"I wouldn’t want to die in a cemetery,” he said dryly, turning his back to the scene that was unfolding in front of him. The young woman smiled and balanced her weight carefully on the ice to see if it could hold her. It had frozen for days now and it was fine. But nobody had tried it out yet, not on this pond, which happened to be in the middle of a big cemetery. Maybe it seemed an inappropriate thing to do, to have fun on the ice surrounded by dead people who no longer could have fun themselves. It was also a morbid location for a date. Not a first date, for sure, they had met a few times and it seemed to be going well. She liked him, although he was anxious about all kinds of things in life. By now, he had turned his full back to her and started to move away. He was definitely not the rescuing kind of type who wanted to play hero. That was fine to her. She didn’t need to be saved. She took a few more steps on the ice. She enjoyed provoking danger. On their last date she had climbed over a fence into a private garden. He had refused to follow her. She smirked. Had people died in cemeteries for real? Maybe over a broken heart sitting at the grave of their lost one. Or a heart attack because of too much sorrow.
Now she was sliding on the ice, accelerating. What a rush! Her cheeks were flushed. Dancing on ice! They had ended up in this cemetery because he wanted to show her the ponds that were left-overs from the Ice Age. Some were impressive, like the one on the Alboinplatz nearby that had steep flanks leading into a bottomless pit. But this one looked harmless, wasn’t it for the sinistre atmosphere of the cemetery. She looked up and saw he was retreating more and more. She grinned and cried out: “Help!” He didn’t react but kept on walking away from her. The smile slowly vanished from her face. A curious thought crossed her mind while she stood there in the middle of the frozen pond. What if he had brought her here with the purpose to lure her on the pond. Had he known she would go onto the ice? That he wouldn’t even have to dare her to do so? She let out a nervous laugh. “Hey!” she called out to him. But she knew it was in vain. She thought she could see his shoulders shake with a soft chuckle. And then, as if the malicious thought had set something in motion, the ice around her started to crack. The cracking grew louder as he neared the entrance gate. Just when he left, he heard the splash, then silence. He kept on walking steadily but with a faint smile, revealing something that might be satisfaction.