{"id":1157,"date":"2008-02-08T14:01:04","date_gmt":"2008-02-08T13:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jochenenglish.de\/?p=1157"},"modified":"2010-01-01T15:19:39","modified_gmt":"2010-01-01T14:19:39","slug":"withered-hopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/?p=1157","title":{"rendered":"Withered Hopes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026 ist eine gro\u00df\u00adar\u00adti\u00adge Geschi\u00adche mei\u00adner LK-Sch\u00fc\u00adle\u00adrin Eli\u00adsa\u00adbeth Weber<\/strong>. Bis zum Schluss fragt man sich WER die Geschich\u00adte eigent\u00adlich erz\u00e4hlt. Die Geschich\u00adte ist ein her\u00advor\u00adra\u00adgen\u00addes Bei\u00adspiel f\u00fcr einen unre\u00adlia\u00adble nar\u00adra\u00adtor <\/em>und f\u00fcr defa\u00admi\u00adlia\u00adriza\u00adti\u00adon<\/em> (vgl. Lodge Die Kunst des Erz\u00e4h\u00adlens<\/em>, Kap. 11). <\/em><\/p>\n

Withered Hopes<\/h4>\n

Man\u00adny was trap\u00adped in pitch-black. She could\u00adn\u2019t even see her own shi\u00adny cove\u00adring. Alt\u00adhough she did\u00adn\u2019t look it, she was smar\u00adter than most peo\u00adp\u00adle around her. She tried to con\u00adcen\u00adtra\u00adte on her sur\u00adroun\u00addings, but her thoughts were slow\u00adly drif\u00adting away under the sopo\u00adri\u00adfic sounds from the underground.Simon had memo\u00adri\u00adzed his litt\u00adle speech a gazil\u00adli\u00adon times, it see\u00admed to her. How he would ring her door\u00adbell and her sur\u00adpri\u00adse about his appearance would melt into hap\u00adpi\u00adness. Saman\u00adtha, I\u2019m so sor\u00adry. If I could go back in time, I would care more. I would be the\u00adre for you when\u00adever you need me. Wit\u00adhout you, my sun does\u00adn\u2019t shi\u00adne. Wit\u00adhout you, I am not\u00adhing.<\/em> He had said tho\u00adse five litt\u00adle sen\u00adten\u00adces over and over again, so that Man\u00adny was\u00adn\u2019t sure, if asked, she\u2019d say her name was Man\u00adny or Saman\u00adtha. Not that she could say any\u00adthing, but still. How ridi\u00adcu\u00adlous some peo\u00adp\u00adle beha\u00adved, living in their own world of illusions.And Man\u00adny was the\u00adre to help Simon. After all, he was the only one to have ever tal\u00adked to her, not caring that she would\u00adn\u2019t ans\u00adwer him.Absent-minded, she noti\u00adced that someone had sett\u00adled right across from her.\u201cDo you mind?\u201c It was an old man\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf cour\u00adse not.\u201c That was Simon\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going to Beck\u00adton Park<\/em>, too?\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. The one after that.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cVisi\u00adting someone?\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201c<\/p>\n

Man\u00adny could hear the irri\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon about the nosy man in Simon\u2019s voice. Alt\u00adhough she could only guess, the man must have been smi\u00adling encou\u00adra\u00adgin\u00adgly, so Simon continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy ex-girl\u00adfri\u00adend.\u201c And after a pau\u00adse: \u201cIt\u2019s all my fault. I for\u00adgot the flowers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now it was the old man\u2019s turn to be irri\u00adta\u00adted. \u201cThe flowers?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, the flowers. They were her ever\u00ady\u00adthing. After work she would go out in the gar\u00adden and nur\u00adse them. And on Sun\u00addays, we would sit among\u00adst them and she\u2019d look beau\u00adtiful. She was so beau\u00adtiful \u2026\u201d His voice trai\u00adled off. It star\u00adted to rain. The\u00adre was only the con\u00adstant sound from the under\u00adground and the rain pat\u00adte\u00adring against the window.<\/p>\n

