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Mr. K proposed me to visit there again.
I waited for eight months until the water lilies bloomed beautifully.
I heard many different languages and saw everyone around the pond smiling.
I just stared at the water surface from morning until evening.
The water ruffled in the light, reflecting the sky, clouds, trees, and winds.
Next day, I stood in front of the painting that depicted the pond.
It was exactly the same as the scene I had stared at the day before.
The painting was abstract and yet surprisingly realistically rendered.
The painter decided to donate the painting series to the state of France on the day after the Armistice of 1918 went into effect during World War I.
Those works were housed in a museum as he intended, in hope of providing people a place to meditate peacefully forever.
His hope is still in effect.
That pond does as well, and it will still await visitors to come from around the world 100 or 200 years later.
I am going to tell Mr. K that I saw this pond.
(translated by Sumiko Yamakawa)
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