(TRANSLATION)
original by István Böszörményi


The video cameras recorded every single move. All in full HD, except no audio. The recording starts when the man opens the door for a woman. She's elegant, tall, with blonde hair reaching down to her ankles. Her age can't be determined by the recording. They have a conversation, it's not known what about. A short while later two other women arrive: a tall brunette, her hair is straight and thick, cut evenly at hip level. Her companion is shorter, a Mediterranean type with thigh-length black wavy hair. After short greetings, the women sit down. The man reaches into a box standing atop the table next to him, gets out a piece of paper, looks at it, says something, and does it again. The notes likely contains names, because after the first draw, strong emotions appear on the Mediterranean's face, then after the second draw, the blonde gives her a hug. Meanwhile the other two people talk to each other. They split into two pairs, leaving the room. The lights go out; the first recording ends.

All the lights and cameras in the living room turn on at once. The tall brunette and the man are sitting on the couch, he is listening to her. A door opens, the blonde appears, then their fourth companion. Her nakedness is hidden beneath her loose hair. They all head towards the gallery, apparently familiar with the building. The gallery is reached via a broad oaken staircase, which would provide enough room for all of them, but the Mediterranean one is ahead of the blonde, who seems to be leading her somewhere. They stop at the top of the stairs; it is now apparent that there is a thick rope fastened to a girder, with a noose at the end. The rope is white and shiny, probably made of silk. The first person halts, extending her neck towards the noose. The blonde gently places it around her neck. They both appear to be calm. She quietly adjusts the position of her neck while the other pulls her hair out of the noose with graceful movements. The noose is set snugly under the jaw, behind the right ear, and tightened. It's as if we were watching a well-rehearsed play unfold. The blonde puts her victim's hair in order, who patiently waits, then gives a slight nod. At this point, her companion embraces her from behind, and lifts her up slightly, just to let her fall. She falls and swings. The long hair lags behind the body, first it appears to be floating, then as the rope cuts into the victim's neck, it comes crashing down. On the special camera's highspeed footage it is apparent that her neck didn't break, she probably didn't even lose consciousness in the first moment. In spite of this, there are no signs of struggle, it's as though the victim were enjoying it. The ones sitting on the sofa watch in unabashed enjoyment; the brunette is speaking to the man, maybe asking him something. The blonde goes downstairs and joins them. They watch the show together. The crown of hair waves as it follows the swings of the body. Consciousness is long gone. By the time the swinging is over, the girl in the noose is dead. Her heavy hair pulled her head to the side. The blonde steps towards her, checks her pulse and nods, then sits beside the others again. For a few minutes they converse, then the brunette and the man stand up. The women say goodbye to each other, the blonde stays on the couch. Twiddling her hair, she sits back and enjoys the show.

Facing her, there is a large mirror and a swivel chair, like in a hairdresser's salon. The brunette sits down and throws her hair back. It touches the ground as she's sitting. The man presses a button and the chair lifts up, to almost his own height. He takes a brush out of the cabinet and brushes her hair thoroughly. They are talking - the topic is unknown. They keep eye contact through the mirror. He holds her hair back with both hands, then puts a tight rubber band around it, fastening it firmly. He reaches into the cabinet again, pulling out a small pair of scissors. The woman nods silently. The blades bite into the thick rope of hair above the rubber band. It takes minutes, but he cuts through it. The amateur hairdresser lifts the trophy, then gives it to the woman. She shakes her now short hair and gives her former adornment back to him. He hangs it up next to the mirror, where it almost reaches the ground. He stands behind her again, looking into her mirrored eyes. Another nod from the woman - the man reaches into another compartment and pulls out a revolver. He holds it against her temple. She smiles, the hammer drops; the knock and the gases of the explosion frazzle her new hairdo, and her bloody head flops back. Her arms hang down, slack. He puts the gun back into the compartment and steps towards the couch.

He reaches out to the blonde, helps her stand up. She throws her hair back; it's silky, shimmering gold reaching down almost to her ankles. If she would lean forward, she'd stumble on it, but she slowly, gracefully follows the man. They pass beside their peacefully hanging companion hand in hand. The man embraces the corpse with his free arm and kisses its cold thigh. The blonde smells its hair. They reach a curtain. The man presses a button, and the curtain slowly withdraws, revealing a huge, glistening metallic contraption. When the blonde recognizes it, she jumps back and lets out an excited yelp, then glomps the man. They exchange a few words; she is visibly eager. The man is smiling. He touches a button, new lights and cameras turn on - the contraption is revealed to be a guillotine. It's a modern one, not an antique. The sharp, oblique blade sits at a 3-meter height. Its bench is covered in the same leather as the couch. The blonde sits down, extending her neck. She feels around  her throat with both hands, then carefully arranges her hair in the front. Slowly, she lies down, putting her neck into the groove. With her right hand, she hands her thick bundle of hair towards the man, who meticulously straightens it behind the plane of the blade. Then he secures a metal collar around her neck, fastening it for the cut. He bends down to gather her hair, and holds it firmly with his left hand while his right hand approach the lever. They exchange a few words, the blonde smiles and nods. At this moment he pulls the lever, and the blade drops. The smiling eyes startle sightly. On the highspeed recording, we can see how the oblique blade first cuts the blood vessels on the left, progressing towards the larynx. A last sigh, and the blade passes through the brainstem, the trapezius muscle, the skin on the nape of the neck...but before the head drops, the man pulls it away by the hair from the way of the blood fountain. The decapitated body spasms, almost jumps, then falls back lifeless on the bench. He holds the head up to his face and watches it closely until the eyes cloud over. There is an open coffin nearby, with a metal spike standing next to it. He puts the head on the spike, the body into the coffin. Her clothes are barely stained. Then again, maybe it's not a coincidence that she picked a red dress...

He pulls out a remote control device. The blade returns to its original position. On the frame, a green fluorescent number starts blinking, which looks like a countdown. He gets naked and lies down on the bench. When he secures the collar, the countdown starts. His hair hangs down into the pool of blood as he lies waiting. It started at one minute. Half. Ten seconds. His face is calm but his hands grab the bench tight - his fingers whiten. Three, two, one. He stares mesmerized at the falling blade, which goes through his thick neck like a knife through butter. His head rolls across the floor, and stops at the spike. with his face turned skyward, maybe he catches a glimpse of the head whose blonde hair caresses his face.

A few minutes after all movement has ceased, the lights and cameras all turn off. The recording ends.

There is no trace of violence or struggle on this footage; the victims probably decided the order and manner of executions and suicides beforehand. Investigating these rather peculiar deaths, we haven't found any indication of a crime; I recommend further inquiry as part of an administrative procedure.