Chapter Text
Tenma sat by the window, watching at a distance while the women in the room whispered amongst themselves. At the other end of the boudoir sat Johan’s mother, a severe melancholy expression upon her face - everyone was waiting for her instructions as a matter of formality.
Johan had been seated on a chair in front of a large baroque mirror while one of the maids brought in a box containing the wedding gown. Delicately unfolding the perfumed paper, she took the white fabric in her arms and arranged it upon the divan beside the corset and stockings which Johan was to wear.
“You must try on the dress, Anna,” spoke the young man’s mother, her voice cold and commanding. A subtle note of fear was felt throughout the assembled party of strangers, hidden behind ritual and strained politeness. Tenma could not help but be affected by the reunion between mother and child, so devoid of any feeling. The watchful mother seemed not to differentiate between the young man and the other girls there.
The doctor also noted that, although they did not speak much, all who had addressed Johan called him Anna, nor did the monster protest. His manner was docile as he patiently waited for preparations to be made. There was no excitement or hurry about it.
First they would have him try on the garments made for the wedding, making any necessary alternations. Then, they would have dinner in the grand hall of the chateau, the mother explained. Tenma was more interested in what would come after, but this was not to be revealed.
There was something usual about one of her eyes, thought the doctor. Its pupil did not move regardless of where she looked, its hue was also slightly different from the other, leading him to conclude that it was artificial.
From time to time, Tenma could see some of the younger ladies glancing at him, and more often, at Johan, giggling between their hushed conversations - silenced only by the reproachful look of the mother. These were nuns in training who had been taken from the monastery to accompany the bride in the wedding ceremony.
At first, they had been quite horrified to be ushered away in the manner of hostages, but soon grew accustomed to the routines of the chateau, its comfortable rooms and exquisite meals. The worst of it was the tedium, waiting for something to happen - hardly able to go anywhere unescorted by armed men. The mother’s presence calmed them, seeing in her authority a constant which reassured them that all would be well in the end, as long as they did as they were told.
Apparently that something which they had all been waiting for had come: the arrival of a Japanese doctor and his unusually beautiful friend who was to be disguised as a woman. They did not know what to make of this and felt restless with curiosity.
While Johan’s wig was being arranged in a formal style and the mother’s attention was diverted, one of these ladies boldly sat down close to Tenma.
“Why do you have to carry him - can’t he walk?” she whispered.
“He won’t let them take that blanket hiding his legs - I wonder if he has devil’s hooves under there - he’s so beautiful isn’t he,” remarked another of the women. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone like him before”
“It’s crazy - he looks so much like a girl now, and he’s letting them do whatever they want to him. Do you know what this is all for?”
“It’s - uh -,” Tenma looked between the girls and then at Johan. The mother was looking straight at him with an expression of contempt.
“He probably doesn’t have much of a choice,” murmured the youngest of the nuns, “it’s not as if we wanted to be here either”.
“Probably some rich pervert’s fantasy”
A small group had gathered around Tenma.
“Maybe he likes cross-dressing,” teased one of the them, “are you going to put on a dress too doctor Tenma? C’mon why don’t you say anything?”
“He’s taken a vow of silence”
“Do you think this guy is the one we’re going to marry to the pretty little wife?”
“No way, he’s too old”
“And the pretty little wife is a guy. Maybe this is all some kind of big joke”
“I don’t care, the food here is good”
“Look - look she’s going to have a fit now”
“Shut up - shut up”
“Doctor Tenma,” spoke the mother, annoyed and embarrassed by the chatter which she could no longer ignore. “May I ask you to please leave the room. The guards will show you to the billiard room where you may wait”
“Stay,” said Johan, turning to the doctor.
The lady who had been occupied with washing the blood form his fingernails paused. The voices went silent and the idle company all stared at him and the mother - it was the first time that they heard him speak.
“Doctor Tenma will assist me,” continued Johan in a tone of calm authority, much to the consternation of the mother who was struggling to maintain her composure. “I would be more comfortable if he and I were left alone”
“Are you sure he is experienced in tying corsets?” one of the girls asked. There was a burst of laughter.
