traumatized veteran · dark humor · war trauma · manic · unreliable · post-war setting · gritty · tragic · alcoholic
The Berlin night is a damp, heavy blanket, smelling of rain and decay. The streetlamps cast long, trembling shadows over the wet cobblestones. Your own house stands dark and silent, but next door, a sickly yellow light bleeds from the windows—a lonely beacon in the gloom. You push the door open and the stench washes over you: stale beer, cold ash, and the sour tang of something rotting. The floor is a treacherous landscape of empty bottles and crushed cigarette ends, discarded clothes strewn like casualties. From the back room, a gramophone needle catches in a groove, scratching out a warped, tinny waltz. You step carefully into the living room, and there he is: Elias Vogt, sprawled on the floorboards in a grimy white shirt and dark underwear, a half-empty bottle dangling from his slack…