carla is now going back to her trailer, holding Dustbin tightly in her arms and feeling the purr of her favorite. “Yes and how”, replies Carla, “… I’m so grateful to both of you that I have Dustbin back without anything happening to it. It is purring in my arms right now, constantly showing that it is satisfied. My husband went fishing to provide dinner; otherwise he would have helped find our favorite too.”

When Carla is back to her trailer, she says to the two helpful women: “Many thanks for your help. In the next few days we absolutely have to have a glass of wine together before I and my husband leave the campsite.” “We can do that with pleasure”, says the woman, whose trailer is only a few meters away. “And I’ll be there too”, the other woman replies, before they both leave.

In the evening, just before sunset, Walter also comes back from fishing. He brings four fish with him, all of which end up on the grill that same evening. During the meal, Carla tells what she and Dustbin experienced during the day. Walter laughs and says: “Then you had a fun day.”

It is a sunny afternoon, warm but not hot, when the three women sit together to have a glass of wine from the vineyards south of Perth. Carla has put a cheese platter on the large camping table and is talking to the two women. They enjoy the afternoon hours. Dustbin in in the trailer and is having its afternoon nap while Walter drove again to the ocean to go fishing. Fishing is his leisure time passion and Carla is always happy when he makes a big catch and brings it home, then there is a feast that both of them particularly like.

On one of the few vacation days at Flinders Holiday Park, Carla goes fishing with Walter. Of course, Dustbin accompanies them. Not far from the lighthouse on the Cape, which is one of the three great capes of the southern hemisphere with the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn and is a symbolic waypoint for reaching or passing Australia for ocean navigation to or from the open Indian Ocean, Walter lays his Fishing on the anvil-shaped peninsula, which is located in the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park. Between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste there is also range of hills, the Leeuwin-Naturaliste-Ridge.

When Walter with the fishing rods and Carla with Dustbin on a leash walk towards a cliff from where Walter intends to fish, they are watched by people on the beach. “What kind of strange dog do you lead on a leash?” a woman suddenly asks. “Strange dog? This is our cat”, replies Carla angrily. “I have never seen a cat that is kept on a leash”, the woman answered promptly. “Then you see it now” Carla replies as she walks on with Walter and is keeping Dustbin on the leash. But Walter is just astonished at the woman’s remark.

As soon as they reach the cliff, Walter throws out his fishing rods and hopes for a good catch. The cliff is a steep rock that is not too high. Meanwhile, Carla is busy with Dustbin. Her cat needs petting because it doesn’t like the ledge on which it is with Carla and Walter. Petting calms Dustbin down, it is what do its soul good too. So they can hold out together the time until evening comes. Until then, it is a time when Dustbin is also spoiled with lots of treats.

The evening is approaching. The sun has reached the edge of the ocean. The blood-red fireball slowly sinks into the water, offering a magnificent play of colors. Carla enjoys the moment when the life-giving star sinks into the Indian Ocean. It’s a moment that Walter also enjoys. He only caught three fish. But they are enough for the upcoming dinner. He has already put the fishing rods ready to go so that he can watch the last minutes of the sunset.

It is already dark when they make their way to the car. Walter lights the way with a torch. Nobody can be seen on the beach. “I think we’re alone here in God’s nature”, says Walter. “You don’t have to think it’s us”, Carla replies, keeping Dustbin on the leash again, “… No one bothered us, no one makes a stupid remark, Dustbin can be led on a leash like a dog and a fresh breeze that pleasantly touches my skin blows from the water and from the ocean you can hear a faint sound. I’m feeling as if I would be in paradise.” Walter doesn’t reply, he only nods his head. But Carla cannot see it. When they are sitting in their car and drive back to the camping site, Carla hums a song. She is happy. Dustbin lies on her lap and lets itself be petted. The world cannot be more beautiful for both of them.