by R. Twine
‘What’s the matter?’ I asked her.
Overcoming the streams of tears, she answered me, her lips quivering, ‘When I came home from school I started doing my homework. Suddenly I heard a dog barking loudly, although our neighbor’s dog hardly ever barks at passers-by. I got up and looked out the window and saw Gaitan pull my pet rabbit, Albert, out of the cage I had put for him out in the garden. I got frightened and shouted at him. He looked back, quickly shoved the poor little thing into his bag, and ran to the fence. Then he hopped over it and ran away… I wasn’t going to tell my parents about it because I was scared. I thought it was just a joke and he would soon bring Albert back …he was my only pet. Later that evening someone rang the doorbell… There was poor Albert’s dead body lying on the porch…’ Elian sobbed, wiping away her tears. ‘This morning Gaitan was staring at me, almost all the time smiling maliciously.’ It was my granny who had given me Albert for my birthday when he was only a little bunny… I watched him grow up…My Albert didn’t deserve such a death! I loved him so much! Why did he have to kill him?’
I was so shocked I couldn’t say a word. Unfortunately, the magic power that had first entered my body whenever I got angry wouldn’t return. I couldn’t strike back at offenders. Nobody wanted to mess with this unsavory lot, therefore there was nobody to protect us either. My nerves were strained to the limit. I craved for revenge. And suddenly I had an excellent idea.
When night came I approached the little angel. ‘Guide me to the other world. Open the invisible door for me and don’t close it until I come back.’
A grey vortex appeared in front of me, there was an open space behind it. One step – and I found myself in the parallel world. Someone’s powerful hand halted me.
‘You went out on your own! Congratulations! Now you see that you are able to control your body and move across the worlds. But it’s still too early for you to make such experiments on your own. There are a lot of bad sorts wandering around the astral world; it is full of dark ghosts and evil demons…’ Satanail was smiling. ‘It seems to me that you are in urgent need of my help, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, I am,’ I nodded.
‘Miriam, I know that life has been hard on you recently, but I, too, have a mountainous pile of work to do now. I’m trying – to the greatest extent possible – to clean up the Earth on a regular basis within as short a time as possible.’
‘What are you trying to remove from the Earth?’ I asked, but got no reply.
We descended into the darkness. The wind was howling ominously, now on one side, then on the other. There was no light there but I could see rather well. In the middle there was a big glittering throne carved out of a black stone. Satanail sat down on it, and gestured invitingly at the chair that appeared nearby.
‘I existed long before the emergence of man. Everything that’s under the Earth and upon it belongs to me. I’m the seducing angel and the prosecuting angel. I always give a man the right to choose. My function is to clean the endless space of those who have drifted away from the Father. My innumerable cohorts eliminate the evil mankind has sewn. Unfortunately, the innocent sometimes come under the fire meant to punish sinners, but Light Angels always come to collect them afterwards – I’ve already told you about it. Almost everything in the earthly life of human beings is predestined, Miriam. We are able to see how you live, what you do, and even what you think. We try to change every concrete situation for the better, just the same way as the Light Angels do.’ Satanail’s voice was quiet, and every word he spoke was clearly articulated. ‘You’re seeking protection against those who make your life miserable, aren’t you? That’s what has made you come here, right? Why is it me whose support you are seeking? You know, humans would have gotten rid of most of their potential problems if they had been doing everything right from the very beginning. If a man lives by the thirst of revenge, he throws himself into the depths, which are very hard to get out of. Once he takes delight in this power, it’ll be very hard for him to stop,’ he said.
‘You mean I should encourage those who humiliate us, and do nothing – just stand and watch the abuse become ever more subtle and sophisticated?’
‘I didn’t mean that, Miriam. You should do everything wisely. Being clever, cunning, but honest, for honesty makes you invulnerable to allegations of lying. You should always try more humane methods before delivering a powerful blow,’ Satanail explained.
