Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Mina

Mina is one of the very first stories i've written. A very simple story about a life that went terribly wrong and the side effects of its lost of course. I hope you'll enjoy it:
They said that her story was a tragic one. That she was yet another of those girls in pain, whose soul dies slowly, day by day, and in secret. I saw her every night sitting at the bar’s end slowly drinking a bottle of fine red wine. She didn’t seem to pay any attention to what was happening around her. It was like nobody else existed in the place. As she was drown deep in her thoughts one could spot the signs of sadness in her eyes, but also an unexpected kind of serenity. Only once in a while, when she’d hear the lyrics of some favorite song she’d come out of her trance. Then her eyes would light up like candles, her lips would start whisper, her face would relax. She’d look like she was living in a dream…

Once upon a time there was a girl that used to live as in a fairy tale. She was growing in a wealthy home, having everything she ever asked for but love. Her parents were busy running after money, so the girl actually grew up without them by her side. It was the housemaids that helped her through her first and most difficult steps in life, and just about when she was ready to go to school her parents hired private tutors for her.
Mina loved reading and writing right from the beginning. And since she had really no one to talk to apart from the teachers she soon turned to books as the only escape from her lonely life. Only in there she would find some solace; so she’d read more and more as time slowly passed by. She enclosed herself into a golden cage and thought that that was what the world was all about. Sadly her parents never spared the time to drive her out of her illusions. They didn’t see much of her anyway. The family would only meet in rare occasions. And then her parents would only ask her just the essential questions about her school and her teachers, and nothing much else. A fine family hers was.
The girl, in her ignorance about the world, was growing wiser by the day. She was a great student, good mannered, kind-hearted, but she always felt that something was missing from the puzzle of her life. She once dared say that to her mother, only to hear her reply in exasperation: “But, you do have it all!” As if “all” really exists. Her poor parents thought that if you had money there was nothing more you could ask for in life.

The years flew by and she now was a beautiful and sad adolescent, and no one could really guess what was that that was casting its shadow over her young soul. They would see the dark wrinkles forming under her eyes and just wonder why or what. What was it that was burning inside of her? What was it that made her look so special? Why did her sadness make her look even more beautiful? Why where there’s beauty there’s also pain? The answers they would never learn, and so soon enough she’d be wrapped in a veil of mystery and myth, as it always happens with women that are smart and bright, but desperately out of touch with our narrow-minded world.
The boys’ eyes would follow her everywhere, as her beauty turned their young bloods on. The girls would feel jealous of but also sorry for her. Jealous of her beauty, sorry because her painting-like face was in pain, her sculpture-like body never touched by a boy. Every time a boy tried to approach her she’d slip away with a sweet smile, a smile that looked real and true but was a fake. Sadness was her game ground.
She’d spent most of her adolescent years reading her lessons and long novels, just like a princess trapped in her castle, watching life passing by from her open window. “It is good you read so much,” said her parents and the teachers, but she was not so sure. If all was so fine why did the pain in her soul became stronger and why did she feel all the more empty?
One fine day she woke up at dawn and opened her window to say her good mornings to nature. Right there, right then, she felt a strange feeling of happiness flooding her soul, making her feel at peace. And to add to that a traveling bird stopped for a rest on the branches of the cider tree in the yard, and started singing a melodious tune, as the sun was coming up in all its red morning glory and the north wind tenderly caressed her face. “Life’s out there,” she thought and smiled and allowed a slice of joy touch her heart.
She closed the window all at once, took off her nightgown and wore her long forgotten pair of jeans and a simple black t-shirt. Right then she didn’t look at all like the rich girl with the expensive clothes that her parents wanted her to be. She run outside like a wild animal that was suddenly given the keys to freedom. She walked fast and happily away from all the wealth of her parents and the fake sense of security, security without a life, that they gave her. She walked for long, leaving behind the rich suburb, heading for the small forest that she often saw from the car window. A forest that was so close, and yet did not exist in the eyes of those, who never really could tell if something was beautiful. It was there, that for the very first time she felt a breath of life warmly licking her soul.
She wandered in the woods for long, looking around but not really seeing anything. Only her inner eyes were wide open. “Ok, school in good, and so are books,” she thought, “but words are not enough to describe life, to live it!” If anyone happened to see her right then walking in the wilderness, he’d think that she was a fairy that has come from a faraway land. She looked like she was in a trance, as if the wonders of life were finally revealed to her. “Oh,” she thought, “people, stupid people; they never find the time to look at the miracles that lie all around them!” Time passed as a breath of a fresh air and at about noon Mina left the forest and headed back home; to sit down at the table with her parents, the people she did not know, and have lunch from the plates of habit.

With the school, the readings and her lonely soul-appeasing walks time was passing by fast. Mina was like a flower blossoming in the wild garden of life, as she started her studies in the university. Following her parents’ advice she was going to become a teacher. The elders always know what is best for the young to do, an old bullshit saying goes, so Mina simply obeyed.
It was not long before that she once again started getting all the attention of boys and girls alike. Her bright brain, her fantastic looks, her simple ways simply made her stand out. The boys would feel good just by stealing a look from those big green eyes of hers, and a lot of them were soon enough on the hunt for the wonderful pray that she appeared to be. Passions for her were running high, but she didn’t seem to care or even notice. She was unapproachable, impregnable, just like a high-walled castle. “No, you guys; you are not the ones for me,” she seemed to say, but that wasn’t really the reason she kept them away. The thing is that she was still a girl living in a world of her own. She was looking for the ideal man. She was expecting her prince to come riding on a horse and carry her away, just like in a fairy tale. The poor thing could not understand that life was already there by her side and she was simply overtaking it. She could not see that time was rolling by like a thunder and she had remained nothing but a little girl. A girl loved by all, that’s true, but nevertheless a small one and lonely. As for her parents, well, they thought that they’ve spent a whole life doing everything for her, and now she had to live up to their expectations.
Thank god life never forgives those that never get to know her, so one day it send her way a brilliant young man who was meant to wake her up from the dream she considered a living. Nick was a lovely crazy guy, one of those people that drink all the juices of life and even dare ask for more. Mina was unable to resist that certain secret charm that he possessed. So, for the first time in her life, she let herself go free, and set her soul naked in his arms, and his words and his warm presence. They were like twin suns and when one saw them together could feel himself go blind from their bright essence.
But, as usual, when something goes extremely well something comes up to destroy it. So, as they both were on the seventh heaven of happiness, and as Mina was finally getting to know the true nature of love, some other people came to shed disaster and misery into their lives. When her parents heard about Nick they hired people to find out who he really was, and they came up with the answers they were mostly afraid of. He was a good man and all that, but desperately poor, and so not a suitable companion for their daughter with all her fortune and beauty. They asked her to leave him, and as she never ever said No to them, she simply obeyed, and led herself into the well-known paths of loneliness and silence that at least made her feel safe. He, who loved her more than his life, fell into misery and lost his will to live, though he kept saying that he was strong and was going to get over her…

That was her short story as I’ve heard it from more than one person; true or false I did not know. But the story of her life after the break up with Nick, I know it all right and by heart, since I’ve heard it from her own lips. It was on a cold, sad and moonless night that I’ve decided to talk to her, since I could no longer stand her painful sight. So I went and sat right next to her and asked her to tell me a story. She lifted her gaze from the wine glass and looked at me deeply in the eyes, and after a while I saw a sad little smile taking form on her lips. She’s noticed me sitting at the bar many times, she said, and she thought she saw in me a brother in pain. And she started talking…

