Kruzmaka had gone back to his place after the event on the mountain and then disappeared from there. Mrs. Weihrich had never heard from him again, to her greatest regret.
But Kruzmaka, who did not intend to be a spoilsport, preferred to leave his true origins as his little secret, even though it gave terrible pleasure to play with fire in good time.
Now he resided in Hamburg and had rented a fancy apartment in the red-light district, as long as it was still traded as such. There was no longer really anything to be seen of the curbside birds, certainly not during the day. Through the shop window, however, one who dared, could still look at them.
She had caught his eye when she had looked at one of the whores through the glass, hands deep in her jacket pocket, rather small and slender in stature.
She stood there as long as it was possible, because the women from inside were already beginning to make vexing remarks and to call out at her.
Kruzmaka, who had been watching her with his laughing heart, could see how curiosity fought against embarrassment in the woman; she was young, twenty-five at most.
Already she had made up her mind to leave, but after only half a step she seemed to have gathered courage, she had turned around once more to the ladies, made a big kissing hand and then quickly turned away. Kruzmaka witnessed how her expression changed into joy.
As yet, when she had lightly hopped over an empty bottle, he had addressed her.
Now they lay naked and in the dark in a hideously salted tub of water not far from where they met, just around the corner, on the second floor of a tiny, very old and trashy hotel.
Ninety minutes full of stillness. A timeless endeavor, for in the weightlessness of the salt water there was no up or down, no boundaries of any kind. Just breathing and the end of all thought.
When the timer beeped to indicate that their session was over and another silence on top of that, only then did Kruzmaka speak. "What made you not send me away? Me, a total stranger to you."
In the condition they were both in now, total relaxation, dull body, dull mind, it was like coming up and hearing every sound with multiple incidences.
She cleared her throat, mumbled something, and then finally said, "I don't know exactly. ... I do something like that ... sometimes. Fake another name and identity, do things you wouldn't normally do. When it feels like the right moment. I try to live with skillful spontaneity," she smiled.
"Weren't you afraid to make such a suggestion to me, to lie here in this deprivation room with you?"
"Yes! ... and no. I've always wanted to do that. And I've always put it off. And I understand life as an artist. Isn't that what artists do? When you approached me - just like that - that desire flashed. Did you like it?" she wanted to know.
"Very much!" Kurzmaka regained his form and was irrepressibly pleased with this gift of spontaneity. "No human being has ever offered me such a trip," he said.
"Did you find it frightening?"
"Not at all! Why would it be?"
"Some fear the dark silence ... They're afraid of being alone with themselves... ," the young woman mused as she got out of the water, wrapped her robe around herself and turned on the dim light, remembering where the switch was. At that moment, she looked very confident.
"Don't artists make paintings or sculptures or performances? ... And you weren't alone, were you?" replied Kruzmaka with his usual freshness, not minding facing her in full nudity.
"Do they?" She looked directly up and down his body and continued:
"Or doesn't an artist rather live in such a way that he surrenders to the living things? Isn't art the result of a life of venturing out with one's actions, risking something, joking? Can you be an artist without ever having produced one official piece of it?" She paused for a while.
"True, you were here, but in the silence you could have been on the other side of the galaxy," she cheered nosily.
And Kruzmaka almost wanted to kiss her with delight!
The End.
This was my entry for The Inkwell. Go here to read about the weekly contest and it's requirements. This weeks prompt is "Artist". The challenge for the week is "character description".
Photo by Michael Kucharski on Unsplash - showing Hamburgs red light district St. Pauli
A fast paced urban tale of self exploration and spontaneity. Or was the meeting fate? A fun sequel to your previous story.
I can't imagine meeting girl and ending in a flotation tank soon after that. Wouldn't that be grand? Then the whole world would open up in layers upon layers of adventures. Or is there a limit to spontaneity? Perhaps, there is something to be said about laid back stability and cheerful predictability.
Love your tale. The subtle implicit romance. The sexual tension simmering between the two. Whatever happened to Mrs. Weihrich?
