Radio has long been part of our lives, but nowadays people increasingly listen to radio in their cars and on their phones. Yet the first radio receivers have long been forgotten.
One day, a young man named Paul was taking his usual walk in the park. He stood out from his peers. They preferred spending time at computers and communicated with each other more and more by phone. Paul, however, preferred face-to-face interaction and nature walks. He loved to sit in the park and read a book.
On this occasion, Paul was sitting on a bench in the park reading a book when he suddenly heard a woman's voice coming from the rose bushes. Paul headed straight there. But he found no one. In the bushes lay an old radio receiver. The sound was coming from it.
A woman with a pleasant voice was reading a novel—the very same one Paul had started reading a moment ago. He was amazed. The woman had a pleasant voice, and she made insightful commentary as she read through the novel.
Paul took the radio with him. Whenever he had a free moment, he would turn on the radio and listen to the woman's pleasant voice. But he didn't just like her voice; he loved the literature she selected.
When Paul determined the broadcast frequency of this radio station, he couldn't find its name. Based on information available in public sources, such a station simply couldn't exist.
Paul began listening to this station more and more frequently and noticed that broadcasting was interrupted on certain days and times. Since the woman was well-read, Paul assumed she was studying at a university, likely in a literature-related program. He began thinking about how to find her. After all the time he'd been listening to the radio, the young man had fallen in love with the woman.
Time passed. Paul constantly listened to the radio, dreaming of meeting and talking to this woman in person. He was certain she was like him, that she stood out from her peers, because it was clear she read a great deal.
Then one day, during one of the radio broadcasts, the woman decided to tell how she had created her channel. Her mother had been a scientist and had created all the necessary equipment and secured a specific radio frequency. She shared with her listeners what she knew herself. But no one listened to her. After all, listening to radio isn't fashionable these days, especially not scientific topics. When her mother became ill, the radio station was abandoned. And when her mother passed away, the woman decided to continue her work in her mother's memory. Now she shares with her listeners what she knows. She mentioned where she studied.
The next day, Paul took the old radio receiver and went to the university the woman had named. A young woman approached him:
Hello, where did you get this radio receiver?
I found it in the park.
Paul replied.
My mother made this radio. It only picks up one single station. Have you been listening to it?
I simply fell in love with this station. Is it you who runs it?
the young man asked.
Yes, it's me. Do you like it?
Very much. I dreamed of finding you. You're an excellent conversationalist. And nowadays it's so hard to find someone who doesn't spend time on a computer or glued to their phone. But you, like me, prefer books, am I right?
Yes, that's right.
the woman replied.
From that day on, they were never apart. He would pick her up from university, and they would go to the park, where they would sit on a bench for hours and talk. They decided to set up a radio in the park and read books for everyone. Soon, young people began gathering in the park to listen to the broadcasts.
And finally, they unplugged from their phones and computers. Young people began leaving suggestions for improving the radio station. Soon there weren't enough benches in the park.
There's nothing better than face-to-face communication. Don't forget to meet with your friends and loved ones. And the world will reveal itself to you in completely new colours.
