Hello, my name is Dmitriy. Dmitriy Darkov. I am going to tell you the story of my life. It all began in 1817. I was 16 years old at that time and lived in a small village near Moscow. Oh, I loved that place but I can't recall the name of it now. It's been so long and I don't even think it still exists. There were about 20 houses but they were all different in a way that I can't describe. I can still smell the wood they were made of. Each piece of wood was crafted with love and care placed on top of each other. All of the houses had a unique carving on the top of the porch door. When I became older I understood the meaning of them. Each of them symbolized the family's values, happiness, sadness, in other words every part of their life. Some of the carvings were filled with such sorrow that I couldn't bear watching at them. It was terrible to see what these people have been through and know that something similar can come in the future. Some of them were filled with happiness that was pouring out of them and you could feel it in your heart and your soul would be at ease for at least those tiny moments you had a chance to look at them. I took off the carvings from my porch door the day I died. It was unbearable to read. Everybody knew each other at my village. There were gossips, and lies, and happiness, and sadness between the neighbors. It was full of life, until they came and ruined everything. They took my life away and with it half my village. But one of them, a beautiful vampire girl, brought love inside of me that kept me going.
My story is too complex, so to be able to tell the whole story I wrote a novel for you. Enjoy.
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The Guests
"Dmitriy, come down this second! Your breakfast is getting cold and the guests are going to be here in an hour. You need to get ready". Mother screamed. She did it every morning and it was not because she was mad but mostly because she didn't realize how loud she could talk.
"Yeah, yeah! I am coming".
I stretched, trying to get to life every part of my body and looked at the clock with half closed eyes and I couldn't believe what I saw. IT WAS 5 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING! And who is coming today? I don't remember mom mentioning any guests. It's the first day of my long-awaited summer and I had to wake up at such an early hour. I put some pants laying under the bed and a t-shirt and came down stairs. The kitchen was huge. The table was about 8 people. I always liked to sit at the beginning of the table, of course when no one was home as we were not allowed, but this morning I chose a different seat, near my mom, to support her. I just felt something inside me that I should be with my mom today.
Mom and dad were already eating their breakfast. My sister Jenny was quietly sitting in her chair and slowly taking piece after piece of her frugal breakfast at the end of the table. We were not a poor family yet usually all we had was eggs for breakfast, some salad and soup for lunch, and something minor for dinner; basically, anything that came from our animals and small field where we grew vegetables.
Jenny was three years younger than me but acted much older. She was always very quiet. She did all her housework whenever mom asked her to, she always asked permission to go out with her friends; she was a good daughter and a good sister to me. Although, it may seem that she was kind of boring, sometimes, when she wanted to, she could be very fun and a funny girl. At thirteen she was pretty tall for her age, about 5'5". She had beautiful, silky blond hair, which sometimes she failed to arrange but still looked very pretty. She had light blue eyes and very long eyelashes. I loved that little girl.
My mom was so beautiful, too. Her eyes were chocolate color. They were so deep and so thoughtful that you couldn't always understand what was happening inside. Her long black hair were always in a pony tail when she went outside the house but at home she let them loose on her back and she was so beautiful, she was so pure. I don't know why she married my father. I bet lots of men were after her but there had to be a reason for their marriage and I wanted to find out about it. My father on the other hand was different from all of us. He didn't care about he looked, often forgetting to shave, and wore torn clothes and since we lived in the village nobody really cared. He always fought with mom about minor problems and usually ended up going away for the night.
I finished my breakfast and wanted to go outside to feed the animals but remembered that mom mentioned some guests coming in today.
"Oh, mom, so who is coming today? Do I know them?" She wiped her face from her tears and I looked at her and her expression told me that she forgot about them.
"Oh, I, um. Hold on". She went in the hall and took a letter out of her jacket pocket and came back. "Here", she said. "It's a letter from your father's friend. He asked us if we could take him and his children in for a couple of weeks. Their house, in Moscow, burned and they have nowhere to go. So, I sent them a letter back saying that they are welcome to stay for as long as they need. They have a daughter and a son. The son is a little bit older than you but I think you will get along. I think he is 17 or so. I don't know much about the daughter".
"What time are they arriving at?" My father spoke for the first time. He didn't seem to be very happy about it and even looked irritated and nervous.
"Um", she looked at the clock. It was showing 5:40. "In about 20 minutes. Dima go back to your room and wear something nice for the guests, please. Peter", she looked at him with despair, "just stay here and eat your breakfast, dear. I am going to clean the house a little bit".
