In the park
We thought we were careful. We were discrete, we wore dark, unassuming clothes, we avoided crowded places. But we went often to the parks, and there we had been observed. One evening, after a day of work on the thesis, we walked out to the nearby park. We were silently reflecting on Hans’ story, all those years back. I was asking Inga what Marco had made of it. We took a small side lane leading to a little vale where, when it was warmer and dry, we liked to lie down and dream.
Trouble
I saw three big men, walking toward us, and I sensed trouble was coming. So did Inga, who took shelter behind me, knowing I would stop the frontal assault. One fat, big bellied but huge fellow, went for her. The other two, two tall thugs with bulging muscles, charged me, fists first. I heard Inga kicking, I hit the first guy with both fists on the temples, but as he crouched to the floor his companion managed to push me over. He weighed a ton. I hit first on his sides but he laughed, so I had to dig deep, I seized his neck and twisted. At the dojo, when training on the floor, my coach had often said I had too much grip. So it was, I twisted, he hit my face hard with his head, I twisted more, heard the vertebrae crack, my face was full of blood, probably mine. I pushed him aside and kicked him with extreme force, thinking I might have killed him, then I saw the fat thug was lying over Inga.
Ushimata
I don’t know if it was the blood in my face, or the sight of my lover at his mercy: I went wild, seized the thug by his belt and throwing him around on the ground, hit him repeatedly on the head, then kicked his inanimate body. Inga stood up, pale, and I turned round to see the first thug charging again. I had plenty of time to place Ushimata, my favourite throw, which probably chewed his balls, then hit him twice straight on the plexus, as he fell to the ground.
Inga was in my arms. We stood silent. I knew that one of the three, the one I had hit with full strength to save my life, was not looking good, the other two were certain to spend a while in hospital but would survive. I checked, my lover was unhurt, but still shivering. She’d been afraid for me. Wordlessly I said, it’s okay, now we’ll have to be even more careful, there may be others. I dragged the bodies under the bushes. I had blood on my hands and over my shirt, my face was a mess.
Back home
We walked away, fast, taking a side street to get home. We met no-one. As before I carried Inga in my arms to our floor, and laid her down on the sofa. I went straight to the shower, stripped, rinsed my clothes, and stuck them in the washing machine. I did first aid on my bloodied face. Naked, I went to the kitchen, Inga stood, smiling, making dinner. I said, I will finish this, have a hot shower. She came to me, I took her in my arms, kissed her, said I’d kill anyone who threatened her. She cried. She went to the bathroom. Soon dinner was ready, I put on my bathrobe, had a scotch. Inga came out and sat with me at the table. Later I went to the bathroom and looked at my face. I saw a lean stranger, someone I did not really know anymore. I looked at my hands. Had these hands killed someone? Inga called me, drew me to her, drew me in her. I belong, I thought, she’s my home, and I am her shield. We slept long, dreamless, as one being, one body, one soul. The following day, I checked the local news. No body had been found, there was no mention of a fight in the park. Either all three had survived and disappeared, or they had taken the dead with them.
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