Page 5 - Ausländer

for attention. She looked to the boot on the sand.
It was open; the leather tongue askew. She looked
back at the man. "He didn't kill himself."

"Wh–"
"Look. His hands," said Silke unnecessarily, for
Kathrin could see that his arms were pulled behind
his back and his podgy thumbs were bound
together with the missing shoelace.
A short piece of wood or plastic hung near his
neck. A similar piece was attached to the end of
the rope that was tied to top of the handrail of the
slide. A single bird stood above the body, its head
in profile, a black bead of an eye watching the
women and Silke, an English literature student,

heard the word Nevermore in her head. And the

word took on a new meaning as she stared at the
dead boy. For despite his repulsive nature he was
dead and would never do anything any more. She
shuddered.

As in most large city parks, the distant trees
about them were a mixture of the seasonal and firs
and other evergreens. So that when the breeze
rose again with surprising force, as if some rosy-
cheeked, golden-locked God of Wind blew
periodically, the forest was united in a rushing wall

Page 5