I went back to my room and looked around. My room wasn't the cleanest room in the house, I might add. Usually half of my clothes were on my bed when I was trying to choose what to wear for the day and stayed there for the rest of the day. I had a hard time trying to find something "nice". Finally, I found my "formal" pants. Mom bought me them for special occasions like birthdays, or in this case, guests at the house. I wore them twice, so they looked new but wrinkled. Near them I found a clean white shirt, which was exactly what I needed. I pulled it on and noticed there was one button missing. I didn't have time to look for something else, so I decided that it wasn't that noticeable and tacked it in my pants. All I needed to complete my "guest in the house" look were socks.
It took me about five minutes to find them. They were by the window in my room and the only window in the room. I looked out. It was still dark. There was a full moon. It was so big, bright and beautiful. I could almost reach out and touch it. The stars were brighter than ever. I opened the window and the cold breeze flew into the room. It felt so nice and cold. I loved that feeling. I always thought it made you feel alive because once it touched your skin it traveled through the whole body and awakened every nerve and you were aware of every part. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment. What friends? My father has never left the village as far as I could remember. And why was he all nervous? It all seems weird. But my thoughts were interrupted as I heard the hooves beats somewhere near. I saw a huge black carriage coming towards our house. The carriage was pulled by two beautiful horses. One was white. Its white with a pink tone long mane was bouncing on its side as it ran. The other one was black. Its mane was tied into several small ponytails. They both had big feathers on their heads. The white one had a black feather and the black horse had the white feather. They were in such contrast. They moved so gracefully as if the carriage didn't have any weight at all. They were moving very quickly and were almost at our gates.
I quickly threw all my clothes into the closest and managed to close the door only after a couple of kicks with my foot. Then, I ran downstairs. My mom and Jenny were already standing near the door pulling their jackets on. My father was in the living room. He looked like he was mumbling something but I wasn't sure. I, too, threw a jacket on and was eager to meet our new guests. I was ready to find out why they had to come in such an early hour and who were they? I still felt asleep. Although, I tried not to yawn every five seconds my eyes were only half opened and I was afraid that would give me away. Mom seemed kind of nervous. She tried to find the buttons on her jacket but her hands were shaking. Finally, she succeeded. Jenny looked angry. I knew she was unhappy as I was for waking up at 5 in the morning, but I hoped that after we met them I would have time to go back to sleep.
Mom opened the door and we went outside. Dad was behind; he was hesitant to come out at first but mom threw him an angry look and he followed. He walked by mom's side. As we walked to the gates the carriage had stopped. The coachman jumped on the ground and walked slowly to the door. He kept his head down and didn't look at us, like we were not even there. He opened the door.
First one to come out was a tall man. He stepped on the ground so lightly and walked away from the door. He was so tall I had to look up to examine his features. He didn't look like an ordinary man. He was dressed into black long cotton pants. On top he had a wine-colored shirt tacked into his paints and a black long coat with the fur along the sides and the bottom. He had short black hair, which was not the kind of haircut you would see these days. He was handsome. No…beautiful, even too beautiful for a man to be. He looked about 28 or maximum 30 years old. He was very muscular compared to my father. I glanced at my father and thought that I saw fear crossing his face. He met my eyes and I looked away. Man's eyes were sparkling. They were dark gray color, almost black. On his middle finger he had massive silver ring. There was some writing on it but it wasn't in Russian and I couldn't read what it said. He also had other rings on each of his fingers but they didn't seem to have anything significant about them. As soon as he was off the carriage his gaze followed my mom. He looked at her with such an expression I couldn't understand. It was so complex, so mysterious. But I had to look away.
The next person who walked out of the carriage was a boy. I guessed it was his son. He looked seventeen, just like mom told me. He was a little bit shorter than his father but they looked nothing alike. The boy had blond, almost white spiky hair. His eyes were dark blue color. They were hypnotizing. You could get lost looking in them for a long time. His face was nothing like his father's. His skin was pale but with some color on his cheeks. He was as graceful as his father was. I think I saw a slight smile on his face as he walked. When he stopped he stared at me for a moment, still smiling but then looked aside.
The last one to come out was a girl. The coachman held out his hand to her and helped her get down from the two wooden steps of the carriage. I lost my breath the moment her face was visible to me. The sleepiness was gone and I couldn't move. She was stunning. Her perfect bronzed curly hair was flowing on her spine and some of the hair was gently covering her beautiful face. She smiled at me as she came down and walked to her father. She was as tall as I was, I was glad because all of her family were 6'5" foot tall. She wore a long beautiful red dress. It was decorated with little diamonds on her chest that formed a rose. The leaves of the roses were made from emeralds. The dress was of silk. It covered every inch of her body except for the V-shaped cut in the front. She looked so fragile in this dress, so if you touch her she would break. Her face was angelic. Her green big eyes were sparkling in the dark. Her full lips were soft pink color. Her perfect cheekbones were…just perfect. She was perfect. I stared at her. I couldn't wait to know her more, to know who was she? What was her name? What did she like and what did not like? I wanted to know everything about her.
