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Morgenrot English Exerpt
Morgenrot English Exerpt
[Morgenrot]
by
Tanja Heitmann
The glass entrance door swung open and let in a stream of fresh night air that brushed against
Lea's bare arms - refreshingly cool, for the air in the crowded bar was stuffy and heavy with
tobacco smoke. As it was, Lea was already feeling flushed from the rosé wine in the
condensation-covered glass; her cheeks were glowing and a drop of sweat was slowly making
its zigzag way down her cleavage until it tickled the skin between her breasts. Lea again
pressed the burning palms of her hands onto the leather of the armchair, but the cool material
provided little relief.
Yet Lea did not find the heat unpleasant. All the people sitting shoulder to shoulder or
crowding round the bar, the babble of voices, the throbbing beat of the background music, the
indirect light making everything look soft, almost hazy – all this was shrouding her senses in
velvety cloths.
Her friend Nadine was making her way through the crowd, and Lea smiled and waved to her.
Nadine smiled back but then stopped in the middle of the crowd. A man having a lively
conversation with some friends seemed to have caught her attention.
Lea had to crane her neck in order to see better, and what she saw made her inwardly chuckle.
The blond man Nadine was in the process of scrutinising, centimetre for centimetre, was at
the most in his early twenties and what made him stand out more than anything else were his
broad shoulders. Nadine sniffed uninhibitedly at the nape of his neck; then she threw Lea a
meaningful look and let her tongue dance over her lips. While Lea was watching her friend's
audacity in amusement, Nadine suddenly bent forward and really did lick the naked skin of
her victim. Then she abruptly turned round and came over to where Lea was sitting, leaving
behind her a group of young men gazing after her open-mouthed.
Nadine gave Lea a kiss on her cheek as a greeting and sat down besides her.
"What was going on there?" asked Lea. But she was unable to make herself sound as strict as
she thought appropriate. She was feeling surprisingly good this evening and was even finding
her friend's macho behaviour, which she usually objected to, entertaining.
Nadine seemed to guess her mood, for she bent over towards her and said with an
exaggeratedly sensuous voice, stressing every word, "I … love … fresh … meat."
Lea laughed and shook her head and brushed her dark hair behind her ear with her hand. Just
now she was finding it easy to let herself go. All she wanted to do was to lean back, smile
nicely at no one in particular and order another glass of rosé. In spite of this, she felt an inner
unease, a warning signal somewhere in the background. It was scarcely discernable, but it was
enough to make Lea inspect unknown faces instead of relaxing and just letting her eyes roam.
Nadine had once compared Lea's need to always keep an eye on her surroundings and
immediately assess everything and everyone with the Terminator. "I could swear there is even
a tiny little red light shining behind your irises", Nadine had said in that challenging way of
hers, circling a finger right in front of Lea's eyes. "That explains why you are always so
terribly self-controlled and like nothing better than sitting in front of your computer from
morning to night. You're a robot that has been put into a woman's body. The only thing is that
this robot hasn't a clue what to do with its nice cover."
Instead of joining in the banter as she usually did, Lea had just blinked as if caught out.
Nadine's comparison was worryingly precise. As soon as Lea left the safety of her apartment
or the publishing house, her brain started functioning just like robot: all available data were
When she arrived at her host's grandly lit house, she still had not thought of a sensible-
sounding excuse. Feeling a little lost, Lea stood still and tried to collect her wits.
The extreme contrasts in this city still took her breath away: the vast high-rise ghetto gave
way smoothly to the narrow strip of imposing buildings that had escaped the hail of bombs
from the wars. Yet only a few streets away, these architectural jewels were fenced in by a
chaos of flyovers and industrial sheds and huts. A large part of the city consisted of weather-
beaten concrete and asphalt crumbling from the effect of the frost. Although most of the
buildings were only a few decades old, they already looked ready to be pulled down. Whereas
the old quarters were having a renaissance, a lot of the apartments in the tenement blocks
were empty, and during the long winter nights their blind windows caught the eye. The edges
of the city were littered with a few abandoned sheds and cannibalised car wrecks along the
sides of the road. Behind that was the forest. Not a cultivated forest that had enjoyed years of
care, such as Lea knew and loved from home, and whose network of paths were an invitation
to Sunday afternoon walks or cycle tours. No, this forest had nothing in common with a well-
tended recreation area.
Lea had travelled through it when she first came here by train, and when she had seen it she
had first had this feeling of unease that had not left her since. It was an army of mighty
conifers effortlessly bearing the weight of all the snow. In spring, the forest floor would
certainly not be covered by a mass of tiny flowers, for the simple reason that not one ray of
sunlight found its way through the impenetrable cover of branches. If people here even know
such a thing as sunshine, Lea had thought, while this view of the forest had almost made her
freeze with fear.
