The Homeless Lover: A Short Story
“All this for the whereabouts of one man?”
“Joe is more important than you know. And you don’t have to worry for him. I’m not wanting him back to punish him. He has the potential for greatness and I don’t want to see it squandered for a lost cause. If Joe returns to the fold now, nothing is lost.”
“I don’t believe you. You are trying to trick me into betraying him, and then I’m dead.”
“I can see why you would think so. Unfortunately I can’t prove it to you.”
“You’ll never trust Joe again, even if you find him. How could you, now when he has started to doubt your propaganda?”
“You think I fear doubt? Not at all, even if it is not for everyone. The common workers are better off being happy with their lot. Blind devotion has it’s place. But …show more content…
for the thinking man, for anyone intelligent enough to belong to those who rule, doubt must come at some point. The other side has its allure, and you must be able to feel empathy for your enemy if you are to understand them. It’s dangerous, a door may open up for corruption and disaster, but it’s necessary. A man who has doubted and decided to follow the right road, that man’s conviction are strong and unbreakable.”
“So you say you have doubted?”
“Of course.”
He offered her a cigarette, before taking one of his own. “Think about it for a little while. I like you and I see your potential too. I would much rather present you to my wife than have you shot”
They both smoked in silence. John drank more coffee and looked out at the view of the city. He seemed relaxed, content on waiting for her answer with patience. A man who had doubted, and decided which path was the right one.
Juliana closed her eyes.
The last days of constant fear and and surprises made her feel like she she had been tossed around in a blanket, only to be find herself in free fall. John’s proposal was ludicrous, but it was also tempting. She could tell everything of what little she knew, and it would all be over. Even if the most likely result was a death sentence. But if he wasn’t lying, then she could buy security, not only for herself, but for her family too. They would be …show more content…
safe.
To clear her thought she shook her head and opened her eyes again.
John’s words had wormed their way into her thought, influencing them when she shouldn't give them any credence at all. They offered a happy ending only for the select few. And they presumed a lot more about her than she was prepared to accept. Like her feelings for Joe, which surely couldn’t be called love. Juliana gave John a quick glance. What had his doubts been? Then she realised she already knew. It must be his brother, the love and grief had not been faked. And then she knew why she found it so easy to be pulled in by his words. She wasn’t tempted with lies, but the truth. He had been honest when he said he wanted to be able to let her go. The connection she had felt with him in the cells had been real, and now he was using
it.
She put down her cigarette- it has mostly smoked itself anyway.
“Have you seen one of those movies, John.”
“No.”
“I have. And so has Joe. It changes you forever. You can promise what you will, but the thing is; I don’t doubt. I have hope instead. And I have nothing to tell you.”
John nodded, stubbed out his cigarette and stood up.
“For what it’s worth, Miss Crain, I’m truly sorry for what will happen now.”
He left the room, leaving Juliana alone to stare at the open doorway. The terror she had tried to suppress, rearing itself inside her.She had time to think, before the guards came to take her away, that he had been sincere in his apology too. And it wouldn’t help her at all.
“Joe is more important than you know. And you don’t have to worry for him. I’m not wanting him back to punish him. He has the potential for greatness and I don’t want to see it squandered for a lost cause. If Joe returns to the fold now, nothing is lost.”
“I don’t believe you. You are trying to trick me into betraying him, and then I’m dead.”
“I can see why you would think so. Unfortunately I can’t prove it to you.”
“You’ll never trust Joe again, even if you find him. How could you, now when he has started to doubt your propaganda?”
“You think I fear doubt? Not at all, even if it is not for everyone. The common workers are better off being happy with their lot. Blind devotion has it’s place. But …show more content…
for the thinking man, for anyone intelligent enough to belong to those who rule, doubt must come at some point. The other side has its allure, and you must be able to feel empathy for your enemy if you are to understand them. It’s dangerous, a door may open up for corruption and disaster, but it’s necessary. A man who has doubted and decided to follow the right road, that man’s conviction are strong and unbreakable.”
“So you say you have doubted?”
“Of course.”
He offered her a cigarette, before taking one of his own. “Think about it for a little while. I like you and I see your potential too. I would much rather present you to my wife than have you shot”
They both smoked in silence. John drank more coffee and looked out at the view of the city. He seemed relaxed, content on waiting for her answer with patience. A man who had doubted, and decided which path was the right one.
Juliana closed her eyes.
The last days of constant fear and and surprises made her feel like she she had been tossed around in a blanket, only to be find herself in free fall. John’s proposal was ludicrous, but it was also tempting. She could tell everything of what little she knew, and it would all be over. Even if the most likely result was a death sentence. But if he wasn’t lying, then she could buy security, not only for herself, but for her family too. They would be …show more content…
safe.
To clear her thought she shook her head and opened her eyes again.
John’s words had wormed their way into her thought, influencing them when she shouldn't give them any credence at all. They offered a happy ending only for the select few. And they presumed a lot more about her than she was prepared to accept. Like her feelings for Joe, which surely couldn’t be called love. Juliana gave John a quick glance. What had his doubts been? Then she realised she already knew. It must be his brother, the love and grief had not been faked. And then she knew why she found it so easy to be pulled in by his words. She wasn’t tempted with lies, but the truth. He had been honest when he said he wanted to be able to let her go. The connection she had felt with him in the cells had been real, and now he was using
it.
She put down her cigarette- it has mostly smoked itself anyway.
“Have you seen one of those movies, John.”
“No.”
“I have. And so has Joe. It changes you forever. You can promise what you will, but the thing is; I don’t doubt. I have hope instead. And I have nothing to tell you.”
John nodded, stubbed out his cigarette and stood up.
“For what it’s worth, Miss Crain, I’m truly sorry for what will happen now.”
He left the room, leaving Juliana alone to stare at the open doorway. The terror she had tried to suppress, rearing itself inside her.She had time to think, before the guards came to take her away, that he had been sincere in his apology too. And it wouldn’t help her at all.