“Or just untying them,” her friend pretended to whisper into her ear, loud enough for everyone to hear. Tenma’s face burned, not knowing whether he would rather leave or stay for Johan’s sake.
“Silence!” the mother’s nerves were strained, knowing that young nuns had little sense of the danger that they were in - their lives precariously in the balance of the whims of a madman. They saw only the ridiculous, a change from the dreary routines of the monastery. Most of them were orphans, taken there without much in the way of choice. Their present captivity was certainly a more amusing one, despite the mother’s efforts to instil discipline.
There was a long silence, after which the mother spoke again - resolved to ignore the surrounding nuisance. “You must put on the gown and I must examine that it is properly fitted”
“Doctor Tenma will call you and the others back inside when I am ready to see you,” Johan answered.
“You are dismissing me?” she controlled herself.
“Yes. Forgive me, mother, I do not ask this of you to be wilful. All shall be done to your liking,” he said to her.
“The room is guarded,” the mother spoke after a pause.
“I have no intention of leaving”
“Then why?”
“Please, do not question me,” Johan smiled, bowing his head.
“I do not allow it,” said the mother, shocked by his boldness.
“That is irrelevant. We are both here in obedience to another. You have done very well so far, but you are not needed at this time. You may rest and have some tea downstairs”
“He has asked me to oversee the preparations”
“You have done so to my satisfaction,” said Johan, “you may be at ease now. Ultimately, you are a secondary character in his play”
There was a long silence.
“Very well,” hiding her emotions, the mother signalled to the nuns to follow her as she withdrew from the room, looking back at Johan one last time: a look of warning.
“Was that necessary?” Tenma got up when the door was closed behind them.
“I understand that I have been insolent,” Johan picked up a case of cosmetics from the mirror boudoir, examined it and then set it down again, “but I would rather that you helped me”
“Are you embarrassed by them watching you?” asked Tenma, looking at the corset and dress.
“No, it makes no difference to me,” Johan replied.
“Then what?”
“It is that leg of mine, it is bleeding all over the floor,” Johan raised the blanket which had been covering his leg, revealing that the bandage around his ankle had been soaked through and blood had gathered under the chair.
Tenma kneeling down beside him at once to examine the wound, thinking of what might be done for the young man in their situation. At the same time, he was surprised that Johan was able to hide his pain so well.
“Are you sure that the injury has to be kept secret?” he asked, “perhaps your ‘bridegroom’ will desire you in spite of it. This should be treated properly and there isn’t much here for me to work with”
“I am already something of a compromise,” said Johan. “His play requires a beautiful woman with golden hair whose dance expresses her joy -”
“It will not be possible for you to dance, nor even to walk. If you want my opinion, it looks bad,” Tenma tried to remain calm, “and if the wound gets infected then -”
"Do what you can doctor,” said Johan, placing his hand on the other’s shoulder, “I am grateful to have you with me”
“I will try,” Tenma looked away, reproaching himself for his intrusive thoughts - the way in which his unwelcome longing made him admire the young man’s beautiful body as he bandaged the leg with a silk scarf which one of the women had left behind.
All of them had been dressed in fine garments as the bridesmaids who would accompany ‘Anna’, yet even with their ornaments there were none who captivated Tenma as much as Johan. He wondered how much of this illusion of perfection was due to the role which he was obliged to play - the more closely he looked at the figure of his admiration, the more he began to notice its flaws.
The ankle had not been his only wound, Tenma recalled quite vividly as he helped Johan with the corset. Across the pale skin of his back were numerous scars - deep red lines, as well as something which looked like a brand - defaced by other scars. He wondered if Johan had purposefully tried to disfigure the skin within the brand, which marked him as the child of an experiment.
It was horrific to imagine a place where such medieval forms of torture were used upon boys by way of instruction.
“Tighter please,” said Johan, noticing that Tenma was distracted by thoughts of his own.
“Are you sure? I want you to be able to breathe properly,” said the older man, tying the strings again as Johan straightened his back.
“It is kind of you to think of me, but creating the illusion that I am a woman is more important than my comfort,” Johan reached backwards to adjust the strings himself, smiling gently at Tenma.
The doctor returned to the window, gazing outside to gather his thoughts - troubled when he considered Johan’s future.
