by M. K. ROZE
Minutes later, I felt a cold sensation under me. I quickly sat up and saw that I was in the dark forest. “What the heck? I was just in my bed.”
Memories of the evil woman returned, but I convinced myself that it was only a dream, and I rose to my feet.
“Hello!” I yelled out.
It appeared that I was alone, somewhere in the mountains, surrounded by trees with only the moonlight to see. I crossed my arms and rubbed them up and down vigorously, doing my best to keep warm. Trying to protect my feet, I walked carefully up the steep hill where a light mist clung to the ground. It was eerie but beautiful.
In the distance, a man walked toward me, wearing jeans with a black shirt.
I hid behind a big oak tree. After a few deep breaths, I peeked out, and the man was still walking toward me. As he got closer, the moonlight reflected off his well-built body and pallid features.
I turned around with my back against the tree, breathing heavily. Calm down. It’s only a dream. He can’t hurt me.
“Screw it.” I walked out and stood frozen.
He was looking down, so I quickly combed my fingers through my hair. Seconds later, I looked up, and he was right in front of me.
“Good evening. I’m Mihnea,” he said with a thick Romanian accent.
I looked up at him. “Hi, I-I’m Viata.”
He was intimidating but also incredibly handsome. His vivid green eyes seemed to go straight through me.
He took my hand and kissed the top of it gently, sending chills down my spine. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Viata.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. “Nice to meet you too. Have we met before?” He did look familiar, but I wasn’t sure from where.
The top of his lip quivered, and his eyes changed to a light yellow. “I don’t think so,” he replied as he removed his dark hair from his eye.
I looked away, squeezed my eyes shut and back at him. His eyes were normal again. Perhaps the darkness was messing with my vision.
“Forgive me, but what did you say your name was?”
“I’ll sound it out for you. Meeh-nee-uh.”
“Got it, thanks.” I stepped out from under the tree and into the moonlight.
Mihnea followed me. “You’re utterly flawless.” He took a step closer. “Your eyes are captivating.”
“Thank you. I was born this way.”
For some reason, I didn’t feel I had to lie to him.
“I love them,” he said still looking at my eyes.
“Thank you. So, why are you out here alone?”
He looked at me with an intense stare. “Perhaps I should be asking you that question. You’re the one who’s wearing night clothes.”
I smiled. “Yeah, well, that’s because I can’t control my dreams.”
His thick eyebrows came together. “Since this is nothing but a dream, walk with me then. Unless you’d rather stay out here with the wolves.”
Mihnea stood there for a few seconds waiting for me, but I didn’t budge. He shrugged and walked away.
There was no way I was staying out there alone, dream or not. Plus, I trusted him for reasons I wasn’t sure of.
When I ran up behind him, I stepped on something hard. “Ouch!” I dropped to the ground, grabbed my foot and observed the small amount of blood coming from the bottom of my foot.
Mihnea rushed over to me, took off his shirt and ripped it in half like it was paper. He sprinkled a red powder on the cut, and it disappeared.
I scooted back. “W-what was that?”
“Be still. It’s only medicine. I’m only wrapping your foot up. I hate the sight of blood,” he declared.
My mouth fell open. “Why do you carry medicine around with you? And how do you know I cut my foot?”
“Your scream told me. As for the medicine, be glad I had it. You don’t want to get an infection, do you?”
I shook my head.
As he gently wrapped my foot, I couldn’t help but stare at his muscular arms and solid chest, wondering why he cared so much. He caught me looking, so I turned away. He stood up, reached for my hand and it sounded like someone was knocking on a door.
Mihnea’s face faded, and I opened my eyes.
Another loud knock on the door made me flinch. “Who is it?” I called out.
“It’s Mom. Open up.”
I rushed out of bed, cracked the door open, and peeked out. “What’s wrong?” My voice trembled.
She pushed her way in. “Why were you screaming again?”
“I wasn’t.” I rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?”
I hated lying to her face, but I didn’t want to upset her or Dad again.
She folded her arms and stared at me without blinking. “It’s 7:30 in the morning. And yes, you were screaming. Did you have another nightmare?”
I exhaled sharply and sat on the chaise. “Yes, I did, but it wasn’t a bad dream.”
“Then why did you scream?”
“Oh. I stepped on something while dreaming and yelled.”
“You look like you’ve been awake all night. Are you eating late?”
“What?” I said confused.
“Some people who eat before bed have dreams.”
“Mom, I eat early. You know this.”
“Well, something’s triggering these dreams.”
I shrugged, staring at my feet in a daze, thinking about Mihnea wrapping my foot up.
Mom waved her hand in front of my face. “Why are you smiling?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking about something.”
She shook her head. “We’re supposed to go to the Bran Castle today. Are you up for it?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Okay, get ready. We’re leaving soon,” Mom said and walked out.
When the door shut, I got dressed and thought about my dream with Mihnea. He gave me butterflies, and I hoped I would have another dream with him again.
I met my parent’s downstairs, and we went out to eat at a small restaurant in town. I ordered a delicious omelet and hash browns. The coffee made me want to run a marathon.
