Rose (2026)

[bunniefuu]

And so it was, in those days

of the First Great w*r,

which would ravage the land

for decades to come,

that Rose resolved

to turn her back on soldiering.

Her story did not begin there,

but it nevertheless took a grave turn.

Everything is in order.

Nothing is missing.

Not as far as I can see.

You possess this document.

That means

you may claim the inheritance.

Do you know the land, sir?

Yes. As a boy, I spent two summers

there with my mother.

After my father died,

we were graciously received at the estate.

That was when the little chapel

caught fire,

when lightning struck it.

The farm has stood empty for a long time.

Why did you wait until now

to come forward?

The news took an age to reach me.

I was a soldier.

Where?

With the army.

For ten years.

And your mother?

Dead too.

All of them now.

As that same day was no longer

deemed suitable for an inspection,

any longer,

it was agreed that they would set out

together the following morning

to inspect the estate.

The livestock was shared among the village,

or it would have perished.

It is good land,

but demands everything of you

for only the smallest yield.

A man must know what he is doing,

or he had best leave it alone.

As a soldier, you fought for the land.

That does not mean you can withstand

the struggle against it.

As you can see, much must be done

before the real work can even begin.

It is not for everyone.

There is no shame in that.

I would gladly buy the land from you.

For a good price.

And I intend to stay.

To settle down at last.

And seek my fortune

in this splendid parish.

In the coming days, we can put

the formalities in order

and sign the documents.

The first arrival was complete.

And though Rose found no one

who wished to drink to it with her,

they were happy enough to take her money.

That's strange.

It's become so narrow.

It's all dented.

It isn't only my face.

Everything has a new shape now.

In the village they call you "the soldier."

And they say you are an eccentric.

Be quiet!

And that you carry

something mysterious with you.

I told you to be quiet!

What kind of life is built on deceit?

There is no heroism in it,

only coercion and hardship,

forever on one's guard.

Can such a life be called freedom?

Some say time will bring a solution.

Others say the Lord provides

for His own in their sleep.

Whatever one may say,

never had sleep

done Rose as much good

as it did that night.

And counsel came the very next day.

What is it?

The storm swept away our fences,

and the livestock escaped.

Perhaps we could drive the sheep

in here with you.

Hup! Hup! Hup!

The she-bear was found dead

in the forest the next day.

The meat had spoiled.

But from the hide,

in Rose's honour, they fashioned a cloak,

a cap and a collar.

The soldier, the eccentric,

the mysterious heir,

had become a bear-slayer,

no longer obliged to contend

with the old order,

but one who had written her own story

into that of the village.

What else, then, might yet happen?

And though God shows Himself

but seldom, or too indistinctly,

in the affairs of daily life,

time visibly passed over the land.

A year had passed since her arrival,

and Rose had been seized

by a mighty spirit of enterprise.

had come over her.

She thought of expansion,

of making the farm larger,

of surplus and profit too.

It is good to see the land prosper again.

I did not think you capable of it.

Nor did I.

Every day, I stand in wonder

that I am here.

Before, I could never imagine

a tomorrow.

What might come, what might be.

I was too busy trying

to survive each day.

And now?

For the first time, it seems

so magnificent and beautiful.

It brings me such joy.

To work, to imagine

what else one might do.

To think of all one might yet create,

or build.

And for that, one needs this land.

It is a beginning.

Land has a different value from coin.

Coin is exchanged once for something.

The land gives to you every year.

Like a woman's womb.

No.

I do not wish to sell the brook.

But I shall make you an offer:

a way for you to gain

your patch of earth,

while everything remains as it is for me.

I have five daughters,

and they eat me out of house and home.

Rose had accomplished much thus far.

To do so, she had been forced

to practise discipline,

and strict self-denial, every day.

She had gone without in order to demand,

and renounced in order to receive.

Concealing herself in order to exist.

But once necessity

has been satisfied,

the desire for more soon follows.

For greed is an intoxication.

It makes one believe

that one is entitled to everything,

and thus justifies itself

by its own existence.

It knows no bounds.

Greed is without measure,

without purpose or discipline.

A barrel cannot be emptier than empty.

But it is easily made to overflow.

This is Susanna,

virtuous and God-fearing,

skilled in every womanly task.

She tended her mother,

who endured much suffering before death.

I do not know what ails it.

My late wife began it.

