VROLOK Read Free Page A

there in front of him, not saying a word, just looking at my face. I could not tell you what colour eyes he had, whether he was fat or thin, young or old. But I will always remember how he looked at me. His eyes were cold and harsh. He looked so afraid that he in turn frightened me. He was completely desperate. He pulled my ear down to his lips and whispered to me, “Leave me…for the dead travel fast.” He let go of my dress and I ran all the way home and did not look back once.
    “When I got home I told my father what had happened and that he had to go and help the wounded man. My father told me not to worry. He went over to my mother, kissed her on her forehead, and left the safety and security of our home. My mother sat me on her knee and held me tight. She was frightened and I had never seen her so afraid.
    “My father came home the next morning unharmed. He told me there was no one there and that I must have imagined the whole thing. I knew I had not but he was so stern and adamant that I did not argue with him. Later that day I heard him whispering to my mother that I was not to be allowed out on my own again.
    “Years later my father explained to me what had happened and why the man had said what he did. He told me not to fear them. I was never to be afraid. Our family would always be protected as long as Isabella lived. She had promised one of our ancestors hundreds of years ago that she would always protect us. She has kept her promise…do you think that she will break it now?”
    “Did you ever find out what happened to the wounded man?”
    Anna turned around to face the stranger, slightly surprised that he was still there. She had half expected her visitor to have left in the middle of her story.
    “No, I never wanted to know what happened to him. Would you?”
    “This still does not change anything,” the soldier continued, “for your son is dead. She did not protect him.”
    “If my son is dead it is only because she could not protect him. You have to go now and try to save your family.”
    As the stranger turned to leave Anna called after him, “What is your name?”
    “Simon,” he answered.
    “Hurry away, Simon, for I fear she is already watching us,” advised Anna.
    Anna returned to her chair and sat down. A single tear rolled down her cheek, the only discernible sign of her grief. A few minutes passed and the door opened again. This time it was someone she knew. It was Catherine, her son’s wife, with their children. Catherine was panicking like everyone else, but she tried to compose herself and sat down beside her late husband’s mother.
    “Everyone says we should leave! My husband’s dead! I think we should leave!” Catherine cried out, although Anna could hardly make out what she was saying, for she was rambling and blurting out incoherent sentences.
    “If you leave, I cannot protect you. Isabella will kill you, and your children will be brought back to me. Don’t you understand? All those people out there, they are all dead! No one is going to survive. She’ll kill them all. She won’t stop until everyone whom she thinks betrayed Vlad is dead.”
    “But…”
    “Be quiet! I have to tell your children what’s happening here. They have to understand.”
    Anna motioned for her grandchildren to sit in front of her and listen. They all looked so young, and she didn’t want to tell them, but she felt she had to. Anna had waited until her son was eighteen before she had told him, but things had changed. Vlad Dracula was dead. Anna began speaking to her grandchildren.
    “What I have to tell you is very important. It is part of our heritage. You may not understand, but you do have to listen.”
    Anna leaned across and took a stone from the wall; a book was hidden behind it. She took the book from its hiding place and opened it. On the first page was a letter from the writer of the book to the reader. Anna sat silently and read the letter to herself, as she had so many times