I guess there’s no need to tell you that I lead a miserable life. Time and again I call on the angel of death to come and take me away, my misery and me. As you already know, the only man I ever loved I sacrificed for my parents’ sake, and since then I pay the price. He was my breath, my dream, the only truth of my life. But I, miserable I, destroyed everything, and killed him and myself, because until then I didn’t know how to say No. He taught me how to live, to love and to wonder. He taught me how to make love and feel happy and all the little things that make life worthwhile. When I was with him I was just myself, and not the one my family wanted me to be. With him I blossomed like a water lily, I became a stream running through the fields of those chosen few, who really came to love from the depths of their being. What else can I say? What should I really say? I must carry a curse otherwise I would never ever dared kill the love of my life. Yes, that’s what I did. I killed him the night I said it was all over. It was my lips that talked and not my heart, and he knew. “I feel sorry for you,” his words a slap on my face; and since then my soul is bleeding.
And now, now that I really know who I am, that I really know what I want, I cannot be with him. He’s gone. He now lies in the arms of Hades. He was a crazy man, he led a crazy life, and lost his life in a crazy way, riding his favorite bike. Since that very day my heart is dead, black as a dark cellar. I no longer truly smile or laugh, my hair has started turning to gray, my once radiant eyes are now broken. To be dead in life; there’s no worst curse than that. And if you care to ask me why do I go on living, the answer is quite simple; I’m a coward; I don’t have the guts to put an end to my life…

That is all she told me that night, upsetting my peaceful soul. “Is really love so powerful that can drive one straight into the arms of death? Or is it the guilty thoughts, the never-forgiving, that just can’t let her be?” I was wondering quietly as she rose to leave. I remained behind to finish off my wine. Without realizing it at the moment I smoothly caressed the glass she was drinking from. All my grievous problems suddenly seemed unimportant, and my heart was filled with her sorrow, but hope didn’t die in my soul that things could get better for her. And they did.
I met her again at the same place the very next night. I was just sitting there drinking my wine, drowning in it her pain. I never saw her as she approached, lost as I was in the deep wells of thought. She sat next to me and touched me gently on the shoulder. I turned to her startled. I was even more surprised to see a sweet wide smile taking shape on her lips. She thanked me for listening to her the night before, and so making her open the prison cell where she kept her soul captive. She felt better afterwards, she said, her heart was just a bit more light, the world looked a little brighter, maybe, just maybe, the end of her life was not at hand!
I just sat there still, looking at her speechless. I could see a flame slowly lighting up in her eyes and a certain glow appear on her soft beautiful face. As I saw her transforming before my very eyes I thought that that was the grandest miracle of all; in the hunting grounds of death, life had won the trophy.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Ambrose Bierce - The Stranger

A man stepped out of the darkness into the little illuminated circle about our failing camp-fire and seated himself upon a rock. 'You are not the first to explore this region,' he said gravely. Nobody controverted his statement; he was himself proof of its truth, for he was not of our party and must have been somewhere near when we camped. Moreover, he must have companions not far away; it was not a place where one would be living or travelling alone. For more than a week we had seen, besides ourselves and our animals, only such living things as rattlesnakes and horned toads. In an Arizona desert one does not long coexist with only such creatures as these: one must have pack animals, supplies, arms -- 'an outfit.' And all these imply comrades. It was perhaps a doubt as to what manner of men this unceremonious stranger's comrades might be, together with something in his words interpretable as a challenge that caused every man of our half-dozen 'gentlemen adventurers' to rise to a sitting posture and lay his hand upon a weapon -- an act signifying, in that time and place, a policy of expectation. The stranger gave the matter no attention and began again to speak in the same deliberate, uninflected monotone in which he had delivered his first sentence: 'Thirty years ago Ramon Gallegos, William Shaw, George W. Kent, and Berry Davis, all of Tucson, crossed the Santa Catalina mountains and travelled due west, as nearly as the configuration of the country permitted. We were prospecting and it was our intention, if we found nothing, to push through to the Gila river at some point near Big Bend, where we understood there was a settlement. We had a good outfit, but no guide -- just Ramon Gallegos, William Shaw, George W. Kent, and Berry Davis.' The man repeated the names slowly and distinctly, as if to fix them in the memories of his audience, every member of which was now attentively observing him, but with a slackened apprehension regarding his possible companions somewhere in the darkness that seemed to enclose us like a black wall; in the manner of this volunteer historian was no suggestion of an unfriendly purpose. His act was rather that of a harmless lunatic than an enemy. We were not so new to the country as not to know that the solitary life of many a plainsman had a tendency to develop eccentricities of conduct and character not always easily distinguishable from mental aberration. A man is like a tree: in a forest of his fellows he will grow as straight as his generic and individual nature permits; alone in the open, he yields to the deforming stresses and tortions that environ him. Some such thoughts were in my mind as I watched the man from the shadow of my hat, pulled low to shut out the firelight. A witless fellow, no doubt, but what could he be doing there in the heart of a desert?
Having undertaken to tell this story, I wish that I could describe the man's appearance; that would be a natural thing to do. Unfortunately, and somewhat strangely, I find myself unable to do so with any degree of confidence, for afterward no two of us agreed as to what he wore and how he looked; and when I try to set down my own impressions they elude me. Anyone can tell some kind of story; narration is one of the elemental powers of the race. But the talent for description is a gift. Nobody having broken silence the visitor went on to say: 'This country was not then what it is now. There was not a ranch between the Gila and the Gulf. There was a little game here and there in the mountains, and near the infrequent water-holes grass enough to keep our animals from starvation. If we should be so fortunate as to encounter no Indians we might get through. But within a week the purpose of the expedition had altered from discovery of wealth to preservation of life. We had gone too far to go back, for what was ahead could be no worse than what was behind; so we pushed on, riding by night to avoid Indians and the intolerable heat, and concealing ourselves by day as best we could. Sometimes, having exhausted our supply of wild meat and emptied our casks, we were days without food or drink; then a water-hole or a shallow pool in the bottom of an arroyo so restored our strength and sanity that we were able to shoot some of the wild animals that sought it also. Sometimes it was a bear, sometimes an antelope, a coyote, a cougar-that was as God pleased; all were food. 'One morning as we skirted a mountain range, seeking a practicable pass, we were attacked by a band of Apaches who had followed our trail up a gulch -- it is not far from here. Knowing that they outnumbered us ten to one, they took none of their usual cowardly precautions, but dashed upon us at a gallop, firing and yelling. Fighting was out of the question: we urged our feeble animals up the gulch as far as there was footing for a hoof, then threw ourselves out of our saddles and took to the chaparral on one of the slopes, abandoning our entire outfit to the enemy. But we retained our rifles, every man -- Ramon Gallegos, William Shaw, George W. Kent, and Berry Davis.'
'Same old crowd,' said the humorist of our party. He was an Eastern man, unfamiliar with the decent observances of social intercourse. A gesture of disapproval from our leader silenced him, and the stranger proceeded with his tale: 'The savages dismounted also, and some of them ran up the gulch beyond the point at which we had left it, cutting off further retreat in that direction and forcing us on up the side. Unfortunately the chaparral extended only a short distance up the slope, and as we came into the open ground above we took the fire of a dozen rifles; but Apaches shoot badly when in a hurry, and God so willed it that none of us fell. Twenty yards up the slope, beyond the edge of the brush, were vertical cliffs, in which, directly in front of us, was a narrow opening. Into that we ran, finding ourselves in a cavern about as large as an ordinary room in a house. Here for a time we were safe: a single man with a repeating rifle could defend the entrance against all the Apaches in the land. But against hunger and thirst we had no defence. Courage we still had, but hope was a memory. 'Not one of those Indians did we afterward see, but by the smoke and glare of their fires in the gulch we knew that by day and by night they watched with ready rifles in the edge of the bush -- knew that if we made a sortie not a man of us would live to take three steps into the open. For three days, watching in turn, we held out before our suffering became insupportable. Then -- It was the morning of the fourth day -- Ramon Gallegos said: '"Senores, I know not well of the good God and what please Him. I have live without religion, and I am not acquaint with that of you. Pardon, senores, if I shock you, but for me the time is come to beat the game of the Apache." 'He knelt upon the rock floor of the cave and pressed his pistol against his temple. "Madre de Dios," he said, "comes now the soul of Ramon Gallegos." 'And so he left us -- William Shaw, George W. Kent, and Berry Davis.
'I was the leader: it was for me to speak. '"He was a brave man," I said --"he knew when to die, and how. It is foolish to go mad from thirst and fall by Apache bullets, or be skinned alive -- it is in bad taste. Let us join Ramon Gallegos." '"That is right," said William Shaw. '"That is right," said George W. Kent. 'I straightened the limbs of Ramon Gallegos and put a handkerchief over his face. Then William Shaw said: "I should like to look like that -- a little while." 'And George W. Kent said that he felt that way, too. '"It shall be so," I said: "the red devils will wait a week. William Shaw and George W. Kent, draw and kneel." 'They did so and I stood before them. '" Almighty God, our Father," said I. '"Almighty God, our Father," said William Shaw. '"Almighty God, our Father," said George W. Kent. '"Forgive us our sins," said I. '"Forgive us our sins," said they. '"And receive our souls." '"And receive our souls." '"Amen!" '"Amen!" 'I laid them beside Ramon Gallegos and covered their faces.' There was a quick commotion on the opposite side of the camp-fire: one of our party had sprung to his feet, pistol in hand. 'And you!' he shouted -- 'you dared to escape? -- you dare to be alive? You cowardly hound, I'll send you to join them if I hang for it!' But with the leap of a panther the captain was upon him, grasping his wrist. 'Hold it in, Sam Yountsey, hold it in!' We were now all upon our feet -- except the stranger, who sat motionless and apparently inattentive. Some one seized Yountsey's other arm. 'Captain,' I said, 'there is something wrong here. This fellow is either a lunatic or merely a liar -- just a plain, everyday liar whom Yountsey has no call to kill. If this man was of that party it had five members, one of whom -- probably himself -- he has not named.' 'Yes,' said the captain, releasing the insurgent, who sat down, 'there is something -- unusual. Years ago four dead bodies of white men, scalped and shamefully mutilated, were found about the mouth of that cave. They are buried there; I have seen the graves -- we shall all see them tomorrow.'
The stranger rose, standing tall in the light of the expiring fire, which in our breathless attention to his story we had neglected to keep going. 'There were four,' he said -- 'Ramon Gallegos, William Shaw, George W. Kent, and Berry Davis.' With this reiterated roll-call of the dead he walked into the darkness and we saw him no more. At that moment one of our party, who had been on guard, strode in among us, rifle in hand and somewhat excited. 'Captain,' he said, 'for the last half-hour three men have been standing out there on the mesa.' He pointed in the direction taken by the stranger. 'I could see them distinctly, for the moon is up, but as they had no guns and I had them covered with mine I thought it was their move. They have made none, but damn it! they have got on to my nerves.' 'Go back to your post, and stay till you see them again,' said the captain. 'The rest of you lie down again, or I'll kick you all into the fire.' The sentinel obediently withdrew, swearing, and did not return. As we were arranging our blankets the fiery Yountsey said: 'I beg your pardon, Captain, but who the devil do you take them to be? ' 'Ramon Gallegos, William Shaw, and George W. Kent.' 'But how about Berry Davis? I ought to have shot him.' 'Quite needless; you couldn't have made him any deader. Go to sleep.'

