I cursed the fates of what kind of cruel joke it was to bring me to this building. Schooling my features, I met the real estate agent that stood by the door. She introduced herself to me as Helga and led me up the stairs. My heart thudded in my chest and it wasn’t from the climb. I had to hold the railing when she stepped off to the same floor that Lorelei and I had lived on. I couldn’t hear what she said as she led me down the hallway and opened the door that I knew.
Time had changed the door, obviously upgraded since the old wooden one that graced the doorway the last time I was here. My mind spun as Helga opened the door and stepped inside, chattering about the amenities of the apartment. I leaned against the doorway and took it all in, dizziness hitting me.
Everything had changed inside; modern appliances replaced the old wood stove and I smiled at the memory of the first time she tried to bake bread in it. Having lived in the water her entire life, she didn’t know how to cook. But she was stubborn and insisted on being a real human wife to me. The bread didn’t rise and came out flat as a pancake. It was also overcooked, and I almost chipped a tooth when I bit into it. I laughed as I told her how wonderful it was, and she smacked me on the arm in jest. She was so determined to get it right that she made enough bread that it was stacked in piles on the old wooden table. She finally got up the courage and asked a neighbor to teach her how to cook.
I remember the first time she made a meal that was perfect. It was delicious and when I finished, I twirled her around in excitement as her laughter rang out through the apartment. The pride in her face is something that I would never forget.
“Dr. Hoffman?” Helga’s voice pulled me from my memories. “Would you like to come in and see the rest of the apartment?”
“Oh, yes. Sorry, I was just picturing how I would decorate it,” I lied, as I stepped in through the door and tried to pay attention to what she was saying. I didn’t have much luck as we entered the one bedroom, the place where I made love to my wife so many times. I felt sick as the grief that I felt when she died overwhelmed me as if it had been just yesterday. The room looked so different yet still the same. I didn’t understand how that was possible.
“I’ll take it,” I found myself saying before I knew what I was doing.
“But I haven’t shown you the rest of the building,” Helga eyed me suspiciously. I suppose that my strange behavior could have been taken as unsettling for her.
“It’s fine. I work a lot, so I don’t see myself having the time to use any other parts of the building. This will be perfect for my needs. Write up a cash offer at full price. If the seller accepts, I’ll have it transferred right away. If needed, offer a bonus for a fast closing. I need to get out of the hostel as soon as possible.” I didn’t care about the money as I had plenty. Even though my mind was reeling with an assault of memories, I knew that I needed to be here. There had to be a reason why the fates had brought me to this place, and I was going to find out what it was.
I took one last look around before we left, closing the door on what I only hoped would be my new home with my Lorelei. I knew things were moving fast between us as far as what the standard modern rules of relationships dictated, yet I had known her for three hundred years and I didn’t care about the norms. I only cared about having her as my wife again and becoming the mother of our children. I would stop at nothing to make that happen.
I said my goodbyes to Helga and hailed another cab. This time I went to a travel agent to book a trip to the Black Forest. The agent was helpful and pulled out a map for me to see the general area I knew I needed to go to. Time hadn’t changed much as there were still so few villages in the area. He was able to find one a few kilometers away from where I knew the coven was located. I only hoped that they were still there, though I doubted that they had moved. In my many years of researching everything I could find on the witches of Germany, I had found that they tended to stay in the same area. I picked a quaint bed and breakfast nearest to my destination and booked it for the next available time, which was in three weeks.
The agent offered a train, which was the fastest and most convenient way to get there but I refused as it would cross the rivers and I couldn’t take any chances of the king learning of our arrival. He would know as soon as we approached the rivers that his daughter was near. I had no doubt that he would stop at nothing to get her back. Instead, I chose to take an airplane to the closest large city and would rent a car from there. I added a second ticket for Lorelei because I had a feeling that she needed to come with me. I just hoped that she would regain her full memories or that I could find a way to explain what was going on without her leaving me, thinking I was a madman.
I arrived at my room, tired from the emotional day, yet unable to sleep as the options ran through my mind. The moon was high in the sky before I finally came up with how I would go about telling Lorelei without breaking the rules of the curse. I had to get her to open up to me on the flashbacks that she was having, and I needed to make her remember more, no matter how painful it was for the both of us. If all else failed, I would ask her to take a trip with me for work, sure that Herr Wilhelm would approve since he wanted to showcase Nixie and have as many pieces of her puzzle at his disposal before her unveiling. Now my only problem was the letter that was to arrive next week. I had very little time to figure out an explanation before then. The thoughts ran through my mind, no solution coming, as I finally drifted off to sleep.
.
I’d lived alone for many years, yet I’d never felt so lonely as I did that night. Klaus hadn’t offered for me to go with him, and I suppose he was worried about my health. I shouldn’t have felt so disappointed. We hadn’t been together for very long, yet my emotions didn’t care. I grabbed myself a bottle of wine and a book. It had been way too long since I had read for just pleasure and not for my career. I curled up on my old couch, one that I had found at a specialty shop and though it was old, it was so very comfortable. The cushions were worn, and I sunk into them. It was warm out but there was nothing better than curling up in a sea of blankets and pillows.