“Are you certain about this? What if he kills her anyway, and you as well - maybe he is just luring you there,” said Tenma.
“I would not refuse him anything, he knows that. With Anna it is different - he will be able to tell how repulsed she is by him. She is no longer what she once was, she has learned much and forgotten much,” Johan explained.
“Even if you are the better actor, I find it strange that he would accept a…a substitution,” Tenma looked at the dress, taking it into his arms and bringing it to Johan. “He must know on some level that you are not Anna and that whatever he feels is unrequited. Why does he not settle for a marionette? What is his madness telling him?”
“Of course he knows now, but during the play he will believe,” said the monster, slipping on the wedding dress with Tenma’s help.
“I do not understand it,” said Tenma, vexed by the other’s certainty.
“Have you ever heard of King Ludwig II?” asked Johan.
“Only slightly,” said Tenma, “he built Neuschwanstein castle, didn’t he?”
“Yes. He too had a longing for the theatrical,” said Johan, adjusting the jewels around his throat. “When he was alone with certain actors, he could make himself believe that they were truly the figures which he saw in his fantasies. He spent his life building fairytale castles and having men and women act out his dreams upon the stage where he would be the only member of the audience. Those actors who impressed him most were showered with gifts and treated as the mythic beings who he desired them to be. He so desperately wanted to escape into a world of legend, he did not care who or what stood in his way - he was prepared to die for his dream. Many believe that he did. Is that not beautiful?”
Tenma wondered if they were being watched.
“I had been made to believe that a beautiful woman loved and admired me, in the end that did not bring me happiness,” said Tenma. “I do not think there is anything beautiful about a lie. Even when Ava’s feelings grew to be sincere, a part of me could not truly forgive her - what I once felt towards her was gone. Trust is the most important thing between two people who care for one another”
“You had known what she was like for a long time, even before she abandoned you. It is you who were lying Doctor Tenma, she showed you and told you what she was like but you did not believe her - you went on lying to yourself, because you needed the lie to continue being happy. Ava’s fault was her disloyalty,” the monster corrected him. “What if she kept deceiving you until the day that you died - how would it be then? Many marriages are happy because two people succeed in pretending to be deceived”
“I would not call that happiness. I think that I would grow to feel it over time, that I was being lied to - surely she could not be happy either, having to keep up appearances,” Tenma did not enjoy considering this hypothetical.
“Then she is a bad actor,” Johan concluded.
“While you are an excellent one,” he said without approval.
“You may see me behind the veil, if you want to”
“To what do I owe this privilege?” asked Tenma.
“Because I like you”
“What do you like about me?” he asked, assuming a careless half-amused manner.
“I think there is something arbitrary about affection,” replied Johan after some thought. “There is no particular trait in you that I have not found before in others. Perhaps it is a particular combination of traits, taken together, that makes you unique to me, but mainly it is the influence of circumstances. For example, if another doctor had saved me that night, would he not be as significant as you are to me now?”
“Just as I might have saved another wounded boy that night. As you said, it is a matter of circumstance or chance that creates a bond between two people,” said Tenma, trying to hide from himself that it wounded him to hear the other’s cold reasoning.
“A bond - how very romantic, doctor Tenma. And isn’t circumstance another word for fate?” smiled Johan, such that the older man was unsure if he was being mocked. “These things mean as much as we want them to mean, of course we can just as easily avoid them. With effort, most emotions can be subdued”
“Let us not speak of fate now, we are keeping your mother waiting,” said Tenma.
“She is not waiting for me, we are all only actors playing our parts for the pleasure of the puppeteer. As long as she sees me tonight in the wedding attire, all shall be well,” Johan explained. “This may be our last time alone together. How do you feel about that?”
“I do not know, I just want all of this to be over,” he admitted. “I am not in the mood to discuss the meaning of life or talk about feelings Johan. I am tired and do not really know what you want from me. We are both playing along to help Nina, at least that is what you have led me to believe”
“You have spent too much of your life waiting for things to be over, haven’t you doctor Tenma?” Johan limped over to him and placed his hand on the other’s shoulder but Tenma did not look at him.
