Das Feuer Liebt Mich: Der Sommer auf Wien/The Fire Loves Me: The Summer of Vienna

[Kagom]

Das Feuer Liebt Mich: Der Sommer auf Wien/The Fire Loves Me: The Summer of Vienna

The heat was unbearable--worse than anything I ever could have experienced. It felt like someone had literally thrown me into an oven and set it to the highest setting possible. Sweat was rolling down my cheeks and my arms as well as my back and chest and face. Worst of all, I felt so parched...almost as if someone sucked all the saliva from my mouth.

I stumbled around the stone covered streets toward the local pub, hoping maybe they had their air conditioning working today and that maybe I could also get myself some water--or maybe a beer. For some reason, the normal 2 metre walk felt longer, perhaps because of the irregular summer we were experiencing. Or perhaps because I was just worn out from all the wandering around I had been doing.

I bustled into the pub, brushing past a couple of my friends from work as well as a few of my neighbours. I didn't really pay attention to anything as I found my way to the counter, basking in the now-working air conditioner that'd been installed only a few months ago. It seems they got it fixed just in time too, as a few days ago it was on the fritz.

"Hallo, Dieter, what do you need?" the bartender asked in a jovial manner.

"I want a tall glass of water and a pint of beer--and before you even ask, I don't even care what the brand is."

The bartender chuckled and quickly sent a glass of water my way while he went to grab me a beer. Without even missing a beat, I grabbed the water and chugged it down, not even taking time to really enjoy the cool texture as it went down my throat. Immediately my pint of beer found its way beside me, thus bringing my mood to a better temperament.

It went down easy, though this brew was a tad stout. I could tell it was barley and not wheat. Not that I really cared, I just wanted something to wash down my throat and make me forget I was ever thirsty. It was also very frothy, something I rarely saw at this pub. But after it started to pour down my throat, I forgot all about that. It didn't feel like anything mattered now.

Something caught my attention--the TV. I hadn't even noticed that it was on until after I had chugged about half of my pint. It was a news article about the weather and something about global warming being the demon behind the hotter weather. I picked my head up and paid attention to the young news anchor lady.

"As temperatures in Vienna start to pick up to 41° Celsius, scientists are beginning to worry that maybe global warming has a hand in this. It is advised that anyone working outside take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water, though it would be more advisable that they go inside where it's cooler. People without air conditioning or fans should take shelter with friends or relatives or public places that have air conditioning and fans. As for the actual heat itself, 3 have died from the extreme heat and at least a dozen others have suffered heat strokes or some other kind of complication brought on from the heat. In other news the US--"

I stopped paying attention after that point, not really caring a whole lot to here about news of the world outside my own little world. All that mattered to me was what was happening in Vienna. I finished the rest of my beer and looked about me, panning around just to see the people I knew. That's when I saw someone I had not seen in a long time, my ex-fiancee.

<I'm stopping here. If you guys actually like it, just lemme know and I'll continue the story on>

 

[Kagom]

I remember that cold, calculating bitch well. Her name was Katja Eisengrund and she was the most beautiful woman in all of Vienna, at least that's what we all believed based on her physical appearance. She had full, pouty lips which were often adorned by some type of rouge colored lipstick. Her nose was slim and dainty and her eyes were brown and soft with a certain kind of glow to them, one that I interpreted often as fiery. Her hair was kept in a neat little ponytail that touched just below her shoulders to better showcase her glorious neck, which I was sure had enough of men's blood to keep it from showing the true nature of its owner. Right now she was wearing a very tight-hugging green tank top and black hot pants as well as high heel stilettos.

I looked away as soon as I could, seeing as I'd rather look at the pub's cozier visage than hers. I never really took time to look over the pub's appearance, as I was often too drunk off my arse to really pay attention. The ceiling hung low and was crafted from pine. The lighting was a tad old for its time, an old piece from a little time after World War II. The walls themselves were also made from pine, but had traditional Austrian caricatures on plates and tapestries to the walls, one of the more popular pieces visitors from outside seem to like being one of an Austrian woman in a dirndl coming after her husband with a rolling pin. The chairs, however, were newer than anything else in here. They were those four legged metal beasts that had a straight back with some cushioning on the bottom and to the back. The barstools had been replaced years ago with some hard wood stools that were movable. The counter itself was original, probably still from the 1700's, and was crafted of a kind of oak or some other wood, though I'm not sure myself. I'm not much of an expert on woods. For all I know, I'm probably wrong about the type of wood the walls and ceiling are made from.