‘More humane methods will not have any effect upon these teenagers; they simply will not understand them,’ I told him, a pained expression on my face. ‘After what you’ve just told me I feel like I’ve done them some terrible wrong.’
‘No. All you are doing is inflicting the harshest punishment, while avoiding a simpler solution. Have a look!’
Satanail pointed his finger at the dark space to our right. A magic screen formed out of millions of sparkling pixels appeared quickly on the invisible wall. On this screen I saw myself from outside as well as those who were making my life and Elian’s life unbearable.
‘Have a look, Miriam, at what would happen if you had done everything right from the very beginning.’
I watched the recent events unfold right before my eyes: the headmistress entered the classroom, and started enquiring about what had happened. Everybody was tightlipped.
‘You should have got up and told her the whole truth,’ Satanail explained.
And I saw myself telling Madame Renault what exactly had happened. Elian confirmed my words and the headmistress, having listened to our arguments, addressed the perpetrators. ‘You know the ethical tenets of our establishment,’ she told the unfortunate wrongdoers. ‘I’ll be expecting you tomorrow morning together with your parents in my office. And one more thing,’ added Madame Renault. ‘If you persist in abusing Elian and Miriam, I will suggest that you be expelled from the collège. Is that clear?’ she asked.
‘Yes, it is!’ All the students started nodding their heads.
The image on the giant screen changed, and I saw the headmistress lecturing the parents on the nasty misbehavior of their children; the latter were whimpering and begging for forgiveness, then promising they would never do such a thing again.
‘Miriam, please forgive me for being rude to you,’ said Gaitan in a repentant voice. ‘I promise I’ll be polite to you from now on.’
‘Got it?’ said Satanail reproachfully. ‘And here’s quite a different version.’
I saw Gaitan and Ed hiding behind the corner, shooting spitballs at us through straws. I also saw my face red with anger, and Elian weeping beside me. ‘I’m sorry, Miriam, for having dragged you into this mess…’
‘Don’t cry! Come along with me.’ I was infuriated.
In the headmistress’s study I explained what had been going on, while Elian stood nearby confirming my words.
‘I’ll give them what they deserve – with their modeling clay and chewing gum!’ fumed Madame Renault. ‘They’ll really be in for it! I won’t tolerate such things in my establishment.’
In the morning the headmaster was expressing her displeasure in the presence of the parents of Gaitan, Ella and Ed, threatening to expel all three of them with a bad behavior report in their bulletins(4). They all knew perfectly well that with bulletins like these they wouldn’t be welcome in any of the respectable collèges. The parents of the wrongdoers implored the headmaster, tears in their eyes, not to expel their offspring, and give them another chance.
‘Keep in mind, Miriam, that they would have been given a second chance anyway. But after you let them abuse you for several weeks, they began to enjoy it, therefore they wouldn’t back off on their own volition,’ Satanail said. Then he showed me the continuation of the story.
The trio was waiting for me in the square through which I had to pass on the way home. Having noticed me, Ella started shouting abuse, trying to hurt me as painfully as she could. Then she spat at me; her saliva oozing down my cheek – it was disgusting. Ed and Gaitan began to laugh mockingly.
‘Why aren’t you beating me? Where’d your strength go?’ taunted Ella.
Gaitan suddenly appeared on the screen, its edges merging into darkness. He spread Elian’s pet rabbit, Albert, on the ground, and then cut his throat. Afterwards, satisfied with the slaughter, he stealthily put the little lifeless carcass down by Elian’s door.
‘Miriam, there’s also the third version which is going to finalize the mess you two have gotten into. It’s already become inevitable,’ Satanail said.
‘What else do they have in store for me?’ I enquired.
‘The have nothing good in store for you. Even if you have powerful bosses, it doesn’t mean you’re protected against all of the misfortunes of the world. Despite the fact that everything is predestined, there are certain moments that tend to get out of control. These moments are the most dangerous ones,’ he said with finality.
I was simmering; I wanted one thing: to punish Gaitan.
