Elvira

On the third evening, when the word about Sokal’s appearance had already made its way around town and the café was packed, my attention was caught by a wildly exciting girl. 

A few times even we danced. She was, tall, thin and very nimble. She had dark red hair, combed smoothly and ending with something like a horse’s tail. Her phenomenal, decidedly beautiful face exuded mischief. 

Beyond this she had many Asiatic or Polynesian traits; she had an oval face, with quite a strong traced jaw and cheek bones, a rather flat, small, but wide, nose with decidedly large lips, light blue-gray eyes, and many freckles. 

Besides this she had a long neck and very long limbs. I’ll add also that in her beauty there were no, not even the least trace of, angelic proletarian nature, traits so often in these times met even in very attractive girls. 

She wore prescription glasses in then-fashionable transparent plexy frames, which gave her a very intellectual look. Even though she was more than a year younger than me, she made an impression of a serious and adult woman. 

As soon as I saw her, I immediately knew that she belonged to the rare type of dangerous women. If a guy got involved with this kind of girl, he’d be able to leave everything and without thinking, not looking at anything, do everything, every worst thing, just to be next to her. 

She came with her husband, older by fifteen years, by trade some kind of technocrat, and by hobby a ski trainer. Best if he were a belch, unfortunately by eye he was a cultural and friendly fellow, which immediately put me, as her admirer, in a quite troubling situation. 

During the third dance she admitted to me that they were new to this town. They came from Katowice, where she was born and where she lived, and after that, in what was called Stalingrad. It was such a big stress for her, that putting his career at risk she forced her husband to leave for anywhere else.

She was named after the patron saint of miners, I don’t know why, but always this beautiful name excited me. 

During our fourth and last dance I told her how beautiful she was and how very much I liked her. She responded, saying to listen to her now, but immediately forget what she tells me. They were just playing BODY AND SOUL. 

She hugged up to me very close and whispered that for a long time she knew me by sight, but I never paid any attention to her, and that she never betrays her husband, but if she were to do this, she would do it with me. 

When I asked her why she went crazy and got married so young, she calmly and soberly explained to me that her husband was a Jew, and as she saw it, Jews at any moment could emigrate. It was the only chance to from this horrific country and even more horrific system break away to the West. 

“I could be there quicker than you, sweetie,” I thought.