Maybe it was a coincidence

Bird-perspective: The first issue of the Lissome magazine lays flat on white marble. The cover shows three people, probably women, walking to the left upper corner of a field. They wear long summer coats in pastel colours and big hats that cover hair and shoulders. The three people are walking away and you can only see their backs.

At about 6:30 pm I find myself standing in a little book store called “Do you read me?”. Two musicians are setting up their instruments: a contrabass and an electric guitar. An impressive teapot that serves hot water and black tea with cardamom stands on the counter. Small cookies in a glass jar stand alongside – they have just the right size to eat them in one piece.

The small but famous store in the Auguststraße in Berlin-Mitte slowly fills with people. I think to myself that it’s quite brave to serve black tea in a crowded bookstore. Suddenly, the lights in the back of the room are turned off, except for one standard lamp that accommodates the musicians. The two start playing and the audience turns quiet. After a minute of soothing sounds, Dörte de Jesus, Editorial Director of “The Lissome” magazine, welcomes the audience with her gentle voice. It’s a living room atmosphere in the back. There, people are sitting on wooden stools or on pillows on the floor. The light at the front part of the room, near the entrance, is still bright and people are standing crowded, side by side. Everyone waits patiently for the readings to begin.

I let the words pour over me, just like the hot black tea is pouring down my throat.

Dörte de Jesus, Anna Rosa Krau, and Sophia Schwan read excerpts from the first issue of the freshly premiered magazine. Climate, Fashion, and Vision are the three ingredients it consists of. I let the words pour over me, just like the hot black tea is pouring down my throat. The texts are emotional, trying to wake us, shake us with their words. Nevertheless, the premiere issue of this magazine is titled “A Wakening”.

Bird-perspective: The first issue of the Lissome magazine lays flat on white marble. The cover shows three people, probably women, walking to the left upper corner of a field. They wear long summer coats in pastel colours and big hats that cover hair and shoulders. The three people are walking away and you can only see their backs.

After 45 minutes or so – I really cannot recall the time –, the reading is over. A big part of the audience buys a copy of the magazine, which is limited to 1000 prints and published with two different covers. I am instantly drawn to the cover photograph set in Nature. Three women are walking over a field, seemingly following a path to the upper left. Their pastel coats are long, covering their bodies, just like the big hats on their heads are covering hair and shoulders. Very easily I can imagine myself slipping into this photograph, wandering with these women. Maybe my coat would be a pastel green or pastel blue.

On my way home, I decide to make a stop at my local supermarket – one has cravings. Just about half an hour later, when I am sitting in my kitchen and sipping hot chocolate, I realise that I had only used vegan ingredients, which I had just bought in the supermarket: very dark chocolate and almond milk.

Maybe it was an unconscious decision, maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it was “The Lissome”.

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