Hermann Hesse is one of the authors who had the fortune to grow old and experience and depict all stages of life. Among his most beautiful descriptions are Hesse's reflections on the later years of life, where reality takes on a playful surrealism and the past gains more reality in relation to the present. As a counterbalance to physical ailments, he praises the treasure of images that one carries in memory after a long life, which one engages with in a completely different way as activity wanes. People who have already left us continue to live within us, keeping us company and looking at us with vibrant eyes.