“Sit down,” he helped the young man onto a seat next to him. “You presume to know much about other people - I cannot say the same about you. I can never tell when you are saying what you truly feel, and when you are doing it only to know how I might react”
“That sounds like an unequal exchange. Do you want a sincere confession from me?”
“No, I do not need anything from you Johan. I would rather that you let this be, whatever you think I might feel,” said Tenma, exhaling deeply. “I am only here to try and help”
“To save lives?”
“Yes, that is what I devoted my life to”
“Has it made you happy?”
“Sometimes,” replied Tenma, “it is more important to me than my happiness”
“Are you at peace with your decision then?”
“What do you mean?”
“I had asked you before about whose life you would save: mine, or Anna’s,” said Johan, “you led me to believe that you would save Anna, but earlier today you had acted against your decision. You broke your word to me”
“I want to save both of you, if I can. I took a risk - maybe I was wrong, yes - probably I was wrong,” Tenma placed his face in his hands. “That is your wish still, isn’t it - to die for Anna? It makes it easier for me, understanding that you have little inclination to live. Sometimes there are patients who suffer a great deal, such that every moment that they are alive is torture to them. It is a controversial matter but in some instances I can see that prolonging their life is life forcing them to endure something hopeless. It had been my belief that no life is without hope of happiness - but then, I cannot claim to know, I have seen much which makes me question myself”
“Yes, that is my wish,” answered Johan, “but you are wrong about the second part. I do not suffer, not more than other people - perhaps much less. Sometimes I would like to. Oddly it is when I experience kindness that it hurts to be alive”
“It is easier to do what you do if you are confident in your belief that human beings are all weak and cruel. Am I killing you with kindness?” he said sardonically.
“Perhaps,” answered Johan, “but it is something else as well. I feel it most often when I am close to you, it is both soothing and arousing. Even if you were very cruel to me, if you wanted me dead, I would still want to give you pleasure. I remember when you were holding a gun, your hands trembling as you took aim at me. We saw each other through the smoke and flames - I wanted you then, as much as I want you now. Sometimes you still think about pulling the trigger, don’t you?”
“We should not leave them sitting there waiting for us all night,” Tenma did not wish to unveil his own heart to Johan, not in the mood he was in. The whole conversation made him uneasy, making his aversion towards the monster return. It was much easier to forget the monster, when the young man appeared vulnerable.
“How do I look?” asked Johan.
“Like Anna”
“Do you prefer me as Anna?” he took the bridal veil and carefully draped it over himself.
“No, it makes me uneasy to see you take her identity,” Tenma replied, helping him adjust the veil. “In any case, it does not matter what I prefer”
“Have you ever loved another man?” he asked after a prolonged silence.
“Kind of, when I was quite young - he was a classmate of mine,” Tenma admitted, unprepared for such a question but not setting much importance upon it. This was likely something of the young man’s inquisitiveness or more of the little game he played, exploring the concept of love. Tenma remained ambivalent about being a partner in this experiment, his contrary feelings changing the more time he spent with Johan. It made it easier to be distant the more he grew used to the other and saw that the monster was still prevalent in his nature. He did not wish to care for him, not more than for a stranger who needed his help.
“Tell me about him,” said Johan.
Tenma sat down on the divan and helped Johan to rest there beside him.
“Well -,” the older man searched through his thoughts, not knowing how to begin or whether he ought to answer the question at all. “One time during an exam I finished early, he caught me looking at him and for years I thought he guessed that I had feelings for him. After that he grew more cold and distant, I felt like he hated me or was disgusted - only years later did I learn that it was all because he thought that I caught him cheating on that exam. We were both ashamed whenever we saw each other for completely different reasons”
“Did you ever tell him how you felt?” he asked.
“No, it would be ridiculous and embarrassing for both of us - he’s a married man and I do not feel the way I did back then,” said Tenma.
“I do not think that is true”
Johan moved closer to the doctor, pressing his body against Tenma as he leaned into him, kissing his neck, his jaw, his lips as the older man gasped to pull away from the sudden overture.
“I have never seen such a half-hearted struggle, I expected more from you,” smiled Johan, giving the other a chance to catch his breath.
“Don’t do this, please,” Tenma tried to be careful with him, mindful of the wound of his leg and the gown that was at risk of being damaged.
