Foto: Andreas Weilguny, Unsplash
Anne (2)
They’re still standing outside the Cathedral. The Cologne Cathedral. Surrounded by tourists from all corners of the earth—and the teenagers are still refusing to enter.
Stubborn and calm.
This time, they’ve gathered reinforcements: all the Muslim students in class 9b from the Bertolt-Brecht Comprehensive have joined Ahmad and Murat’s protest.
“We’re not going in there,” Murat repeats, loud and resolute. “We don’t enter churches.”
“We’re Muslims,” Ahmad adds.
“This isn’t about faith,” Anne says, increasingly desperate.
The cathedral usher is already watching them, skeptical.
“You’re not being converted or asked to pray or anything like that. We’re just looking at the landmarks of our city. And don’t forget, we’ll all be visiting the mosque next month too, okay?”
Anne knows this approach won’t work. She has to come up with something else—but what?
If only her head were clearer. If only her knees weren’t so weak, her heart pounding so hard.
All because of that WhatsApp message from Leon earlier:
“Broke up with Sarah. It was great with you. Leon.”
Ahmad and Murat aren’t budging. They don’t care about the World Heritage label.
Anne is sweating despite the cold.
All these students watching her—some smirking, some bored, some annoyed: Let’s see what she does now.
Then she spots Sarah. Her friend Sarah, who had been with Leon, the guy Anne always kind of had a thing for, with his tousled blond hair and crooked grin, like a little boy who’d gotten into trouble.
Please don’t come over, Sarah. Not in front of the students.
But Sarah walks past. Avoids Anne’s gaze. Does she know?
Anne exhales deeply. Sarah disappears into the crowd—people from all nations, all walks of life.
And suddenly, Anne knows how to convince the students.
“Look around you,” she says. “See those women over there in headscarves? They’re Muslims, right? And those over there—maybe Indians or Pakistanis? Some are probably Muslims, some maybe Buddhists. They’re not afraid to go into the cathedral. They just want to see one of the most famous buildings in Europe. And it’s in Cologne—in your city! And you don’t want to see the inside?”
Again, Murat and Ahmad exchange a long glance. Maybe they’ve made enough of a scene.
“Okay,” Murat says.
And then there’s a boy standing next to Ahmad—someone Anne hasn’t seen before. Dark-haired, very thin. Clearly a few years older than her students.
Ahmad looks startled at first, then recovers and greets the newcomer. They exchange a few words—the other boy speaks broken German.
Ahmad turns to Anne: “He’s asking if he can come with us into the cathedral.”
Anne decides to be generous—after all, she’s just scored a small victory.
“Sure,” she says.
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