There was some movement around me and I was drawn back from her. My father stepped one step forward and so did the other man.
"Mr. Darkov", said the man. They shook hands.
"Knyaz' Znamenov", my father's voice almost broke at the end. The tension radiated in his eyes. "Um", he cleared his throat "Elena, this is Roman Znamenov", he pointed at him, "Roman this is my wife, Elena Darkova". The man moved closer to my mom. He bent and took her hand. He looked in her eyes and then softly kissed her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elena", he said. His voice was like a melody. It flew across the space, filling the air, so powerful but strangely calming at the same time.
He looked at her again and moved back. I glanced at mom. She was surprised but there was a smile on her face. It was a long time since my dad kissed her. I could see she liked the new attention.
"You, too, Mr. Znamenov", she answered, smiling back at him and followed him with her eyes. Dad was just standing there, not reacting in any way.
"These are my children, Dmitriy and Evgeniya Darkovi". We stepped forward and bowed.
"Honored to meet you all" we said simultaneously and stepped back.
"Great", Roman said, "I am so glad that you have such nice children. Now, I am sure that my kids won't be bored here", he put his arm on the boy's shoulder. "This is Konstantin", the boy stepped forward.
"Kostya", the boy said. "Just call me Kostya" he said shaking my hand and stepped back.
"And this is Valeria" he said, with a pride in his voice.
I stepped forward and kissed her hand. Then, stopped. I needed to get a look of her face, her eyes. She was smiling. She was even more stunning up close. I've never seen anybody more beautiful than her. I felt sudden pain on my left side. It was Jenny. I threw an angry look at her. But I looked around and realized that I was still holding Valeria's hand and everybody was staring at me. "Excuse me", she pulled her hand out of mine and made a face.
"Oh, I am sorry" I stepped back. "Thanks", I whispered in Jenny's ear.
"Yeah" she grinned, "You are weird" and punched me again.
I looked at her again and saw her talking to her brother. Not quite talking though, but arguing about something. Kostya looked angry. He noticed me looking at them and stopped talking. Everybody was silent for a long moment, a scary moment. Mom broke the silence.
"Well, come in, come in. I believe you are tired from your trip, Mr. Znamenov" she said trying to smile.
Everybody followed her. Kostya was walking at Valeria's side. He never made a step away from her. It looked like he was protecting her from something. Weird, I thought.
We walked into the living room.
"Here is our living room", mom said.
The room wasn't very big. Enough for 8 people but that was probably it. There were paintings of me and my family. There was a big one of just mom, Jenny and I. Dad couldn't come. He said he had some work to do. At first, mom didn't want to do it without dad but Jenny convinced her to do it anyway. So, there were two happy children and a woman in the middle with a fake smile and nothingness in her eyes. I hated this picture. I couldn't see my mom so sad. Whenever she was miserable I blamed my dad.
In the room, there were two beige sofas opposite of each other. In the middle of the farthest wall was a fireplace. We used it only in the winter; for the rest of the year it was just a decoration. There were lots of flowers. My mom liked to grow flowers; there were at least two plants in every room. She even put one in mine, even though I protested.
"Very nice", Roman said, "I believe you were the decorator, Mrs. Elena" he turned to my mom
"Well, if you like that maybe you would like to see our garden, Knyaz'?"
"I would love to" Roman answered with his soft voice.
We walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Dad opened the glass doors leading into our garden. It wasn't big but it was definitely colorful. Mom planted more flowers every year. There were red roses, white roses, Casablanca lilies, daisies, gladioluses, and different-colored tulips. We had an old wooden swing under the tree right in the middle of the gorgeous garden. I liked to sit there sometimes, just to think, be alone.
"It's so pretty, Mrs. Darkova. I had a garden of my own but it burned with the rest of the house." Valeria said walking to the flowers. She took one red rose in her hands and smelled it. She smiled, "So sweet".
"Oh, thank you my dear. I am sorry about your garden, you can come here any time you want" mom loved when people noticed how much effort she had put into that garden.. "Well, let me show you your rooms" they all came back into the house. Mom led the guests to the second floor. Jenny and I stayed down. We were watching after them, how they gracefully took one step after another and it looked as there were no steps to hinder their walk. I noticed that Jenny was looking at Kostya. I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself. But then Roman stopped. They looked worried.
"Elena?" he asked politely "Do you know which way our windows face? It's really important", he said.
"I believe they face east. We chose the best rooms in our house" she looked confused. "We thought you would like to wake up with the sun shining in your room".
"Oh, thank you very much for your concern, my dear. I really do appreciate it but Kostya and Valeria are allergic to the sun. Do you have any rooms facing west?" he sounded polite but his face was tense.