The view of Professor Carrière's beautiful old house made up for some of the gloomy
impressions of the previous weeks. The extravagant stucco façade had been renovated with a
great love of detail, the colours were cheerful, and there was not even a scratch in the dark red
paint on the obviously ancient wooden front door. It was a detached house standing invitingly
close to the street, with only a delicate wrought-iron fence and few snow-covered
rhododendrons separating the two. Lela unfortunately could not peep inside any of the rooms
because all the curtains were drawn. But there was a gentle light shining through the fabric
which seemed to be inviting her in. The muted sound of a piano apparently coming from one
of the upstairs rooms also strongly attracted her.
Nevertheless Lea just stood there, trying to ignore her gradually stiffening toes. She was still
hoping that another of her fellow-students would also appear on the scene disrespectfully
early. Such tactlessness would be easier to bear if there were two of them. Another bitterly
cold gust of wind blowing her hair into her face convinced her that it was hardly possible to
hang around any more outside.
With a sigh, Lea pulled the shiny brass cord next to the door, at which a muffled bell could be
heard ringing inside the house. After a while, just as Lea was about to ring a second time, the
door opened a crack. An elderly woman dressed in black greeted her in the local language,
giving Lea the impression that this was a servant.
Aware the woman's critical eyes, Lea introduced herself, adding remorsefully, "I'm a little
early". For a moment she feared she would not be allowed in. But then the women with the
decidedly sullen face hesitantly stepped aside. She took Lea's coat and scarf and Lea took off
her wet boots, and then they both went up some stairs covered in an oriental carpet.
The group had placed chairs in a semicircle round the fire, and the discussion was in full
swing. The colloquium was attempting to get to the bottom of the whole concept of
Romanticism, but more than that each of the students was trying to make a good impression
on Professor Carrière. Just as Lea had done, they had all prepared themselves well for this
evening, which Professor Carrière called an "informal gathering". On the other hand, it was
clear that anyone not performing intellectually brilliantly on this occasion need not expect
another invitation.
Lea had long since resigned herself to the fact that she would never again set foot in this
house. Since meeting Adam, she had hardly made a contribution to the demanding and
challenging discussion. She was still preoccupied with this man's attraction for her, not to
mention her pitiful failure to get him to be the slightest bit interested in her. And so it came
about that instead of displaying her profound knowledge of Romanticism, she was busy trying
not to forget to breathe. It was only the polite tone in this gathering that had prevented her
lack of participation from having her thrown out of the room.
Jazna, who seemed to have succeeded in escaping from Adam's attraction as soon as her
university career was at stake, occasionally threw a questioning look at her. She mouthed the
words, "What's the matter?" But all Lea could do was shake her head. She didn't know the
answer herself.
Adam was roaming round somewhere in the depths of the room. Lea sometimes thought she
heard the curtains rustling as if he were watching the snow falling. Professor Carrière had
invited him to join them, but all he had done was give a bored "perhaps later" in reply. It was
driving Lea crazy that he would not leave the room; and unless she was very much mistaken,
it was the same with Professor Carrière, for with a hint of irritation in his face he kept looking
round the room.
"The question about the soul is surely of great importance, or what do you think?" Professor
Carrière had directed his question at Lea.
Startled, Lea searched her memory for a suitable reply. "In Romanticism, the mysterious path
leads to the inner being", she began, while still sorting out her thoughts. "Painting shows that
very nicely. The artist feels his work within him. At least that's what Caspar David Friedrich
Tanja Heitmann
Morgenrot
Roman
Heyne
Als die junge Studentin Lea in der Villa ihres Professors auf Adam trifft, ist sie vom ersten
Augenblick an gebannt. Adam ist unwirklich schön, schweigsam – und er hat ein tödliches
Geheimnis: Er ist von einem Dämon besessen, der ihn dazu zwingt, Lea auf die dunkle Seite
zu ziehen. Doch mit aller Macht kämpft er dagegen an. Denn er liebt Lea. Eine Liebe, in der
ein einziger Kuss alles verändern kann ... Tanja Heitmann ist die Entdeckung der modernen
Mystery!
Für die Studentin Lea beginnt das Auslandssemester alles andere als angenehm. Bei Schneefall
und eisigem Ostwind verbringt die junge Frau einsame Tage. Das ändert sich schlagartig, als
sie in der Villa ihres Professors auf einen rätselhaften und unwirklich schönen Mann trifft: Adam.
Vom ersten Augenblick an ist Lea wie gebannt. Ohne sich dagegen wehren zu können, fühlt
sie sich zu ihm hingezogen. Doch Adam verhält sich seltsam. Mal weist er Lea schroff zurück,
mal sucht er wie getrieben ihre Nähe. Welches Geheimnis sich jedoch wirklich hinter Adams
mysteriösem Verhalten verbirgt, erfährt Lea eines Nachts: Schwer blutend findet sie ihn neben
ihrem Bett vor. Wie ist er in ihr Zimmer gekommen und wieso schließen sich seine Wunden
wie von Geisterhand? Lea erfährt, dass Adam von einem Dämon besessen ist. Dieser Dämon
verleiht ihm Unsterblichkeit, dafür fordert er einen hohen Preis: das Blut anderer Menschen. In
diesem Fall das Blut Leas. Noch kämpft Adam dagegen an, denn er hat sich in Lea verliebt.
Aber der Dämon ist stark – womöglich zu stark ...