The Laughter

When he finally reached the door to his lodging, he noticed that the tomcat was meandering around his ankles. The cat was purring, looking up at K. admiringly. “What are you doing here?” K. said to the tomcat. K. thought of bringing the animal to Fraulein Burstner as a gift, but remembered what happened the last time a cat was brought into the lodging. Frau Grubach had terrible allergies, the most violent of all, allergies from cats.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you in.” K. said to the tomcat. “If you stay here, I can bring you out some scraps of food.” K. put his hand down affectionately to pet the cat. The cat’s hair stood on end. It began to hiss and spit, screeching at K. The tomcat ran into the street before K. could react to pull back his hand.

K. fumbled for his key, and opened the door to find that the Captain was not on the couch where K. had expected to find him. K. thought this a good thing, whereas he didn’t know how much noise the cat had made in its fit. K’s relief was not entirely admirable, whereas he was partially relieved that the Captain had finally left. The Captain became such a distraction, that K. hardly spent any time with Fraulein Burstner. K. had enough on his mind. The interrogations and his work at the bank were consuming most of his time. He sat on the couch wondering if he should make himself some hot tea to ease his chill.

While sitting, K. heard soft voices coming from Fraulein Burstner’s room. Had the inspector come back to do a background check on him? K’s anger heightened as he approached Fraulein Burstner’s room. He was unsure of what it was that he would say to the inspector, but doubted he could remain calm in such a disrespectful situation. How could anyone be so inconsiderate as to come to the room of a woman at such an hour? Had they waited for her to return home? K. knew that Fraulein Burstner did not return until a late hour, though this hour was late even for her. K. clenched his fists in rage.

As K. approached Fraulein Burstner’s bedroom, he noticed that the voices were accompanied by laughter. It was the laughter of a woman and of a man, though K. could not figure out whose voices they were specifically. K. returned to the couch, forgetting completely about his wet clothes and cup of tea. Perhaps this would be good for his case. Perhaps Fraulein Burstner’s laughter was an inclination of how ridiculous she thought the entire interrogation had become. Still, K. wondered what the inspector could be saying to make her laugh so.

What could the two be doing? K. tried to force this thought out of his mind, he was sure that Fraulein Burstner was a respectable woman, and that he was being silly to expect otherwise. At that moment another thought struck him. Where was the Captain? He was not on the couch, and K. could not remember Frau Grubach saying anything about his leaving. The further K. began to contemplate the possibility of this idea, the louder the voices seemed to grow.

Where had the Captain gone? K. recalled seeing him only a day or two ago. He searched the living room for a trace of the Captain. K. could not find anything to distinguish whether or not the Captain was in fact still there. The room was poorly lit. Once again, the only light was coming through the window from a street lamp that flickered on and off and on again in an in-syncopated rhythm. The thought of the Captain with

Fraulein Burstner had begun to nauseate K. The more intently he listened, the more sure he became that the male voice coming from the bedroom was in fact that of the Captain. How could he be sure? The voice was familiar, but not recognizable through the door, besides, he had heard so many new voices recently.

K. pondered the idea that the voices were perhaps a result of his exhaustion. That thought was interrupted by more laughter. Perhaps the male voice belonged to a friend of Fraulein Burstner. With that thought to comfort him, K. went to bed. He changed into his bedclothes and turned down the sheets.