"Maybe they'd like to sleep in the attic" my father mumbled to himself. I don't think anybody's heard him except mom.
"Yes, we do," mom furiously looked at dad, and then continued "but they belong to Dmitriy and Evgeniya. I'll have to talk to them" mom said, still sounding confused and hurt. Jenny and I quickly ran into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Then, mom came in. When mom told Jenny that she'll have to give the room to Kostya while he is here she didn't mind. She was even eager about it. Mom sighed with relief. "Dima" she looked guilty, "you, too, looking at the circumstances will have to move into another room and that room will be at the end of the hall. Your room will be given to Valeria".
Oh, I can still remember that hideous room. It was the room at the end of the hall on the second floor. It gave me the shivers. It was tiny. There was one bed, a closet, a bed-side table, and one window facing the forest. In the morning the sun would literally shoot into the room and bounce off the walls to every inch of the room and into my eyes. I had to wake up at sunrise, which was at 6 o'clock in the morning. I slept there once when my grandparents and other relatives came to visit us from Siberia. I was nine and was scared as hell. When they were gone I swore to myself that I will never step into that room ever again and now, just because of some dad's friends, I have to move back in there? There is no way, I thought.
"Mother, I am going to have to refuse the offer moving into that room, and I'm speaking from my heart, because I have made a promise to myself and I was taught not to break my promises" I said calmly. I only used to speak this way with my mother or with the elders but not with my sister or friends. As I looked back to these times I realized that I never was that kind of a well-groomed, slick, calm, and do-everything-you-were-told-to kind of boy.
"Honey, come on. It's not so bad" she answered. Jenny was enjoying herself. She liked to see me not getting something I wanted. She loved me, I know that, but she loved to mess around with me as well.
"Mom, please, don't make me move into that room. I can't stand it" I answered, still trying to keep the growing anger inside of me. It wasn't that I didn't like the Znamenovs but since the first moment they stepped on our ground everything began to change: dad acting even more strange than he was before, mom looking for new attention from Mr. Znamenov, and now Jenny and I had to move because of them. There was something about them that kept everyone under their "control". "Well, then what about the other room, the one you prepared for them. Jenny is taking one and what about the other one?" I said.
"Well … Mr. Znamenov needs an office space and I told him I'd give him the room. He said he likes to work at night and the sun won't bother him" mom's hands were shaking of nervousness.
"Well, then I am staying in my room" I said crossing my arms across the chest.
"Dima," a soft and gentle hand touched my shoulder. It wasn't my mom's voice or Jenny's. It was that angelic serene voice of Valeria. It had that strange power of making you listen to it, follow it. I didn't want to turn around and face her but her voice forced me to. "Please?" she said. "I really can't be exposed to the sun. The curtains won't help me and I know that you, being the gentleman you are, will. Would you please let me have your room? I promise I will take care of it" she smiled slightly "I do feel bad about it but I truly need it". She looked me right in the eyes, piercing me with the guilt that I felt for not agreeing in the first place.
"Of course" I said automatically "You are more than welcome to stay in my room" What? I thought. How did she do it? Just a moment ago I wasn't going to give away my room but now I just…gave up.
"Oh, Thank you!" she said happily touching my shoulder again and then, kissing me on the cheek. I touched the place where she's kissed me; it was still warm. I blushed.
"You are welcome" I shrugged "But before you move in let me get my things out of the room and you can move in then. I think I'll be done by 9 o'clock".
"No!" she almost shouted. We stared at her in perplexity. "I-I mean, I am so tired and I would like to go to sleep now. Could you get your things in the evening?" her face was blank, she was trying to hide something on her face and apparently it was working.
"I guess?" I glanced at mom; she was confused by all that but was still smiling.
"Good" Valeria said. "I guess I am going to go to my, I mean, your room" she looked at me, kind of shy. "Would you please walk me there and help me with my bags, Dmitriy?" she started moving towards the door.
"Yes" I simply answered and followed her. On the way I took a quick look at Jenny and she was making kissing faces at me. I rolled my eyes and thought, she is such a baby.
I went outside to get her baggage and there was lots of it. I walked up to the black carriage with its beautiful horses and stroked the white horse. It seemed to like it. I noticed that it was beginning to brighten outside, the sunrise is coming soon. Then, out of nowhere the coachman appeared and grabbed me by the hand. He looked scary. He was an old man with gray shoulder length hair and a much wrinkled face. I assumed he was about 55 or 60 years old. He wore a black threadbare suit and a black hat that was pulled down all the way to his eyebrows. "Don't touch the animals unless you are allowed to" he growled and let go of my hand. I stepped back. I didn't want to have any problems with the old man.
"I came to get Mrs. Znamenova's baggage, sir" I said with confidence, not showing that I was kind of scared of that guy.
