Winter refuses to give way to spring this year. It is much colder than usual this season. There’s been alternating rain and snow since early March. The gray of the morning mists lingers all day.

At last, on Friday morning, it clears slightly. The dark, gray-black clouds lift a little. Now and then the cloud cover breaks entirely, and the first rays of the spring sun shine tentatively through.

At midday, however, the sky grows dark again, and in the afternoon rain begins once more. It is so gloomy that you might think the day was already coming to an end, and night was falling.

Two figures, clad entirely in black, are on the move in this dim light. They are making for the only farm anywhere near. One of them is pushing a bicycle, the other carries a backpack. The farmer, who has just left the house to go to the sheds and stables, prudently lets his dog off its leash. Only when the two figures have almost reached the farm does he see that they are both women.

He whistles the dog back and holds it firmly by the collar.

One of the two women, the one with the backpack, asks for directions. They’re looking for the Danner family’s farm in Tannöd, she says. They’ve lost their way in the poor light. Can he help them? Does he know how to get to the farm?

“Over there, beyond the last field, turn left into the woods and you can’t miss it,” he replies.

The two of them go on. The man puts his dog on its chain again and thinks no more about the couple.