Johan obeyed, releasing him from the unexpected embrace, something which surprised the doctor almost as much as the bold gesture of affection had done. “Do you do this to amuse yourself?” Tenma asked, feeling anger rising towards Johan, to have his poorly hidden feelings become the object of a joke.
“That is not why,” replied Johan, “I am unable to focus as I used to, these feelings cloud my thoughts. It makes me think of animals in heat, until they find release”. He placed his legs on Tenma’s lap as he reclined back on the divan, lifting the layers of delicate fabric and slipping down his underwear slightly to make it easier to touch himself.
Tenma watched in shock as the younger man began to unabashedly pleasure himself, his half-lidded eyes at times still looking back at the doctor, growing breathless. He had seen such actions before, from patients whose minds were severely in decline, giving into impulses without a second thought, acts which would otherwise be mortifying for them.
“Stop it - ” Tenma exclaimed, but the young man seemed not to hear him, his legs trembling slightly as he continued to touch himself, his hand moving in rhythmic motions. The doctor resorted to taking hold of Johan’s wrist to prevent the strange behaviour.
“Will you help me - we could both help each other and then it will be over quickly,” said Johan, positioning his leg to press against Tenma’s own arousal.
“This is indecent,” Tenma grabbed Johan’s other wrist as well, holding him back as the young man closed his eyes in orgasm, spilling over the inner fabric of the wedding gown.
“I’m sorry, I could not help it. I think I enjoy it, when you are forceful with me,” Johan told him.
Tenma let go of his wrists.
They heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” said the monster.
***
Tenma stepped back as the group of women entered the room to examine Johan, as though he were some kind of centrepiece at an exhibit.
“The corset is too tight,” said Johan’s mother, “loosen it”
“It is fine as it is,” replied the young man with a smile. “Thank you for your concern”
There was another knock.
“Come in,” said the mother.
“Dinner is being served,” a man in uniform informed her.
“Thank you. Anna - you may change now. We shall wait for you downstairs”
She brought two boxes from the closet and set them down next to Johan, the clothing intended for the evening.
“This is for you,” she moved the box inscribed with Tenma’s name towards the doctor.
“Oh,” Tenma was surprised to be remembered, wondering if he ought to be worried.
“Thank you, mother,” Johan bowed his head.
Tenma waited for them to leave.
“And now we take everything off?”
“Yes, he wanted to be certain that it fit,” said Johan.
“Why did he go through the trouble of taking your mother here?” asked Tenma, pulling the dress off over Johan’s head and struggling to fold it neatly back into its box, after doing his best to clean up the mess.
“It is part of the prologue of his play,” said Johan, laying out the suit and pants which he was to wear to dinner.
“How do you know?”
“Because he had showed me the script”
“When?”
“Not long before I was shot”
“You mean he had been planning this for years?” Tenma looked down at the black formal suit which had been sewn for him, not a little disturbed by the exactness of the fit - wondering how his measurements were obtained.
“Yes,” answered the monster. “It was meeting Anna that inspired him to write this play. I underestimated him, the day when we had met - I never thought that he would find the courage to bring it to life”
“How did he find the courage?”
“I helped him,” said Johan, “I wanted to see how far he would go, but in my absence he has taken control into his own hands. My death was not exactly as I had planned it - I had left much undone”
“I wish you had not told me this, it makes it more difficult to pity you”
“That is well. I do not usually like to be pitied,” said Johan, “will you punish me for admitting a mistake to you?”
“A lot of people will be punished for this ‘mistake’,” muttered Tenma, feeling his mood darken as he thought about how careless Johan was with the lives of others, and his own. “To think that I too am risking my life for you”
“I do not intend to risk your life”
“Well there are things outside of your control”
“Yes, you are right,” said Johan.
***
Tenma carried Johan downstairs to the dining hall where they saw that some of the women lay slumped in their chairs, others had fallen onto the floor during their convulsions. The priest was also among them, his face and long beard in a dish of truffle soup. Only the four guards remained standing, watching over the dead - their stony faces showing no more sign of sympathy than if they had been made of marble.
