Dear potential reader, this is the translation of my fanfiction/one-shot "In memoriam" which I wrote in German and published on this site a few years ago. It's the first time I translated one of my stories, so I'm a bit nervous about posting it here. This isn't an exact word-by-word translation because my writing style in German for this story was a bit poetically inspired which made it sometimes a bit hard to keep up with the original meaning in English. Moreover, my German writing style has changed over the years and there were some passages in the original text that really embarrassed me ^^, so I tried to do better in English.
As I'm not a native speaker I would be really grateful for any tips or corrections concerning grammar and expression if there are some severe mistakes or if something's hard to understand.
But for now have a nice day or evening (depending on where you live) and enjoy reading. :)
»In memoriam«
»Remember,
I will still be here,
As long as you hold me,
In your memory. «
(Josh Groban – Remember me)
The night was dark and quiet. The only sound came from the frosty breeze of the wind producing a rustling noise in the top of the high trees of the forest which was very familiar to the dark shape whose silhouette loomed dimly in the full moon's light.
It had been a long time since he had visited this place hence coming back felt utterly strange to him. The rustling of the trees reminded him of many voices whispering things that Klaus either wasn't able to understand or that he didn't want to understand.
But he could hear them blaming him, he heard the reproaches they made to him and which he had already made to himself so many times before. Even now, at that moment, these reproaches crept out of the inside of him again, from the place where he had desperately tried to repress them but which he had never really succeeded in doing, as he wasn't able to forget…
He believed to hear the anger in those voices as well. Indeed, they were cross with him and he could hear them telling him to leave this place.
But it was impossible for Klaus to do so, although he wasn't able to explain what restrained him from leaving. He didn't even have an idea for which reason he had come here. Maybe to bring all these painful memories back to life which were arising just at this moment or maybe to mourn? Or to hate himself for what he had done, for what had happened back then?
He didn't know. The only thing he knew was, however, that he could have prevented everything if he had just watched out more carefully. Just for one second…whatever he did to repress his feelings he couldn't hold out against them. They took all over him: The fury, the self-hatred, the sorrow and the sense of being guilty.
This event was ultimately to blame for the fact that his life and that of his brothers and sisters had changed forever. But in the end, it was his own fault because if he hadn't had this idea…isH
This mad idea, which had cost the life of a person who had belonged at that time to those whom he had loved the most in the world.
It was his little brother.
Henrik.
Without being conscious of what he was doing, just like being propelled by an invisible force, he slowly put one foot in front of the other, until he was only a few meters away from an old gnarled oak. This tree had already been there back then… it was a witness of what had happened once, it had heard and seen everything…
These voices… they didn't want to fade away out of his head. They went on whispering incomprehensible things to him. "What exactly are you doing here?"
"I do not know!" Klaus would have loved to shout at them as an answer. "I can't tell you why –"
"Klaus!"
He was scared stiff. This voice - he knew it.
As through a dense fog that formed in his head and enwrapped him, he heard a familiar voice calling his name.
"Klaus!"
'But this couldn't be true! This was entirely absurd! He couldn't be here', Klaus thought as the fog in his head thickened…
"Klaus!"
"Shhht! Be quiet, otherwise you'll wake up all the others! If they find out what we're planning to do, we'll be in great trouble. What's the matter?"
"We…We have to be careful, haven't we? If they see us…"
"Don't worry, Henrik. I'm going to watch out that nothing's going to happen to both of us. Trust me."
Henrik looked up to his older brother. He admired Klaus because of his strength to resist their father even though this man didn't like his son which he showed often enough by beating him brutally. And because of his courage to dare what they were about to do. And he loved him because he took him, Henrik, along. Yes, he trusted Klaus with all his heart.
"I trust you."
Henrik had trusted him blindly. He had believed that Klaus would protect him and that he would be safe, so that nothing would happen to him…
The moonlight illuminated the small glade where Klaus still remained and where the tragedy had taken place. In that fateful night, the glade had been bathed in this very light as well.
In front of his inner eye, the events of that night took place as if in a movie.
He watched the men turn into terrible, fearsome creatures whose screaming and howling broke the silence of the night. His little brother stood right beside him with big eyes and his mouth opened wide as he was enthusiastic and horrified at the same time about the scenario that was offered to them.
Klaus didn't realize that Henrik took a few steps forward – he was too stunned by what he saw.
Then, there was a scream.
It was too late when he noticed that Henrik stood in the middle of the glade by now. A few seconds later the werewolves rushed up to him, pulled him down to the ground and ravaged him.
Totally aghast, Klaus screamed and ran towards the pack. He wrenched his knife from his belt and attacked the creatures. But deep inside, he knew that he had already lost that battle.
His brother's body was partially torn to pieces; the floor was saturated by his blood. Klaus lifted Henrik up and started running as fast as he could hoping that it wasn't too late yet…
The forest was bathed in a golden light by the first rays of sunlight when Klaus reached their hut. He cried out for help, he summoned his siblings and his mother.
There was Rebekah's appalled face and her following outcry when she saw Henrik. There was Elijah who wasn't shocked less…
These imagines would never get out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried to repress them. They were a part of him.
But it was his own fault. Henrik had trusted him and it was himself, Klaus, who had abandoned him. Henrik was dead and there was nothing he could do about it. He was dead.
In his life as an immortal, he had killed many people but Henrik had been his little brother. At that time, he had still been a human being and even though it hadn't been himself who had taken his brother's life, he had been more or less involved in this event.
Had he ever been a real human? "No, not a man but a murderer!" the voices hissed. Or was it just that one voice which seemed to come out of the old oak, the witness itself?
He couldn't tell. He knelt onto the damp forest floor, tears burning in his eyes. "Pull yourself together!" the voice yelled at him. Klaus closed his eyes, he didn't want to listen anymore. Henrik…he felt so utterly sorry, he never wanted it to happen. If he could at least meet his brother one more time, if he could tell him he was sorry and therefore ask him for forgiveness.
But he would never return. It was too late.
Remember,
I will live forever,
If you will only,
Remember me…
"Forgive me, little brother. Forgive me."