After we ate, Dad flagged down a taxi that took us to the Bran Castle. When we arrived, I stepped out and could see it sitting high on the top of the hill. It sent a chill through me, and there was something vaguely familiar, yet unsettling, as I stared at it.
As we got closer, I noticed there weren’t many people around. My stomach started to turn as I walked up the narrow cobblestone pathway toward the castle. I stopped and looked back at my parents, who were straggling behind. I wiped the sweat off my face and sprayed myself down with a water mister. Seconds later, a gust of cold air hit my face, and the nausea subsided. I didn’t know how, but the cool air helped.
I picked up the pace and looked over my shoulder again at my mom and dad. They were a good fifty feet behind me.
“Slow down,” Mom shouted. “It’s been there for hundreds of years.”
“Come on, slowpokes.”
Mom raised her hand and motioned me to continue.
I walked on and stopped to take some pictures. The castle was well-built, and its incredible structure was fascinating.
At that moment, something cold brushed up against my hand. When I looked to my right, an older woman, tall and hunched over, had walked up alongside me, unannounced.
“Are you alone?” she asked. Her creepy Romanian accent unnerved me.
“Uh, no, my parents are behind us,” I replied, looking over my shoulder. They were paying us no attention, looking down at the town.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Viata.”
“Your name means life in Romanian.”
“Yes, I already know this.”
She moved her straw-like hair out of her wrinkled, scarred face.
“You don’t look like your parents. Were you adopted?”
I stopped in my tracks and turned to her. “Did you seriously just ask me that?”
When she didn’t answer me, I set off a
t a faster pace, but she soon caught up. She seemed to be in her late sixties. I wondered how she could walk that quickly.
“I didn’t mean to offend you. I was only stating the obvious.”
“Well, you’re extremely impolite. Now, please leave me alone.”
She turned to me.
I could see her beady gray eyes observing me from the corner of my eye. I wanted her to go away, so I turned around and headed back down the hill and told my parents what the woman had said to me.
“Adopted? What woman said that?” Mom asked. “I didn’t see anyone with you.”
I looked at Dad, waiting for him to tell me the same thing. “I didn’t see anyone either.”
I chuckled. “You two are messing with me, right?”
“No, we’re not. Are you serious about this?” Mom asked.
From their worried look, I knew I had to make something up fast.
“Just kidding. I was only trying to spook you two before we went into the castle.”
“That’s not something to joke about, Viata Vandell,” Mom said, and they walked ahead of me talking among themselves.
Dad looked over his shoulder. “Good thing you were joking around. I thought we were going to leave early. Take you back home, and call your aunt, Jessica.”
“Chill out. I was getting you back. And stop threatening me with a psychiatrist, or I will end up needing one.”
He laughed. “Good one.”
Mom rolled her eyes, and they continued up the hill.
I stayed behind them looking all around for that woman. Many thoughts of her were racing through my mind. In the end, I concluded, she had a mental illness, and my parents weren’t paying attention.
Finally, we reached the top of the hill. We had a short wait before entering the castle. Inside, a male tour guide greeted the group of sightseers. We joined them and drew our attention to the beautiful paintings on the walls. He told us the castle was riddled with secret stairs and passageways.
My parents wanted to follow the group, but I was more interested in going through it at a faster pace. It gave me the chills and the musty smell had me sneezing nonstop. I walked ahead while my parents stayed back with the tour guide.
As I explored, the sneezing subsided. I walked from room to room and inspected the antiquities that greeted me at every turn. Down the long narrow hallway, I found mahogany furniture and embellishments that dated back more than five hundred years. I stopped and stared. I wish I had furniture like this.
In the next room, there were suits of armor in a glass case. I took some photos and wondered how people walked in them.
I entered another room with a dark brown desk and a beautiful chair that matched. On the wall, a plaque explained the room was where Dracula did his writing. As I admired its beauty, a couple who also spoke English said that they wanted to check out the upstairs. Curious, I followed them down another long narrow hall and up an old wooden stairway.
As I walked up the creaky stairs, the room started to spin. I stopped and grabbed the guardrail, experiencing a strong sense of déjà vu.
Feeling unsafe, I ran back down, trying to find my way out. Instead, I ended up in another room with a painting of a man on the wall. I walked up to it and snapped a picture. I read the inscription: Vlad Tepes III (Dracul), meaning the son of the devil. He was a menacing-looking man with long black curly hair and a thin white face.
As I stood there gazing into his dark brown eyes, a cloak of silence fell, and I felt as though he were staring back at me. Something cold touched my shoulder, then a deep male voice whispered, ‘Remember’ in my ear.
Without warning, a rush of weakness took over my body, making me stand frozen. After what seemed like minutes, I snapped out of my trance and rushed back downstairs to find my parents.
They were still with the tour guide. Mom saw me and waved for me to come to her.
“Are you okay?” Mom asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I tried to act casual, but my shaking didn’t help. “I’m fine. Are you guys ready to go?”
I wanted to run out the front door, but they would’ve known something was wrong.
