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Miss Ursula Gustaffson
Outward appearance
About 18, blond, heavy faced. Tan corduroys, black shoulder bag. Looking at a London A-Z.Inside information
Swedish visitor from the town of Ostersund. Missing the first week of college to visit an English boy she met in Amsterdam.What she is doing or thinking
Amsterdam had been the best thing in her life. She met Chris in a cafe; they just started talking. He was handsome, outgoing. He took her to a church where a German conductor was recording the King's College choir in a piece by Bach. The conductor smiled so kindly. He really liked Chris. She thought Chris must be part of the choir. "No, I just met him," Chris said, not explaining further. Together they watched this beautiful music being recorded. She fell in love with him. They visited the Rijksmuseum, they ate meals, they talked and when they said goodbye at Amsterdam station, he waved, she wept. She wrote and told him she was coming.
"Would you like to dance?" an old lady asks her, in a European accent. Ursula shakes her head. She sees herself when old.
Chris never answered her letters. He may have moved. He may not want her to come. A sense of feeling foolish or betrayed rises as she gets closer to Lambeth North.
The woman next to Ursula starts to sing also. A young man gallantly leads the old lady in a waltz. Suddenly there is a party.
Oh well, thinks Ursula, take what you can. Grateful, awkward, she stands up and traces patterns of dancing in the air.
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