Thank you, I hear with pleasure that you mention the aspect of self-exploration. The encounter was a mixture of fate, chance, and will on the part of those involved.
Oh, yes! Such things happen, I have experienced them myself (although I will keep quiet about it here).
Whereby the adventure must always end exactly where it contained the short episode of its duration. It is absolutely necessary that both do not meet again. The longing to hold the adventure only makes it ordinary and finally robs it of its magic.
The limit of spontaneity ends where someone is not ready for it. One is not enough, it takes two to be risky for a brief moment, only to part ways afterwards. Some call it artistic abuse, so they believe to recognize the naughty story behind a work of art. Others say it only works that way. The artistic diva can be very endearing, at the same time caring little for lasting relationships.
Me too! However, Kruzmaka already hints at his regret, he would have liked to kiss the young woman (but didn't) but perhaps a continuation of this romance could be imagined. One of the two, however, would end it, that much seems clear. Otherwise, the entry into this episode would have been in a more ordinary setting.
Mrs. Weihrich had to be abandoned, she is married and would have fallen too much in love with Kruzmaka, whose intellect excited her. You have to know, she has a very nice husband with whom she fathered children and later could tell adventurous things to her grandchildren.
Excellently, really excellently put!
Thank you for your great comment.
Heh! I did end up taking a bath fully clothed one night long ago. But I was by myself in the bath, and only my friends around me laughing. It was a wild night. :)
Yes, eventually even the most exciting couple falls into routine. I wonder if this has to do with the pressure of life. If you and your partner are not millionaires, then you'll have to work for a living. Then there are children to raise. This brings routine into life and makes it more ordinary. If you were millionaires without children, then you could travel the world looking for exciting and spontaneous adventures.
She's a nice lady who had her adventures then did the right thing by raising a family with a loving husband. Kruzmaka is perhaps too spontaneous and could get her in too much trouble quickly.
HaHa! Was the water warm or cold? I bet, it was a funny night - LOL
Difficult to answer ... You see each other in your most ordinary situations, after having waken up, brushing teeth, burping, farting, getting old, et cetera. LOL
When all "sales" (mating rituals) are done and one has "bought" each other, the rest is negotiation, becoming artistic in solving conflicts, appreciating reliability and comfort more than adventure and unpredictability (though preserving it where possible). Bondings between the rest of the family members and near social circle. Re-creating by having kids, co-creating by taking up a project together, etc.
... Putting ones ego aside is for me the most important thing for having a steady relationship, the longing for adventures then may become something a couple can fulfill together, and so taking care of this never ending desire to have some excitement in their lives. Instead of wanting the other one to be adventurous for the self.
Life pressure can have different outcomes. For some couple it binds them together, for others it splits them apart, I think.
Yes, Kruzmaka is a wild card for people who are in relationships and that makes him oh so attractive :)
I don't even remember. That's how crazy it was.
Well said! It's like a ballet.
I like the direction you’ve taken. Oh, it’s so true! Art is risk. The courage to step out and do something different is the first step when it comes to creating the extraordinary. Thought provoking, especially because the setting is so mundane (ordinary sex), but the risk factor elevates the result
Thank you <3
I welcome very much your acknowledgement that art is known for seeking the unknown and risky. I like places which are not so clean, which show some of us humans dark and deep sides while not taking them as an opportunity to express misery about them.
Good morning @erh.germany,
I've taken up your invite to your page. I have to say, the red-light district you painted is so very foreign to me - I have felt a few times that Ink Well stories are very much gateways to different cultures and contest - it nearly had a voyeuristic temptation for the reader. The philosophical wonderings to conclude the piece were delicious in every way.
Thank you that you followed my invitation. You never were near a red light district?
I am happy to have served some of the voyeuristic temptations, I think it is quite humanly to have them.
Appreciative of the mention of the philosophical quality as well.
Bye bye
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Thank you, very much appreciated!
@silentbot star 3
why only three stars? ;-D lol