The girl with a cheerful disposition seemed to her horror to have been born into a strict Calvinist environment. Her mother in particular used to threaten her with severe punishments from God if she did not stick to his rules. But the girl was not only cheerful, she was also intelligent. At the age of nine, as a sort of test, she shouted out the worst of oaths in the street – and waited for the reaction. When none came, she informed her mother that she would no longer attend church, now that God didn’t react. At the age of eighteen she left home. She was fluent in three languages and got jobs in lands near and far. In love she was successful, had many friends and after eighteen relationships married her true love in her 25th year. A somewhat older man with the same experiences as her. They had three children, their marriage lasted over fifty years. Fifty years of monogamous love. The strict, unyielding mother, who continued to badger her cheerful daughter with bitter reproaches until her death, was proved wrong. I knew their entire story and have always gloated over erroneous predictions and the surprising twists and turns water takes on its path to the sea.
This ZKV was included in an article by Tommy Wieringa about an interview with A.L. Snijders, 29 April 2019
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