EVDOKIYA
IT had been a split-second decision which had prompted Evdokiya to enrol in college classes and had been a difficult process to enrol in Harvard. However, she was enjoying it – especially Professor Hart's lectures. They were rather interesting, she had liked the first one and had found herself seated at the back of the class as she did not want to face the woman. She was rather embarrassed after she had seen Professor Hart in her shop. Evdokiya also liked to be as far away from most of the students as possible.
They discussed hieroglyphics, the Professor making a few jokes that Evdokiya winced at. Most of the class laughed so Evdokiya thought that perhaps it was a mistranslation because she did not laugh. Instead, she stared intently at the image on the PowerPoint presentation at the front of the classroom. The images moved and she squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head and reaching up to clench her hand around the Lapis Lazuli pendant that hung from a chain around her neck. She was fine, she was safe.
"So why… images?" One girl had placed her hand up.
"Good question," Professor Hart paced in front of the room. "I couldn't begin to go into the intimate details of ancient languages, that would be a whole other lecture. But why images? The Greeks had an alphabet, as did the Romans… what do you think?"
A young man rose his hand, "Perhaps it was easier to understand, even the illiterate could understand simple images."
"Maybe," Professor Hart considered it. "But hieroglyphics were only one of the writing systems used in Ancient Egypt and it was a formal language, seen as holy." Professor Hart held up her hand, "Yet we still have no idea why or how they came about. Yet they are an image conjured when people think of Ancient Egypt. And we have no real understanding of them, only guesses that we cannot tell are true or not."
Looking down at the image she had printed off the night before, Evdokiya sprawled her hand against it. She held no understanding of the hieroglyphics but there had been something familiar to it when she had seen the image. Shaking her head, Evdokiya turned her head away from the image but instead of seeing the classroom she was somewhere else. Rising from her seat, she paused as she stared out at a long river that seemed to wrap itself around sandy dunes. Inside, Evdokiya's heart pounded inside her chest.
Making a move toward the water, Evdokiya turned her head and stumbled backwards when she noticed three pyramids in the distance. Hearing her name called, she whipped her head around to where the sun was coming from and had to narrow her eyes due to the sharpness of the rays. Bringing her hand up, covering her face she felt something touch her arm. Instantly, she was pulled from her daydreams and found she was standing in the middle of class. Professor Hart had come to the back of the room and had laid a hand on her arm, peering at her in concern.
"Evdokiya," the Professor pressed her lips together, "Are you alright?"
"F-fine," Evdokiya answered shakily, sitting back down in her quickly.
The rest of the class went by smoothly though there were certain looks shot toward Evdokiya who sank further into her seat. She could not get out of the lecture quick enough, stuffing her books in her bag and heading toward the bus station. The bus ride was long to get back to her town and she should have invested in a car, but Evdokiya was not thinking lately. After being attacked by the witch Evdokiya was shaken, she still had trouble getting out of bed in the morning and always checked if there was someone following behind her.
"Evdokiya," she heard someone call her name and she whipped around. "How are you feeling?" Professor Miakoda Hart was holding her laptop case and bag in her hands, seemingly to have rushed out quickly after Evdokiya had left.
"Fine," Evdokiya answered, "Why do you ask?"
"I know you were attacked," the Professor looked at her sympathetically. "If you need a few days I can understand…"
"No," Evdokiya was harsh, "I'm fine."
"Great," Professor Miakoda smiled at her. "Then you wouldn't mind having lunch with me?"
Evdokiya couldn't very well reject her professor, "No…" Though she was reluctant to go to lunch with the woman.
"Great," Professor Miakoda looked toward the carpark near the bus station. "I'm parked just in there, let's go." Professor Miakoda owned a large Jeep, she unlocked it and let Evdokiya slip inside. "So, what do you feel like?"
"I don't know," Evdokiya shrugged her shoulders. "What do you feel like?"
"Hm," Professor Hart suddenly smiled. "I know a place."
Evdokiya had her bag on her lap and she looked out the window as they drove away from Harvard. Evdokiya had been a little surprised when she had been allowed into the university, she thought it prestigious but with her marks from her schooling in Bulgaria and the money she had to waste they seemed to want her in their school. Evdokiya looked up at the professor beside her and felt suspicious, hoping that the woman was not going to suddenly attack her. Chest tightening, Evdokiya squeezed her eyes shut, trying to tell herself she was being silly.
They pulled to a stop and Evdokiya's eyes opened quickly, she was staring at a brick wall and she turned to look at Professor Miakoda. "Come on," she smiled at her softly, "This is the place."
"O-okay," Evdokiya slipped out of the car with her bag on her shoulder. "What is this place?"
"One of my favourite restaurants," Professor Miakoda looked over at Evdokiya who was staring at the restaurant. "I love Chinese food."
"Oh… cool," Evdokiya cleared her throat. "What is good to order here?"
