The Quiet Hour

Each Thursday, an elderly man visited the town museum. He bought a ticket, walked past the paintings and sat on a bench facing a plain blue wall. After an hour, he left.

Nadia, one of the guards, wondered why he never looked at the art. She was proud of the museum and wanted visitors to enjoy its collection. One week, she offered him a leaflet about a new exhibition.

"Thank you," he said, putting it into his bag without opening it.

The following Thursday, Nadia finally asked what he liked about that particular room. The man explained that he cared for his wife at home. His daughter visited her once a week so that he could have a little time to himself.

"Everywhere else, I feel I should buy something or talk to someone," he said. "Here, I can just sit."

After that, Nadia greeted him without suggesting things to see. When the museum planned to remove the bench, she asked them to leave it.

Months later, the man stopped in front of a painting on his way out. Nadia did not go over. She let him look for as long as he wanted.