by R. Twine
‘Miriam, my father could lock up his dogs in a room for any reason! And I – unlike you – don’t see anything strange in this… You have to finally understand the following: all these books and houses only generate problems; we shouldn’t trouble trouble, until trouble troubles us! We have to keep as far away as possible from all this!’
We were staring at each other, and I caught myself thinking that I wouldn’t mind having sex with him right there, in late Phil’s study.
‘Can you tell me where you are going to live if you move to the United States?’ I asked him, having to be the first to break the silence.
‘As far from this spooky place as possible – make no mistake about it,’ Michael replied firmly. There was a hidden pain in his words. He was looking at me with the eyes of a man who had been through many hardships in his life.
‘Michael, please tell me what’s hurting you,’ I asked him quietly. ‘I’m sensing the pain in your heart…’
He gave me a long and heavy look, then got up from the chair, came over to the window and said, looking into the distance.
‘I was fourteen when I fell in love. She was a very beautiful young girl from the school I attended. We spent all our leisure hours together, we were making plans for the future… I was very happy with her and needed nobody else but her. Our love grew stronger with every passing year. She became my first woman. I was virtually breathing her – so strong was my love for her. Those were the happiest days of my life.’ Michael came to the window, closed the blinds with a sharp movement of his hand, paused for a while and then continued. ‘One day she went to the beach to have a swim with her girlfriends. She swam too far away, and the ocean depths engulfed her… She was so young! She was only beginning to live! I nearly committed suicide then. I was about to do it but failed. It was as if someone invisible prevented me from doing it with his hand. One day I went to my father – I just couldn’t bear being alone, by myself. That night I had a long talk with him. Dad spoke a lot about my late mother and how much he loved her. He even hinted involuntarily that he often talked with her. I understood then how unhappy my dad was. I thought he had gone mad. Small wonder though, considering the specifics of his work. My father was conducting some experiments on his patients. Many of them were capable of seeing and hearing the parallel world; and Dad was certain that those people were absolutely normal, though officially they were supposed to have mental disorders. Incidentally, his experiments caused a row at the clinic, and my father had to leave his job. Well, far and by, it was then that I realized there was nobody to help me. I was left alone with my pain…’ Michael went silent again and started pacing the floor.
‘That is a very sad story, Michael,’ I said. ‘I also experienced the loss of loved ones and I know how hard it is to live with it. You’d be unable to forget it however hard you tried. The only thing you can do is put up with it.’
‘I have always remembered Emmy,’ Michael continued. ‘Naturally, I have known women; I even got married and had a daughter. Afterwards I got married for the second time and had a daughter again… And now I’ve met you. It seems like time has carried me back into the past: with you, I have experienced once again the feelings I thought long dead. I’m capable of being in love again, Miriam!’ Michael came to me, took me by the chin and looked intently into my eyes. ‘But I’m worried about you. I don’t know what you’re looking for but I’ll tell you one thing: this search you’re conducting will do you no good. I can’t and don’t want to order you about, Miriam, just listen to what I am saying. I’m afraid that you – just like those who surrounded me – will soon leave this world.’
‘Thank you, Michael, for warning me about the danger,’ I said, unfazed. ‘You know, you and I are much alike. It’s hard to explain why but many of those who were near me also died. So don’t be worried about me.’
Michael gave me a sad look and went on.
‘Emmy’s death wasn’t all I had to endure… I had a very good friend; we’d been friends since our childhood. I trusted him as I would have trusted myself. He made pretty good money working at a bank; his frequent love affairs followed one another, in short, he lived the life of Riley. But then he was found dead. He died from an overdose of narcotics. I found it impossible to believe this, Miriam. He was a teetotaler, he went in for sports; he didn’t even smoke! To make a long story short, he was a totally positive person… Having experienced the loss of the two people who were dearest to me, I realized there’s some evil doom hanging over me that kills everybody I love. In spite of the fact that I reject the thought of the devil influencing my life, The Dark Kingdom seems to be taking me hostage trying to prove the opposite.’
Michael was looking very unhappy. I came up to him and wrapped my arms around him. I quickly felt good and calm.
‘I think that you appeared in my life for a reason, Michael. And I’m happy about it – I’ve never experienced the feelings I have for you before. Perhaps, we, together, will be able to understand why our lives go exactly the way they are going, not the other way… Will you let me visit the abandoned house?’ I asked. ‘You see, Michael, this is very important to me. Phil was a clever man; he told me there could be no coincidences and incidents in this world. You know, I share his point of view… Please, Michael! Let me enter the abandoned house!’
‘I cannot say ‘no’ to you, Miriam,’ he answered. ‘I’ll give you the keys but you’ll go inside without me.’
‘This is the house where your father and mother died; don’t you feel like giving it just a quick look?’ I insisted.
‘No, I don’t want to look back at the past even in my thoughts.’
‘I see…Well, do as you think appropriate…’ I said and thought to myself: If Michael knew about the strange circumstances of his birth, his attitude towards my offer would be different.
