The Darling of Dachau
Battered skulls
For all sad words
Of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been.”
“What were you trying to prove today, Dirk?”
The lighting was dim in the open room and through the heavy curtains, small trickles of moonlight swept in. Shadows danced across the red carpeted floor, passing one another to later be entwined. A tall woman stepped from the bathroom floor with a white towel encasing her long figure. She looked exhausted and her lips tingled from the excess remover that was left on her skin after cleaning her formerly stained lips. Her glare hardly penetrated the intentional victim, her husband, who was seated next to a dresser on an ornate throne of a chair, fingers stroking the smooth curves of a glass elephant. The elephant was small in the man’s calloused palm and as it rolled to the edge of his hand, it caught the light, so small blue crystals burst on the ceiling and danced with the passing shadows. The man peered upward, and as he smirked, the elephant slid into his pocket. The crystals vanished and he stood.
The woman lowered herself to the mattress. When she spoke, her words were carefully selected. They didn’t show a fraction of the rage she felt.
“I’d like you to know… I had placed all my faith in you. I trusted you to-to love me and comfort me and care for me. I don’t know what we have now, but whatever it is, it needs to change. I just can’t deal with it any- Are you even listening, Dirk?”
Her gray eyes flashed to his and for a moment they met and she could see everything in him. She shook her head, and scowling, snatched a book off the propped shelf. The pages rustled for awhile as she ordered herself to focus and try her hardest not to scream.
“So you don’t care anymore.” she snuffed and rolled over, pulling the sheets with her. “Well, fine.”
She was sleeping within half an hour.
During the time past, Dirk hadn’t moved. As the clock on the wall clicked, he sauntered quietly to the bathroom. The door was slightly ajar and with his thumb, he stepped through and pushed it silently closed. He listened for his wife’s soft breathing and when it returned, he placed his hands on the sink handle. Cold water rushed through and pummeled the ends of his hands and they tingled. He lowered his head to the counter base and slapped icy water on his skin. He turned the handle to stop and took a towel from the closet, wiping the long crevices of his face. The blood in his head pounded as the water slid from his nose like rain. He took a step back and wrung the towel, slapping it on the faucet to dry. His hand lurked on the door handle and when he opened it, he saw his wife, staring back. He moved to her, feet even on the carpet, never looking away from the deep gray pools of her gaze.
Her silver stare held him there and for an infinite amount of time, time was nonexistent. Before he could comprehend what exactly he was doing, he had slid onto the mattress beside her and he had held her just as she held him. As his mind whirred softly and realization came over him, she pushed his chest away.
“What are… What are we, Dirk?”
“What we are now is this.”
Of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been.”
“What were you trying to prove today, Dirk?”
The lighting was dim in the open room and through the heavy curtains, small trickles of moonlight swept in. Shadows danced across the red carpeted floor, passing one another to later be entwined. A tall woman stepped from the bathroom floor with a white towel encasing her long figure. She looked exhausted and her lips tingled from the excess remover that was left on her skin after cleaning her formerly stained lips. Her glare hardly penetrated the intentional victim, her husband, who was seated next to a dresser on an ornate throne of a chair, fingers stroking the smooth curves of a glass elephant. The elephant was small in the man’s calloused palm and as it rolled to the edge of his hand, it caught the light, so small blue crystals burst on the ceiling and danced with the passing shadows. The man peered upward, and as he smirked, the elephant slid into his pocket. The crystals vanished and he stood.
The woman lowered herself to the mattress. When she spoke, her words were carefully selected. They didn’t show a fraction of the rage she felt.
“I’d like you to know… I had placed all my faith in you. I trusted you to-to love me and comfort me and care for me. I don’t know what we have now, but whatever it is, it needs to change. I just can’t deal with it any- Are you even listening, Dirk?”
Her gray eyes flashed to his and for a moment they met and she could see everything in him. She shook her head, and scowling, snatched a book off the propped shelf. The pages rustled for awhile as she ordered herself to focus and try her hardest not to scream.
“So you don’t care anymore.” she snuffed and rolled over, pulling the sheets with her. “Well, fine.”
She was sleeping within half an hour.
During the time past, Dirk hadn’t moved. As the clock on the wall clicked, he sauntered quietly to the bathroom. The door was slightly ajar and with his thumb, he stepped through and pushed it silently closed. He listened for his wife’s soft breathing and when it returned, he placed his hands on the sink handle. Cold water rushed through and pummeled the ends of his hands and they tingled. He lowered his head to the counter base and slapped icy water on his skin. He turned the handle to stop and took a towel from the closet, wiping the long crevices of his face. The blood in his head pounded as the water slid from his nose like rain. He took a step back and wrung the towel, slapping it on the faucet to dry. His hand lurked on the door handle and when he opened it, he saw his wife, staring back. He moved to her, feet even on the carpet, never looking away from the deep gray pools of her gaze.
Her silver stare held him there and for an infinite amount of time, time was nonexistent. Before he could comprehend what exactly he was doing, he had slid onto the mattress beside her and he had held her just as she held him. As his mind whirred softly and realization came over him, she pushed his chest away.
“What are… What are we, Dirk?”
“What we are now is this.”