"Follow me" he said. He went to the back of the carriage and climbed the little stairs leading to the roof. The stairs seemed so old that I was afraid one of them might break, although at the moment I wanted them to because this man was starting to really freak me out. I looked at the house door and saw Valeria looking at me through the little opening in the door. Why was I being drawn to her? I mean she was a knyagna¹ after all; I was not even close to who she is but at the same time it felt just strangely right to go and talk to her about anything, to just spend some time with her.
"Ouch!!!" I screamed. The coachman threw a bag at me and it hit my head and fell right in front of me. I scratched my head.
"Catch" he said coldly and threw another one. I somehow caught it by the holders and put it on the ground. Then, he threw another one. "That's it. You can go now" he said climbing down the stairs and walking away.
"Yeah, thanks" I said sarcastically. I lifted the bags from the ground and started towards the door. The bags were really heavy. They were so smooth and I guessed that the material was leather, red leather. I scarcely was moving toward the house; the bags were literally pulling me down to the ground. I reached the door and Valeria helped me get in. Then, I escorted her to my room, with which I had to part soon, and put her bags on the floor. The whole way up she didn't say a word. When I was telling her where to turn she was just nodding. When we came into the room the sun was beginning to rise and it was light outside. She rushed the windows and closed the curtains and then, turned to me. The room became so dark that even the light from the hall couldn't penetrate inside and even slightly lighten it up.
Knyagna ¹- a princess. It was more of a title for women of rich and most respected families in Russia.
"Well, then, I-I am going to go, now" I said, feeling awkward. "Have a good morning sleep, Ms. Znamnova" I wanted to turn around and walk away but she spoke first.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it" she said warmly. I walked up to her and kissed her hand again. Her hand was so smooth, gentle, and cool. I let it go and straightened up to look at her. She was standing there, not showing any emotions on her face, just standing still. I bowed and walked away. I felt her eyes on my back as I walked out, I thought she wanted to say something but something was preventing her from doing that. I, then, went back to the living room. Mom and Jenny were still there, discussing about the room Jenny was moving into; how they were going to beautify it while Kostya was in her room. I flopped on the sofa and closed my eyes. I was trying to think what I should do about my new room. I was thinking maybe move down to the basement but then I remembered there is no space because mom made so much preserves that it filled the whole room. Then, I got an idea.
"Mom, can I, instead of moving into the room you told me to, move to the attic?" I asked eagerly. "There is plenty of space and I could clean it up this afternoon and make it look like a real room. Dad will help me move the bed up there and I will be fine. Please?"
"Honey, I don't know. Isn't scarier in the attic?"
"No, no, no. I like it there, please?" I begged.
"All right, but I would like you to show me the room when you are finished" she said with the weirdest smile on her face. I think she thought I was crazy but I didn't care because I was on the seventh sky of happiness for not going to have move into that room.
"Yes! Thank you, thank you!!!" I kissed mom on the cheek and ran upstairs.
I ran upstairs and walked on tip-toes through the floor. The door to the attic was on the ceiling, you had to pull the string and a little ladder would fall out. When I was passing through the guest rooms they were shut closed and I could see through the chink under the door that there was absolutely no light in the rooms. Kostya and Roman were staying in one room. I opened the door and entered my new room. It was a "little" bit dusty. There was one window in a circle form and four sticks made a cross across the window. Even though there was only one window it was still pretty light inside, at least enough for me. There was one lamp hanging on the ceiling, so I would be fine at night. It was a big attic; it was even bigger than the room I gave to Valeria. There were some old boxes lying on the floor near the window. I took one of them and looked for a sign saying what was inside. Mom always wrote notes on boxes before putting them away but this one didn't have anything. I opened it and found some old photos inside. I took it out and it was the photo of my parents wedding. Mom was wearing a beautiful long white dress with a huge white hat and a long veil coming down to her feet. She was squeezing father's hand and she was so truly happy. My dad looked like the happiest man on earth, too. He was wearing a black fancy suit and he was different then. He was more handsome, more open back then. The way he looked at mom in this picture was true love, I could feel it through the picture; he loved my mom. But now they rarely spoke to each other and even if they did they always argued about something, sometimes they slept in different rooms, sometimes dad didn't come home at all. Jenny and I were worrying about them; people at that time didn't really have a choice to divorce, so we thought that either one of them is going to lose his mind or kill one another. I put the photo down and wondered what else was inside. I found other portraits from the wedding, in the house, mom being pregnant, but I didn't know if it was me or Jenny, and on all of them they were happy. I missed that. I put these photos next to the first one and looked for something else. At the bottom of the box there was something sparkling white. I raised it up and it was mom's wedding dress. It was still in perfect condition with its big flowers on the back and lace at the bottom of the dress. Why did mom keep it here? To get away from the past? Then, why not just throw it all away? I thought that even though they may have lost their love she still can't part with all the happy memories of the past. I heard footsteps and quickly threw everything back in the box.