I took a sip of wine and opened the book, a romance that my mother had sent me. She was very into these types of books and insisted that I take some with me so that I could read something a little more fun than my boring history books. When she did this, I rolled my eyes at her and told her it was a waste to send them with me as they would just sit on my shelf unread. I started reading, expecting not to like it at all, but soon I was engrossed in the story of a woman that learned she was a long-lost princess. The prince found her and brought her to her parents, falling in love with him on their travels back to her home. Before I knew it, I was done with my third glass of wine and halfway done with the book. My eyes were getting heavy, but I hadn’t eaten dinner yet. My stomach growled loudly, and I knew that I should eat a little something and drink some water before I fell asleep. I didn’t want to wake up with a hangover, so I stood up and the room started spinning. “Damn alcohol,” I complained, as I tried to get my bearings.
I managed to get to the fridge on wobbly legs and pulled out some cheese. I guzzled down a large glass of water hoping it would help with the effects of the wine. I refilled my glass with water and brought the cheese back to my little reading nest. It was still early, and I wanted to read a little more of the romance that held a new meaning since Klaus entered my life. I nibbled on the cheese as my head finally stopped spinning and went back to reading. As I read, I pictured myself as the princess and Klaus as the prince. It was really no wonder that I ended up dreaming of Klaus and myself traveling through a dense forest as he called me his princess.
Waking up in the morning, a kink in my neck from sleeping on the couch, I stretched and for once wasn’t concerned about the dream I had. It may have been just as vivid as the others, being able to feel and smell everything around me, yet I was left feeling like it was just a sweet dream brought on by the book. I felt good and looked forward to seeing Klaus at work.
I took
special care to dress that morning. I supposed, I still felt rejected by Klaus and wanted to make myself irresistible to him. I grabbed my overnight bag and headed to the U-Bahn. It was just as crowded as normally, and I ended up standing on the packed train as I usually did. It was the one part of my morning that I hated, all the people that touched each other as the train moved through the city. Just as I did every day, I tried to stand upright and not bump into anyone as it made its stops.
As usual, by the time the last leg of my trip came, the train had almost emptied and I sat on an open seat. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I looked up to find an old woman staring at me. I smiled kindly but she didn’t respond. Her eyes seemed to bore through me, it was creepy. I tried to blow it off as maybe she was just staring off into space, but there was something about her eyes that I couldn’t pull away from. Maybe I drank more the night before than I thought because it looked like her eyes were swirling as she stared at me. They also looked violet, a color that no human could possess.
I was going to have to call the doctor because these hallucinations were getting horrible. My stomach churned and I looked away from the old woman. A vision flashed through my mind, one of those same violet eyes staring at me but on a much younger face, the face of a teenage girl. My muscles tightened as the vision faded and I knew I had to be seeing things. I wouldn’t have even been alive when this old woman was a young girl, let alone in this country, to have met her. There was no way I had seen her before.
“You will remember,” I heard her rasp out, and my eyes shot up to meet hers. She was still staring at me, but she hadn’t moved from her spot and made no more attempts to speak as the main part of the city came into view.
It was almost my stop and my hands were shaking as I gathered up my things and got ready to bolt out the door to get away from this woman and whatever strange effect she was having on me. I stood and carefully walked to the door that I needed to exit through right next to where she sat. I was frightened as I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to escape. I took deep calming breaths and tried to will the train to hurry up so I could escape.
It slowly came to a stop and before the doors opened, I heard her voice again, “You can break the curse this time. Trust in Klaus.”
I was too terrified to respond or look at her, afraid that if I said something she would deny speaking and it would confirm that I was losing my mind just as I had found someone to fall for. I dashed out the door and practically ran to the museum, walking as quickly as I could to get to the one place that was my sanctuary. My workplace loomed in the distance and I felt as though I might never make it there while my breath heaved from the mass of emotions I felt and the fast pace that I was walking.
“Are you in that much of a rush to see me?” Klaus’ voice rang out from behind me. Part of me was scared to look and see if he were just a figment of my imagination, and part of me wanted to turn and make sure that some part of me was still sane.
I chose the latter and was relieved to see that he really was there, his long legs striding up to catch me. I lost all ability to hold anything in and rushed into his arms, burying my face in his chest as people walked around us. I started sobbing and he wrapped his arms around me whispering soothing words while I soaked his shirt with my tears. “Klaus,” I sobbed, “I’m losing my mind.”
“I highly doubt that Lorelei. Why don’t we sit, and you can tell me what’s going on?” he offered. I nodded in his chest and felt him guide me to a bench, my legs hitting the cold wood indicating that I could sit. He helped me down and continued to hold me against him. “What’s going on love?” he asked, his voice calm and concerned.
