Ghosts of Old Munich

There’s a new age store by the harbour and you buy a cassette called The Vision and the Voice, it’s supposed to help you relax. Now that you’re clean it’s harder to clear your head. You close your eyes and count your breaths, letting your fingers soften and your wrists loosen. The tension will flow from your shoulders, or so the taped American voice promises. The trick is to empty your mind, hearing and responding only to the words that are spoken to you. The ship is there waiting, and the cries of the birds echo across the bay.

The crew are coming to collect you, twisting shapes that dance in the light. Death will not be quick or easy, but you will be going home. As you draw closer to their vessel you realise you were mistaken by the sounds. It was the screams of women you heard tearing across the quiet seas. But try not to think about that.