Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

of her?“
She had always loved this brother of hers more than was normal between siblings. At
times she worried about her attraction to her handsome, Georgian brother. She could see that
Niko was in love with Claudia. Was the cause of her irritation an impulse from this dark side of
her heart? She could not figure herself out.
When they parted she embraced and kissed Claudia without any reservation, and in that
instant she thought she knew what had provoked her. Claudia was much like herself,
complicated, dark, and with a sense for the tragic. However, Claudia seemed to lack her often
violent passions, and her outburst must have been an attempt to upset Claudia’s equanimity.
She envied Claudia the control of her emotions. I have still much to learn about myself, she
thought. A trace of doubt remained, however.
"Look," Alexandra said to Niko with a laugh, trying to shake off her annoyance with
herself, "two Germans followed by two and a half Georgians."
And to herself: Niko is about to marry his sister!
In that at least she would be right. A few days later Niko, with a trace of selfconsciousness,
said, "I really would like to marry Claudia. She is so much like you, Lexako, but
she treats me much more kindly. Besides she plays the piano most beautifully."
Alexandra asked him to tell her more about Claudia, she had, after all, only met her very
briefly. Niko told her that Claudia Dahl came from a family of medical men, her father was a
clinical psychotherapist. Her mother, an accomplished pianist, was the dynamic center of their
family. She came from an old Munich family of painters and artists. Her house was the meeting
place of the famous and the controversial, artists, writers, and musicians.
Niko blushed. "Claudia and her mother have opened a whole new world of experiences
to me, above all in music, about which I knew next to nothing. You remember the flute you
gave me for Christmas five years ago? I have been taking lessons, and ever so often Claudia
and I play flute sonatas together."
Alexandra smiled. "Your description of Claudia sounds like an advertisement for a
young, nubile lady from the best society—very German—what about yourself?"
Abashed, Niko stuttered, "She says she loves me."
Laughing out loud she replied. "Dear brother, I know that."
She hugged him. "She chose well. Given time, she may even teach you how to give
words to your emotions and make you comprehend your own love, which is not always easy
for a woman to do."
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