“Poison, most likely in the wine,” murmured Tenma, kneeling close to one of the victims to check for breathing. Soon each one was confirmed dead. “Why - how could you let this happen?” the doctor turned to one of the guards in horror.
The man in uniform said nothing nor made any sign of hearing except by the movement of his eyes - just as the artificial eye of Johan’s mother had done.
“Can you hear me? But how -,” Tenma stumbled to her side, remembering that he checked her vital signs only moments ago and pronounced her dead. He checked again - there was no pulse. Nervelessness, one of the open eyes had moved to follow him.
“It is a camera,” said Johan, “it focuses the lens upon sounds in the room”
Tenma backed away towards Johan, who he had left seated by the door of the room.
“I would like to see her, my mother. We must be very quiet,” the monster told Tenma, who went to him and helped the young man walk to where the dead woman lay. As they went past the table, the monster took a knife from the table, a gesture which Tenma noticed too late as Johan applied the tool to carve out the eye from the socket, wrapping it in a handkerchief.
“Should we destroy it?” asked the doctor, forcing down his disgust.
“I have not decided yet, we will keep it for now,” answered the monster.
Tenma examined the table, studying the placement of the name cards - it seemed that his place and that traditionally intended for the bridegroom had been reversed.
Upon the doctor’s silver plate there was an envelope, he picked it up, feeling his sense of unease deepening. He hesitated before opening it.
“You must read it,” said Johan, watching him.
Tenma picked up a knife and made a slit across the top of the envelope, removing a folded paper with the words:
He who is faithless,
Feast at my table,
Drink deeply from my wine glass,
Blood red is the cup of deception,
Within which his eyes are reflected
“What does it mean - must you drink the poison too?” Tenma turned to Johan, setting down the letter, “why has he done this?”
“The master is displeased. He has seen his beloved coveting the heart of another,” it was one of the guards who spoke. “The mother has prayed for the prodigal son to be spared and her prayers have been answered. However, an oath has been broken and requires another pledge”
“For Anna to be spared?” spoke Johan.
“Yes,” answered the guard, “you must fill a glass with the master’s wine and offer it to he who has tempted you, or else, he must renounce you by the same gesture”
“No,” Tenma exclaimed, unwilling to poison the young man nor face a similar fate himself. “This is madness! Please - there must be another way. Permit me to speak with your master”
“He listens and sees through the eyes of the mother,” the guard gestured to his comrade, who picked up the body of the mother and placed it in the seat at the head of the table. Next, he approached Johan, who silently offered the eye which the man replaced in its socket - holding the body from slouching as he stood behind her, his face expressionless.
“Are you an orphan?” Johan asked the guard.
“Yes,” the man answered.
“Johan,” Tenma wanted to ask him what he intended to do.
“Please, fill my glass for me doctor Tenma - I will drink to your health,” the monster replied.
There was a long pause before, with a trembling hand, Tenma picked up the wine bottle, holding it before setting it down again.
“You will not do it?” asked Johan.
“No,” the man said, not looking at Johan’s face.
He picked up the bottle again and threw it with a crash against the floor.
No one moved, shocked by this act of defiance. All except Johan, whose face contorted into something like a smile, hideous and grotesque, gradually changing into another expression which Tenma could understand no better - it was frightening to behold, like pain and laughter twisted into one.
“You have killed her. You killed her,” Johan managed to speak, staggering out of his chair. “You - it is you, the faithless man”
The monster tried to reach for one of the unfinished wine glasses still on the table, about to bring the drink to his lips only to be prevented by Tenma, who snatched it from his hand, spilling the wine over Johan’s shirt.
“No, she was dead long ago,” said the doctor, feeling in that moment that their entire journey was a hopeless one - dependant upon deception after deception and the cruel heart of an insane man, a murderer. “He will not accept your sacrifice, nor shall I”
Johan was silent, like someone who was about to shed tears - but none came, his hallow gaze fixed on the broken glass upon the floor. Tenma slowly drew near to him and pulled the young man against his chest, putting his arms around him to keep the dead bodies out of view. He wanted to leave this place - wondering if the guards would permit it or if there was some way of overpowering them.
“It is over, what use is there in keeping us here?” Tenma spoke to the guardsman standing behind Johan’s mother.
