Wherever I look as I stroll through the Croatian capital, I see letters of all sizes, shapes, and colors. More often than not, they come one after another in files of different length. In Latin characters, they turn into words at once. I cannot but understand what is written without even trying. The same holds for Greek and Cyrillic characters I occasionally come across. They turn into words without fail. And I cannot but be annoyed with this predilection of my mind. Indeed, I would prefer to see just letters. Just characters. I would prefer them to have no meaning for me. None whatsoever. Which is why I appreciate Chinese, Arabic, or Hebrew characters ever more. They do not turn into words no matter how long I stare at them. They remain just characters. Come to think of it, I wonder whether I could ever unlearn to read? Yes, unlearning is the word. If only I could unlearn so many things that annoy me no end. So many things I cannot imagine ever wishing to know. And the written word is the first thing that comes to my mind in this connection. If I could not read, I would not be able to write, either. The bliss.