293- Pregnant
POV Seraphine Valerian:
My aunt kept talking without getting to the point. I grew more impatient by the second, wanting to leave and run to my father. My eyes burned again and I forced myself to pay attention.
“Until he took your father’s aunt.”
“What?”
“Jasmina. Your paternal grandfather’s sister. She lived with them for a while while Zorvan was growing up. She was rebellious, refused to marry, and spent years traveling as a circus performer with another group of gypsies. Then she returned to the village when she was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Your father was fifteen at the time.”
“He told you all that?”
“He confirmed it. I learned the story from your mother during the time she lived here with me while waiting for you to be born. But it was your father who told her.”
“If Dad was fifteen, that happened fifty years ago.”
“Yes. These beasts live much longer than we do.”
“Aunt, what happened? I need—”
“Calm down! You’re far too impatient!” Irritated, she became more direct. “Jasmina heard the stories about the hybrids and went completely crazy. She danced, howled at the moon, said she wanted to be a wolf too.”
“That’s insane!”
“She started going out with several men, including some who looked like hybrids. All of them warned her to be careful about the women who had disappeared years earlier, but she only amused herself. Then the demon returned and she became enchanted. Jasmina got pregnant by him. And she left with him.”
“She never came back,” I murmured.
“She did, Teo. In pieces. Dead.”
My eyes widened in disbelief.
“Pregnant?”
“No, she had already had the baby.”
“But…”
“The child was never found. They say he killed it too, as soon as it was born. Jasmina’s body… what was left of it… was collected and sent to the family. Zorvan saw it. She looked as if she had been torn apart by some rabid animal. With bite marks, no heart and some internal organs missing, her head hanging.”
“Maybe it was an accident. Some bear or wolf from the forest…”
“Or the cursed one who took the women. Surely that was the fate of all of them.”
“Why was only Jasmina’s body found?”
“I don’t know.”
That story had shaken me. It felt as if a skewer had pierced my throat, blocking my saliva, making it uncomfortable. Even so, I tried to find explanations.
“No one saw what happened. Or how it relates to my father’s predictions.”
“The demon vanished for years. Almost thirty. Until your mother was pregnant with you. On the same full moon night when Zorvan had the premonitions and warnings about your future, he saw a huge black wolf prowling around his house. It had golden eyes.”
My breathing stopped.
Tense, I stared at her while those two words echoed in my mind: golden eyes.
I swallowed hard, half stunned. I had never told my aunt what my dreams and nightmares were like, only that I saw myself being chased.
She didn’t know about the countless times I had stopped at the edge of a cliff, as if I were fleeing from him. About the man I never knew if he would save me or push me over. The faceless man, but large, strong… and with eyes that looked like two stones of gold in the darkness.
It couldn’t be.
A sinister chill ran down my spine. My rational side told me it was nonsense, that our people were easily impressed by premonitions and legends. But half of me felt terror settling deep in the pit of my stomach.
“There is danger circling you, Teo. Your father isn’t a fool. Maybe it’s a curse, but… he protected you. Don’t disappoint him now.” Tired, Gretel stood and smoothed her skirt. “Think about that before you do something foolish. You’re still young and immature—you’re not prepared for what awaits you.”
She left the room, closing the door behind her. I pulled in air several times until I calmed down.
There were no hybrids, beasts, or wolf-men. Maybe my father had once mentioned the creature’s eyes when I was a child and it stayed in my subconscious. And I would not lose the chance to see my father and say goodbye because of fantasies.
I returned to packing my bag, fighting back tears. I tried to buy a plane ticket on my phone for that afternoon, but there were only flights for the next day. I didn’t want to waste time, but I had to accept it. I booked one from Cologne, in Germany, to Bucharest, in Romania, with a quick layover in Munich.
I didn’t know if Vila Rósia was far from the capital. I had never set foot in Romania. I searched and saw the distance was nearly four hours by car. I decided I would take a taxi and arrive at my father’s house by late afternoon the following day.
With everything ready, I stared at my bag beside me on the bed and called the only acquaintance I had in Romania besides my father.
Because of my desire to return to my homeland, I had joined a dating and friendship app with people from there. That was where I found him. I had never seen him in person, but we had been talking for more than a year. He was like a friend to me.
“Hello! Seraphine! It’s so good to hear your voice!” he said in Romanian, a language I had learned with great dedication.
“Hi. It’s been a while since we talked.” Usually it was through messages, but occasionally we preferred to hear each other’s voices.
“I was already thinking about calling you.”
I relaxed a little at the way he spoke—soft, but with a deep tone. I liked him. I planned to meet him, to see if he was as special as he seemed.
“I have news,” I murmured.
“Good news?”
“No. My father is sick.”
“Ah! I’m sorry, my dear.”
“But I’m going to Romania.”
There was a second of silence.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.” I felt a little embarrassed, since I wasn’t calling to ask for any favor, just to let him know. “Maybe I’ll stay there for a longer time.”
“The news about your father is sad, but knowing you’ll be so close makes me happy. We’ll finally meet. Do you want me to pick you up at the airport?”
“No! Some friends will do that,” I lied quickly. After all, I barely knew him. “But afterward we could have coffee, before I decide whether I’ll return or stay longer in the village.”
“Then let me know as soon as you arrive. And if you need anything.”
“We’ll keep in touch. Thank you, Konrad.”
“I’ll be waiting for you, Seraphine. Come in peace.”
We said goodbye and hung up.
I would need a friendly shoulder to endure the pain inside me.