GOLDSTAR AND ANGEL WINGS

Amazing. That was the description I found myself using as I sat on our bed in the Hayakon 48 Hostel in Tel Aviv, with my bottle of Goldstar beer in one hand. She smiled back at me as she twirled around the sunlit room with her golden hair cascading down to her slender shoulders, sparkling in the late afternoon sun, her joyful laugh as the angel wings on her back almost hit me. She was happy and her happiness was infectious. She was excited about the evening ahead as she clapped her hands with glee while staring at her reflection in the mirror, as mesmerised with the image as I was.

I finished my beer and pulled a shirt off a hanger. Unusually she was ready before me. Maybe it was the excitement of wearing the wings. She wasn’t an actual angel, we were dressing for the evening Purim celebrations, yet when I met her four years ago I believed that she might have been. We had been at a party where friends of ours introduced us. As the party progressed gravity seemed to pull the two of us together until other voices and faces dissolved around us.

Celebrations where going on all around the city. As we caught the train in from Ben Gurion airport that morning we had seen children gathering in the streets with their parents to hire costumes and to buy food, including the triangle shaped Hamentaschen pastries filled with poppy seeds or jam. We had stopped to buy some before dumping our bags at the Hayakon; the bright yellow garish hostel situated one road back from the long sandy beach. The hostel acted as a haven for backpackers and budget travellers and was where I had stayed on my previous visit to the country, staying on the rooftop at a discounted price. Having dropped the bags we spent the afternoon lazing around in the warm sunshine.

Having buttoned my shirt and helping her to adjust the straps on her costume we moved to exit the room. As she passed through the door her wings struggled to fit though the frame. Having finally overcome the obstacle I followed her laughter down the hallway, which led to the bright sunshine.