EWALD CH. EMPAUS, his card read. Below, only his email address and phone number. Without contact details, he wouldn’t need a card. But he resisted to be put in a box; his name was enough. After all, these were his strengths – he was versatile and discrete. The design was simple, with a twist. Black print on white, but the back was made of green velvet. He had been so proud when the 3D-printer had finally produced the desired result. It matched the vest of his riding costume.
„What on earth do you want to use this for?“, the guy who had delivered the kit had asked, and then shaken his head when he’d heard of Ewald’s plans, „Cracking a nut with a sledgehammer.“
„My problem“, Ewald had replied. Without further ado he’d started to study the tutorials and videos. The book „DIY 3D- printers, just do it!“ had been useful, too. And then, many many attempts until he finally got the right velvety touch and colour – just so. That had been three weeks ago.
If anyone had cared to look, they would have seen the woman smiling to herself, deeply immersed in conversation. These days, when people apparently speak to themselves it’s normal to look out for an earpiece and a microphone. This woman was not connected like that to anyone else. Her gaze was fixed on the floor in front of her. „The composition of stones…“ would have been audible from her lips, but there was no-one around. She walked down the road in the shadow of the houses. It was her patch, where she had been making rounds all summer, mostly invisible. She was wearing this light down jacket, it fit snugly and had a hood that reigned in her long curly hair. It would have been possible to see the skin of her calves below her treckking pants if it hadn’t been too dark already on that November evening. The road had four lanes, an arterial leading out of the city. At this time only cars were about.
And our hero, on horseback, who appeared out of nowhere from between a few construction containers. The horse walked leisurely in the same direction as the woman, and was catching up slowly. Ewald was looking around. This looking around wasn’t only a movement of the eyes or head. His whole upper body rotated to the left and right in a forty-five degree angle. He looked poised to lift his hand to a majestic greeting. This might have been because he was wearing white, embroidered gloves, cuffs and a dark green velvet vest with gold buttons. Around his shoulders, a dark cape was draped and flowed behind him, also covering most of the horse, a bored looking grey. Ewald was, as mentioned before, ready for his big appearance,but there were only cars and house fronts.
Then he discovered the woman ahead. As if he had been looking for her, he spurred his grey to a short trott across the bike lane. With a shoulder check he made sure he wasn’t cutting in front of anyone. The woman was still engrossed in her solitary conversation although she should have noticed the sound of the grey’s hooves above the traffic noise. Ewald halted the grey a few meters in front of the woman and turned to face her. The woman stopped. If she was scared because he had suddenly drawn his sword was impossible to discern. The blade shone in the cold light of the street lantern, Ewald’s arm raised high.
Then, things happened fast. With his left, he grabbed the cape and pulled it from his shoulders with a fluid move. Before anyone knew what was going on, the sword decended and he’d cut the cape in two. Next, he was on his knees and offered the half-cape to the woman, it was draped over both of his forearms like an exquisite present.
„Here, it’s cold.“
He bit his lip. Until here, everything had gone to plan, but he never got his words right. The one-handed strike, you could cut off your hand doing that. Storing the sword, jumping off the horse, and ripping the bottom half in two without drawing too much attention (it was impossible to cut the cape in one go). Kneeling, draping, getting the right distance to the subject, and not come across as too hectic. He was so relieved things had gone smoothly, he had forgotten his lines. At least, he hadn’t stammered. Better wait. Embrace the silence. True enough, the woman said nothing. She reached for the cape, it was a good fabric, dark wool of high quality. She wrapped it around her body like a bathing towel and carefully tucked the end so it wouldn’t come loose. There they were.
„Ummh, I have to go.“ He had raised himself from his knees, dithered for a moment, then turned towards his horse. The grey had walked off a few steps to one of those concrete flower pots placed by the council and was munching on some tired bushes. The woman continued on her way, down the street. Because the cape was wound tightly around her body and almost reached the floor, she walked with small steps like a geisha, but it didn’t seem to bother her. Ewald had his foot in the stirrup already when he suddenly remembered.
„Wait!“ He’d almost forgotten the card. So much work. He fumbled in his pocket for the velvety square. The woman turned around. What now, was clearly written in her face.
„Here, just in case.“
He held the card out to her. When she took it, Ewald didn’t wait around. Discrete and versatile, he murmured to himself as he got back on his horse. „Come on Wallace, let’s call it a day.“
meinbaumhaträder // mytreehaswheels 