Source: East of the Web

Monday, April 28, 2008

Dear You

Since I don’t seem to be able to write a proper post in this blog, I’ve decided to send you a letter. And it goes like this:

Here I am writing to you from my favourite city, Chiang Mai in Thailand.
Chiang Mai has been the city of my heart for quite some time now. It’s not that there’s something very special about it, it’s just that I really really like it. I like its walls and fountains and canals; I like its lovely temples and amazing chedis; and I simply love its huge Mae Ping River, its bookshops and its people.
Chiang Mai is one of those cities that you either love or hate. If you hate Bangkok you will love Chiang Mai. That’s exactly how it works. The latter is what I like to describe as a “Human City”. The way of life is quite easy going; there are hardly any people trying to lure you into buying things or services; the nightlife is great. And it’s an extremely safe place, as well.
Over the years I’ve met a score of people who came here for a weekend and ended up staying for the rest of their lives.
Chiang Mai is not just a city for crazy young tourists who just want to get drunk and have fun. It’s a city for one and for all; for crazy and drunk, sober and wise. You’d be surprised to see how many bookshops there are at its historic centre, around Tha Phae Gate square.
It is also a very cheap place to live at. You can get a room for as little as a hundred dollars a month, while the food is excellent and can be bought for dimes.
To wrap it all up in a few words: Chiang Mai is a great place to retire, but also an amazing city where you can easily spend your days UNTIL you retire.

Sincerely yours,

Lakis

p.s. Just to put things straight: I am not Thai, and I do not live or own a business in Chiang Mai. I’m from Cyprus, but I really like returning here now and again, to relax and “refuel” my mind’s batteries. In the photo: A view of the Sunday Market. Cheers!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Madame Blavatsky - The Ensouled Violin

