The Foreigner

The Foreigner What does one do when your pension is small? He lived in an industrial town in England not green and pleasant. Rows of brick houses, a tiny front yard too narrow for a car. He could not thrive here; going back to Sweden was out too expensive he would need help from the state to hand him accommodation. He settled in Portugal, a country he knew little about low wages, and he could get by with his modest pension. He bought a ruin, fixed it up, and had a home of his own. He never learned the language, can go to a café, no need to speak. He had planned to live out in his house, but elderliness and illness stopped this dream. He sold his house moved in with his partner, she has a big flat and he helps pay the bills. Life is good, but when he closes his eyes, his thoughts go back to his small house and a dog, he had.