"Everything," Professor Miakoda grinned at the nervous student. "I come here almost every week."
"Cool," Evdokiya followed the professor into the little Chinese restaurant. The two of them slid into a booth in the back, Evdokiya placing her bag beside her on the booth and pulling the menu toward her.
"Let me order," Professor Miakoda said, fingers on top of the menu that Evdokiya was holding, lowering it.
"Okay," Evdokiya placed it down.
Professor Miakoda stood up and headed toward the front counter. Evdokiya studied the woman's back, watching her with a frown before looking down at her phone which she had placed beside the menu on the table. Pressing the home button, she studied the time before looking up at Professor Miakoda who slid into the seat in front of her. The woman was taller than Evdokiya and there seemed to be some sort of darkness in her eyes, one that Evdokiya could not be bothered figuring out. Not when all she wanted to do was go home and sleep, drained from the day.
"How have you been?" Professor Miakoda cut right to the chase. "Since…"
It had been several months since Poppy had passed and she had been taken by Pastor Davis. Evdokiya had dealt with it and was still dealing with it, she knew she still had a lot of healing to go before she was recovered, but she was getting better. Evdokiya looked down at the table, hands together on her lap as she took a deep breath and wanted to snap at her professor for bringing it up. But instead, she straightened her shoulders and looked up at the woman, giving her a somewhat tight smile before answering.
"I'm doing better," she shrugged limply. "But grieving is a process, so is getting over the trauma. I'm trying."
"You're doing well," Professor Miakoda smiled at her.
As well as the darkness in her eyes there was a warmth to her. Professor Miakoda drew people to her with a friendly smile and just overall kindness, she seemed able to pick up on emotions and help others. She was a kind soul and Evdokiya appreciated it, but it was so strange how much charisma the woman had. She pressed her hands flat against the top of the table, studying her. It was kind of her to care, but to what end? Evdokiya pressed her lips together and straightened when the food was brought to them.
It was a lot of food, a lot of food that Evdokiya had no idea how they were going to eat any of it. She thanked the Chinese woman who served them and was a little surprised when Professor Miakoda slipped into a conversation in Chinese with the woman. Evdokiya reached over to serve herself, eyeing the two of them and wondering how Professor Miakoda knew Chinese. Evdokiya was suspicious of the woman but she could not understand why, why was there something that set Evdokiya on edge about the woman? Perhaps she was just being silly, she thought as she piled more fried rice on her plate.
"So what happened in class?" Professor Miakoda asked suddenly, "I know that sometimes you get feelings, moments… flashbacks." She smiled at her comfortingly, "It's okay, you can talk to me about it. I'm not going to judge you."
"Um," Evdokiya shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." She pulled out her book and placed it on the side of the table, "I just… saw this…" she flipped to the printed page of hieroglyphics and froze.
Our God Amun-Ra we call to you for your guidance, your blessings for us…
The words were clear as day but Evdokiya had never read hieroglyphics before in her life. Shaking her head she placed her hand on the plastic sleeve that covered the sheet of paper. How could she read it? Evdokiya gripped it and pulled the page toward her face, but the same sentence just kept repeating over and over in her head. Why? Evdokiya gulped and placed the file down. Then she turned it and looked at Professor Miakoda who was still smiling at her, friendly. Evdokiya took a deep breath and handed the file to the professor.
"What does that say?" Evdokiya suddenly asked, pointing at the page she held out for the professor.
"Our God Amun-Ra…" Professor Miakoda leaned closer. "Uh, we call to you… your guidance and your blessings for us."
"It does…" Evdokiya gulped. "Right," she pulled the file toward her and slammed it shut, shoving it into her bag.
"Why?" Professor Miakoda asked suddenly, "Why do you ask?"
"Um," Evdokiya tucked a curl behind her ear. "I… I can read it."
"Wow," Professor Miakoda smiled at her. "Why haven't you told me that you could read hieroglyphics? That is an amazing skill."
"I can't read them," Evdokiya stressed. "I can barely read English at the best of time."
"Really…" Professor Miakoda suddenly straightened. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Evdokiya shook her head quickly. "Sorry, I don't mean to burden you with this."
"No," Professor Miakoda smiled at her sympathetically. "It's okay, so can you tell me what happened?"
"I," Evdokiya shook her head. "I'm confused." She admitted, "I am a liar." She shrugged her shoulders, "It is what I do to the clients that come to me. I lie to them, and most of the time I'm right which is weird. But I'm not a psychic or anything," she shoved her fingers into her hair, "But I'm so confused."
"Hey, hey," Professor Miakoda reached over, to attempt to offer Evdokiya some sort of comfort. She grasped her wrists and pulled her hands away from her hair. "Calm down and tell me what you saw."
"It's not possible," Evdokiya shook her head as she looked up at the man. "I'm not a psychic."
