Eva Ends Up On Knees

The door behind her back creaked open.

There was no knock, no warning. Eva's heart almost stopped. She whirled around on the spot to look at the intruder. The towel she was still clutching suddenly seemed far too small and inadequate.

Julius entered. He was carrying a candle, which flickered in the breeze. It cast his shadow on the wall behind him, huge, distorted, eerie.

The landlord completely filled the tiny room with his mere presence.

Eva instinctively backed away until her spine hit the rough wall. Her legs trembled and threatened to give way beneath her.

He said nothing. He didn't have to say anything. His gaze roaming over her body said enough. He took it all in. Her loose, tousled hair, her exposed shoulders, the skimpy cloth with which she scantily covered her midriff, her bare legs. Something flickered briefly in his eyes: Disapproval or amusement. She didn't know.

The door slammed shut behind him. The sound was final. The bang made Eva flinch in shock. The towel almost slipped from her clammy fingers and slid down a hand's breadth, revealing the line of her breasts. Horrified, she yanked it up again.

“I told you to wait.”

His voice was a low rumble. He didn't speak loudly. But he drew everyone's attention, refused to be ignored. What he said weighed as heavily and had as deep a foundation as the roots of the surrounding mountain giants.

“I...” she began, but didn't know how to continue. What else could she say? That she was sorry? That she was afraid? That she was carrying a burden that was weighing her down and threatening to crush her?

Julius took a step towards her. Another one.

Eva wanted to flee, but she already had her back to the wall. All she could do was get down on her knees, make herself as small as she could. Like a frightened child. A child whom no one helped, whom no one believed. The uncle was too respectable, too high up to do anything wrong or immoral. The child fell silent with hopelessness and shame.

And now Julius stood over her. Tall and invulnerable.

“You tried to interfere in something that was none of your business.” His breath smelled of tobacco smoke and ****. “I can't let you get away with that.”

He made a pause that was cut by the sound of his belt being pulled from its loops.

She shook her head weakly. “Please...”

He lowered himself to the edge of the bed, heavy and commanding. His free hand slapped loudly on his thigh. “Come here.”

She didn't move.

“NOW!”

Her body started moving, with her mind unable to keep up. She felt like she was in a dream. The towel slipped from her fingers and landed unnoticed on the floor. It no longer mattered. He was allowed to see everything. In a few moments, he would own everything anyway.

When he pulled her onto his lap, she finally gave up. Not because she consented. It was a well-practiced ritual, submission to the will of someone more powerful. Her own wishes and needs were insignificant in comparison.

He held her tightly, pressing her face down into the scratchy blanket. Her long hair spread out around her head like a dark halo.

Then the first blow fell.

Her breath escaped her as a sharp gasp.

The second followed. The third. Another one. She did not cry. She did not complain. She remained silent.

But inside she screamed.