"So, how is everything going?" Jenny's head appeared in the door.
"Very good, actually" I answered.
"I see" she said calmly but I knew that she didn't come here to ask me how I am doing but to talk about our unexpected guests. "So, what do you think?" she asked.
"About what?"
"About…um…the guests. Did you like them?" she slowly mumbled the words.
"They seem kind of…strange, don't they? I mean, come on, they are knyaz'ya1 and they didn't have any other friends to live with for a while but our father whom they've seen last about 15 years ago? Do you believe they are all allergic to the sun? I think it's all crazy." I asked. First, she thought for a moment looking confused and then, answered.
"I don't know, maybe, who cares? I think Kostya is so cool and did you see Valeria? She is so pretty! And Mr. Znamenov? I think he likes our mom? Do you think so? I do. Do you think they are going to stay here for a long time? I hope so. I mean I liked my room but that's okay. Ooh, I am so excited" she babbled. I didn't even catch the half of the things she said because I lost her on "Valeria". She was so beautiful, I thought.
"Diiimaaa? Are you listening to me?" she was annoyed.
"Yeah, of course, I am. I still think it's all kind of weird" I simply said. "Hey, Jenny?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you wanna help me moving here? It's going to take me 4 hours to do it alone" I asked and made a begging face.
"Sure" she said; that didn't sound like her but since I got her to do it I wasn't going to let it go.
"Thanks. What are going to do now?" I asked. We couldn't move the things until the evening, so I had plenty of time to relax and it was only 7 am.
"I don't know. I think I'll go get Lena and Katya and go to the river to swim, you?"
"I'll probably go to the garden, to sleep" I said yawning. Jenny was gone. I went to the garden and lied down on the swing and instantly fell asleep.
When I woke up the twilight had already fallen. I stretched. My neck always hurt after I laid there for a long time but it never stopped me from coming back. I looked up and noticed that Valeria's window was open now and she was sitting on the window-sill and writing something very quickly. I rubbed my eyes and looked up again.
" Ms. Znamenova. How are you feeling?" I asked her. She looked down at me and leaned out the window. I hated when people did that, I always thought they would fall out the window and break something. "Be careful there".
"I am good. Thank You. Do you want to take your things now because I tried to put some of my clothes in the closet but failed to do that because when I opened the closet your things fell all over me? I thought it was all of it and yet the closet was still full" it didn't seem to bother her very much. She still smiled her warm smile at me.
"Sorry" I said, "I'll come up now with Jenny and get everything out"
"Okay" she said and slid back into the room. I ran into the house to find Jenny in the living room but she wasn't there. I looked in the kitchen and there she was eating with gusto her favorite food, goloubets (stuffed cabbage-roll). I sat down near her and tasted one of them. Mmm, so good. I put the fork down and looked at Jenny.
"Hey, so can you help me with the moving?" I asked.
"Now?"
"Yes".
"But I am eating, Dima" she whined.
"Well, then finish quickly and come upstairs. Okay?"
"Yeah, sure" she said putting another piece in her mouth. "Oh, have you seen mom and dad? They are fighting again" she said with frustration in her voice.
"What about?" I asked, not really interested now after all those other fights they've had and none of them were worth paying any attention to them.
"I don't know. I just heard dad screaming again and went away. Didn't want to listen to them again" she said.
"I know. Well, finish up and I am going to go" I said taking another bite and walking away. When I was passing by the parents' bedroom I heard them fighting. The door was slightly open and I could hear them, so I stopped.
"What's wrong with you Peter?" mom screamed crying. "They are your friends!"
"That's right! They are my friends, so you had to ask me before you invited them. Damn it, Lena!" dad was furious. His face was red and eyes were burning. He was walking from side to side and mom was just standing there in the center of the room whipping her tears with a handkerchief.
"They seem like very nice people" mom tried to justify herself.
"You don't know them!"
"Did they do something to you? If yes, just tell me and we'll tell them to go back. Just talk to me" mom begged now. She was losing the things to say.
"Lena" dad came closer to mom "They are…"
"Eavesdropping, huh?" Valeria was standing at the top of the staircase and looking down. "Should I tell them?" she was whispering. I straightened up and tried to look convincingly.
"No, I-I was going to you just now" my voice was shaking. I started to move fast to the stairs. When I reached her she was serious. "Sorry" I said.
"Where is Jenny?" she asked.
"She is finishing her dinner and will come up soon" I cleared my throat. "So, shall we go?" She just turned around and gracefully taking step after step away from me in moment was already in the room. I pushed my mind back to the reality and followed her there.
