Читать книгу Chasing the King of Hearts - Ханна Кралль - Страница 27

A Virgin

Her husband helps another person he knows to escape through the sewers. The woman spends the night in Bolek’s basement—Izolda is to pick her up early in the morning.

The woman has a “good” look: thick braid, gray eyes, fair skin, and a small nose sprinkled with freckles. They head home. At the first corner they run into a policeman. He looks the women over, grabs the girl by the braid, and pulls her into an entrance. The girl pushes him away, the policeman jostles her against the wall and unbuttons her blouse. Mister, Izolda says in her non-Jewish voice, who do you think you are? Why don’t you go out and catch some Jews and leave decent people alone! So?—the policeman turns away from the woman’s bust—You want me to go to the workshop in the basement? The sewer guides are still there, Bolek, her husband . . . Shut your mouth, he barks at the girl, but she has no intention of doing so. On the contrary, she starts wailing louder and louder: Let me go, I’m still a virgin . . . The situation is getting unpleasant. People are going to work, they might hear, might get curious . . . Because who shouts “I’m a virgin” at dawn? And who can a policeman shove around inside an entrance like that and get away with it? They could be in for a lot of trouble. Fortunately the policeman is put off by the fact that the girl is a virgin. So he turns to Izolda, and she already knows what to do. She doesn’t wail and doesn’t struggle. The acquaintance looks discreetly away. The policeman buttons his pants and the two women go home.