Magnus Stanke - Time Lies

Presently Albert made a huge effort to stem the flow of memories because between Christmas of ’78 and the accident he remembered little else.

Soon the bliss would turn to horror.

(make time stop then, in 1978, or let me remember something else, anything else)

It was hopeless. The maelstrom of memories would soon drag him under. He might read the newspaper for a while, ponder the suffering of the truly less fortunate from the poor, godforsaken countries of the world. Feeling sorry for them used to help take his mind off his own misery, but never for very long.

‘Any plans for today?’ Tobi said. Albert had forgotten he was even in the room. Of course there were never any plans.

‘I’m only asking because I have an idea, something I’m sure will cheer you up in more ways than one,’ he said.

‘I appreciate this. Really, I do. What you do for me…’ Albert said.

‘Well, okay, never mind. Maybe tomorrow. Something else, though,’ Tobias said and opened the shoebox he had been carrying under the breakfast tray.

Until now Albert hadn’t noticed it.

‘I was going through some old stuff and I found this,’ Tobi said and opened the box carefully. Inside, packed in rough paper and saw dust to protect them from scratches, were the wooden, hand-carved figures from the old nativity crib, Mary with Baby Jesus in a manger, Joseph, the donkey and the cow, shepherds, sheep and the Three Wise Men. Some relative, probably Auntie Annie, had brought this back from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land years ago. Albert knew it had been part of Cordula’s life for as long as she could remember. But, like the rest of the seasonal decorations, it hadn’t come out of the box since the accident.

A sad smile lit up Albert’s features. It lasted only a moment, was gone before it had spread to the farthest reaches of his soul, but it reminded Tobias of his brother’s charm, of why he was so well-liked. The smile, even brief, still had the power to enchant the beholder’s socks off. When it slipped away it left Albert’s face bereft, more desperate in comparison than if he hadn’t smiled at all.

‘It’s probably a bad idea. I was just thinking, since we don’t use these anymore, we would donate… No. Okay, I understand. Forget I asked. Can I get you anything else, maybe the paper?’ Tobias said, and left the room as fast as possible.

Albert was briefly furious. How could Tobi not know? Albert would never part with that crib or with anything else that reminded him of his family.

The anger passed as quickly as it had flared up. He was left alone with his thoughts, and the memories streamed through his headspace. It was 1978 again, December 28.

The cursed day.

The snow that had fallen furtively on Christmas Eve didn’t linger beyond the morning of Christmas Day. The next three days brought warmer temperatures, unusually mild ones for the time of the year.

Activities in the factory over the holidays were scaled back to an absolute minimum. After all, who was likely to buy concrete at this time of the year? It was a time to spend with loved ones, even if they outstayed their welcome as Tobias and Gerhardt were doing, at least according to Cordula.

‘I know you can’t send them packing yet, but how about we get away, at least for the day? Just the three of us on a festive shopping spree in our capital city. You know we’ve earned it.’

Hannover, Lower Saxony’s capital, was little over one hour’s drive away but they rarely ventured there. After all, it wasn’t a particularly exciting town and all their shopping needs could be met within a third of the distance, in Holzminden. A family trip to Hannover had seemed like a good idea at the time. A visit to some toy shops for Markus — not that he didn’t have enough new toys already, but never mind, let’s spoil him while he is still without siblings, a bit of fashion for Cordula — her pregnancy garments from five years ago were now passé, a nice restaurant, maybe a movie…

Obviously Tobias would want to go too when he found out. Obviously Cordula would object and obviously Albert would have to break the news to his brother.

On the morning of that day, Thursday December 28, when Albert walked into the kitchen, he found Tobias making coffee. Markus was sneaking an Elisen gingerbread into his mouth and hoping his father wouldn’t tell him off for eating biscuits before breakfast. It was five minutes past eight, but the battery of the kitchen clock had run flat. Nobody noticed.

‘And how are you on this wonderful morning? The weather is fair but the man on the radio says to hang tight, there may be a cold front on the way from the icy north. The coffee is percolating, the eggs are boiled hard but the yolk is runny and the bread rolls I picked up fresh this morning,’ Tobi said, his high spirits almost infectious.

‘About today, Tobi,’ Albert said and kissed Markus on the forehead.

‘Ah, don’t worry about today, brother. I have it all mapped out. We’re going to give poor, hard-working Cordula the day off. Then we, the three musketeers of the Hüschebr ink, go out to have a manly adventure. We drop off the old man, Gramps, at home on the Ith and go take a hike to the old red caves. Remember, Bert, how we used to play there as kids? We might find bone shrapnel or arrowheads there, from the cannibals of old,’ he said in a playfully menacing voice for the benefit of his nephew.

‘What is ‘cannibals’?’ Markus said.

Albert shook his head at Tobi, meaning ‘don’t tell him’.

‘You know what Neanderthals are, don’t you?’

Markus nodded. ‘Cavemen that look like Lars’ grandfather.’ Lars was Markus’ best friend.

Tobi sensed something bad was coming before Albert started to speak.

‘I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but we have made different plans for today. The caves are still going to be there tomorrow or the day after that,’ Albert said.

‘Yeah? So what are we doing instead?’ Tobi said, though he knew better.

‘Yeah, Dad, where are we going?’ Markus said.

Albert lifted his son into his arms and turned away from his brother.

‘How about Mum and me are taking you to Hannover in the car, how about that?’

‘You mean without Uncle Tobi?’ Markus said, and Albert nodded.

‘Ah. Hannover, Germany’s number one city when it comes to ‘boring’,’ Tobi said.

‘Why isn’t Uncle Tobi coming?’ Markus said.

‘You heard him. He thinks Hannover is boring,’ Albert said to Markus. ‘There’re some toy shops you’ve never seen and we’re going to take you to McDonald’s or Wiener Wald, whichever you prefer, and then to the cinema or a puppet play.’

‘What’s Mad Donald or Wiener Wald?’ Markus said.

‘I’ll be right back,’ Tobias said.

Albert knew he was going to try and convince Cordula to change their plans for the day. He also knew that it would be in vain. His wife’s heart was set.

‘Don’t piss her off,’ Albert said, knowing that most likely Cordula’s mood would be affected the whole day.

Tobi gave him a look that showed how hurt he was by the fact that he was excluded from today’s plans. Albert knew he could do nothing about it. Wasn’t it high time that his brother started his own family? Of course, Dad needed looking after, more so by the day, and he wouldn’t hear of moving into an old-persons’ home. Tobi couldn’t be expected to spend all his time caring for the old man. He was understandably jealous when he was explicitly unwanted by Cordula who also had the right to want to spend a day alone with her husband and child. Something had to give, but Albert didn’t know what that something was.

Anticipating a shouting match between his wife and his brother, Albert busied himself and his son with the setting of the breakfast table in the salon.