Jenny came as she promised in about 10 minutes. We quickly threw all my stuff into the boxes and brought them to the door of the attic. Then, she was waiting for me inside for me to throw the boxes to her. We finished everything in about an hour and it was about 8 p.m. While we were moving stuff with Jenny Valeria was continuing to write in her notebook and didn't pay attention to us. When I was done with Jenny I went downstairs to ask dad to help me get the bed to the attic. I didn't find him in the house but I found Roman and Kostya in the kitchen eating goloubets'. I asked them if they've seen dad and they said no. Roman asked me if I needed help and I told him that I needed dad to help me with the bed but he offered me his and Kostya's help. I didn't refuse because they both looked much stronger than my dad so I thought it would be quicker.
And it was.
We coped in about 15 minutes and you should've seen them. They picked up the bed like it was a feather. I tried to help but they said they will do everything themselves and I was just standing there looking at them. When they were done I thanked them and they said it was no big deal and went back to the kitchen. I finished cleaning my room and fell on the bed. I looked around and it looked pretty comfortable; everything was kind of in its place-the bed, the desk, the armoire; everything was perfect. I looked at the clock and it was already 8:30.
THE ANIMALS! I forgot all about them. I quickly stood up, took the jacket and ran downstairs. When I came out there were no animals outside the house. It was strange, because I was the only one who was responsible for bringing them back inside. I went to the barn to check on the animals, if they were even in there, and just when I was approaching I heard two voices inside. I sneaked closer and recognized Roman's voice.
"Well, we meet again Mr. Darkov" his voice sounded calm but I caught a threat in his tone. "Remember me?"
Father
"Did you forget about our deal? Did you forget about the conditions that were set?" he continued. I saw him, through a crack in the wall, moving slowly towards my dad with the same unique elegancy of his but not with the same kind of calm and pleasant expression on his face which now expressed nothing less than pure hatred and detestation.
"No" dad answered contracting into a tiny ball in front of our unknown guest. It was the first time I saw dad being scared of anything. He looked so pitiful and weak near that gigantic muscular figure of Roman that for the first time I felt sorry for him. "But I…" he tried to say something else but Roman flew across that small space that separated them, grabbed my dad by the neck, and, to my horror, lifted him almost two feet of the ground.
"You, what!?" Roman screamed, his face inches from my father's. I tried to move closer but something broke under my feet and made such a loud noise that it reached the ears of Roman and dad. They quickly turned to my side and I thought looked right into my eyes. Roman's pupils grew bigger and wider and then, completely darkened as they found their target. Roman dropped my father on the ground and began to move closer to me. My knees were shaking and hands were sweating so badly at the thought of what that man could do to me, so I quickly threw any other options out of my mind and ran to the house as fast as I could, not looking back to what was happening behind me, because I feared I might lose control.
As soon as I reached the house I burst into the living where I knew I would find mother; she was sitting in her beige arm-chair with head down in her big gentle palms. She looked up at me with her deep brown eyes when I ran in to the room and her face transformed beyond recognition. She jumped to her feet, not knowing what was happening, and dropped back in the chair.
"What's wrong?!" she finally managed to say something but there was no time to explain everything. I seized her hand and ran back outside. She continued screaming and demanding to tell her what was going on but I could not speak. I didn't know how bringing mom to the barn would help my dad or if we were already too late. But late for what? What exactly did I see? Maybe my mind was playing with me in the dark and Roman with dad were just talking, possibly on very high tones, but that didn't mean anything. As we approached the barn I slowed my pace and released mom's hand. I probably over did it because her hand was red and there was pain on her face. I gathered myself together, found what was left of my courage and took the last steps to the barn and as I heard mom's footsteps behind, pushed the door in.
There was no one there.
The only sounds I could hear then were the animals, all speaking to me in different languages, and mom's breathing. I looked around and still couldn't understand- how? Was I really imaging everything? I walked to the place where the two men were standing and there was no sign of a fight. I turned around and faced mom. She was angry now.
"Darkov Dmitriy Petrovich, I demand an explanation!" she was arranging her hair to the way it was before she sprinted a hundred meters from the house to the smelling barn.
"Mama, I know it may seem strange but I brought you here because I saw Mr. Znamenov and our father having a fight and I was scared of the possible outcomes of this fight. I thought you would help to stop them, somehow" I answered looking down.
"There is no one here" she snapped.
"I know but it was real. Mr. Znamenov lifted father off the ground and was going to kill him. I saw him and he is incredibly strong and dangerous" I stepped forward and looked her in the eyes but she turned hers away. I knew then that she didn't believe a word I've said.
"Kids and their imagination" she, now, smiled her common warm smiled. She seemed more relaxed and the anger in her eyes was once again replaced with soulfulness. "You could not possibly see Mr. Znamenov at that time because just before you entered the room Roman came from the kitchen, wished me good night, and went upstairs to his room. Now let's go back to the house and spend the rest of the evening on a high note, shall we?" she took my hand and pulled me back into the house.