Phil’s diary was the only witness of those events, so I harbored an intention to take it away with me. Phil wouldn’t let his son into these secrets, and it meant it would be better for Michael to stay unaware of everything. I was good at keeping secrets – both mine and those of others.
‘I hope you will find what you’re looking for, Miriam,’ Michael said.
‘So do I, Michael.’
‘Good luck,’ he said, handing me the bundle of old keys.
I knew perfectly well I was poking my nose into other people’s business: everything I learned about here should have concerned me in no way. Phil told me not to worry until I give birth to a baby boy. I wished I had had time to learn more from him. Why did he write those weird words on the slip of paper? Did he know well beforehand about his impending death? I had very little time left to look for the answers, so I had to hurry.
I made my way to the house from behind, through the abandoned garden, and then skirted its gray stone walls walking on a grass-covered path – all the windows were tightly shut with window shutters. And then I saw a terrace. Having found the right keys, I pushed a heavy door which creaked open. I felt the whiff of stale air coming out of the house which hadn’t been lived in for many years; I switched off the alarm system and decided to leave the door opened. I walked slowly across the big hall and entered a living room where the air was staler still. I opened the window and the heavy oaken window shutters which made a harsh and unpleasant screeching sound as they swung open. Rays of sunlight, dashing in from outside, illuminated a big room: there was a table, some chairs, a huge carved cupboard made of dark wood, and a fireplace in the corner. There was nothing else in the room. A light breeze came flying through the window, raising some dust off the floor and swirling it around me. My nose became ticklish, and I sneezed. The sound echoed off the bare walls.
I moved further on, opening the window shutters in all the rooms and letting the sunlight into the house; then I crossed the kitchen and looked into another room – and found nothing of interest there. Afterwards I went up the creaking stairs to the second floor and found myself facing the door: I started pulling the doorknob but the door w
ouldn’t open. Then I pushed the door hard with the entire weight of my body – and went tumbling down inside, ending up on the floor. I looked up and saw a black cat right in front of me: its eyes were shimmering in the half darkness of the room. The cat looked at me, jumped down off the table and went running out into the corridor. “How did this cat manageto materialize in the house that has been standing, locked, for many years? This must have been a trick of my imagination,” I thought, trying to reassure myself. I got up, shook off the dust and looked around. Weak sunrays were filtering through the window and falling onto a crib. There was another door in the corner of the room… behind that door there happened to be a bedroom. The light had barely reached the place, so I opened the window while leaving the shutters ajar. There was nothing in this bedroom but a big bed, a cabinet, and a writing desk. I came to the desk – there were cat footprints on it which were clearly visible. It turned out the cat had been there; it wasn’t just my imagination.
Standing inside the cabinet were albums, books and a small wooden box. I took it down and opened it: there were photographs inside. Looking at me from one of them was a beautiful long-haired girl; by all appearances Marianne, Michael’s mother. She was standing between Phil and an elderly man; one could tell by the looks on their faces that they all were happy. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out that the elderly man was none other than Michael’s granddad: Phil and Sean looked much alike. But as for Michael – he turned out to be very much like his late mother! He was the direct inheritor anyway – irrespective of whether he was Phil’s son or Phil’s brother. Did Sean know that the newly born baby boy was his son?
Sean was a demonologist and it was he who, previous to his death, had made sure that Phil rose to a certain position in the hierarchy of a secret satanic society that had existed for centuries. But initially Phil opted to be just an on-looker and continued practicing as a psychiatrist while simultaneously studying his father’s books. But several years later he, nevertheless, returned to where they had been waiting for him. Why did it take him so many years to immerse himself again in the secret world? How was he received, and who chaired the secret society in his absence? Why was Phil watching Satan’s servants for several years after the death of his father and wife while keeping a low profile and carrying on his research? Could he have suspected that all those deaths were nothing but well-planned and well-executed murders: his wife, Sean and Jeanette along with her family? Did he consider his father’s subordinates the perpetrators? Why had he been standing aside for so long? Who stood in his way? Who or what was he afraid of?
There was a man in one of the photos whose face looked familiar to me. I strained my memory and recollected that I had seen the man in Michael’s house. He looked younger in the photograph, and it took me a while to recognize him. I had always known that these people were connected to each other. Wealth and Power – that was what connected them all!
I examined the drawers in the desk, but having found nothing interesting there, I went further still inside the house.
‘Wow!’ I exclaimed with delight, opening the window shutters slightly in the next room.
There was a big oaken table towering in the center of the room, a high double bed by the wall, and to its right stood a pier glass covered with an overlay. The room was huge but comfortless – I felt an inner discomfort. I sensed someone staring at my back. I suddenly felt like running away, but I suppressed the urge and began breathing in and out, deeply and slowly, in order to regain the psychological balance.
A thought flashed through my brain: Michael was born here, in this room. Why am I following his tracks? All paths led to Michael. Who is he in reality? Maybe, I will find in this very room what I’m looking for. Phil must have taken what was dear to him away to the new house. It means he left here everything he didn’t want to take. Did Michael see his mother’s photos, I wonder? Phil’s wife whom he loved so much turned out to be his father’s mistress, and Phil found this out only after their death. I can imagine what a shock it was to him!