Now, here's a story by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, one of the most powerful, ingenious and influential women that ever set foot on this planet. I cannot know for certain how many of you know anything about the life and times of Mme Blavatsky, but i can assure you that she's one of the most intriguing characters that you could ever come around. Follow the link at the end of the story in case you care to know more about her. For the time being please enjoy the sounds of the Ensouled Violin:
I
In the year 1828, an old German, a music teacher, came to Paris with his pupil and settled unostentatiously in one of the quiet faubourgs of the metropolis.The first rejoiced in the name of Samuel Klaus; the second answered to the more poetical appellation of Franz Stenio. The younger man was a violinist, gifted, as rumor went, with extraordinary, almost miraculous talent. Yet as he was poor and had not hitherto made a name for himself in Europe, he remained for several years in the capital of France--the heart and pulse of capricious continental fashion--unknown and unappreciated. Franz was a Styrian by birth, and, at the time of the event to be presently described, he was a young man considerably under thirty. A philosopher and a dreamer by nature, imbued with all the mystic oddities of true genius, he reminded one of some of the heroes in Hoffmann's Contes Fantastiques. His earlier existence had been a very unusual, in fact, quite an eccentric one, and its history must be briefly told--for the better understanding of the present story. Born of very pious country people, in a quiet burg among the Styrian Alps; nursed "by the native gnomes who watched over his cradle"; growing up in the weird atmosphere of the ghouls and vampires who play such a prominent part in the household of every Styrian and Slavonian in Southern Austria; educated later, as a student, in the shadow of the old Rhenish castles of Germany; Franz from his childhood had passed through every emotional stage on the plane of theso-called "supernatural." He had also studied at one time the "occult arts" with an enthusiastic disciple of Paracelsus and Khunrath; alchemy had few theoretical secrets for him; and he had dabbled in "ceremonial magic" and "sorcery" with some Hungarian Tziganes. Yet he loved above all else music, and above music--his violin. At the age of twenty-two he suddenly gave up his practical studies in the occult, and from that day, though as devoted as ever in thought to the beautiful Grecian Gods, he surrendered himself entirely to his art. Of his classic studies he had retained only that which related to the muses--Euterpe especially, at whose altar he worshipped--and Orpheus whose magic lyre he tried to emulate with his violin. Except his dreamy belief in the nymphs and the sirens, on account probably of the double relationship of the latter to the muses through Calliope and Orpheus, he was interested but little in the matters of this sublunary world. All his aspirations mounted, like incense, with the wave of the heavenly harmony that he drew from his instrument, to a higher and nobler sphere. He dreamed awake, and lived a real though an enchanted life only during those hours when his magic bow carried him along the wave of sound to the Pagan Olympus, to the feet of Euterpe. A strange child he had ever been in his own home, where tales of magic and witchcraft grow out of every inch of the soil; a still stranger boy he had become, until finally he had blossomed into manhood, without one single characteristic of youth. Never had a fair face attracted his attention; not for one moment had his thoughts turned from his solitary studies to a life beyond that of a mystic Bohemian. Content with his own company, he had thus passed the best years of his youth and manhood with his violin for his chief idol, and with the Gods and Goddesses of old Greece for his audience, in perfect ignorance of practical life. His whole existence had been one long dayo f dreams, of melody and sunlight, and he had never felt any other aspirations.How useless, but oh, how glorious those dreams! how vivid! and why should he desire any better fate? Was he not all that he wanted to be, transformed in a second of thought into one or another hero; from Orpheus, who held all nature breathless, to the urchin who piped away under the plane tree to the naiads of CallirrhoΤ's crystal fountain? Did not the swift-footed nymphs frolic at his beck and call to the sound of the magic flute of the Arcadian shepherd--who was himself? Behold, the Goddess of Love and Beauty herself descending from on high, attracted by the sweet-voiced notes of his violin! . . . Yet there came a time when he preferred Syrinx to Aphrodite--not as the fair nymph pursued by Pan, but after her transformation by the merciful Gods into the reed out of which the frustrated God of the Shepherds had made his magic pipe. For also, with time, ambition grows and is rarely satisfied. When he tried to emulate on his violin the enchanting sounds that resounded in his mind, the whole of Parnassus kept silent under the spell, or joined in heavenly chorus; but the audience he finally craved was composed of more than the Gods sung by Hesiod, verily of the most appreciative melomanes of European capitals. He felt jealous of the magic pipe, and would fain have had it at his command."Oh! that I could allure a nymph into my beloved violin!"--he often cried, after awakening from one of his day-dreams. "Oh, that I could only span inspirit-flight the abyss of Time! Oh, that I could find myself for one short day a partaker of the secret arts of the Gods, a God myself, in the sight and hearing of enraptured humanity; and, having learned the mystery of the lyre of Orpheus, or secured within my violin a siren, thereby benefit mortals to my own glory!Thus, having for long years dreamed in the company of the Gods of his fancy, he now took to dreaming of the transitory glories of fame upon this earth. But at this time he was suddenly called home by his widowed mother from one of the German universities where he had lived for the last year or two. This was an event which brought his plans to an end, at least so far as the immediate future was concerned, for he had hitherto drawn upon her alone for his meagre pittance,and his means were not sufficient for an independent life outside his native place. His return had a very unexpected result. His mother, whose only love he was on earth, died soon after she had welcomed her Benjamin back; and the good wives ofthe burg exercised their swift tongues for many a month after as to the real causes of that death. Frau Stenio, before Franz's return, was a healthy, buxom, middle-aged body, strong and hearty. She was a pious and a God-fearing soul too, who had never failed in saying her prayers, nor had missed an early mass for years during his absence. On the first Sunday after her son had settled at home--a day that she had been longing for and had anticipated for months in joyous visions, in which she saw him kneeling by her side in the little church on the hill--she called him from the foot of the stairs. The hour had come when her pious dream was to be realized, and she was waiting for him, carefully wiping the dust from the prayer-book he had used in his boyhood. But instead of Franz, it was his violin that responded to her call, mixing its sonorous voice with the rather cracked tones of the peal of the merry Sunday bells. The fond mother was somewhat shocked at hearing the prayer-inspiring sounds drowned by the weird, fantastic notes of the "Dance of the Witches"; they seemed to her so unearthly and mocking. But she almost fainted upon hearing the definite refusal of her well-beloved son to go to church. He never went to church, he coolly remarked. It was loss of time; besides which, the loud peals of the old church organ jarred on his nerves. Nothing should induce him to submit to the torture of listening to that cracked organ. He was firm, and nothing could move him. To her supplications and remonstrances he put an end by offering to play for her a"Hymn to the Sun" he had just composed. From that memorable Sunday morning, Frau Stenio lost her usual serenity of mind.She hastened to lay her sorrows and seek for consolation at the foot of the confessional; but that which she heard in response from the stern priest filled her gentle and unsophisticated soul with dismay and almost with despair. A feeling of fear, a sense of profound terror which soon became a chronic state with her, pursued her from that moment; her nights became disturbed and sleepless, her days passed in prayer and lamentations. In her maternal anxietyfor the salvation of her beloved son's soul, and for his post-mortem welfare,she made a series of rash vows. Finding that neither the Latin petition to the Mother of God written for her by her spiritual adviser, nor yet the humble supplications in German, addressed by herself to every saint she had reason to believe was residing in Paradise, worked the desired effect, she took to pilgrimages to distant shrines. During one of these journeys to a holy chapel situated high up in the mountains, she