"Life's but a walking shadow"

I have never liked old people. I believe it is because to my own fear of dying. I have never been able to understand how a person can face the latter days of their life knowing they are actually their last. I think I have focused my attention to this subject with the exact purpose of solving this mystery. I have taken photographs of old people, from a small Alpine community where time seems to stand still and winters are endless, longing for the sun. The old villagers end up spending a lot of time at home, to the point that their homes ressemble their occupants. I haven't solved the mystery, not yet, but I have seen in some of these folks that you can wait peacefully for time to pass by. In others I have sensed fear, I have seen their smiles turn to smirks in front of my lens. Some of them have left us, others are still where I have photographed them, waiting.