“You are correct. All that remains is to give you your tickets,” the man answered, reaching into the vest of his suit and drawing out a black envelope closed with a gold seal.
“Tickets?” Tenma considered what this meant, that an invitation had been extended to them to come and watch at a theatre of horrors. “I will take no further part in this”
“It is as you wish,” the guard was unaffected by the doctors words, placing the tickets on the table. He signalled to the others, who followed him in departing - leaving Johan and Tenma alone in the room.
“I will go,” spoke Johan, “I would like to know how the story ends. He never showed me the ending”
Tenma held the young man, perhaps for his own sake more than for Johan’s, needing comfort and strength. The monster felt like a marionette in his arms, Tenma did not know whether his love could reach him.
***
“Can you tell me what you saw doctor Tenma?” the man across from him turned on the tape recorder. “It is important that you speak only the truth as a key witness in this investigation”
Tenma did not look at the detective, remaining silent as he collected his thoughts. He drank from his water glass.
“There were hundreds of people gathered at the theatre, all of the seats were filled,” Tenma began. “They were all watching the stage, they clapped when the curtains opened - each one of them clapped exactly in rhythm. Their faces were expressionless. I remember the smell, it was like…like decay - I tried to ignore it and over time I noticed it less, but sometimes I would think of it, when I looked around the room. On the stage were several characters dressed in elaborate costumes - the first act depicted a king and his court. I could not tell if they were marionettes or people from a distance, they moved strangely, as if moved by strings. I recognized detective Lunge dressed as the court jester, dancing with the others, his dead body made to move like a puppet. I am unsure if it was his head only that was preserved and attached to a body of -”
“That is fine doctor Tenma, the autopsy will address that. You may speak of only those facts which you are certain about,” the detective interrupted, changing the tape in the recording device.
“There were several ballet dances and pantomimes played out in front of the king, they were classical pieces, some of which I remember seeing in other theatres. It lasted several hours, well into the night. I began to grow drowsy but fought against sleep, waiting for Anna or Johan to appear upon the stage, but I could not see them, I worried that they might be disguised, and what I would do when the time came. The men who sat next to me made sure that I did not move so I continued watching. I saw four men dressed as devils drag in a cart upon which was an iron maiden. They opened it in front of the king and out fell a marionette with blond hair.
They brought in another, and then another of these coffin-like contraptions and each time I felt sick to my stomach, I wondered how much of it I could take - in the last coffin was the body of Anna. I think it was her, it looked like her. They threw her body onto the fire too, it was burning right on the stage in a white wedding gown, soon the flames caught the curtains and began to sweep through the structure of the theatre. Still no one moved from their seat, they continued laughing. I realized then that the king who I thought was the puppet master was just a doll made of wood, he too was consumed by the flames. I could not breathe, I tried to get up but the men who sat next to me made me sit back down. I believed that I was going to die there. Then I heard his voice: Johan - he had been sitting behind me, perhaps the entire time”
“Please continue, what did he say to you?” asked the detective.
“He said that it was a disappointing performance, a pathetic sort of low comedy - a farce. I felt angry then, I wanted to kill him. He started having a coughing fit, I too struggled to breathe, the smoke was rising. He shot the men sitting beside me, after that no one tried to stop us as we got up from our seats. I walked over people’s legs trying to get to the isle. When we finally made it to the doors, the exit was open and there were no longer any guards outside. Those hundreds of people, they could have all gotten up and saved themselves but they didn’t, they were prepared to burn to death. I must have said so to Johan, because he answered that they were already dead, all except the four men guarding us, and the puppet master. He lost his nerve in the end, he was afraid that the audience would leave before the show was over, so he killed them. Their laughter had been recorded an hour before the performance, he had promised to let them live, if they could only laugh - but this was a lie. He had changed the script of the story too, said Johan, it was completely different. The puppet master showed them something worthless because he did not want to show the world his heart, he did not believe in himself and was afraid of being hurt. It was a beautiful story, it was meant to be - but what if they laughed? What if they all laughed?”
“Where is Johan now?” the man asked.
“I do not know”
“That will be all for today. Thank you doctor Tenma,” he stopped the recording.