“I’m so embarrassed to tell you this. Just as we are starting to have something together. You’re going to leave me if I tell you.” I sniffled and took the handkerchief he handed me to wipe my nose.
“There’s nothing that would make me want to leave your side. I love every part of you, even the snot dripping down your nose,” his light teasing tone soothed me, and I found myself letting out a small chuckle.
“I know this is going to sound absolutely crazy, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to be with me anymore,” I started. He shook his head and looked at me sternly. I continued, “I- I’ve been having these strange dreams and visions. And now I’m pretty sure I’m hallucinating too. It started out as just vivid dreams where I felt like I was actually there. I could feel everything, smell it all, and even taste things. Places and events that I should never know how they smelled or felt.” I looked up at him and felt my face flushed, but he looked understanding.
“I don’t think that’s crazy. The mind can do strange things when you have so many changes going on,” he comforted me and gave me the courage to go on.
“Yes, and I thought that it was just from the painting. The dreams were as if I were a mermaid, which I know that a nixie is. I brushed it off at first. But then they started happening when I was awake. That’s what happened yesterday at the workshop. I was too embarrassed to tell you. And then today…” I trailed off, not wanting him to hear the rest.
“What happened today, Lorelei? I promise I won’t run,” Klaus assured me.
It took me several minutes to tell him and to his credit he just held me and said nothing, letting me talk when I was ready. “There was a strange old woman on the train. She had violet eyes that seemed to spin.” I let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m obviously seeing things because no one can have eyes that color let alone ones that swirl. And if it weren’t bad enough, I saw a vision of her as a teenager and she was standing over me. That’s just crazy.” I shook my head and leaned away from him, dropping my chin so that he couldn’t see my face. “And then I heard her speak to me, twice. But she didn’t look like she had spoken at all.”
Klaus lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Lorelei, what did she say?” he pressed, and I saw his eyes fill with hope and excitement, but that couldn’t be right.
“She said that I would remember. Then she said that I would break the curse and I should trust in you. That’s just crazy,” I admitted, and waited for him to laugh at me or run away. I certainly wasn’t expecting his completely opposite reaction.
“You aren’t going crazy, Lorelei. I can’t tell you anything else, but please tell me when you have these visions and what they are. I need you to trust me.” He looked me straight in the eyes. “Promise me that you will tell me everything.”
Relief flooded through me, though I was very confused by his reaction. “I promise,” I breathed out. “Thank you for being here for me and not running away.”
“I will be here for you through everything. I love you, Lorelei Nixen. I will never leave you,” he confessed, the conviction in his voice letting me know that he was not lying. I was shocked into silence, knowing that I felt the same way but not wanting to say it out loud just yet. I was saved from responding when he pressed his lips to mine gently. “Let’s get you to the museum and cleaned up. We have lots of work to do today and I have some exciting news to share.”
.
I felt horrible that Lorelei was suffering so much and thought she was losing her mind. This had never happened before, and I was at a loss what to do other than comfort her as much as I could. I wished so much that I could tell her the whole truth and ease her suffering, but I didn’t dare take the chance no matter how different this time was.
The only light was the old woman that had told her we could break it. I wondered who she was, the description from Lorelei was not someone that I remembered. Perhaps she could be a descendent of the original coven and hoped that we would be able to find them.
I made sure Lorelei was steady on her feet as we walked the rest of the way to the museum. I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and carry her but that wouldn’t look good. It was hard to walk with her and not hold her hand, feel her warmth, as we approached the museum entrance. I longed to touch her after having missed her so much last night.
She wa
s quiet, understandably so, and said only, in her professional voice that was a little shaky, “Thank you Dr. Hoffman for chaperoning me. If you could get started on the security plan for Nixie, I’ll be down in a short while.”
I nodded and left regretfully. I knew she was a strong woman and she would be okay, but I hated leaving her in such a sorrowful state. With a sigh, I headed downstairs to our shared workroom and sat down at the computer. During our time working on the so-called mystery of the painting, the head of security had been emailing back and forth on the proper measures that would be taken to keep Nixie secure once she was moved to the main museum walls.
I had experience with this as I doubt any museum was as secure as the Louvre. They relied heavily on my insider information in order to update some of their own security measures. I was in the middle of reading over the latest plan when my cell phone rang.
“Dr. Hoffman,” I answered without looking at the screen.
Overly chipper voice of the real estate broker, Helga, greeted me, “I have wonderful news! The seller has accepted your offer and would like to close as soon as possible. I have arranged for a notary to draw up the paperwork immediately and you just have to wait the mandatory fourteen-day waiting period.”
I hadn’t expected it to move so fast, but I was delighted to hear the news. “Good, good,” I told her. “Just send me anything I need to sign, and I will take care of it immediately. Thank you.” I hung up the phone and my face beamed as Lorelei entered the office.
“Good morning beautiful,” I said to her cheerily, noticing her hesitation in coming closer.
“You’re such a charmer,” she replied dryly. “I’m not sure how you can be smiling after what I admitted to you this morning. You should be running away.”
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