The Capital City Of Stuhach

Karl packed his luggage. He packed travel clothes and the clothes he’d have to wear in front of the medical assembly. He locked his house and made sure that there were none that could possibly enter it. He carried his luggage that included his tools as well. He waited outside of his house.

Alicia walked towards her. She wore a prairie dress. Around her neck was a puff pie and a ribbon around her thin waist. She has braided her hair. Her eyes went on the suit that Karl wore before she stared at the crooked tie. She took a single step and adjusted his tie.

“Be professional. Some may doubt your skills if they saw you as odd-looking.”

“How am I odd?”

Karl didn’t dare to comment. She always was so unexpressive and yet her actions are so bold that It’d be easy for anyone to misunderstand her intentions. She finished adjusting her tie and started to walk in the direction of the main road. It was still early morning and the early risers were walking in the direction of the market. A man selling baked potatoes carried a tin container with a coal burner on the bottom of it. Women dominated the early morning. They carried bread baskets and goods. The police officers who woke up early walked their beats. They carried a bell around the neighborhood informing those who wanted to get up to wake up early.

The roads are somewhat less noisy. Karl hailed a horse-drawn cab. They got in and told the driver to take them to the train station. The cab moved out of the neighborhood. The main roads were noisier. Automobiles and horse-drawn carriages traveled all over. Karl saw a line of clerks walking to their workplaces, dressed in flannel and linen suits.

Near the train station he saw road workers maintaining the road. Near those road workers were horses that were resting. One of the horses lay on the ground. The train station was quiet early in the morning. He booked two tickets for first class seats. The first class cabin was neat compared to the rest of the cabins. Alicia sat on the opposite side of the table. He sat next to the window. A man in a red vest entered and offered them breakfast.

He didn’t have his breakfast so he ordered a plate. She ordered bread and butter alongside a cup of tea. She was rather familiar with the menu. She caught Karl staring. She placed her forearms on the armrest of her padded chair.

“I travel a lot. The last time it was only near so I didn’t bother like this. Long train rides are quite discomforting. Have you prepared your speech or whatever it is that you want to speak in front of the assembly?”

“I have been thinking. I got an idea. Don’t know what it will be. I hope that I don’t stutter.”

She nodded her head. The server in the red vest carried two plates. He set aside the tea and went out of their booth. The professionalism and the service was worth the price if anything.

The train rocked back and forth. It left the station. As the train traveled it passed through the countryside. Karl saw the peaceful land. He also saw the lands that are undergoing rehabilitation after the war tore them apart. The weather was sunny. There was an indication that it would change, but it only implied so.

“I can’t… imagine going through all that.”

Karl looked at her. She was looking at the white table. Her eyes on her knuckles. Karl turned away from the window.

“The war?”

“Yes. I saw your dossier the other day. Is it hard?”

“Of course it is. I killed people. I butchered people. I tore them apart when they got close. I still see them. I see them in my sleep. They drown me in blood. How could I say that it isn’t hard?”

He loses his temper. Karl gasped. He shook his head. He looked down with a weary smile on his face. His eyes were half-squinted. His breathing ragged.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s my fault for asking.”

“I became a doctor… because I want to heal. I want to make amends. Hundreds of people who died because of me. Isn’t it right that I want to be better? That I want to become someone who mends?”

Her face softened. Her eyes on Karl.  She leaned back. She levels her gaze on Karl who was sitting with his shoulders dropped.

“It is. I saw what you have been doing. If anything it is hard to imagine that you are someone who could do such feats, Doctor. No one would believe that you who would be so patient to your patients and tend to them with extreme care would have such achievements.”

Karl smiled lightly. “My father told me that those who know how to heal. Could also easily tear people apart. It is because of this that I know how to hurt. I guess I had more talent as a butcher than a man of medicine. To answer your question. It is hard. It is especially hard when I know it myself that I don’t care about the folks that I killed. To me it was a quick moment that I could barely remember. Only their faces. And the way they looked at me when I plunged a dagger on their throats or bashed their heads with my rifle. I don’t pretend to be innocent and nor do I seek absolution. I just want to do the world a favor and for once in my life do something that doesn’t involve killing.”

“It must be hard for you then. To speak in front of this assembly knowing what they want from you.”

Karl nodded. He folded his arms as if to comfort himself. He looked outside and saw the ruined landscape changed into that of a view of the mountains.

***

Congested. Noisy. And a lot of automobiles are doing their best not to crash into others. Karl escorted Alicia while carrying their luggage. It was sunny and the heat bounces off the ground. The sett road was polished. The lanes are surrounded by the two-story brick buildings that are uniformed. Built on each side. Unlike Avaios there was little to none vegetation. The streets and side lanes are packed with clerks and townspeople walking to their business. The gathering of noises from wagons, coaches, horses, people, automobiles, trams, and the cries of street vendors made it hard for Karl to hear properly. He automatically thought to himself that he preferred Avaios. Then again this was the Capital of Stuhach. He had expected noises, but this collection made him disoriented.

Karl hailed a cab who stopped near him. There was a match and a cigarette vendor boy stopping folks. He wore a cap and although he had no shoes. He was a lot cleaner than some. The cab wove through the streets. Karl saw chimney cleaners. Boys who are polishing shoes and musicians trying their best to add more noise.

The houses of the capital vary. Karl guessed that there are streets dedicated to housing and streets where the cab passed dedicated to companies. Karl saw an electric company and a water filtering company that supplies water. Karl asked the driver if there was a water tap. The driver even joked that only the rich neighborhoods have plumbing. The rest of the folks  rely on water trucks provided by the government or the water shops that provide a gallon of water to those who are willing to pay.

The cab driver pointed to one of the advertisements on the side when they were crossing a street. Karl thought that it was rather strange that even folks now are buying water. Although there are still folks who are using water pumps to get water. He doubts that the river outside of the city could be drink without boiling it.

The city itself looked clean but he knew too well that they could still do better and improve the sewage and drainage system of the city like Avaios.. The lines of folks who are wearing suits and skirts numbered. Karl wondered if the fashion trend lately was focused on flannel and linen suits. They were dressed colorfully while there were folks who brought suits that were rather gray. Suit, vest, tie and a bowler hat was the usual combination. After a few minutes of travel the cab arrived in front of the hotel they were staying in. There was only about three days until the assembly. They came early so that they could take care of matters. Karl also wanted to see his blood-brother Danil who should still be studying to become a true surgeon unlike him who opted to become a physician by using his merits in the war. He also wanted to know if Lynda was around and was getting recognition. Nonetheless, he thought to himself that he also needed to think about what he should speak in front of such an assembly.