After giving myself a couple of more minutes to look around, I ordered myself another beer of the same brew I had had earlier. I looked through the corners of my eyes while waiting for my pint to come my way to see if Katja was still there. Much to my chagrin, she was. But to make matters worse, she saw me. She saw me...

As the beer slid to my hand, Katja moved from her seat, ready to close in on me. I closed my eyes tightly and gulped a bit of air and then chugged a little bit of my beer as she sat at the empty stool to my left. She smiled her sweet smile, the one that makes her look like an angel to those who wouldn't know her, but a smile of the devil to those who did know her. She leaned forward and chuckled a tad.

"Dieter Wurstman, it's been a while." she hissed in her sweetest tongue.

"Been three years." I replied.

"Those three years felt more like three months."

"You still with that American?"

"You mean Mr. Daniels? No, I left him after a year. He wasn't a lot of fun."

"How typical of you. Who'd you leave the poor bastard for?"

"A very well endowed Swiss construction worker named Franz Fitzkin."

"So why aren't you with him?"

She was about to answer me, but paused. She looked away for a second, almost as if she was saddened, but I could tell that was just for show. This succubus has no emotions. She only wants you to think she does so she can reel you in and take everything from you.

"He was killed a few weeks ago at his job. A piece of scaffolding got loose somehow and fell on his head. He left me half his fortune and so I moved back here about a week ago." she mourned falsely.

I didn't say anything. I bit my tongue and avoided really laying it into her, like she really deserved. At least this one was lucky enough to die before she could break his heart after getting his money. So instead I just nodded in a mock understanding way. She smiled to me, thinking I was still a fool to her games.

"So, how have you been?" she asked.

I shrugged at her, not really having a whole lot to say. I really wanted to tell her that I had been miserable when she first left me, that I hated her and wished she would just die. But then I thought that would make her secretly happy. Then I wanted to tell her that I found myself a new girl, but then she'd probably try to stir up problems with her. So instead I just told her "I've been how I've always been."

She nodded some and smiled devilishly at me. Lucky for me the bartender stopped by and asked her if she wanted anything, giving me a moment of reprieve so I could try to think up an excuse to get away from her before she started making me angry. I quickly finished what was left of my pint and rifled through my pockets for my wallet.

"Well, Katja, I must be going. I just stopped by to get a drink on this hot day and I need to stop by the store to get groceries." I mumbled.

She gave me a wounded look, as if I hurt her so deeply as to just abandon her now. But really it was because maybe she was bored and wanted to toy with me some more. Regardless of what she was feeling, I wanted to go.

I walked out hastily, my hands in my pockets and without looking back behind me. I didn't want to see her at all and I didn't want to think about her any more. Right now I just wanted to get to the store and pick up some water for me and maybe some beer there so I could drink in my own home or maybe at my girlfriend's.

 

[liberalogic]

This was pretty good, I was just hoping for a more powerful ending.

 

[Kagom]

It isn't over, actually. I've just been having a lot going on in my personal and work life that I haven't had time to really focus on this.

P.s. Thanks for being the first person to comment on this.

 

[liberalogic]

It isn't over, actually. I've just been having a lot going on in my personal and work life that I haven't had time to really focus on this.

P.s. Thanks for being the first person to comment on this.

No problem. I look forward to the finished version whenever that may come.

 

[Kagom]

No problem. I look forward to the finished version whenever that may come.

May be a while. I have several projects outside of working and trying to mend my relationship. I'm writing a story about atomic Communist zombies taking over a patriotic town in the USA. I'm also penning up a comic book about every mythologial deity and hero dueling it out to prevent a certain Egyptian god from killing the Creator God as well as ruling all the known universe.