IMMORTAL VISIONS

by M. K. ROZE

  “Try me.”

  “It’s pointless. I’m sure it was another stupid dream again.”

  Aunt Jessica got up and walked over to me. “Can I place you under hypnosis, so we can figure out what is going on?”

  “Will this make you believe me?”

  “Yes, hypnosis will help.”

  I got up and walked over to the window. I was sick of people doubting me and wanted them to see for themselves. “Fine, I’ll do it then, but can we do it in a normal room? I hate hospitals.”

  “Yes, I’ll see if I can use the doctor’s office, and we’ll do it tomorrow. In the meantime, the doctor is going to run a few more tests to rule out anything else.”

  I sighed. “Okay.”

  “Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

  I ignored her and continued looking out the window at all the cars driving by. I thought maybe I did drink too much, and it made me have another vision.

  A restless night with the same animals fighting again outside, I finally fell asleep with no dreams.

  After the doctor ran a few more test, Aunt Jessica arrived late-afternoon and took me into a small room on the first floor. She sat across from me and asked me to lie down on the couch to start the process.

  I did as she asked.

  “Take a deep breath and try to relax. I want you to clear your mind.”

  I took a few deep breaths.

  “Listen to the sound of my voice as I count back. Ten—nine—eight—seven. Your eyes are getting heavier. Six—five—four— three. You’re falling deeper. Two and one. Very good, Viata. Now, let’s go back to last night while you were in the park. What was the weather like?”

  “It was warm, with a slight breeze.”

  “Good. How do you feel?”

  I giggled. “My vision is fuzzy.”

  “Is anyone with you?”

  “No. I’m alone.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “I’m running toward the woods, calling out to Mihnea.”

  “Who is Mihnea?”

  “He’s the man from my dreams.”

  “Do you see him?”

  “No.”

  My aunt’s voice faded, and I was standing in the park, staring into the woods. Someone was yelling, but it was muffled.

  “Viata! Viata! Wake up!” my aunt screamed.”

  I snapped out of hypnosis and sat up. “What’s wrong?” I looked over to where she was.

  A male nurse pushed her on the floor.

  “Get help,” Aunt Jessica said while holding her neck, trying to catch her breath.

  “Help me!” I ran toward the door.

  The unknown man looked over at me and grinned as if he knew me. “Watch this.” He placed his one hand around my aunt’s neck and with the other hand, he cut a small slit in it with his nail.

  Aunt Jessica screamed with fear in her eyes.

  “Let her go!” I opened the door. “Help me! Please help me!”

  No one was in sight. I turned back, and my aunt’s eyes rolled in the back of her head.

  “Viata! Help me!” she choked.

  “Stop it!” I screamed and charged him like a bull.

  His brown eyes narrowed on mine as he stepped out of the broken wall.

  I stood there in disbelief, looking up at him.

  “Where did you get such strength from?” he asked.

  I backed away.

  He grabbed my hair and dragged me back over to my aunt. “Watch and learn.” He slit her neck open and licked the blood. “Would you like a taste? She’s as sweet as sugar.”

  I gagged, got out of his grip, and fled the room. “Help me!” I cried as I ran down the hallway where nurses and doctors stopped me.

  “What’s wrong?” they took turns asking.

  I pointed to the room, but I couldn’t speak, then glass shattered in that direction.

  Most of them took off running toward the room while one young nurse stayed with me.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  I ignored her, trying to figure a way out of there. In the distance, people were screaming and hollering instructions to get me.

  I ran my fingers manically through my hair, pacing back and forth. “Wake up, please wake up,” I repeated, over and over.

  The nurse came up to me and gently touched my arm. “Miss, you are awake.”

  I swatted her hand away, making her fall against the wall. As she called out to the staff, fear settled in her eyes.

  I ran toward the nearest exit and pushed the door open. As I thought of the fastest way home, something that sounded like cars smashing into each other came from the roof of the hospital. I looked up, but it was too dark.

  “Run!” Mihnea shouted.

  I looked up again, but I couldn’t see him, so I took off running toward the woods, holding the hospital gown in place.

  When branches snapping echoed behind me, I picked up the pace while looking over my shoulder, making sure the unknown male wasn’t following me.

  Out of the woods, I ran down the side streets, and people were honking at me. I continued behind a house and took cover for a while, panting like a dog.

  When no cars were passing by, I took off again, cutting through people’s backyards and jumping over fences. One yard had a black lab that I came face to face with. I dodged him and climbed over the next fence, scratching my stomach in the process. The dog grabbed hold of my gown, tearing it, leaving me exposed.

  At my neighbors’ house, I got a good view of my parents’ home across the street. I hid behind the shed, clutching my chest, trying to still my pounding heart. After a few minutes, my parents rushed out the door.

  When they left, I ran to the back door and opened the lockbox for the extra key. Inside, I hurried to my bedroom to change into clothes I had left there. When a car door slammed shut, I raced over to my bedroom window. It was the next-door neighbors, so I ran into the kitchen and dug through the drawers to find my car keys. Found them, now where’s my phone?