caught cold, amidst the glaciers of theTyro, and redescended only to take to a sick bed, from which she arose no more. Frau Stenio's vow had led her, in one sense, to the desired result. The poor woman was now given an opportunity of seeking out in propria persona the saints she had believed in so well, and of pleading face to face for the recreant son,who refused adherence to them and to the Church, scoffed at monk and confessional, and held the organ in such horror. Franz sincerely lamented his mother's death. Unaware of being the indirect causeof it, he felt no remorse; but selling the modest household goods and chattels, light in purse and heart, he resolved to travel on foot for a year or two, before settling down to any definite profession. A hazy desire to see the great cities of Europe, and to try his luck in France, lurked at the bottom of this travelling project, but his Bohemian habits of life were too strong to be abruptly abandoned. He placed his small capital with a banker for a rainy day, and started on his pedestrian journey via Germany andAustria. His violin paid for his board and lodging in the inns and farms on his way, and he passed his days in the green fields and in the solemn silent woods, face to face with Nature, dreaming all the time as usual with his eyes open.During the three months of his pleasant travels to and fro, he never descended for one moment from Parnassus; but, as an alchemist transmutes lead into gold, so he transformed everything on his way into a song of Hesiod or Anacreon. Every evening, while fiddling for his supper and bed, whether on a green lawn or in the hall of a rustic inn, his fancy changed the whole scene for him. Village swains and maidens became transfigured into Arcadian shepherds and nymphs. The sand-covered floor was now a green sward; the uncouth couples spinning round in a measured waltz with the wild grace of tamed bears became priests and priestesses of Terpsichore; the bulky, cherry-cheeked and blue-eyed daughters of rural Germany were the Hesperides circling around the trees laden with the golden apples. Nor did the melodious strains of the Arcadian demi-gods piping on their syrinxes, and audible but to his own enchanted ear, vanish with the dawn. For no sooner was the curtain of sleep raised from his eyes than he would sally forth into a new magic realm of day-dreams. On his way to some dark and solemn pine forest, he played incessantly, to himself and to everything else. He fiddled to the green hill, and forth with the mountain and the moss-covered rocksmoved forward to hear him the better, as they had done at the sound of the Orphean lyre. He fiddled to the merry-voiced brook, to the hurrying river, and both slackened their speed and stopped their waves, and, becoming silent, seemed to listen to him in an entranced rapture. Even the long-legged stork who stood meditatively on one leg on the thatched top of the rustic mill, gravely resolving unto himself the problem of his too-long existence, sent out after him a long and strident cry, screeching, "Art thou Orpheus himself, O Stenio?" It was a period of full bliss, of a daily and almost hourly exaltation. The last words of his dying mother, whispering to him of the horrors of eternal condemnation, had left him unaffected, and the only vision her warning evoked in him was that of Pluto. By a ready association of ideas, he saw the lord of the dark nether kingdom greeting him as he had greeted the husband of Eurydice before him. Charmed with the magic sounds of his violin, the wheel of Ixion was at a standstill once more, thus affording relief to the wretched seducer of Juno, and giving the lie to those who claim eternity for the duration of the punishment of condemned sinners. He perceived Tantalus forgetting his never-ceasing thirst, and smacking his lips as he drank in the heaven-born melody; the stone of Sisyphus becoming motionless, the Furies themselves smiling on him, and the sovereign of the gloomy regions delighted, and awarding preference to his violin over the lyre of Orpheus. Taken au sirieux, mythology thus seems a decided antidote to fear, in the face of theological threats, especially when strengthened with an insane and passionate love of music; withFranz, Euterpe proved always victorious in every contest, aye, even with Hell itself!But there is an end to everything, and very soon Franz had to give up uninterrupted dreaming. He had reached the university town where dwelt his old violin teacher, Samuel Klaus. When this antiquated musician found that his beloved and favourite pupil, Franz, had been left poor in purse and still poorer in earthly affections, he felt his strong attachment to the boy awaken with tenfold force. He took Franz to his heart, and forthwith adopted him as his son.The old teacher reminded people of one of those grotesque figures which look as if they had just stepped out of some medieval panel. And yet Klaus, with his fantastic allures of a night-goblin, had the most loving heart, as tender as that of a woman, and the self-sacrificing nature of an old Christian martyr.When Franz had briefly narrated to him the history of his last few years, the professor took him by the hand, and leading him into his study simply said:"Stop with me, and put an end to your Bohemian life. Make yourself famous. I am old and childless and will be your father. Let us live together and forget all save fame."And forthwith he offered to proceed with Franz to Paris, via several large German cities, where they would stop to give concerts. In a few days Klaus succeeded in making Franz forget his vagrant life and its artistic independence, and reawakened in his pupil his now dormant ambition and desire for worldly fame. Hitherto, since his mother's death, he had been content to receive applause only from the Gods and Goddesses who inhabited his vivid fancy; now he began to crave once more for the admiration of mortals. Under the clever and careful training of old Klaus his remarkable talent gained in strength and powerful charm with every day, and his reputation grew and expanded with every city and town wherein he made himself heard. His ambition was being rapidly realized; the presiding genii of various musical centres to whose patronage his talent was submitted soon proclaimed him the one violinist of the day, and the public declared loudly that he stood unrivalled by any one whom they had ever heard. These laudations very soon made both master and pupil completely lose their heads. But Paris was less ready with such appreciation.Paris makes reputations for itself, and will take none on faith. They had been living in it for almost three years, and were still climbing with difficulty the artist's Calvary, when an event occurred which put an end even to their most modest expectations. The first arrival of Nicolo Paganini was suddenly heralded,and threw Lutetia into a convulsion of expectation. The unparallelled artist arrived, and--all Paris fell at once at his feet.
II
Now it is a well-known fact that a superstition born in the dark days of medieval superstition, and surviving almost to the middle of the presentcentury, attributed all such abnormal, out-of-the-way talent as that of Paganinito "supernatural" agency. Every great and marvellous artist had been accused inhis day of dealings with the devil. A few instances will suffice to refresh thereader's memory.Tartini, the great composer and violinist of the XVIIth century, was denouncedas one who got his best inspirations from the Evil One, with whom he was, it wassaid, in regular league. This accusation was, of course, due to the almostmagical impression he produced upon his audiences. His inspired performance onthe violin secured for him in his native country the title of "Master ofNations." The Sonate du Diable, also called "Tartini's Dream"--as every one whohas heard it will be ready to testify--is the most weird melody ever heard orinvented: hence, the marvellous composition has become the source of endlesslegends Nor were they entirely baseless, since it was he, himself; who was shownto have originated them. Tartini confessed to having written it on awakeningfrom a dream, in which he had heard his sonata performed by Satan, for hisbenefit, and in consequence of a bargain made with his infernal majesty.Several famous singers, even, whose exceptional voices struck the hearers withsuperstitious admiration, have not escaped a like accusation. Pasta's splendidvoice was attributed in her day to the fact that three months before her birth,the diva's mother was carried during a trance to heaven, and there treated to avocal concert of seraphs. Malibran was indebted for her voice to St. Cecilia,while others said she owed it to a demon who watched over her cradle and sangthe baby to sleep. Finally, Paganini--the unrivalled performer, the meanItalian, who like Dryden's Jubal striking on the "chorded shell" forced thethrongs that followed him to worship the divine sounds produced, and made peoplesay that "less than a God could not dwell within the hollow of hisviolin"--Paganini left a legend too.The almost supernatural art of the greatest violin-player that the world hasever known was