When I entered the house I went straight to the attic but as I passed Roman's room the door was open and he was inside along with Kostya. My feet stopped involuntarily, right in front of him, and anew I was seized with terror as his dark eyes turned to face mine but when I got more time to examine his face I recognized the same calm and warm expression as it was when he first came out of the carriage. I just stood there trying to figure out everything that had happened in the last few minutes.
"Are you feeling all right?" he asked me.
I just nodded and walked away. I went up to the attic and slowly reached my bed. I laid there, staring at the old ceiling and trying to digest what had happened tonight. I know what I saw, I thought. It was real! Nobody would ever believe me. What happened to father? Oh, God. I covered my face with hands, still not knowing how to react at what just happened. I stayed that way for some time and gradually fell asleep.
I had a nightmare that night. I was in the middle of the forest, the one that was near our house, and I saw dad far away from me, looking right in my eyes. He reached his arm toward me and I took one step closer to him, so did he. The tension grew bigger inside of me. It all seemed so real. I took another step and suddenly was right in front of him. Then, I saw another figure behind him and recognized Roman Znamenov. He was standing about five meters away from us. He was leaning against a tree, his hands crossed on his chest, his face-blank. Dad turned around and started moving away from me in Roman's direction. I rushed to grab his arms but my fingers went right through him and he continued to walk away. "Wait!" I screamed but nobody was looking at me now. When dad passed Roman he turned around and started to walk with him. "Dad!" I screamed again. He turned around, smiled at me an apologetic smile and disappeared as Roman touched his shoulder. "Nooooo!" I dropped on my knees and stared at the place where a second ago was my father. It was foggy and raining and I felt all alone. Tears began to come down my face and I woke up.
When I opened my eyes I realized that I was shivering and sweating so badly from my nightmare. Yesterday really got into my head. Even though mom tried to convince me that nothing happened yesterday I was still worried because dad didn't come home last night. It was almost sunrise and I smelled the food being prepared in the kitchen. I fell asleep in my clothes so I didn't bother changing them and ran to kitchen, hoping to see father there- he wasn't. Mom was preparing the breakfast while Jenny was quietly sitting at the table and humming a melody.
"Good morning, mom. Hey, Jenny." I said, sitting down on a chair and grabbing an apple.
"Good morning, honey. How was your night?" mom asked me.
"Um…okay. Did father come home, already?" I asked hopefully.
"No. I hadn't heard from him since last night. He will probably be back in a couple of hours. There is nothing to worry about" she said rapidly cutting the vegetables.
"See?! It all falls into place now. Yesterday Roman and dad had a fight and he didn't come home last night! I know that something happened yesterday" I screamed, not managing to control myself. There was something about Znamenovs that was not right.
"Dima, it's just a coincidence. Your dad will be home by noon" she answered calmly, her face down.
"Yeah, right" I mumbled and started to walk away.
"What?"
"Nothing. I'm going to go outside" I said, already closing the door behind me. I went straight to the river, through a tiny path surrounded by old trees and bushes. I remember when I was little I got lost in the forest and when I had almost lost my hope I had found this path that led me back home. I remember how frightened I was at that time just as much as I was frightened for my father, then.
I found the place where father and I used to fish and just spend the time together. I sat on the biggest rock there, which was protruding from the surface of the river. People were passing by on the other side. They were so happy, dressed in their simple brown dresses and kerchiefs on their heads, running hand in hand, telling each other jokes. And I felt all alone again. Mom didn't believe me and I couldn't do anything myself. I dropped my feet into the water and it felt warmed than it usually was at this time. From not having anything useful to do at the time, I took my clothes off and dived in.
"Hey, Master Dmitriy!" I heard from the beach. I turned around and saw Valeria waving at me and signaling me to come out. I looked around and I didn't even noticed how the time had passed by and it was darkening already and the sun was in its best color, though very far away, scarcely touching the edge of the earth. I swam back to the shore and put on my clothes very quickly feeling awkward around her.
"Hello, Lady Valeria. How did you find me?" he said curiously.
"Your mom told me that you went into the forest, so I just followed the path", she sat down on the sand hugging her knees closer to her chest. "You don't like us?" she asked looking straight in my eyes.
I didn't know what to say. I felt ashamed behaving like that and her father probably told her everything about yesterday. It was embarrassing. "No, oh God, no! Please, forgive me for my behavior yesterday night. I didn't mean any of it. It's just…I know I saw something…but…nobody believes me. And I know it's your father and of course you're on his side but I'm not crazy. Something happened down there and I will find out what" I stopped after realizing that I've talked for a long time and Valeria was gazing at me with a bewildered face.