The Empusium

Whether we like it or not, motherhood is the one and only thing that justifies the existence of this troublesome sex,’

on the topic of women they all had something to say.

One of the patients left them behind.’

A nervous thought flashes through Wojnicz’s mind – the words ‘left behind’ have unsettled him, but he has no time to reflect, everyone is waiting downstairs, and the boots are a perfect fit.

Wojnicz told him about Doctor Semperweiss’s prognosis, adding that he might even be able to go home for Christmas.

Opitz merely sighed.

The chair was for tying someone up.

Wojnicz realized that he must be in the room of the deceased, the woman whom he had seen only fleetingly. He touched the fabric of the dress, and the flounce on a petticoat. He squatted to run a finger over the neatly polished boot leather and then stealthily retreated into the corridor.

And in this brief moment everything defines itself anew, marking out its limits and aims afresh; just for a short while, blurred shapes cluster together again.

spiderweb stretched between the blackberry bushes

One might well be scared of them on first sight.

The other faces were 82unfamiliar, though some of them attracted his attention because they were dark, with black rings around the eyes.