often speculated upon, never understood. The effect produced byhim on his audience was literally marvellous, overpowering. The great Rossini issaid to have wept like a sentimental German maiden on hearing him play for thefirst time. The Princess Elisa of Lucca, a sister of the great Napoleon, inwhose service Paganini was, as director of her private orchestra, for a longtime was unable to hear him play without fainting. In women he produced nervousfits and hysterics at his will; stout-hearted men he drove to frenzy. He changedcowards into heroes and made the bravest soldiers feel like so many nervousschoolgirls. Is it to be wondered at, then, that hundreds of weird talescirculated for long years about and around the mysterious Genoese, that modernOrpheus of Europe? One of these was especially ghastly. It was rumoured, and wasbelieved by more people than would probably like to confess it, that the stringsof his violin were made of human intestines, according to all the rules andrequirements of the Black Art.Exaggerated as this idea may seem to some, it has nothing impossible in it; andit is more than probable that it was this legend that led to the extraordinaryevents which we are about to narrate. Human organs are often used by the EasternBlack Magician, so-called, and it is an averred fact that some BengδlΣ Tδntrikas(reciters of tantras, or "invocations to the demon," as a reverend writer hasdescribed them) use human corpses, and certain internal and external organspertaining to them, as powerful magical agents for bad purposes.However this may be, now that the magnetic and mesmeric potencies of hypnotismare recognized as facts by most physicians, it may be suggested with less dangerthan heretofore that the extraordinary effects of Paganini's violin-playing werenot, perhaps, entirely due to his talent and genius. The wonder and awe he soeasily excited were as much caused by his external appearance, "which hadsomething weird and demoniacal in it," according to certain of his biographers,as by the inexpressible charm of his execution and his remarkable mechanicalskill. The latter is demonstrated by his perfect imitation of the flageolet, andhis performance of long and magnificent melodies on the G string alone. In thisperformance, which many an artist has tried to copy without success, he remainsunrivalled to this day.It is owing to this remarkable appearance of his--termed by his friendseccentric, and by his too nervous victims, diabolical--that he experienced greatdifficulties in refuting certain ugly rumours. These were credited far moreeasily in his day than they would be now. It was whispered throughout Italy, andeven in his own native town, that Paganini had murdered his wife, and, later on,a mistress, both of whom he had loved passionately, and both of whom he had nothesitated to sacrifice to his fiendish ambition. He had made himself proficientin magic arts, it was asserted, and had succeeded thereby in imprisoning thesouls of his two victims in his violin--his famous Cremona.It is maintained by the immediate friends of Ernest T.W. Hoffmann, thecelebrated author of Die Elixire des Teufels, Meister Martin, and other charmingand mystical tales, that Councillor Crespel, in the Violin of Cremona, was takenfrom the legend about Paganini. It is, as all who have read it know, the historyof a celebrated violin, into which the voice and the soul of a famous diva, awoman whom Crespel had loved and killed, had passed, and to which was added thevoice of his beloved daughter, Antonia.Nor was this superstition utterly ungrounded, nor was Hoffmann to be blamed foradopting it, after he had heard Paganini's playing. The extraordinary facilitywith which the artist drew out of his instrument, not only the most unearthlysounds, but positively human voices, justified the suspicion. Such effects mightwell have startled an audience and thrown terror into many a nervous heart. Addto this the impenetrable mystery connected with a certain period of Paganini'syouth, and the most wild tales about him must be found in a measure justifiable,and even excusable; especially among a nation whose ancestors knew the Borgiasand the Medicis of Black Art fame.
III
In those pre-telegraphic days, newspapers were limited, and the wings of famehad a heavier flight than they have now.Franz had hardly heard of Paganini; and when he did, he swore he would rival, ifnot eclipse, the Genoese magician. Yes, he would either become the most famousof all living violinists, or he would break his instrument and put an end to hislife at the same time.Old Klaus rejoiced at such a determination. He rubbed his hands in glee, andjumping about on his lame leg like a crippled satyr, he flattered and incensedhis pupil, believing himself all the while to be performing a sacred duty to theholy and majestic cause of art.Upon first setting foot in Paris, three years before, Franz had all but failed.Musical critics pronounced him a rising star, but had all agreed that herequired a few more years' practice, before he could hope to carry his audiencesby storm. Therefore, after a desperate study of over two years and uninterruptedpreparations, the Styrian artist had finally made himself ready for his firstserious appearance in the great Opera House where a public concert before themost exacting critics of the old world was to be held; at this critical momentPaganini's arrival in the European metropolis placed an obstacle in the way ofthe realization of his hopes, and the old German professor wisely postponed hispupil's d*but. At first he had simply smiled at the wild enthusiasm, thelaudatory hymns sung about the Genoese violinist, and the almost superstitiousawe with which his name was pronounced. But very soon Paganini's name became aburning iron in the hearts of both the artists. and a threatening phantom in themind of Klaus. A few days more, and they shuddered at the very mention of theirgreat rival, whose success became with every night more unprecedented.The first series of concerts was over, but neither Klaus nor Franz had as yethad an opportunity of hearing him and of judging for themselves. So great and sobeyond their means was the charge for admission, and so small the hope ofgetting a free pass from a brother artist justly regarded as the meanest of menin monetary transactions, that they had to wait for a chance, as did so manyothers. But the day came when neither master nor pupil could control theirimpatience any longer; so they pawned their watches, and with the proceedsbought two modest seats.Who can describe the enthusiasm, the triumphs, of this famous and at the sametime fatal night! The audience was frantic; men wept and women screamed andfainted; while both Klaus and Stenio sat looking paler than two ghosts. At thefirst touch of Paganini's magic bow, both Franz and Samuel felt as if the icyhand of death had touched them. Carried away by an irresistible enthusiasm,which turned into a violent, unearthly mental torture, they dared neither lookinto each other's faces, nor exchange one word during the whole performance.At midnight, while the chosen delegates of the Musical Societies and theConservatory of Paris unhitched the horses, and dragged the carriage of thegrand artist home in triumph, the two Germans returned to their modest lodgingand it was a pitiful sight to see them. Mournful and desperate, they placedthemselves in their usual seats at the fire corner, and neither for a whileopened his mouth"Samuel!" at last exclaimed Franz, pale as death itself. "Samuel--it remains forus now but to die! . . . Do you hear me? . . . We are worthless! We were twomadmen to have ever hoped that any one in this world would ever rival . . .him!"The name of Paganini stuck in his throat, as in utter despair he fell into hisarm chair.The old professor's wrinkles suddenly became purple. His little greenish eyesgleamed phosphorescently as, bending toward his pupil, he whispered to him inhoarse and broken tones:"Nein, nein! Thou art wrong, my Franz! I have taught thee, and thou hast learnedall of the great art that a simple mortal, and a Christian by baptism, can learnfrom another simple mortal. Am I to blame because these accursed Italians, inorder to reign unequalled in the domain of art, have recourse to Satan and thediabolical effects of Black Magic?"Franz turned his eyes upon his old master. There was a sinister light burning inthose glittering orbs; a light telling plainly, that, to secure such a power,he, too, would not scruple to sell himself, body and soul, to the Evil One.But he said not a word, and, turning his eyes from his old master s face, hegazed dreamily at the dying embers.The same long-forgotten incoherent dreams, which, after seeming such realitiesto him in his younger days, had been given up entirely, and had gradually fadedfrom his mind, now crowded back into it with the same force and vividness as ofold. The grimacing shades of Ixion, Sisyphus and Tantalus resurrected and stoodbefore him, saying:"What matters hell--in which thou believest not. And even if hell there be, itis the hell described by the old Greeks, not that of the modern bigots--alocality full of conscious shadows, to whom thou canst