Die Glücklichen

Nestled on a sun‑kissed slope of the Bavarian mountains, the Klinger Pension offers a modest yet charming refuge for travelers fleeing a relentless rainy summer. Its ivy‑clad walls, terraced garden and sweeping valley views promise comfort, good food and affordable rates. As late‑summer warmth returns, a varied group checks in: a newly married couple with a small daughter, an elderly servant, two young women from Dresden, an older West Prussian couple, a quiet lady from Stettin, a spirited merchant and a clerk who enjoys skat. Overseeing the scene is Fräulein Rosa Hesse, the pension’s self‑appointed “beauty spirit,” whose habit of reading everything and reciting verses gives her a gentle, if slightly pretentious, air.

Rosa quickly brands the newcomers “the happy ones,” while she surveys their habits and hushed conversations. The communal meals become a stage for polite chatter that barely conceals deeper longings for companionship and meaning. As evenings grow longer and the mountain air softens, Rosa’s keen observations suggest hidden histories and unspoken desires among the guests, promising subtle interpersonal shifts that quietly unfold within the pension’s walls.