She even worked in childbed.

We have one from each of them.

But she was weak.

Leave it!

Very weak.

Often confined to bed.

Well?

The gentleman wishes to court you.

I am willing to give you to him.

Are you willing too?

Yes.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Away!

Tomorrow we shall all

become better acquainted.

Will you not see to the fire?

Shall I?

I can try,

so that the clothes may dry.

Or you, sir. Perhaps you are

more adept at it anyway.

The basket of preserves

and cold meat

left from the wedding

we left that by the cart as well.

I do not know.

Let us thank the dear Lord that

the past days were plentiful

and we did not go

to bed hungry.

that You have graciously kept me this day,

and I beseech You

to forgive me

all my sins,

for I commend myself,

my body and soul,

and all things into Your hands.

May Your holy angel be with me,

that the evil foe may have

no power over me.

Amen.

Of all things, what I prize most

is your purity.

I intend to preserve it for a long time.

Nothing has been damaged,

as far as I can see.

It would be enough

to make ourselves a home.

A fine one.

Yes.

Will you not sing us a little song

to mark the occasion?

Come now!

I do not know what to sing.

Anything at all.

That one.

Commit all your ways

and all that grieves your heart

to the most faithful care

of Him who rules

the heavens.

He who gives clouds, air and winds

their paths, their course and way,

will also find the paths

upon which your foot may walk.

You must trust in the Lord

if all is to go well with you.

You must look to His work

if your own work is to endure.

Through worry and grieving

and self-inflicted pain,

nothing can be taken from God;

it must be gained through prayer.

Why?

I am allowed!

I promised the pastor I would help

with reading

and writing.

Several people have come forward

who would like to try.

Can you find no work to do here?

I can.

But I have given my word now.

Perhaps I could accompany you.

It is so quiet here.

That is your name.

Those are five letters

which then repeat.

Would you like to try?

Oh, very slowly.

Ah!

Yes, come in.

Wait.

I wished to ask

whether Susanna behaves well.

Whether she is obedient in all things.

Whether she is doing well.

Or whether she refuses you.

Or whether you find

her conduct repellent.

No, no, no.

She is exactly

as you described her to me.

Better still.

Do you know how it is?

With breeding.

A bull that will not mount

is replaced.

We are so occupied

with the work

that I have not considered

breeding the animals as well.

Marriage is a contract

you have entered into.

It is fulfilled only when consummated.

Best do it at once,

or everything is null and void,

including every agreement,

such as the land upon which you stand.

You need not concern yourself.

Everything is as it should be.

What is it?

Turn around.

It will come. It will pass.

What is it?

Would you come down

for a moment?

I have conceived.

What?

Conceived.

I am quite certain.

A butterfly just came

through the window

and settled upon my belly.

That is the sign.

It happened so to Saint Veronica as well.

It is early yet,

but I congratulate you on the blessing.

Come now! Come!

Farewell. Ciao.

At first, you know how it is

everything always lies there

in the chest,

but that cannot last forever.

Why is the good meat in the soup today?

It is a feast day, after all.

We would have to build an addition

and fell timber.

We would have to make

an opening in the parlour.

Outwards!

There by the wall would do nicely.

Come on!

One cannot expect a child every time

one performs one's lawful duty.

We shall wait and see.

But it is so.

Yes.

What does Father say?

We shall.

Farewell. Until next time.

A lively, healthy child was born,

though unexpectedly for Rose

and, in some eyes, weeks too early.

And while Susanna readily settled

into her role

as a mother, Rose's paternal feelings

were confusing and more complex in nature.

Nevertheless, everything

had changed for the better.

For in the eyes of the community,

Rose had

risen once more.

She had made the land bloom,

as she had the flower of her wife.

And even if no further children followed,

Rose had already fulfilled

the sole purpose of existence,

the only service owed to the community:

reproduction.

Whatever others may claim.

And yet it is not always,

or necessarily,

the great events

that bring about change.

Small things too

can have great consequences,

like the beating of a butterfly's wings

or the sting of a bee.

I thought you were in the stable.

He is a handful and cries all day.

Now he is awake again.

What is that by your eye?

Nothing.

And there on your hand.

Come quickly! Come!

Come!

Oh!

The sting is still in there.

And up here.

Help me pull him out of his breeches.

Pull!

Pull!

Pull!

There are more.