be a second Orpheus."Franz felt that he was going mad, and, turning instinctively, he looked his oldmaster once more right in the face. Then his bloodshot eye evaded the gaze ofKlaus.Whether Samuel understood the terrible state of mind of his pupil, or whether hewanted to draw him out, to make him speak, and thus to divert his thoughts, mustremain as hypothetical to the reader as it is to the writer. Whatever may havebeen in his mind, the German enthusiast went on, speaking with a feignedcalmness-**"Franz, my dear boy, I tell you that the art of the accursed Italian is notnatural; that it is due neither to study nor to genius. It never was acquired inthe usual, natural way. You need not stare at me in that wild manner, for what Isay is in the mouth of millions of people. Listen to what I now tell you, andtry to understand. You have heard the strange tale whispered about the famousTartini? He died one fine Sabbath night, strangled by his familiar demon, whohad taught him how to endow his violin with a human voice, by shutting up in it,by means of incantations, the soul of a young virgin. Paganini did more. Inorder to endow his instrument with the faculty of emitting human sounds, such assobs, despairing cries, supplications, moans of love and fury--in short, themost heart-rending notes of the human voice--Paganini became the murderer notonly of his wife and his mistress, but also of a friend, who was more tenderlyattached to him than any other being on this earth. He then made the four chordsof his magic violin out of the intestines of his last victim. This is the secretof his enchanting talent, of that overpowering melody, that combination ofsounds, which you will never be able to master, unless . . ."The old man could not finish the sentence. He staggered back before the fiendishlook of his pupil, and covered his face with his hands.Franz was breathing heavily, and his eyes had an expression which reminded Klausof those of a hyena. His pallor was cadaverous. For some time he could notspeak, but only gasped for breath. At last he slowly muttered:"Are you in earnest?""I am, as I hope to help you.'`"And . . . and do you really believe that had I only the means of obtaininghuman intestines for strings, I could rival Paganini?" asked Franz, after amoment's pause, and casting down his eyes.The old German unveiled his face, and, with a strange look of determination uponit, softly answered:"Human intestines alone are not sufficient for our purpose; they must havebelonged to some one who had loved us well, with an unselfish holy love. Tartiniendowed his violin with the life of a virgin; but that virgin had died ofunrequited love for him. The fiendish artist had prepared beforehand a tube, inwhich he managed to catch her last breath as she expired, pronouncing hisbeloved name, and he then transferred this breath to his violin. As to PaganiniI have just told you his tale. It was with the consent of his victim, though,that he murdered him to get possession of his intestines."Oh, for the power of the human voice!" Samuel went on, after a brief pause."What can equal the eloquence, the magic spell of the human voice? Do you think,my poor boy, I would not have taught you this great, this final secret, were itnot that it throws one right into the clutches of him . . . who must remainunnamed at night?" he added, with a sudden return to the superstitions of hisyouth.Franz did not answer; but with a calmness awful to behold, he left his place,took down his violin from the wall where it was hanging, and, with one powerfulgrasp of the chords, he tore them out and flung them into the fire.Samuel suppressed a cry of horror. The chords were hissing upon the coals,where, among the blazing logs, they wriggled and curled like so many livingsnakes."By the witches of Thessaly and the dark arts of Circe!" he exclaimed, withfoaming mouth and his eyes burning like coals; "by the Furies of Hell and Pluto himself, I now swear, in thy presence, O Samuel, my master, never to touch aviolin again until I can string it with four human chords. May I be accursed forever and ever if I do!"He fell senseless on the floor, with a deep sob, that ended like a funeral wail;old Samuel lifted him up as he would have lifted a child, and carried him to hisbed. Then he sallied forth in search of a physician.
IV
For several days after this painful scene Franz was very ill, ill almost beyond recovery. The physician declared him to be suffering from brain fever and saidthat the worst was to be feared. For nine long days the patient remained delirious; and Klaus, who was nursing him night and day with the solicitude of the tenderest mother, was horrified at the work of his own hands. For the firsttime since their acquaintance began, the old teacher, owing to the wild ravingsof his pupil, was able to penetrate into the darkest corners of that weird,superstitious, cold, and, at the same time, passionate nature; and--he trembledat what he discovered. For he saw that which he had failed to perceivebefore--Franz as he was in reality, and not as he seemed to superficialobservers. Music was the life of the young man, and adulation was the air hebreathed, without which that life became a burden; from the chords of his violinalone, Stenio drew his life and being, but the applause of men and even of Godswas necessary to its support. He saw unveiled before his eves a genuine,artistic, earthly soul, with its divine counterpart totally absent, a son of theMuses, all fancy and brain poetry, but without a heart. While listening to theravings of that delirious and unhinged fancy Klaus felt as if he were for thefirst time in his long life exploring a marvellous and untravelled region, ahuman nature not of this world but of some incomplete planet. He saw all this,and shuddered. More than once he asked himself whether it would not be doing akindness to his "boy" to let him die before he returned to consciousness.But he loved his pupil too well to dwell for long on such an idea. Franz hadbewitched his truly artistic nature, and now old Klaus felt as though their twolives were inseparably linked together. That he could thus feel was a revelationto the old man; so he decided to save Franz, even at the expense of his own old,and, as he thought, useless life.The seventh day of the illness brought on a most terrible crisis. Fortwenty-four hours the patient never closed his eyes, nor remained for a momentsilent; he raved continuously during the whole time. His visions were peculiar,and he minutely described each. Fantastic, ghastly figures kept slowly swimmingout of the penumbra of his small, dark room, in regular and uninterruptedprocession, and he greeted each by name as he might greet old acquaintances. Hereferred to himself as Prometheus, bound to the rock by four bands made of humanintestines. At the foot of the Caucasian Mount the black waters of the riverStyx were running . . . They had deserted Arcadia, and were now endeavouring toencircle within a sevenfold embrace the rock upon which he was suffering . . ."Wouldst thou know the name of the Promethean rock, old man?" he roared into hisadopted father's ear . . . "Listen then . . . its name is . . . called . . .Samuel Klaus . . .""Yes, yes! . . ." the German murmured disconsolately. "It is I who killed him,while seeking to console. The news of Paganini's magic arts struck his fancy toovividly . . . Oh, my poor, poor boy!""Ha, ha, ha, ha!" The patient broke into a loud and discordant laugh. "Aye, poorold man, sayest thou? . . . So, so, thou art of poor stuff, anyhow, and wouldstlook well only when stretched upon a fine Cremona violin! . . ."Klaus shuddered, but said nothing. He only bent over the poor maniac, and with a kiss upon his brow, a caress as tender and as gentle as that of a doting mother,he left the sickroom for a few instants, to seek relief in his own garret. Whenhe returned, the ravings were following another channel. Franz was singing,trying to imitate the sounds of a violin.Toward the evening of that day, the delirium of the sick man became perfectlyghastly. He saw spirits of fire clutching at his violin. Their skeleton hands,from each finger of which grew a flaming claw, beckoned to old Samuel . . . Theyapproached and surrounded the old master, and were preparing to rip him open . .. him, "the only man on this earth who loves me with an unselfish, holy love,and . . . whose intestines can be of any good at all!" he went on whispering,with glaring eyes and demon laugh . . .By the next morning, however, the fever had disappeared, and by the end of theninth day Stenio had left his bed, having no recollection of his illness, and nosuspicion that he had allowed Klaus to read his inner thought. Nay; had hehimself any knowledge that such a horrible idea as the sacrifice of his oldmaster to his ambition had ever entered his mind? Hardly. The only immediateresult of his fatal illness was, that as, by reason of his vow, his artisticpassion could find no issue, another passion awoke, which might avail to feedhis ambition and his insatiable fancy. He plunged headlong into the study of theOccult Arts, of Alchemy and of Magic. In the practice of Magic the young dreamersought