Dakmar Polek

Dakmar is a Polish immigrant living outside of Kiev, and a major supporting character to the twins' storyline in Black Tears.

History
Dakmar’s life started at the age of three, when the Polish boy appeared on the grounds of the Kovalenko Orphanage. How he got there or where his parents were, he’d never know. Through the so-called kindness of the orphanage director, Ilsa Kovalenko, he was taken in, only to spend the next three years learning Ukrainian the hard way, as no one in the building spoke his language or cared to try. Due to not speaking the native language, Dakmar was often treated more like a pet than a child, something that he understood without having to know what others were saying. He often threw tantrums from pure frustration, broke things and stole, all activities that earned him punishment at the hands of the director. To this day, the Ukrainian he speaks is fluid, but his vocabulary is populated by impolite and vulgar words, spoken with a tinge of bitterness, left over from learning from abusive sources. The closest thing he had to a father was the drunken groundskeeper, Oleg, who made up his name if only to have something to call him.

Dakmar’s temperament calmed as he matured, and he soon learned that many of the other children the orphanage had taken in were just as mistreated as he was. In attempts to comfort the other kids the way he had never been comforted, Dakmar took it upon himself to care for his fellow orphans, doing everything from sewing torn clothes to telling bedtime stories, in spite of the nightly ban on talking after lights-out. His simultaneously rebellious and benevolent behavior earned him the permanent hatred of the director, who continued to penalize him, in hopes of breaking his spirit. She failed to do so.

By the time he was of age to “graduate” from the orphanage—seventeen—most of the children had taken his side, forcing Ilsa to hire him as an unpaid retainer, to help her keep them under control. He retained this job for over eighteen years, until her death, at which point he took her place as director.

The Orphanage is the only home Dakmar has ever known, having lived there his entire life. While the place in itself has been the source of bad memories for him, he’s been determined to overcome that association. Instead, he’s worked to restore the aging manor, and to make it a place of happiness and safety for the children in his care.

His job as director is difficult, leaving him with only four hours out of the day to sleep or do paperwork, whichever is most prevalent. The rest is spent cooking for, cleaning up after and taking care of the eighty-plus children living in the orphanage, renamed the Kiev Children’s Home in 2004. He is forever patching the aging roof, and has broken his thumb under a hammer more times than he can count. For as hard as the work is, however, he finds it invigorating, and he gives himself fully to his many tasks. Though forever in debt and exhausted, he’s happy, and no one else could be more dedicated to the cause than he is.

Personality
Dakmar is far from charming, as he lacks functional social skills, due to years of living in the secluded orphanage. His no-nonsense manner can be intimidating, and he doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to asking questions or giving opinions. His honesty is deliberate and unwavering. Because of the way he learned most of the languages he speaks—by having words shouted or spat at him—his manner of speaking comes across harsh and even rude, no matter his intent. Odds are, he could work to correct it, but he hasn’t bothered yet. Still, in spite of his unnerving manner, Dakmar is a kind person at heart, spending all of his time with the children in his care. To them, there is no better man in the world, and he thoroughly enjoys the task of raising them all, no matter how daunting it may be.

He has never had a long-standing relationship, mostly due to his dedication to his work. This combined with his far-too-honest personality and general tactlessness tends to chase people off. He doesn't see the point in marriage, being surrogate father to an army of kids as it is. Most often, if they don’t leave him in anger and frustration, they leave him with the understanding that he simply cannot handle all he does while also catering to another person.

Having been forced into a responsible role early on, Dakmar has very little sense of self-preservation, foregoing care of himself in favor of those around him. This often gets him into trouble, as evidenced by developing health problems and regular fights with his partner co-director, Pia. Despite this, Dakmar is determined to do what he has to for his kids, and he will stop at nothing to make sure they have what they need, even if it kills him.

And it might.