Just Rewards

Monocle, Owl, Lamp

Linz, Austria.  April 30, 1945.

A man moved casually down a dark alley, unafraid of the dense fog and dark shadows.  Seen only from behind he was any old Joe; any man with an overcoat and hat, collar up against the cold winter night.  He stopped in front of a doorway, checked the address against a paper in his hand and knocked.

An elderly gentleman with uncommonly long fingers answered the door and took the invitation that the visitor held out.  His hand slid into his suit pocket and retrieved a monocle with which he read the engraved words.  The elderly butler removed the glass piece and deposited it into his pocket before addressing the gentleman on the step.

The Doctor is out.

Invert, Collate, Transverse

Anna Yulevic looks at her hand, really studying it. Grime is etched in each fold of skin, under each nail a black line of filth. She looks at the other one, holds it up to the light – same thing. A line of drool slips out of the corner of her mouth and slides slowly down her chin. She does not notice.

How different her future had been planned. How different her life had been. She had come to London a prominent doctor in her field – disorders of the skeleton. It was the summer of 1911.

One short month ago…