“Yes, we’ve seen this place before, and there’s nothing new, as far as I can tell,” Mom said.
We stopped at a souvenir shop outside of the castle, but I didn’t want to go in.
“Mom, can you get me a couple of cool looking keychains, please?”
“Sure,” she said and walked hand and hand with Dad inside.
While I stood there waiting on them, a woman came out of the castle screaming something in a language I didn’t know. Maybe she had the same experience as I did, and that painting was a prop or something. Either way, I was somewhat relieved that I wasn’t the only one frightened.
Mom and Dad came out with a bag full of stuff, and we returned to the inn.
The rest of the week went by fast without any other odd events. We went to a few more tourist sites and celebrated my parents Anniversary. It was nice seeing them so happy.
My last night there was rough. I wasn’t sure how to feel or what to think anymore. Restless, I got up and walked out onto the balcony and sat in the rocking chair. I looked at the gorgeous mountains while breathing in the fresh, crisp air. I couldn’t help but think of why all this was happening to me.
When my eyes started to burn, I got up and went to bed.
As I lay there all snuggled up, Mihnea’s face wouldn’t leave me. There was something about him that felt very real to me. I hoped to dream of him again.
Morning came more quickly than I wanted. I was upset that I didn’t dream about him. Also, I didn’t want to leave that beautiful place. I felt as though I belonged there. I staggered over to the dresser and placed my clothes into my suitcase, making it almost impossible to close. I sat on top of it, bearing down until I could zip it shut. When it closed, I got up and wrestled the suitcase out the door with tears in my eyes.
We took the same route back to Bucharest. On the plane, I stayed quiet, thinking about all the stuff that happened.
“Are you coming down with something?” Mom asked.
“Yes, I think so.” I lied so she wouldn’t ask me a million more questions. I felt depressed for reasons I wasn’t sure of.
CHAPTER THREE
RESTLESS NIGHTS
A few weeks had passed since our trip to Romania. I didn’t have any more dreams about Mihnea, and it made me sad. Sick of sitting in my room, I walked outside and sat on the bench, staring at the beautiful Victorian homes that surrounded ours. We had the second largest one on the block. It used to be yellow, but Mom hired painters and changed it to white with red trim. If it were up to me, I would have kept it the way it was.
Liam came out of his house. “Hello, Viata, long time, no see.”
I looked over his way and smiled. “Hey there, are you ready to start school again?”
Liam approached me with an enormous grin on his light-brown face. “No way. They need to extend summer break.”
“Be glad it’s our last year.”
“True,” he replied. He stopped at my black Mustang and tapped the hood. “Let me clean this beauty for you. It’s filthy.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll clean it tomorrow.”
He walked over and stood in front of me. “I still can’t believe your parents bought you a brand new car for your birthday. It has too much horsepower. And you drive like an old lady.”
“No, I don’t.”
“I’m kidding, chill out. Why are you sitting outside this late?”
“Watching the stars,” I replied.
“Why are you so obsessed with space?”
“I’m not.”
He rolled his big brown eyes and sat next to me. “There’s nothing new up there.”
“How do you know? We can’t be the only people around.”
“I believe in aliens.”
I smiled. “You would. So, what’s your obsession?”
He thought about it. �
�Under Armor, Adidas and hot girls like you.”
I shook my head and playfully smacked his hand.
“How was Romania? Did you see any vamps?”
“No, Liam, no vampires. As for the trip, it was great, but a lot of weird stuff happened.”
“Like what?”
Liam didn’t know about the dream I had the night of my seventeenth birthday. I told him about that one and how it repeated while I was in Romania. Also, everything else that happened while I was there.
“That’s a lot, especially about the leopard. Does Romania even have them?” he said.
“No.”
He had a puzzled look. “Huh. Are you positive the woman from your dream and the man at the train station called you Virginity?”
“It’s Divinity, stupid.”
He laughed. “Sorry about that. It was an honest mistake.”
“Sure it was. Anyway, I know the woman did, but I’m not certain about the man. I did just get off the plane, and I was still tired.
“Either way, that’s insane, especially having the same dream.”
“Tell me about it.” I paused and continued. “I felt like I’d met the man from my dream before. Isn’t that weird?”
“Maybe you did meet a vampire.” He brought his face closer to mine. “Let me see your neck.”
I pushed him away and laughed.
Liam started talking, but his voice faded. All I could see were images of Mihnea.
Liam waved his hand in front of my face. “Hello, are you still there?”
I snapped out of my trance. “Sorry.”
“Anyway, you didn’t miss much on the camping trip. It rained the entire time, but that didn’t stop me from meeting a lot of hotties.”
“Is that why you ignored my text?”
He elbowed me. “Don’t be mad. You could’ve been my date, but you don’t like black boys.”
“That’s not true. If you weren’t like a brother to me, I’d date you.”
He lowered his head.
I nudged him with my shoulder. “You, me and Kaylee should get together tomorrow for lunch.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said and got up from the bench.
I did the same. “Well, I’m off to bed.”