We must boil water. To the well!

Why are you standing there? Run!

Take the second cauldron too!

Ah!

You will be wondering

what has happened to the master.

Good Lord, man!

Thank you. Farewell!

We may begin!

As you have no...

He is gravely ill.

He must rest.

No one may see him.

Not if we wish to avoid

fearing for his life.

Everything else shall continue as before.

That is what was agreed.

You maids shall work in the fields too.

Until the Saviour restores

the master's health,

for which we shall now pray,

I shall direct the fortunes of us all.

So the Lord wills it.

We go forth and journey,

from one age

to the next; we live

and remember, from the old

unto the new.

Speak Your gentle blessing

upon all our paths.

Let Your sun of grace shine

upon every place,

that we may find peace.

Who are you?

Farewell.

Control yourself!

It is best that I go.

Yes, it would be best.

But you cannot.

You are weak.

You will collapse beyond the next tree,

and there you will be found

by someone else, and then

and then...

The child is still dependent upon me.

For the next few weeks,

perhaps half a year.

Then it will become easier.

When the roads are clear

of snow and ice,

then you may go.

Until then, there will be ample time

to invent a story.

That night, Rose spoke until dawn.

Hesitantly at first,

and then without stopping.

She told of a childhood

in an orphanage,

of how she first came

to put on breeches,

and of every attempt that followed.

Nor did she omit the w*r

and her life as a soldier.

She spared neither herself nor Susanna.

She told her everything.

Including how she came

to take another man's place

and claim an inheritance.

And how good it felt to speak.

She had often imagined

giving herself up.

Yet even she was surprised

by the relief

of no longer bearing the burden

of her secrets alone.

Only one thing would she not disclose:

her true name.

Thus Susanna could not mistakenly

let it slip

at an ill-chosen moment.

What are you doing there?

Looking.

How are you, Meryn?

Poorly.

Go inside.

-No, do not.

-It will give me some air.

Here, I shall open the window for you.

Why are you standing there staring?

Move! He will be all right.

Back to work.

The sow is doing well.

Yes, she will yield plenty of meat.

Back to work.

Cut!

Are you coming?

Who is the child's father?

You will not be alone for long,

once I am finished.

What?

Your father will not permit it.

He would marry you

to the first man who came along,

just as he did with me.

To a stranger.

You feel like the mistress now, yes.

But it does not belong to you.

Perhaps.

Perhaps we need not invent

a new story.

Perhaps everything can remain as it is.

You and I are acknowledged.

As a household.

That is what we are to the others.

That is what grants us freedom.

It need not be otherwise.

Is the bed you sleep in upstairs

a good one?

The servants ought to have

a house of their own.

At the far end of the meadow,

a proper distance away.

And we need an extension.

It will not do for you

to wash secretly in the woods.

You are a young man.

Or a bathhouse. Bathing in the parlour

is dangerous too.

And reading and writing?

You will teach me.

Rose and Susanna had resolved

not

to decide at once.

Everything had already changed.

They walked taller, freer with one another,

more independent.

And perhaps because of that,

they were more affectionate.

For the first time.

All this had come unexpectedly,

as only words spoken aloud

can usually bring about.

But still more was to happen that day.

What is it?

One of the maids had not returned

with the others

at the appointed hour

to the estate.

She was not brought back

until the following day

by her father and brothers.

We searched the forest all night

and were beside ourselves with worry.

I sent those two to the pond

and was setting off for the village.

We did not know.

They found her only this morning,

where she had hidden herself.

Then we set out at once.

Why did you run away

and make us all sick with worry?

Shut your mouth.

But he has such small hands.

I will not have people talking about us.

Apologise to your master

and ask him

to forgive you and take you back.

Life and work are good here.

No worse than elsewhere.

You have never complained.

But I shall not keep you.

Thank you for taking the trouble

to bring me your child,

but who can assure me

she will not run away again?

-Beg him, child. I hope... I hope...

-And must we again,

terrified that some misfortune

has occurred,

set out and abandon all our work?

The master is no man.

-What?

-The master is no man.

Let her speak!

Below, he is said to be like a woman.

We should be silent.

This is utter nonsense.

I know what I saw.

When?

When could you possibly have seen that?

When the master was ill.

What confused nonsense are you saying?

No one was with him.

-At the very beginning?

-I was alone with him.

When the stings were fresh.