"Hey," Professor Miakoda's voice grew sharper and deeper. "Just tell me what you saw when you went into your trance. I'm here to help you, okay?" Professor Miakoda's voice was soothing and Evdokiya wanted to tell her but she was so uncomfortable, it just wasn't real.
"Thank you," Evdokiya looked down at her food and decided to spoon some into her mouth. It was nice but her appetite was gone, though she knew she had to eat. "I just… none of this was real. It was all something for me to do whilst I made money and stayed in America." She frowned, "I can read people easily and that is why I chose such a degree of lying."
"Thank you for telling me," Professor Miakoda studied her. "But as you know I study strange and mysterious things so I believe you."
"It is nice to hear," Evdokiya then noticed the sheer amount of food piled on the other woman's plate. "Will you really eat all that?"
"Yes," Professor Miakoda twirled her chopsticks around some noodles. "I have a large appetite."
Evdokiya didn't feel so bad then if she didn't eat anything, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to stomach all the food. She was feeling ill and all she wanted to do was go home, crawl in bed and let Caspian help her. But it was nice, telling someone the truth and having them believe her and trust her. She scratched the side of her neck and thought of calling the two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester but thought better of it. They hunted creatures like that witch and she was showing signs of something strange, what if they wanted to kill her?
"So why did you come to America?" Professor Miakoda suddenly asked curiously.
"Uh," Evdokiya poked at her food with her fork. "I was a mail-order bride."
"Really?" Evdokiya could already see the curiosity that would appear on the woman's face.
"Yes," Evdokiya looked down.
"So you are married?"
"No," she denied with a shake of her head. "It did not go through. I was not going to marry that man," she shivered. "Instead I disappeared."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Professor Miakoda was kind. "So why did you decide to become a mail-order bride?"
How was she supposed to talk about her childhood? It had not been ideal as she had grown up in orphanages and foster homes, no one had ever cared about her. So it was foreign having someone interested in her story. But still, Evdokiya hardly knew the woman so she was not about to blurt out her story because it was her own. Instead, she reached for her glass of water and took a sip, once again scoping the restaurant whilst she figured out how to change the subject suddenly without the Professor getting suspicious.
"Um," Evdokiya wet her lips as she looked up at the woman. "Why did you decide to become a professor?"
"I didn't really decide," the Professor slipped into a conversation about herself easily and it was enough to have Evdokiya relax further. "It was offered to me and I accept it. I really like teaching people new things and I hope that you are enjoying my classes. I like it when students are engaged."
"Cool," Evdokiya suddenly rose to her feet. "I think I should go home now."
"Do you want to take any of this home?" Professor Miakoda pointed to it, she had eaten most of the food which was amazing as she didn't seem like she could fit it all in.
"Uh," Evdokiya then nodded. "It would save me having to cook tonight."
"Great," Professor Miakoda turned. "I'm going to pay and I'll get them to put it in a doggy bag."
"Thank you," Evdokiya's throat was dry. "But I can pay."
"Don't worry about it," Professor Miakoda shook her head. "I can do it."
The car ride to Evdokiya's town was silent, it was an hour away and Evdokiya did not really want to spend the car ride with the Professor. Something inside her was warning her but she could not tell what, she was comfortable with the professor but what if it was all a lie? Evdokiya tensed and her anxiety spiked, what if the woman just wanted to kill her? Evdokiya breathed in deeply and had to clench her hands around her bags. Perhaps she was just being dramatic, the professor would not do that to her.
Yet the fact was, Evdokiya lived alone and it could very well happen to her because aside from Mrs Langdon there was really no one who would notice she was missing. Evdokiya sent a cautious look to Professor Miakoda but the woman was only tapping her fingers on the steering wheel along to the music that was humming in the background. Evdokiya took a deep breath and looked out the window, she had to calm herself down before she did something stupid and accused the woman of something. What could the woman do? Nothing, she would do nothing.
Once they pulled up outside Evdokiya's shop and house, she turned, thanked her professor and then hurried to her shop. Anxiously, she looked behind her as she slid the key into her door and unlocked the shop. Once inside, she locked the door and hurried up the steps to her apartment. Caspian meowed as soon as she entered and placed her bag on the kitchen bench, he jumped up and immediately started to rub his body against her. Evdokiya pressed her forehead into his head and he rubbed against her head, Evdokiya took a deep breath and pulled him into her arms.
She was being ridiculous, she squeezed her eyes shut and headed into her bedroom. She let Caspian slip from her arms and she threw herself face-first on the bed, squeezing her eyes shut and burying her face into the pillow. She let out a scream, it was a short, rather quiet scream that was muffled by her pillow. Once she was done, she rolled over onto her side and pulled her blanket over her body. She needed… she needed some rest as she was stressed out, she did not want to deal with it anymore.
She just wanted to rest.
