German fiction -- Translations into English; Short stories, German -- Translations into English
The man looked down again at the white face in her lap. “There’ll be no
use here for doctor or Rescue Society, Miss.”
“Oh, go!--for God’s sake go!”
“I’m going, Miss--but don’t get afraid in the darkness here.”
He hurried down the street. “’Twasn’t my fault,” he murmured as he ran.
“Such an idea! to drive down this road this time o’ night.”
Emma was left alone with the unconscious man in the gloomy street.
“What shall I do now?” she thought. “It can’t be possible--it can’t.”
The thought circled dizzily in her brain--“It can’t be possible.”
Suddenly she seemed to hear a low breathing. She bent to the pale
lips--no--not the faintest breath came from them. The blood had dried
on temple and cheek. She gazed at the eyes, the half-closed eyes, and
shuddered. Why couldn’t she believe it?... It must be true--this was
Death! A shiver ran through her--she felt but one thing--“This is a
corpse. I am here alone with a corpse!--a corpse that rests on my lap!”
With trembling hands she pushed the head away, until it rested on the
ground. Then a feeling of horrible aloneness came over her. Why had she
sent the coachman away? What should she do here all alone with this
dead man in the darkness? If only some one would come--but what was she
to do then if anybody did come? How long would she have to wait here?
She looked down at the corpse again. “But I’m not alone with him,” she
thought, “the light is there.” And the light seemed to her to become
alive, something sweet and friendly, to which she owed gratitude. There
was more life in this little flame than in all the wide night about
her. It seemed almost as if this light was a protection for her, a
protection against the terrible pale man who lay on the ground beside
her. She stared into the light until her eyes wavered and the flame
began to dance. Suddenly she felt herself awake--wide awake. She sprang
to her feet. Oh, this would not do! It would not do at all--no one must
find her here with him. She seemed to be outside of herself, looking at
herself standing there on the road, the corpse and the light below her;
she saw herself grow into strange, enormous proportions, high up into
the darkness. “What am I waiting for?” she asked herself, and her brain
reeled. “What am I waiting for? The people who might come? They don’t
need me. They will come, and they will ask questions--and I--why am I
here? They will ask who I am--what shall I answer? I will not answer
them--I will not say a word--they can not compel me to talk.”
The sound of voices came from the distance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account