Hopeless Romantic

Who wants some coffee? It is exactly 6.07 pm when I open this book to see what is hidden beneath the pages. Its freezing cold so I make a cup of coffee and put on a bowl some popcorns that the girl next door brought me. What do you know about popcorns apart from the fact that they pop while being cooked? Carl Tanzler is a queer character, he’s got a twisted mentality as they put it. His inability to let go of things is beyond human understanding.

Pack your snack and board with me to this land of unthinkable. Put on a warm jacket and carry your inhaler. Tanzler was an Austrian-born physician who lived a relatively normal life until 1931 when he fell head-over-heels in love with a young tuberculosis patient named Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos. Elena, a 22 year-old Cuban-American woman, was taken to the hospital where Tanzler worked in Key West, Florida. Tanzler was captivated from the moment he laid eyes on her. As a child, Tanzler had visions of a stunning, dark-haired woman who was destined to be his true love, and he was convinced that Hoyos was the woman of his dreams.

In those days, tuberculosis was still a lethal disease. Tanzler committed himself to caring for Hoyos and made every attempt to save her life while also showering her with gifts and professions of love. Unfortunately, Elena died a few months later, leaving Tanzler with a bleeding heart and a wounded soul. Hoyos' parents liked him, they allowed him to burry his love. Hoyos went to the grave with a part of him. Maybe half of his being. Tanzler purchased a posh mausoleum for Hoyos to be buried in. He was the only one who had the key to the mausoleum, and once her body was locked inside, his macabre journey began. Tanzler visited Hoyos’ body every night for two years until he evidently decided that he wanted her closer. He stole the decaying body from its tomb in April 1933 and kept it in his home with him.

I was still holding some popcorns, I realized I had barely eaten any. How do you throw popcorns between your teeth when you are next to a decaying human body? I mean a two years decayed body!

My coffee was getting cold, it’s sad I couldn’t drink it.

I thought I had heard it all!

Hoyos had been dead for two years now, Tanzler had to provide extensive upkeep on her body. He used plaster of Paris and glass eyes to keep her face intact and coat hangers and wires to stabilize her skeletal frame. As the hair fell out of Elena's decomposing scalp, Tanzler moulded a wig from her own hair, which her mother had earlier given him. He stuffed her torso full of rags to help it retain its normal shape and cloaked her in copious amounts of perfume to keep the stench at bay. He also applied wax to her face to keep it in place. Tanzler dressed Elena's remains in stockings, jewelry, and gloves and kept the body in his bed. Kwani how long does it take a human body to get completely decomposed… anyone?

Tanzler's family became suspicious after he lived with Hoyos's dead body for seven years. Seven years! The jig was up when Hoyos' sister showed up at Tanzler's house in 1940. There, she discovered what she thought was a human size dummy of her late sister. This "doll" was, in fact, Hoyos. Tanzler got arrested and was charged with grave robbing, but he avoided jail time because the statute of limitations on his crime had expired.

Love or absurdity? Poor Tanzler.  I commiserate with Tanzler, a hopeless and extremely weird -romantic.

I can’t drink this coffee anymore, who wants coffee?