It was summer. It was lunchtime. It was a few weeks before the national holiday. There was a wooden stage in the middle of a crossroad. It had only been erected here last night and you could see the haste. There was a stage section and behind a heavy curtain in national colors was a tent for the staff. The streets were made of cobblestones. Everything had been cleaned this morning, but normally there was a lot of garbage lying around. The houses in the area were apartment buildings. The colors of the facades had been bleached by the sun and were brittle. In some places you could see the walls or gray plaster as a quick fix. Some houses had broken windows. Some roofs had broken tiles. Many things were provisionally patched up with boards, planes or other things. Each of these houses had at least eight living units, each with enough space for a small family. But there were more people living in all the houses than that, even in some of the ones that seemed abandoned. The rents were cheap. It was the poorest neighborhood in the city.

Hundreds of people were crowded together in front of the wooden stage. The crossing was bursting with people. Many were looking out of their windows. All the balconies were full. Young people were sitting on a roof drinking beer. Sharpshooters from the city guard were lurking one roof up. The press were also present. All the major papers were represented. It was loud. The mood was rather mixed. All these people were just waiting for one person to give a speech.

There was a battered couch on the stage, a small table like from a snack bar and a garbage can next to it. On the table were a teapot and a glass, sandwiches and an apple. Everything had been collected here in the neighborhood. The couch, for example, was from a simple apartment.

Marah was here in the district last night and had apparently announced a speech for today from the loggia of a brothel, seemingly on a whim. Seemingly, because Reyji could not imagine that she had ever spontaneously decided anything halfway important in her life.

Reyji had not been there herself. She was on vacation this week. She had only read about it in the newspaper this morning and had come here to hear the speech.

Reyji was sitting at a counter in the tent behind the stage. In front of her was an ashtray with a few stubs and a beer glass that was only half full. She had been here for over an hour already. Marah had not given an exact time for her speech. Everyone only knew around lunchtime. This was another reason why the atmosphere outside was rather moderate.

An appearance like yesterday's was not completely unusual for Marah. She knew the owners of many brothel chains and was often to be found in some of them. She was not a customer. She was there to meet up with acquaintances. Reyji could not even imagine that she could have been a customer. Reyji had known her since she was a child. She had never even hinted at any sexual desire. She had never had a relationship. She was most certainly a virgin. She always wore dresses, but never ones with cleavage. They always went from the ankle to the neck. Nevertheless, there was quite a lot of pornography with her. Not with her herself, of course. It was always women who looked like her. It was often advertised directly with her name and by now there were many people who claimed that one or the other model was actually her. Reyji would like to do something about it, but it seemed that Marah did not care. After all, with an appearance like the last one, she was only fueling it. The specific brothel was modeled after the palace and had a large loggia in the middle of the building. There were usually 'performances' on this loggia. They were like plays, but for an audience with a slightly different demand. Marah probably wanted the easy attention and had therefore used the loggia for her announcement. Reyji would have liked to have seen how she had segued back into the play. There was nothing in the newspaper about it.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Reyji noticed people coming into the tent and turned away so that she was sitting at the counter with the canvas in front of her.

Glancing over her shoulder to the side, she first saw two men in black uniforms. Black leather coats, high lace-up boots, gloves and all of them had a green cloth with the national coat of arms over their left shoulder. The uniforms were unmistakable. The men were officers from the State Security Guard or SSW for short.

As Reyji had expected, Marah followed them along with a third officer. While this officer kept talking to her, Marah noticed Reyji and smiled briefly at her.

The three men from the SSW were never seen alone together. They were the heads of their respective departments. There were various symbols above the coat of arms to indicate this. Of the first two, one had a lightning bolt and the other a sword. The third man had a shield.

"I wanted to watch from the audience. Do you want Mr. Krüger to stay?" The lightning asked this question indifferently and with his hands in his pockets.

"I wanted to check the surrounding buildings a second time. It would be advisable to have one of the lads protect you." the shield replied irritably, but speaking slowly.

"Do you notice that, Mrs. Von Rosenberg? Those two don't appreciate you at all. They want to run away. But I, Siegkind Von Kristallschloss, will stay with you forever. I will never leave you. Unless you want me to. Then I can disappear immediately. I would leave everything behind and only inform you of my loneliness from my castle every week by owl." The sword spoke quickly and slowly moved its head closer and closer to Marah. "Am I allowed on the stage too?" he added guiltily at the end.

"When they dismantle it." The staff were already preparing Marah. "You can all go for now. I don't need a guard right now."

"As you wish, Mrs. Von Rosenberg. Then I'll just follow my schedule and admire you from the front along with the rest of the admirers."

The lightning turned its head to the sword in annoyance, raising its chin to glare intimidatingly at him.

"You want to be in the crowd?"

"Indeed I will. That is my intention."

"Then be quiet this time."

By the emphasis it was a threat. The sword seemed outraged. He straightened and thrust out his chest.

"I will not be silenced by a ruffian without a title."

"He's right, though. Restrain yourself."

Marah demanded it and the sword immediately shrank again, taking an arm behind his back.

"Of course, Mrs. Von Rosenberg. I'll restrain myself with all my might if that's what you want. You won't even notice my presence."

Marah waved the officers away and the three of them left the tent. The lightning stomped straight out with broad steps and seemed like he was looking for trouble. He pushed the tarpaulin aside and then he was gone. The sword first bowed with one hand on his chest and his arm still behind his back, then stalked backwards out of the tent like an overambitious butler. The shield first drank a sip from a flask, then he lit a cigarette, then he coughed for a moment, then he drank another sip from the flask to get rid of the cough, then he checked his pistol briefly and finally adjusted his round hat and only then, when the other two had long since left the tent, did he stroll leisurely outside. On the way and throughout the whole time, he eyed everyone critically like an eagle on the lookout for prey.

Reyji would say that the three of them were all people with whom you would be better off crossing the street. But that was probably the idea behind it.

After Marah had finished, she did not come to Reyji but went up the stairs to the stage and out through the curtain.

.../ End Part