Karp is in the middle of preparing dinner for his special date with Rodina, she a tramp like himself and he has had a crush on her for years.
Together with other hobos they live on a river bank near a big bridge from one metropolis to the other.
They lived in self-made tents and huts and were surrounded by junk left there by others who figured they would make use of it.
He had always been wanting to become a chef himself, and what would be more perfect than preparing a romantic dinner for his true love.
And so Karp began making his squirrel kebab one of his specialties.
He stripped a squirrel of it’s fur and covered it in a marinade of hard to find herbs and spices.
He then roasted it above an old oil barrel using a spit made using a coat hanger.
The smell of the roasted meat began to attract a lot of other bums that more than anything wanted a bite.
Karp always wore the same multiple layers of clothing he had collected over the years which made him look hefty and well-built.
A single glance of his robust face kept them from stealing any of his food.
He made some side dishes using left-overs he had manage to find in the garbage bins of some five-star restaurants not far from here.
After he was done with those, the next thing to do was finding a quiet and romantic place to setup his candlelight dinner.
He found the perfect place right next to the river, behind some containers that had washed ashore but were now emptied out by scavengers.
Using some crates and the front hood of a car he builds a table and two chairs for them to sit on.
He covers the hood with a rag and turns two empty wine bottles into candlestick holders.
That night when the sun was setting she arrived wearing wool homemade clothes, which were the nicest pair of clothes she had.
He was wearing a tailcoat he found in the dumpster behind a funeral home that had gone bankrupt.
He helped Rodina take her seat on one of the crates he had cushioned with plastic bags and sat across from her.
Karp lit the candles and lifted the cloche from each of the plates, she was amazed by his creations and she handed him a gift wrapped in pages torn out of a gossip magazine.
He unwrapped it and was holding a brand new metal spatula, Karp hadn’t gotten such a great gift in years.
The only real downside of her clothes was that they were very itchy, so most of the night during their talks and while eating she had been scratching herself.
Rodina took her last bite of the squirrel kebab and told him, her chest was on fire.
Karp knew she was never that great with words and interprets what she said as her chest being filled with burning desire.
His heart start beating faster and faster as he went in for a kiss, but she had a weird look on her face and in front of his eyes she fell backwards and flames started bursting from her chest.
Never in his life had he seen such a thing and could not believe it was because of her love for him.
He grabbed one of the cloches and ran to the river and filled it with water, ran back to her and tried to put the fire out by pouring water over her chest.
The opposite happened and she started glowing a bright red color.
His heart was still pounding but began to skip beats, she whispered his name and he kneeled down next to her.
Rodina looked terrible, she then said that she loved him and thanked him for the romantic dinner.
Karp got closer to her ear and told her his heart had grown rusty.
And at that same time his heart stopped beating.
Karp woke up in a familiar place, his chest was still hurting but he manages to crawl outside.
Outside he sees a crowd of vagabonds standing around the barrel he used as a kitchen the day before.
They all had sad looks on their faces and gave him their condolences.
Rodina’s mother walked over to him and while crying her eyes out she handed him the spatula. Her other daughters took her away from Karp, so he could be alone to mourn. He looking into the barrel and noticed the flames were a different color then the day before.
The day before he had filled the barrel with firewood and now it seemed like it was all gone.
Karp then noticed a green kind of liquid at the bottom of the barrel, at first he couldn’t understand what it was, until his mind connected all the dots.
He pushed the hobos aside and began scraping the coal and dust of the barrel using the spatula Rodina had given him.
When he was done he stepped backwards..
He stared at the barrel with a big skull and bones symbol on it, and his chest began to hurt again.
The hobos started falling to the ground screaming and bursting out flames from their chests.
His chest began to hurt more and more and he took of all the clothes from his torso as he ran towards the river.
He looked down and saw his chest glowing a bright red color, and knew it was too late.
Together with other hobos they live on a river bank near a big bridge from one metropolis to the other.
They lived in self-made tents and huts and were surrounded by junk left there by others who figured they would make use of it.
He had always been wanting to become a chef himself, and what would be more perfect than preparing a romantic dinner for his true love.
And so Karp began making his squirrel kebab one of his specialties.
He stripped a squirrel of it’s fur and covered it in a marinade of hard to find herbs and spices.
He then roasted it above an old oil barrel using a spit made using a coat hanger.
The smell of the roasted meat began to attract a lot of other bums that more than anything wanted a bite.
Karp always wore the same multiple layers of clothing he had collected over the years which made him look hefty and well-built.
A single glance of his robust face kept them from stealing any of his food.
He made some side dishes using left-overs he had manage to find in the garbage bins of some five-star restaurants not far from here.
After he was done with those, the next thing to do was finding a quiet and romantic place to setup his candlelight dinner.
He found the perfect place right next to the river, behind some containers that had washed ashore but were now emptied out by scavengers.
Using some crates and the front hood of a car he builds a table and two chairs for them to sit on.
He covers the hood with a rag and turns two empty wine bottles into candlestick holders.
That night when the sun was setting she arrived wearing wool homemade clothes, which were the nicest pair of clothes she had.
He was wearing a tailcoat he found in the dumpster behind a funeral home that had gone bankrupt.
He helped Rodina take her seat on one of the crates he had cushioned with plastic bags and sat across from her.
Karp lit the candles and lifted the cloche from each of the plates, she was amazed by his creations and she handed him a gift wrapped in pages torn out of a gossip magazine.
He unwrapped it and was holding a brand new metal spatula, Karp hadn’t gotten such a great gift in years.
The only real downside of her clothes was that they were very itchy, so most of the night during their talks and while eating she had been scratching herself.
Rodina took her last bite of the squirrel kebab and told him, her chest was on fire.
Karp knew she was never that great with words and interprets what she said as her chest being filled with burning desire.
His heart start beating faster and faster as he went in for a kiss, but she had a weird look on her face and in front of his eyes she fell backwards and flames started bursting from her chest.
Never in his life had he seen such a thing and could not believe it was because of her love for him.
He grabbed one of the cloches and ran to the river and filled it with water, ran back to her and tried to put the fire out by pouring water over her chest.
The opposite happened and she started glowing a bright red color.
His heart was still pounding but began to skip beats, she whispered his name and he kneeled down next to her.
Rodina looked terrible, she then said that she loved him and thanked him for the romantic dinner.
Karp got closer to her ear and told her his heart had grown rusty.
And at that same time his heart stopped beating.
Karp woke up in a familiar place, his chest was still hurting but he manages to crawl outside.
Outside he sees a crowd of vagabonds standing around the barrel he used as a kitchen the day before.
They all had sad looks on their faces and gave him their condolences.
Rodina’s mother walked over to him and while crying her eyes out she handed him the spatula. Her other daughters took her away from Karp, so he could be alone to mourn. He looking into the barrel and noticed the flames were a different color then the day before.
The day before he had filled the barrel with firewood and now it seemed like it was all gone.
Karp then noticed a green kind of liquid at the bottom of the barrel, at first he couldn’t understand what it was, until his mind connected all the dots.
He pushed the hobos aside and began scraping the coal and dust of the barrel using the spatula Rodina had given him.
When he was done he stepped backwards..
He stared at the barrel with a big skull and bones symbol on it, and his chest began to hurt again.
The hobos started falling to the ground screaming and bursting out flames from their chests.
His chest began to hurt more and more and he took of all the clothes from his torso as he ran towards the river.
He looked down and saw his chest glowing a bright red color, and knew it was too late.
