Milena Moser on applause at the right moment: Woman on the roof

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Two young men break into a small corner store not to rob it, but to get help. “Christos, do you have a ladder?” – they shout. “We need a ladder.” Christos, the owner, comes out from behind the shelves and wipes his hands on his apron. “Why do you need a ladder?” – he asks carefully. He doesn’t yet allow panic to overwhelm him, but the young people almost shout: “There’s a woman on the roof!”

Now we all leave our shopping baskets and go outside. The young men I call tech bros (which is probably statistically true) point upward excitedly. Above the store on the corner there are two floors of apartments, and above, on the sloping roof, there is actually a woman. She is wearing pajama pants, a raincoat and fur boots. With one hand she holds her jacket in front of her chest, with the other she waves to us, or maybe even waves us off. As if to say, don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. But this is obviously not the case.

“Don’t worry Stacey, we’re here!” – shout the tech brothers. So now we know her name, which clearly confuses the woman. The young people explain to those standing nearby that she locked herself, left her mobile phone in the apartment, and then climbed the fire escape to the roof in the hope of somehow getting through the bathroom window.

I involuntarily let out a deep sigh. I send a mental statement of solidarity to the roof. I understand this woman so well! How many times has something similar happened to me, how many times have I chosen the most difficult, cumbersome, senseless way to get out of the mess I created. Simply because I was embarrassed to ask for help. Or because I didn’t even think about it. Oh, how I scold myself at these moments! And so that half of the neighbors don’t follow me…

The tech brothers engage in the most adventurous rescue scenarios, which are finally interrupted by a slightly annoyed Christos. “You don’t need a ladder,” he says, pointing down the street where the fire station is just turning the corner. The station is nearby, but the crew still likes to ride to the cafe across the road in a bright red fire truck.

Frustrated, the tech bros pack up their hero fantasies, the firefighters postpone their coffee break and pull out the ladder instead. A muscular firefighter who could have come straight out of a television series nimbly climbs onto the roof and leads the excluded woman to safety to the applause of those around him.

But the most beautiful thing, as I think later, the most beautiful thing was not the salvation itself. The best part is that no one made stupid jokes or snide comments. On the contrary, half the district supported the stranded woman, supported her and applauded her.

The next time I find myself in a similar situation – and I definitely will – I will remember this moment. I won’t beat myself up again about how stupid it was, but I do imagine a crowd of people cheering me on and saying nice things to me. I’ll hear the fire sirens and know I’m not alone.

Source: Blick