While I was pulling the drawers out of the desk it felt as if somebody kept on looking at my back with a piercing stare. I turned abruptly and looked at the pier glass… I came to it and pulled the cover away awakening a whirlwind of countless particles of dust which dashed into the air. “The secret is in the mirror,’’ I thought, looking at my smudgy reflection. My shadow in the world behind the mirror smiled mysteriously and disappeared after waving goodbye to me.
I began examining the pier glass thoroughly. It was a vintage hand-made thing, the color of dark nut-wood; it had an oval mirror put into a huge frame. It was in excellent condition but, having taken a closer look, I noticed that the wood was slightly darker on the top. I knocked on this part of the frame – and there came a hollow sound: a cavity. My heart raced joyfully. I was definitely lucky today. I pulled up a chair, climbed it and examined everything very thoroughly: there were no holes there; this must be a hiding place! I needed something to pry it open with. I went downstairs and ransacked the drawers in search of appropriate tools.
Holding a knife-grinder in one hand, I stared hammering it against the handle of a knife; its blade was getting increasingly deeper into the crack. After applying some more effort, I managed to get off the cover of a hiding place located at the very top of the frame. Lying in a narrow crack there was a big golden key. I pulled it out carefully, put the plank in its former place and began examining my find. The key looked like a vintage one; in the middle of its head there was a big glittering sapphire which mesmerized me with its beauty. Suddenly my reflection appeared before me again and began staring at me disapprovingly from the world behind the mirror ... Without hesitation, I put the cover on the mirror. Sean had been hiding what nobody, except for him, was supposed to know. But what if it wasn’t Sean who made this hiding place?
I searched the entire house once again but never found the door in which this key would fit.
Chapter 32
‘Did you find something interesting?’ Michael asked.
‘No, I didn’t. There’s nothing there but dust,’ I replied.
‘You’ve spent over three hours in that house! I began to worry about if something went wrong so I made up my mind to call you, but every time I dialed your number I got an answering machine.’
‘I didn’t even notice how time flew by! I’m sorry for making you worry, Michael!’ I said.
‘Now tell me, please – are there any ghosts living there?’
‘Who told you about the ghosts?’ I asked, astonished.
‘My father did. He used to tell me about the spirits of my mother and granddad living there.’
‘I haven’t seen them, as a matter of fact,’ I replied. ‘Michael, your father loved you very much and, as far as I can see, deep down inside he didn’t want you to become someone like him. That was why he let you live the life you’d chosen. I guess he somehow foresaw that you would carry on your ancestors’ cause anyway. You will finally be forced – just like your father had been – to lead the life you constantly try to eschew. But if you reject doing what you are supposed to, what will happen then, Michael? Isn’t it for a reason that the people who surround you die? What if Satanail himself decides to control your life until you change your philosophy? And if you reject what he offers you, what will happen to you then, Michael?’
‘I don’t know, Miriam. At any rate, I’m not going to run after the devil like my dad, granddad and my other ancestors, along with their followers, did. Throughout their lives they had been looking for a black cat in a dark room and ended up being hermits involved in strange and mysterious societies. I’m not going to follow their example; I totally reject the idea of someone ordering me around! Be it God himself or the devil! I am and will always be a free man; I’ll never depend on anyone! Because I’m strong!’ said Michael in a heightened tone of voice. ‘I’ve always dealt with my problems totally on my own, without evoking any otherworldly force to lend me a helping hand. I’m different
from my father, and I don’t need anyone’s help to change the course of events, because I’m strong enough to bring about these changes without outside help!’
‘I see your point, Michael; you’re a very strong man indeed!’ I said. ‘But constantly talking about your being alien to everything associated with the hereafter is not going to change anything. You’ll be looking for what your father had been looking for anyway. You have to understand that running in your veins is the blood of those who devoted their entire lives to this cause. And an invisible force will eventually overwhelm your mind and your body!’
I thought it was one of the very rare cases in which the Prince’s of Darkness son had had his father’s powerful essence in him since the day he was born, but nevertheless used this force against Satanail himself. Because even those born of the Prince of Darkness always possess a small particle of The Heavenly Father; and Satanail is totally incapable of doing anything about this divine particle, he’s utterly impotent before it. Perhaps, by acting through Michael, The Heavenly Father stood up to the Black Angel letting the former know that no one is higher and more powerful than The Creator. The Black Angel was unhappy with this, so he rushed things trying to create a civilization devoid of the divine particle. I suddenly realized that this prospective civilization could be doomed to eternal slavery. Or couldn’t it?
‘I shall remain who I am,’ Michael went on. ‘I don’t deny the existence of God and Satan; I’ve never said there’s no one in this world but man. But I’m not going to get involved in this maze. Everybody is free to live his or her own life – be it visible or invisible. I say again: my life belongs only to me, and I will not tolerate any interference on the part of outside forces!’
‘What terrific inner strength you have!’ I exclaimed, amazed. ‘It’s highly likely that the people from the society your father belonged to cannot wait to put you on the pedestal and hail you as their new leader! I’m sure there are some important things about yourself you’re not yet aware of, Michael!’