Summary: Armin In The Table With His Mother's Dinner

Dinner

Armin sets the table with his mother’s best china and silverware. He replaces the candle with a fresh one and sets the candlestick in the center of the table. He pops the cork from a South African red to let it breathe before dinner. He runs his hand down the lace tablecloth smoothing any wrinkles. He wants everything to be perfect. Armin returns to the kitchen to begin cooking. Fresh garlic sizzles as it hits the oil in the pan. He sautés the minced garlic until the aroma fills the room. He coats the outside of the steak with a crust of salt, pepper, and nutmeg before placing it in the pan. It sputters in applause. He sears both sides before covering and reducing the heat. It is a large portion of steak and needs to cook for several
He dims the lights and sits at the head of the table. The setting sun's last rays dance on the ceiling. The shadow of the mountain creeping, slowly encompassing everything in the room. He pours a glass of wine and places his napkin on his lap. Fork and knife in hand he cuts a slice in two bites. The piece seems to palpitate on the tines of the fork. His eyes close, his lips part and he takes a bite. It tastes like pork but more substantial.
Armin is overjoyed and filled with contentment. He begins to eat with a bit more haste, at first maintaining formal table manners but eventually putting as much of Bernd in his mouth as he can fit. He struggles to chew it all. He takes a long sip of wine to wash it down. He gasps for air. He feels amazing. His lifelong feelings of abandonment, of loneliness, disappointment, sadness, that sense of never really belonging all vanished. Bernd is his closest friend and will never leave his side, never let him
A loud and urgent knocking draws his attention away from his computer. The panes of glass rattle in the door from the pounding. Armin swings the door open wide squinting as his eyes adjust to the light. The police show him a warrant for his arrest and to search the premises. The Austrian student reported his interaction with Armin to the Police once he was convinced Armin had actually killed someone. The handcuffs dig into his wrist as he’s led to the kitchen and forcibly sat in a chair. The freezer is open and the contents are spread out on the counter. Armin assures them it is a wild pig, however, he knows they aren’t there for wild pig, they’re there for long pig. The police confiscate the meat from the freezer, a camera, dozens of pornographic VHS cassettes, three knives, an ax, and a butcher’s apron from Armin’s home. Armin calls his lawyer. The phone rings a couple times before he answers. Armin blurts it out, “I’ve killed a man and cut him into pieces, and I’ve eaten some.” Later, Armin sits in court with confidence. There is no law against cannibalism in Germany and the tape proves he was assisting Bernd in suicide rather than murdering him. Armin is convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. A later appeal would see him convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Since his imprisonment, he has become a vegetarian but Bernd will always be with