Satanail got up and raised his hands, his hair and cloak fluttering in the wind. A loud hiss came out of his mouth. After a while the dark space was swarming with snakes crawling in from all directions, and stopping at his feet. Streams of fire were coming upwards out of his hands, lighting up the surrounding darkness – he subjugated all the forces of Nature.
A disgusting creature cropped up in front of us. It bowed and asked subserviently, ‘What is your order, my Master?’
‘I order you, Snakeyil, the demon of snakes, to fly and spread fear which will make hearts sink and hair stand on end. You are to rock and roll the souls and bodies of those whose names will be given to you later!’ ordered the King of Darkness.
‘I understand, my master.’ The Demon of snakes bowed and then turned, lifting to me his revolting mug.
I saw his frightening snake eyes and the sharp fangs in his jaws. Gray scales covered Snakeyil’s face. His body looked like that of a human being, but it was equipped with a tail that was constantly on the move.
‘Follow me, my servants!’ he said to the snakes.
They all dashed upwards, and in a moment I saw sleeping Gaitan on the screen. There were snakes everywhere; they were crawling out of the ceiling, the walls and the floor of his bedroom and making for Gaitan’s bed, with a loud hiss. Snakeyil’s scaly hand instantly took a firm grip on Gaitan’s worldly shell and shook him out of his sleep. At the sight of the snakes that filled the room the boy screamed in horror.
‘You are in the abyss of death,’ Snakeyil whispered. ‘The demon came to visit you in person.’
He laughed out loud, continuing to hold Gaitan’s body; asps began to entwine round it, sticking their long tongues out of their mouths.
‘Let me go!’ yelled Gaitan, between loud sobs. ‘Don’t hurt me! Save me, please!’ he called out.
He wriggled his body; his face was swollen and his eyes were red with tears. Drool oozed down onto the snakes that entwined his body…
‘Let him go,’ I said, completely satisfied with the execution.
‘Why should I save you, and from who should I save you?’ Snakeyil asked, and then all of a sudden yelled at him, ‘Leave Miriam alone!’
Gaitan’s mother heard her boy scream and came rushing in. At the sight of her son sprawled on the floor, she started shaking him and slapping him on the cheeks. At last he was out of the nightmare’s grip and came to.
‘Gaitan. What’s the matter?’ she wailed.
‘I had a horrible dream,’ he said in a barely audible voice – and fell unconscious…
I looked straight into Satanail’s eyes and said, ‘I should have had compassion for Gaitan, but, strange as it may seem, I felt no compassion at all. I wanted to teach him a lesson, but it’s not up to me to decide his fate… I’m grateful to you for helping me sort out the things I couldn’t understand before. Hatred and craving for revenge make us cross the forbidden line. I crossed this line without your help, seeking as harsh a revenge on my tormentors as possible. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to do in the situations when anger is simmering deep inside my heart… Now, it’s time to go home, Satanail.’
‘Always at your service,’ he said and, seeing that I was about to leave, called out, ‘Miriam!’
‘Yes,’ I called back.
‘After all, you could have punished him on your own, couldn’t you? But still you preferred my doing it for you instead? Is it so?’
Having said nothing in response, I left the Kingdom of Darkness.
Gaitan had been absent from collège for a week, and after returning to the classroom he didn’t pay me even the slightest attention. He took another seat and was sitting now at the farthest desk in the corner. He had become very thin, hollow-cheeked and pale-faced…
His astonished classmates who gathered around him kept asking the boy, ‘What happened to you, Gaitan? And why did they give you another seat? You’ve really changed!’
‘Stop asking me your stupid questions and leave me alone, for Christ’s sake! Get lost, all of you! And you, too!’ he added glaring at Ed and Ella.
I approached Gaitan slowly and asked him in a very calm tone of voice, ‘You must have seen something horrible, something capable of making you lose your mind, didn’t, Gaitan?’