We took off his breeches

and removed stings up to here.

What could she have seen?

-How should I know?

-It seems to me

you are not quite right in the head.

That was days ago. Why come only now?

I said so at once.

You laughed at me.

-Liar.

-You ordered me

to hold my tongue

because it made no sense.

-Liar.

-Liar.

-Liar!

-Liar!

-Liar!

-Liar!

Liar!

Liar!

Liar!

Liar!

-Liar!

-Into the house, Susanna!

And yesterday in church?

And all before our very eyes!

Liar!

Your daughter is very young,

yet notices more

than one might suppose,

and hopefully speaks

of things she cannot yet

possibly understand.

We must get to work.

If we are to bring in the harvest

before dark.

We have lost half a day.

And now we are two hands short.

I hope the loss remains small.

Your sons here work

for my father-in-law.

As do I.

Then let us keep all this among ourselves,

so that you suffer no harm from it either.

Yes?

Your sister still needs work.

Yes.

Very well, then.

May you have a blessed night's rest.

Now.

It is quite simple.

We shall settle this here and now.

Settle what?

You provide proof.

That I am a man?

-Yes.

-And the heir to this land.

Not an impostor.

And how am I to do that?

By lowering my breeches?

Showing them my c*ck?

It would take but a moment,

and the matter would be settled.

This house. Is it real?

The soil there. The land.

The money.

The good wage you received,

and twice as much at Christmas.

Is that a fraud?

And that there is always some of our yield

left over for you?

Or you?

I taught you the alphabet

from A to Z.

The words you can now write.

The contracts you can now read,

so that

no one can cheat you again.

So you never again receive

less than your due.

Is that a fraud too?

That you lost your arm?

Is that real?

That you stand here now?

That you are still alive?

Is that a fraud?

And here, the b*llet.

Here. Look at it.

And my flesh.

You cannot see me now, can you?

I ask you to help me.

Did I choose

to have my face shot apart?

For this land and for you.

Is that true as well?

Or is there nothing there

all smooth and fair, and merely a fraud?

I do not know.

Nor do you.

And perhaps it is therefore best now

that each goes home and considers

what that means.

Fraud.

Have I ever seen your c*ck?

Do I ask you about them?

We can gladly do all of that.

But then I want it done officially.

Then I want to see

what every one of you has

between his legs.

Man and woman.

Your c*ck, and yours.

And your father's.

Fetch me the bailiff.

We shall make it official.

Provided you can afford

the document, of course.

The pastor shall announce it

in church at once.

Better still, from the pulpit.

Go on. Fetch the bailiff.

Then you go, and you two

go with him,

so no one says

I bribed the bailiff.

The rest of you may remain seated

outside my door

and guard it, so you need not

go without the proof

now that you desire it.

And before I am made

to look upon your flesh,

I shall cease to see your faces.

The bailiff was said to have been

no less astonished

by the matter with which

he had been approached.

Yet not even his presence that day

could bear witness

to the demanded proof.

News of the events

had left everyone

profoundly shaken.

The community which had accepted Rose

into its midst

felt defrauded and deceived.

It believed itself, through Rose's deceit,

dishonoured, defiled and sullied.

What they urgently demanded

was a great example,

by which they could cleanse themselves.

And so it had to be made.

On the third day

of their wandering,

several adventurers succeeded

in tracking down the two fugitives

and bringing them back to the village.

Splendid!

Tall domestic animals.

Yes.

Breeches.

But among the learned men

of the land too,

a dispute had broken out:

who was fit to judge

so curious a case

as the one at hand?

For that very reason,

three more months were to pass

before Rose could be given

a proper trial.

You binder!

And the horn.

The thorn.

No.

The examinations have established

that the accused is a healthy woman.

She has nothing male about her.

Her clitoris is of normal size;

she could not have penetrated

her supposed wife with it.

Semen, however,

evidently flowed in the other direction,

as indeed it must have done,

since the accused is with child.

She is a woman,

but has long presented herself as a man.

Yes.

And the inheritance

to whom does it belong?

He was a comrade, a friend.

He often spoke of it,

at great length.

Of returning after the w*r,

and what it would be like.

But he fell.

His leg was blown off,

and he bled to death.

So I took his belongings.

Including thisthe document.

I thought it a shame

if no one claimed it and carried on.

We were like brothers, after all.