After a while, the old man cle\u00adared his throat. \u201cSo she had some some flowers.\u201d Simon came to life again: \u201cSome? The house and the gar\u00adden were over\u00adflowing! She was so beau\u00adtiful with all the flowers \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Sure. But how come you and her \u2026 I mean, what hap\u00adpen\u00aded?\u201d Simon sig\u00adhed. \u201cShe went to Dub\u00adlin to visit a fri\u00adend from Col\u00adlege. Two weeks in the midst of sum\u00admer. I had to take care of her flowers. She had writ\u00adten two pages of ins\u00adtruc\u00adtions. When I had to water which flowers. She even asked me to talk to her favou\u00adri\u00adte one, the blue Lily of the Nile. But I lost the ins\u00adtruc\u00adtions and I for\u00adgot about it. I had never work\u00aded in a gar\u00adden befo\u00adre.\u201d Simon\u2019s voice tur\u00adned guilty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she came back, the lilies were withe\u00adred in the heat and she found the wate\u00adring can bro\u00adken. I did\u00adn\u2019t know it was bro\u00adken, but she thought I had done it. It must have been the cat, but that does\u00adn\u2019t mat\u00adter any\u00admo\u00adre. She said she could\u00adn\u2019t belie\u00adve that I had been too lazy to get a new one. She did\u00adn\u2019t shout at me. She just loo\u00adked at me sad\u00adly. I could\u00adn\u2019t look her in the eye. The next day I left.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was silent again. Then Simon deci\u00added he wan\u00adted to have some reassu\u00adrance. Man\u00adny felt his hand lif\u00adting her up and was dazz\u00adled by the light. \u201cI bought a new one.\u201d Man\u00adny smi\u00adled an invi\u00adsi\u00adble smi\u00adle. Simon always had to say the obvious when he was ner\u00advous. He poin\u00adted at the wate\u00adring can. \u201cI even pain\u00adted the blue lilies on it.\u201d Though a litt\u00adle hurt by the \u201cit\u201d Man\u00adny was still proud of her fan\u00adcy looks. It was hard not to get cocky.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think she\u2019ll like it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll love it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReal\u00adly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf cour\u00adse, it\u2019s wonderful!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey always do that kind of \u201cmeaningful pre\u00adsent\u201d \tstuff in films. Like in the new one. With that French actress and \twhat\u2019s\u2011his-name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, but I\u2019m sure she\u2019ll like it very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Man\u00adny was so used to humans always flat\u00adte\u00adring each other, and yet she could\u00adn\u2019t help but roll her ima\u00adgi\u00adna\u00adry eyes.<\/p>\n

In the mean\u00adti\u00adme they had come to Beck\u00adton Park<\/em>, and the old man said \u201cgood-bye\u201d and \u201cgood luck\u201d poli\u00adte\u00adly. They were the only ones left in the com\u00adpart\u00adment. Simon star\u00adted tap\u00adping his fin\u00adgers ner\u00advous\u00adly on Man\u00adny, who rever\u00adbe\u00adra\u00adted softly.<\/p>\n

Final\u00adly they arri\u00adved at their sta\u00adti\u00adon and Simon hesi\u00adtant\u00adly got up. Sud\u00adden\u00adly he stopped.<\/p>\n

Man\u00adny saw her. The tall, slen\u00adder woman not alo\u00adne. His arm around her neck and kis\u00adsing her light\u00adly, a man came towards their com\u00adpart\u00adment. Man\u00adny felt a sharp air draft befo\u00adre she hit the ground. Simon was shaking hea\u00advi\u00adly and got off the train very quick\u00adly. He was alre\u00ada\u00addy gone when Man\u00adny had found her ori\u00aden\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon again.<\/p>\n

She smells like a rose<\/em>, she thought befo\u00adre she slid under a seat as the train accelerated.<\/p>\n

It did\u00adn\u2019t mat\u00adter anymore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2026 ist eine gro\u00df\u00adar\u00adti\u00adge Geschi\u00adche mei\u00adner LK-Sch\u00fc\u00ad\u00adle\u00adrin Eli\u00adsa\u00adbeth Weber. Bis zum Schluss fragt man sich WER die Geschich\u00adte eigent\u00adlich erz\u00e4hlt. Die Geschich\u00adte ist ein her\u00advor\u00adra\u00adgen\u00addes Bei\u00adspiel f\u00fcr einen unre\u00adlia\u00adble nar\u00adra\u00adtor und f\u00fcr defa\u00admi\u00adlia\u00adriza\u00adti\u00adon (vgl. Lodge Die Kunst des Erz\u00e4h\u00adlens, Kap. 11).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,66],"class_list":["post-1157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alg","tag-literature","tag-short-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4865,"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1157\/revisions\/4865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jochenlueders.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}