  I fled upstairs to my parents’ room to see if it was there. I grabbed it off the dresser, but it was dead. With my shaky hands, I unlocked my parents’ safe, grabbed my passport and a lot of money, including all the Romanian Lei.

  I jetted back down the stairs and looked one last time out the window before I ran outside. When it was clear, I ran to my car and stopped in my tracks when I saw a significant dent on the hood.

  I drove to my house and parked on the next street over in case my parents showed up. I raced inside, grabbed my carry-on bag, and jammed all my clothes and my laptop into it. When I heard sirens, I ran to the front window and slightly lifted the blind to see what was going on. A few cops were heading toward my front door.

  I ran out the back door and shut it, so they wouldn’t know I’d been there. After jumping over several fences, I reached my car, and I threw my carry-on bag into the back seat.

  At the airport, I parked in the garage and cried, unsure of what to do. After a long time of thinking, I decided to go to Romania. With a few deep breaths, I glanced in the mirror and fixed myself the best I could. I got out and continued inside to get a one-way ticket to Romania.

  An older woman was standing at the counter. “Are you okay?” she asked me.

  I forced a smile. “Yes, I’m just a little upset that my friend is in the hospital.”

  She seemed to believe me, and my lie helped to explain why I was such a mess.

  When I handed her eighteen hundred dollars, I wiped the sweat off my hands onto my jeans.

  “You carry that kind of cash around with you?” she asked.

  “No, not usually, but there were no banks open at this hour, so I went into my safe.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, be careful, and protect yourself.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  I turned away and looked at all the other people sitting in chairs.

  As I waited for my flight, I opened my laptop and began looking up the hotel my parents, and I stayed at befor
e. There were a lot of rooms available, but I decided to wait until I got there to book one. I didn’t want to use my credit card because they could find me.

  I started thinking about Savina and Mihnea, so I looked up powerful humans with wings but only found angels with white wings. Mihnea was much nicer than the others, but he wasn’t an angel. He was something else, and I couldn’t figure it out. I looked up his name but wasn’t sure how to spell it. I got nowhere.

  I sighed and closed the laptop. My flight wasn’t for another few hours, so I used my carry-on bag as a pillow and tried to act normal.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  MUMA PĂDURII

  Arriving in Brasov, still feeling like a wreck, I walked out to the front of the airport. Glistening white snow lay everywhere. My jacket was thin, so I bundled up as best as I could and flagged down a taxi, just as my father had done. Its interior reeked of sweat, but it was warm.

  “Where would you like to go?” the female driver asked.

  “Dracula’s Bed and Breakfast Inn, please.”

  With only a few minor slips and slides, we successfully made it through the icy roads.

  I grabbed my stuff. “Can you stay here? I have to make sure they still have rooms.”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you!”

  When I walked into the room, it was empty, and the fireplace was lit. I rang the bell at the reception desk.

  Melissa stepped out from the back and smiled. “Hey, welcome back. What brings you here again?”

  “A good friend of mine who lives here is in the hospital, so this time I came alone.”

  I hope I sounded convincing enough so that she wouldn’t suspect something was odd and call my parents.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like the same room you had before? It’s available.”

  “Yes, that would be great. I’ll be right back. I have to tell the taxi driver to go.”

  I walked back into the cold and waved for her to leave. Back inside, I stomped the snow off my sneakers.

  “Brrr, it’s cold out there,” I said.

  Melissa looked up. “Yes, it is.” She handed me the key.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome! If you need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call my cell.” She handed me a hotel card with her number on the back of it.

  “That’s sweet of you. Thank you.”

  When I opened the door to the suite, a cool breeze blew across my face. I rushed over to the prepared fireplace and lit it up. When the crackling began, I sat down in front of it and warmed up my hands. After a few minutes, I turned up the thermostat and drew a hot bath in the Jacuzzi. I lay there with my body submerged under the bubbles, thinking of all the stuff that was going on. I wished it would just all go away.

  After an hour, I noticed my hands were all wrinkly from the water, so I got out, dried off, and lay in bed under the white blanket. When I turned on my phone, I had a voicemail from Mom and text messages from Liam.

  I played the voicemail on the speaker. “Viata,” Mom said, sounding tearful and desperate. We’re so sorry you had to witness such a horrific act. We know you didn’t do it, but do you know who the man was that killed my sister?” She paused. “Please call us honey, please.”

  I sighed with relief and placed my phone next to me. Tears filled my eyes, and a gut-wrenching cry escaped my mouth.

  I texted them.

  Mom, Dad. Please don’t worry about me. I’m fine. This will be over soon.

  Almost immediately Mom called me, but I didn’t answer. She called me again, followed by a text.

  Viata, please pick up the phone.

  I ignored her and texted Liam and told him I was okay.

  Mom called me again, so I took my earring out and used it to take the SIM card out of my phone, in case they tried to track me down. I knew that I needed to be one step ahead of them.

  For the next hour, I tossed ideas around in my head, trying to decide what to do next. I need to see Muma Pădurii tomorrow.

  Someone knocked on the door waking me up.

  I jumped up from the chair and walked to the door. “Who is it?” I called out.