‘He’s already told everybody to leave him alone! Or are you hard of hearing?’ intervened Ella, giving me a look full of hatred.
‘Leave her alone,’ said Gaitan. ‘If you go on taunting her you’ll have big problems – not only here but out of school as well. As for me, I don’t want to play these games anymore.’
‘What happened to you? I don’t get it. Are you afraid of her now?’ asked Ed, smirking.
‘No, I’m not, but take my word for it: she doesn’t exist in my life anymore – that’s all there is to it.’
‘You’re simply a chicken, that’s what you are!’ Ella said. ‘Or did you fall in love with her? Don’t you want to get her back for everything she did to us?’
‘She didn’t do anything, so there’s get back at her for! Is that clear?’
‘Well, we’ll see about that,’ said Ella, approaching the small crowd of her classmates standing nearby.
‘I’ll take my revenge on her anyway! I hate her. Which one of you will agree to help me drive her out of our class?’ asked Ella. ‘We’ll make this “exemplary” student leave our collège. And the stronger the resistance she puts up, the more decisively we are going to get rid of her. Let us make her leave and take this freakish Elian away with her. I hate her, too! What do you say?’
‘Ella,’ said Maya politely. ‘Haven’t you had enough fun? Here’s my advice: leave them alone. I’m with Gaitan: if you keep trying to get back at them, things may get very bad.’
Everybody was silent, waiting on what Ella’s reaction would be. But she simply turned about and walked away.
‘Miriam, I’m very happy to have a friend like you at last. Now I feel like going to collège because I know I’m going to see you here. Thanks to you and your inner strength I’ve become more confident.’ Elian gave me a devoted look.
‘Thanks. I’m touched by your words. .Do you want to come over to my place? I’m sure Natalie will be glad to make friends with you, too,’ I said, inviting her.
‘Gee, thanks, I sure will.’
Elian looked happy.
Chapter 14
Sunset came early; night fell quickly. One evening I was walking down the dimly lit frost-covered street when suddenly two youngsters came up to me.
‘Hi! Where’re you goin’?’ one of them asked, barring my way.
‘You’re so hot! Why are you all alone?’ took up the other one, blowing cigarette smoke into my face. ‘Want us to walk you home? Where do you live?’
‘Thanks, I’m really grateful, but I think there’s no need for you to accompany me; I know my way perfectly well and I’m sure I can get home without any help.’
I tried to keep as calm as possible.
‘Don’t you like us?’ asked the shorter one.
‘I have to get back
home in time,’ I insisted.
‘Of course you do. Your family’s waiting for you and the supper’s ready,’ he smirked. ‘Well, we’ve got no time to waste on you, let’s step aside; there’s something we’d like to talk to you about.’
‘I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know who you are and we have nothing to talk about,’ I replied, keeping calm.
‘You say you don’t know who we are but you’ll find out, honey, you’ll soon find out…’ said the taller one. ‘You’re really beautiful; I wouldn’t want to damage such a pretty face…’
‘I don’t give a damn about her face,’ protested his pal, and quickly grabbed me by the head, clamping his hand on my mouth.
I bit him on the hand, and started to scream but promptly received a deafening blow on my head. My vision went dark. I felt as if my ears suddenly got stuffed with cotton wool. One more blow – and I tasted blood in my mouth, realizing, on the verge of blackout, that they were dragging me somewhere. A dark shroud enwrapped me.
‘Are you all right?’ someone said helping me up. ‘You have blood on your face…’ A stranger, handkerchief in his hand, was wiping cautiously the blood that was trickling down onto my coat. ‘Scoundrels…’
I had a splitting headache, and the buzzing in my ears was so loud that I could hardly make out what he was talking about.
‘I’ll take you to the hospital,’ said the man who must have saved me from the attackers. ‘I’ve already called the police. The bastards threw you down to the ground and took to their heels when they saw me. Do you remember what they looked like? Would you be able to identify them? The likes of them don’t deserve to live among normal people.’