[The following screenshots are of Michael Gottli from a film titled Tales From The Gimli Hospital. The accompanying fiction in this post is not from the film but from my bear-filled brain…  It is also a crossover-BearFic (lol) mentioned in the Primoz Petkovsek BearFic, “War & Sex.”]

Matevs & Katja
-Michael Gottli BearFic-

It happened during a time of wars and hate.  Some said it was a curse from the gods.  Others said that it was the beginning of the end of mankind’s reign on earth.  While a handful few knew what it was about and even knew what had caused it.  But they were all either dead, gone, or might as well be dead.  For knowing the truth would not prevent the inevitable.  But as all things came to pass, myths and legends arose.  They are far more interesting than the reality of such events.  So in spite of the darkness and madness, there was once such a story of love and hope.  It is the tale of handsome Matevs and beautiful Katja.

Matevs was a soldier.  He was the remaining soldier of Unit 859.  Henrik and he were the sole survivors of The Problem.  But Henrik found a woman begging for water in the shores of Golfo di Trieste.  Henrik, a good-hearted man, approached her and stayed a good distance away from her as he poured water on her parched lips.  The woman, grateful for such kindness, touched Henrik’s hand.  That was the last time Matevs saw Henrik.

Matevs had heard of an outpost where The Problem had not affected its community.  They called it “The Crossroads.”  It was a tall tale to keep the soldiers going, to keep them fighting an enemy they could never defeat.  Matevs was the only one who believed in it.  He longed for a woman’s touch and he knew that he will find this in The Crossroads.

So Matevs traveled on.  He barely slept as he did not want to come across The Women, both dead and living.  For months he trekked through valleys and fields, enduring the stench of human and animal decay.

* * * * *

Matevs woke up in what looked like a makeshift hospital room.  He did not remember what happened to him.  Perhaps he had fainted from the heat or hunger.  But who had brought him here?

As he wondered, he remembered having a vivid dream of an angelic woman helping him walk inside The Crossroads.  She was very beautiful and she took great care of him.  She cleaned his wounds and relieved his hungry stomach.  And she was able to touch him.

Matevs heard someone walk in his room.  To his surprise, it was the woman in his dreams.  Could it not be a dream?

Matevs demanded to know her name.  “I am, Katja,” she said.  She then looked at him and explained to Matevs that she found him lying near the river.  She and her fellow nurses brought him in to their hospice.  She called it “The Crossroads.”

“You have been resting for a good three weeks, my soldier,” Katja said.  “I’m glad to have seen you finally awake.  Now I can tell you stories and you can actually listen to them.”

Matevs could not believe his eyes.  A woman.  She had touched me and I lived.

Matevs begged her to touch him.  Katja then said, “I have touched you everyday and I long more than to touch you.  I want to feel your love.  I want to be part of you.”

With no doubts and no fear, Matevs and Katja exchanged a love that would echo through the end of human time.

My dear friends, that was the tale of “Matevs & Katja.”  It became a song for the soldiers after them.  They became the symbol of hope and of survival.

But like most things, myths are only just that: lies.

This is the true story of Matevs & Katja…

“I do not want to die,” Matevs pleaded.  “I don’t understand why you are able to touch me.”

“My soldier, let me show you why.”  Katja removed her gown and Matevs realized the truth.

“I did not mean to deceive you.  You were in pain and you needed medicine and care.”

Matevs stared at Katja with disgust.  An abomination.

Katja felt Matevs’ anger and humiliation.  But she longed for a man’s touch and she was willing to die for such a fleeting moment of affection.

And as the two embraced, Matevs plunged his knife on Katja’s belly.  Katja whispered to Matevs, “I forgive you.”

It was at that moment that Matevs realized what he had done.  All he could think of was that he had done a great deed.  I am still a soldier.  It had to be done.

And that, my dear friends, was how the real story ended.

[Related Posts – Primoz Petkovsek]