Silke

De: C R Searle

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

What is the mystery that binds Joe, a talented young artist recently moved to an apartment in London’s Lime House, and Silke, the nine-year old girl who lives in the penthouse apartment upstairs. Who, unannounced, and never formally introduced to him, is brought to his door by her mother, a successful banking executive. Who asks Joe to baby sit her for the morning whilst she attends an important meeting giving him no chance to refuse, she promises to pick her up at lunchtime, Silke tells him she won’t.
From the get-go both are deeply ‘attracted’ to each other, not in any disquieting physical sense but in the immediacy of their unforced connection to each other. Sharing a natural bond of empathy, intuitive understanding and spiritual kinship that is undoubtedly nurtured by their vulnerability and unwanted loneliness. Joe, estranged from his lover of three years for the last month and anxious for a reconciliation she appears not to want, as Silke quickly realizes she doesn’t. Silke deeply troubled by her mother’s recently revealed criminal behavior and the likelihood she has been found out. An extremely intelligent, high-flying, self-confident and beautiful woman who, unbeknown to Silke has for several years been manipulating accounts in her control for the benefit of a shady group of businessmen. One of whom is a former lover with links to highly dubious Russian money.
Little knowing what to do with Silke, and with no experience of caring for children, Joe takes her over to Greenwich Park and later that day over to Hampstead Heath, where Silke once lived. Where they picnic and endlessly talk, and where to his amazement she is a pleasure to be with, surprisingly intelligent, wickedly funny, world weary, perceptive and mature beyond her years. Not only that she has a knack of getting him to talk about himself whilst saying very little about herself, though that would change.
She is convinced Jane is wrong for him despite he insists he loves her, and she loves him. and longs to have her back. But Silke knows that can never be but delays telling him why, until later.

Silke’s mad obsession is quickly revealed during their picnic, women with tattoos. An irrational bigotry straight out of her mother’s blinkered assessment of women who have them A shorthand, it turns out, for her deep dislike of beautiful and desirable women, who, without her intellect, her education, her motivation, her effortless sophistication and talent never-the-less succeed just as well as she does. Just because they are what they are; beautiful. Not least because one of them stole her boyfriend.
But is Joe indulgently engaged in some inner struggle with himself a sort of self-psychotherapy and Silke his muse or does their connection to one another run much deeper than this. Jane, who at long lasts comes to see him in his new apartment, is unimpressed with his account of his wonderful day out with Silke and thinks he is mentally ill. Even psychotically delusion. An excuse, Joe thinks to end their relationship but are their shades of truth in Janes jaded, self-interested assessment, yes, but not as she imagines it to be and the shock of this catapults her into crisis. One much worse than she first imagines and only Joe can protect her.