And this?

Yes.

Where did she get that?

In the w*r as well.

At times, under orders,

we too were made to show the vanquished

who was master.

Under orders.

Yes.

It was foolish.

And brutal.

But it would have been dangerous for me

had I not joined in,

so I had that done to me.

No one noticed a thing.

And your supposed wife now?

She knew nothing.

She bears no guilt.

Please, she must be released.

But who fathered her child?

And this?

Was I too shown who was master?

Who?

I do not know. There were four of them.

Why did you act as you did?

I thought I would see what was possible.

What?

That I could live this way.

As a man?

No. I did not wish to be a man.

Then what?

There was more freedom in breeches,

and they are only a piece of cloth.

I have nothing more in my breeches.

Who permitted you to do that?

No one.

Oh, no one?

I did.

So you created yourself.

Community can exist only with rules.

And rules are determined by facts.

Yet between your legs

no male organ of generation was found,

but rather a hole.

One may desire the impossible.

One cannot live it.

And by attempting

to live the impossible,

you chose to defy reality.

And necessity,

which, for you, consists in your body's

demands

being obeyed.

You placed yourself above the law

which alone makes communal life possible.

And when you set yourself against reality,

against necessity

and against the laws,

you also set yourself

against the community.

That is what you chose.

That is the possibility

by which to live,

whose freedom you took for yourself.

Did you always truly believe

you could succeed?

Do you feel no guilt?

The one guilty before the community

is no longer part of it.

He must be removed.

For a time.

Into the dungeon.

For ever.

And then put to death.

But perhaps no limits

can be placed upon you.

Perhaps you will grow wings

and simply fly away from us.

Or do you not consider that possible?

Sentence has been passed.

The sword.

As soon as she has given birth.

No harm is to come to the child,

for that would offend God's commandments.

She will remain here until her confinement.

Judgment has also been passed

upon Susanna.

The sack and the river.

The sentence was carried out at once.

She is said not to have taken it well,

and caused her executioner

much trouble and toil,

and herself much pain.

Merciful Father, in the face of death,

I confess to You my sins and misdeeds,

committed in thought,

word and deed.

I grieve for them sincerely and repent.

I beseech You, for the sake

of the bitter, innocent suffering

and death of Your Son, Jesus Christ,

to grant this prayer.

Be gracious to me, a sinful mortal,

and my shameful deeds

for all eternity...

forgive, that I may be worthy

to enter Your house.

Merciful Father, in the face of death,

I confess to You my sins and misdeeds.

They sell it on every corner.

Three sellers on the way here alone.

They shout themselves hoarse.

They cannot pocket the kreuzers fast enough.

This is what people say about her.

Is that how it happened?

In the final weeks of her life,

Rose had found one last task,

which she was determined to finish.

Others had decided the course of her life,

but Rose would not surrender her story.

She had begun to write herself.

It was intended for no one else,

only for herself.

And having reached

the point of her present,

she wrote herself beyond it,

giving herself a fantasy

of how things might have been.

For impossibility is only a word.

And words could be changed.

Once spoken, they exist in the world.

They become reality

and bring reality in their wake.

All this passed through Rose's mind

while elsewhere there was talk

of separating Rose's head from her body.

The prisoner has asked

to rehearse her execution.

We have agreed to grant her request.

And you will assist her.

Forgive me, God; forgive me, King;

forgive me, people.

Forgive me, God; forgive me, King;

forgive me, people.

Forgive me, God; forgive me, King;

forgive me, people.

And the executioner?

Do you confess your guilt?

Yes.

Then pay your executioner

with the coin,

and receive your punishment

as purification.

Clench your teeth!

Now that all has run its course,

the execution will be tomorrow.

Do you wish to see the child

once more beforehand?

No.

It can be brought here.

It is not because I am heartless or hard.

For the little child, it is...

I would not merely look upon its face;

it would look upon mine too.

It must have no image of me,

so it need not search for me

in the world when it is older.

The executioner's first stroke

fell badly

and hacked into Rose's shoulder.

The second struck more truly.

After her death, Rose's body

was dismembered and burned,

and the ashes scattered

in an unknown place,

so that no memory of her would remain.

Today I thought perhaps

we do not come from God at all.

We merely imagined

and invented ourselves.

Then I grew quite calm and said:

This is as far as I have come,

and I have done what I could.