  “We have breakfast ready downstairs. Please join us,” a male voice said with a British accent.

  I exhaled sharply and rested my forehead against the door. “Oh, thank you,” I replied. “I’ll be down shortly.”

  After forcing myself to eat, I headed off to Bran Castle. While in the taxi, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I almost told the male driver to turn back, but I knew I needed to meet Muma Pădurii and see if Mihnea was telling me the truth.

  When I arrived, I climbed the steep steps and was surprised to see that quite a few tourists had braved the weather.

  Halfway there, I stopped and caught my breath, and shielded my face from the strengthening wind. After a few minutes, I continued up the steps. Once at the top, I blew my hot breath into my hands, trying to warm them up. I was the only idiot out there with no gloves on.

  “Hello, Viata,” a woman said.

  I looked up and stood frozen. It was the same woman that asked me if I was adopted when I was here with my parents. She was taller than I remembered.

  “Are you Muma Pădurii?” I asked, my voice shaky. I took a few steps back, doing my best to avoid her intimidating stare.

  She circled me. “Yes, and Muma is just fine.”

  My heart pumped wildly as I shook my head in disbelief. “So, you knew me from the last time I was here and didn’t say anything?”

  She nodded. “I was forbidden to.”

  I stepped back a few more feet and felt myself sinking into the deep snow.

  Her long white, straw-like hair was blowing in her face, sometimes showing her black moles and lumpy, wrinkled skin.

  “Walk with me,” she demanded.

  I flinched and followed her back down the stairs.

  “I was assigned to you many years ago by my master.”

  My feet came to a halt with her only a few steps down in front of me. “What do you mean?”

  An American couple walked toward us and stopped in their tracks.

  “Are you talking to us?” the guy asked.

  My eyes widened. I didn’t utter a word, so they continued walking toward me and straight through Muma, then they edged past me.

  I stood frozen in disbelief as my body became weak, so I sat where I was on the cold steps in a daze.

  “Get up before people think there’s something wrong with you,” Muma yelled.

  I looked up at her. “Are you kidding me? I’m way past that point now. Are you a ghost?”

  An unnatural chuckle came from deep within her lungs. “No, I’m much more powerful than that. Now get up and follow me.”

  I laughed non-stop then cried.

  Her eyes turned bright red, staring at me through her thick greasy hair.

  Not knowing what her intentions were, I quickly got up and followed her back down the steps.

  Muma took me to a fortress that sat deep in the woods behind the castle. As we walked through, there were lifeless trees and tall snow banks.

  She came to a stop and slammed her cane onto the ground. A rippled mirror in the shape of a doorway appeared.

  I stepped back. “What are you?” I rubbed my eyes, looked again, and the doorway was still there. I could see my reflection in its surface, but hers was absent.

  She ignored me and disappeared through the mirror. Seconds later, I could see her on the other side, in a place where the sky was blue, and the landscape was completely devoid of snow.

  She pointed her cane at me. “Come on.”

  When I shook my head no, her face turned wicked, and an unseen force pushed me the rest of the way through. I quickly got up from the soft green grass and turned to see that the forest I was in was no longer there. “H-how did you do that?”

  She stepped forward, flashing her nasty yellow teeth. “That’s nothing. Come. I don’t have all day.”

&nb
sp; “This is impossible.” I reached out to touch the rippled glass.

  “Oh yes, please touch it. I wouldn’t mind some cooked meat.”

  I quickly yanked my hand back and followed her through the tall green grass, with the hot sun beating down on my face. My head turned in all directions as we moved on. Beautiful flowers and trees surrounded us. It didn’t match her ugliness.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “My realm, now hush.”

  After a long hike, we arrived at her small hut. She opened the creaky door and stepped aside. “Go in and sit down,” she said and pushed me in.

  I continued inside and looked back at her. Before Muma entered, she poured copper dust in front of the doorway.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  She pointed for me to sit.

  I walked over to the chair and sat. To my right were thick cobwebs that covered a large cauldron sitting on an old oven in the corner of the room. On the floor, kids’ dusty old toys, many that looked like collector pieces, were scattered everywhere.

  Muma dragged her black boots across the wooden floor, turned to the door, and swatted the air with her wrist, making it slam shut on its own.

  “Are you a witch?”

  She ignored me and took off her long black coat. “We don’t have much time, so prepare yourself for what I’m about to tell you,” she said, as she stared me down with her evil eyes.

  I wrapped my fingers around the arms of the wooden chair and squeezed tightly. “Who are you?” I mumbled.

  Her black eyes narrowed on mine. “My job is to tell you only what Mihnea asked me to relay to you, and nothing more.”

  “I’m waiting?”

  She slammed her cane down, making the floor rumble, leaned forward, and pulled out a strand of her hair, then tossed it on my lap.

  When I swatted it off, it sprang to life and grabbed my wrist. It turned into a thick vine that started growing at a fast rate, covering my entire body.

  My heart leaped into my throat as I tried desperately to break away but found myself bound to the chair.

  “What are you doing to me?”

  She cackled.

  “Mihnea, I cried,” but the binding crept up to my mouth, muzzling me.