It was one of the first things she did after they opened the wall. That's at least what she told me years later, more than 1000 miles from Berlin, over a meal that started with Carpaccio and ended with Tiramisu.
Back then, in those new, open days of November 1989, she took the bus to Alexanderplatz. From there, she went to the checkpoint that marked the border of her world for decades. Now the passage to the other side of the city was open.
She walked down the once familiar streets of Berlin, walked down Kurfürstendamm, walked through Tiergarten, walked along the street of the 17th June. And finally, walked into a butcher's shop. Stood there, and gazed at the different kind of sausages.
“And they really are all for sale?” she inquired.
“Ja sicher,” the man behind the counter said, “Yes sure”.
She still couldn't believe it. She asked for ten slices, each from a different sausage, and explained that she was from the other side.
The man behind the counter cut and wrapped up the slices, and added some salami for free. “From Italy,” he said.
She thanked him, carefully placed the bundle in her bag, and walked back. At Alexanderplatz, she sat down on a bench. Her feet hurt, but she didn't care. She opened the bundle, and savoured the slices, slowly, one after the other. She made it as far as the fourth before she broke down in tears.
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Inspired by and written for the the weekly 52/250 flash theme "Red Meat". This is based on a true story.
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I did so love this. How difficult it must be for some to understand, but what pleasure for those who do.
Faultless. The context is enough implied, but no more than necessary, for the scene to resonate outside its few sentences.
Eamon, James: thanks for your feedback. the sparseness of context was induced by the challenge rules (250 words max), which leads to a double-check of every line.
What is witheld becomes the strength here. A powerful oepning - "It was one of the first things she did after they opened the wall." The weight of a past/the past is implied or built into that first line. Makes the piece have impact. Well written, Dorothee.
Oh my God, Dorothee. This is so strong throughout. Yes, it may mean more to those of us who remember it, but it's powerful even without its historical base. The simple act of tasting is so metaphorical. So perfect in each aspect of story writing.
Amazing, brilliant, made me cry.
This is a wonder. It captures an entire era through this one slight but powerful human episode.
Sam, Susan, Claire, Neil ~ thanks for your words. reading through your comments, and the story, i just thought: if someone asked me to write about "the past / a past" (loved this caption) in a brief story, i wouldn't have known how to do this, where to start, what to say. and there i was, coming from "Red Meat". and this story unfolded.
Strange the way the mind words, Doro. Reading your comment about how you got from a "red meat" prompt" to this gem, I had to marvel. I wanted to cry too when I read this. Gorgeous.
This is told so straightforward, that when we get to the ending, the drama just bursts! This is a very good story, straight to the heart
Very powerful. Simple and lovely.
Love this, Dorothee. For anyone that just 'doesn't get it.' It was a moment. Great job capturing that from the character's perspective.
thanks again. yes, it was a moment. and for a long time, no one believed that they wall would really open again.
i now browsed my photo archive, and found a picture that also reflects the feeling, and gives a sense of place - i put it up in my blog, here the short link: http://bit.ly/aJ1ggb
Nicely told. Succinct.
oh, yes. the parameters of the challenge serve so well, here: perfectly clean, precise, effective.
No frills. Great detail. Wonderful story telling.
Touching and true, full of spirit in a few perfect lines.
Dorothee-
This was so touching and beautiful. You captured what the fall of the Berlin wall felt like and new freedom without saying it. Just a gorgeous piece of writing.
Got knocked off my work computer before I could finish-
I am faving this now-
The day the sentries finally bent their guns. Even in London we all stood still with our mouths open. Great story, beautifully told.
Oh, I get to read this a second time here, and for the second time I am moved deeply, Dorothee. This piece says so much. I know this woman. I know this place. I can see her walking down the Ku'damm, through Tiergarten. I see her sitting on that bench. I feel the weight of this experience here. It is gorgeous how you capture the big events of 1989/90 in this compact scene. I like the way Eamon put it. Beautiful, and true. Painful and exquisite all at once. Big Star. Ja, sicher.
Oh, my... this is so very moving and powerful. How we take so much for granted, sausages and freedom. Fav. peace...
Linda, Michelle, Martha, Gloria, S.H, Jack, Sara, Geoffrey, Randal, Kim, D'Arcy ~ your words mean a lot, they are such a beautiful encouragement to keep writing flash stories - i had abandoned them for a while, and in some ways, with a lot of editing and revising on my desk, neglected my own writing. i only returned to flash writing now through the 52/250 impulse. there will be a month of daily writing coming in august, and after wondering what i got myself into, now i feel that this is the very direction to take, to create more space for my own words, and the stories that seem to have waited, beyond the other chores, to find a place.
absolutely brilliant, tight and clean and powerful.
These few moments reflect such a sense of history. Incredible, wonderful piece.
Yeah, this is amazing. Powerful, told with precise prose, and deftly combining history with humanity. Well done!
That is such a perfect image to end on, Dorothea. A resonant and important story. Thanks for telling it.
Great last line! Really fine story!
Fine story. Powerful end.
Punctuation quibble:
Instead of:
“Ja sicher,” the man behind the counter said, “Yes sure”.
This:
“Ja, sicher,” the man behind the counter said. “Yes, sure.”
Gorgeous. Gave me goosebumps.
Awesome, Dorothee!
Great story. Historical fiction is my favorite. Well done.
I'm craving sausage and beer now.
Just super!*
thanks again for all your feedback! it makes me wish to write more powerful flash stories (both more, and more powerful).
it's good to be back here in fictionaut.
You capture the opening of the wall and this woman's first taste of new freedom beautifully. Plus, interesting comments. Yes, I can almost taste the sausage, and the beer.
Beautiful. I teared up, myself.
Beautiful. I teared up, myself.
Beautiful. The ending took my breath away.
Very moving story, thank you Dorothee. The symbol of Italian sausages and all that meant. Wonderful.
“And they really are all for sale?” gasp. This story is a treasure, Dorothee.
i was there, too.