They both had heavy burdens to bear: an elderly woman whose husband had passed away a few years earlier, and a younger mother. She had been abandoned by her husband and was left with two small children. During the funeral of the first woman’s husband, a robin had seated itself on a bench next to the grave and remained there for a long time. During a telephone conversation with the younger woman, I had heard that she had visited her father’s grave with her children before All Saints’ Day and had cried a lot. There, too, a robin had joined them. Some time ago, I had bought three cards featuring a wooden robin. It could be detached from the card in just a few simple steps and put together. Around All Saints’ Day – following an inner impulse – I sent these cards to both women. In the message from the first woman, I read: ‘I’d had such a difficult day, full of disappointments. When I found your robin in the letterbox that evening, it really brightened up my day.’ The young mother also sent a message with a photo of the robin. In it, I read: “My children put the robin together. This gesture of solidarity during these difficult times touched me deeply!”