to stifle the voice of his passionate longing for his, as he thought,forever lost violin . . .Weeks and months passed away, and the conversation about Paganini was neverresumed between the master and the pupil. But a profound melancholy had takenpossession of Franz, the two hardly exchanged a word, the violin hung mute,chordless, full of dust, in its habitual place. It was as the presence of asoulless corpse between them.The young man had become gloomy and sarcastic, even avoiding the mention ofmusic. Once, as his old professor, after long hesitation, took out his ownviolin from its dust-covered case and prepared to play, Franz gave a convulsiveshudder, but said nothing. At the first notes of the bow, however, he glaredlike a madman, and rushing out of the house, remained for hours, wandering inthe streets. Then old Samuel in his turn threw his instrument down, and lockedhimself up in his room till the following morning.One night as Franz sat, looking particularly pale and gloomy, old Samuelsuddenly jumped from his seat, and after hopping about the room in a magpiefashion, approached his pupil, imprinted a fond kiss upon the young man's brow,and squeaked at the top of his shrill voice:"Is it not time to put an end to all this?" . . .Whereupon, starting from his usual lethargy, Franz echoed, as in a dream:"Yes, it is time to put an end to this."Upon which the two separated, and went to bed.On the following morning, when Franz awoke, he was astonished not to see his oldteacher in his usual place to greet him. But he had greatly altered during thelast few months, and he at first paid no attention to his absence, unusual as itwas. He dressed and went into the adjoining room, a little parlour where theyhad their meals, and which separated their two bedrooms. The fire had not beenlighted since the embers had died out on the previous night, and no sign wasanywhere visible of the professor's busy hand in his usual housekeeping duties.Greatly puzzled, but in no way dismayed, Franz took his usual place at thecorner of the now cold fire-place, and fell into an aimless reverie. As hestretched himself in his old arm-chair, raising both his hands to clasp thembehind his head in a favourite posture of his, his hand came into contact withsomething on a shelf at his back; he knocked against a case, and brought itviolently on the ground.It was old Klaus' violin-case that came down to the floor with such a suddencrash that the case opened and the violin fell out of it, rolling to the feet ofFranz. And then the chords, striking against the brass fender emitted a sound,prolonged, sad and mournful as the sigh of an unrestful soul; it seemed to fillthe whole room, and reverberated in the head and the very heart of the youngman. The effect of that broken violin-string was magical."Samuel!" cried Stenio, with his eyes starting from their sockets, and anunknown terror suddenly taking possession of his whole being. "Samuel! what hashappened? . . . My good, my dear old master!" he called out, hastening to theprofessor's little room, and throwing the door violently open. No one answered,all was silent within.He staggered back, frightened at the sound of his own voice, so changed andhoarse it seemed to him at this moment. No reply came in response to his call.Naught followed but a dead silence . . . that stillness which, in the domain ofsounds, usually denotes death. In the presence of a corpse, as in the lugubriousstillness of a tomb, such silence acquires a mysterious power, which strikes thesensitive soul with a nameless terror . . . The little room was dark, and Franzhastened to open the shutters.Samuel was lying on his bed, cold, stiff, and lifeless . . . At the sight of thecorpse of him who had loved him so well, and had been to him more than a father,Franz experienced a dreadful revulsion of feeling, a terrible shock. But theambition of the fanatical artist got the better of the despair of the man, andsmothered the feelings of the latter in a few seconds.A note bearing his own name was conspicuously placed upon a table near thecorpse. With trembling hand, the violinist tore open the envelope, and read thefollowing:MY BELOVED SON, FRANZ,When you read this, I shall have made the greatest sacrifice, that your best andonly friend and teacher could have accomplished for your fame. He, who loved youmost, is now but an inanimate lump of clay. Of your old teacher there nowremains but a clod of cold organic matter. I need not prompt you as to what youhave to do with it. Fear not stupid prejudices. It is for your future fame thatI have made an offering of my body, and you would be guilty of the blackestingratitude were you now to render useless this sacrifice. When you shall havereplaced the chords upon your violin, and these chords a portion of my own self,under your touch it will acquire the power of that accursed sorcerer, all themagic voices of Paganini's instrument. You will find therein my voice, my sighsand groans, my song of welcome, the prayerful sobs of my infinite and sorrowfulsympathy, my love for you. And now, my Franz, fear nobody! Take your instrumentwith you, and dog the steps of him who filled our lives with bitterness anddespair! . . . Appear in every arena, where, hitherto, he has reigned without arival, and bravely throw the gauntlet of defiance in his face. O Franz! thenonly wilt thou hear with what a magic power the full notes of unselfish lovewill issue forth from thy violin. Perchance, with a last caressing touch of itschords, thou wilt remember that they once formed a portion of thine old teacher,who now embraces and blesses thee for the last time.SAMUEL.Two burning tears sparkled in the eyes of Franz, but they dried up instantly.Under the fiery rush of passionate hope and pride, the two orbs of the futuremagician-artist, riveted to the ghastly face of the dead man, shone like theeyes of a demon.Our pen refuses to describe that which took place on that day, after the legalinquiry was over. As another note, written with the view of satisfying theauthorities, had been prudently provided by the loving care of the old teacher,the verdict was, "Suicide from causes unknown"; after this the coroner and thepolice retired, leaving the bereaved heir alone in the death room, with theremains of that which had once been a living man.Scarcely a fortnight had elapsed from that day, ere the violin had been dusted,and four new, stout strings had been stretched upon it. Franz dared not look atthem. He tried to play, but the bow trembled in his hand like a dagger in thegrasp of a novice-brigand. He then determined not to try again, until theportentous night should arrive, when he should have a chance of rivalling, nay,of surpassing, Paganini.The famous violinist had meanwhile left Paris, and was giving a series oftriumphant concerts at an old Flemish town in Belgium.
V
One night, as Paganini, surrounded by a crowd of admirers, was sitting in thedining-room of the hotel at which he was staying, a visiting card, with a fewwords written on it in pencil, was handed to him by a young man with wild andstaring eyes.Fixing upon the intruder a look which few persons could bear, but receiving backa glance as calm and determined as his own, Paganini slightly bowed, and thendryly said:"Sir, it shall be as you desire. Name the night. I am at your service."On the following morning the whole town was startled by the appearance of billsposted at the corner of every street, and bearing the strange notice:On the night of . . ., at the Grand Theatre of . . ., and for the first time,will appear before the public, Franz Stenio, a German violinist, arrivedpurposely to throw down the gauntlet to the world. famous Paganini and tochallenge him to a duel--upon their violins. He purposes to compete with thegreat "virtuoso" in the execution of the most difficult of his compositions. Thefamous Paganini has accepted the challenge. Franz Stenio will play, incompetition with the unrivalled violinist, the celebrated "Fantaisie Caprice" ofthe latter, known as "The Witches."The effect of the notice was magical. Paganini, who, amid his greatest triumphs,never lost sight of a profitable speculation, doubled the usual price ofadmission, but still the theatre could not hold the crowds that flocked tosecure tickets for that memorable performance.At last the morning of the concert day dawned, and the "duel" was in everyone'smouth. Franz Stenio, who, instead of sleeping, had passed the whole long hoursof the preceding midnight in walking up and down his room like an encagedpanther, had, toward morning, fallen on his bed from mere physical exhaustion.Gradually he passed into a deathlike and dreamless slumber. At the gloomy winterdawn he awoke, but finding it too early to rise he fell asleep again. And thenhe had a vivid dream--so vivid indeed, so lifelike, that from its terriblerealism he felt sure that it was a vision rather than a dream.He had left his violin on a table by his bedside, locked in its case, the key ofwhich never left him. Since he had strung it with those terrible chords he neverlet it out of his sight for a moment. In accordance with his resolution he hadnot touched it since his first trial, and his bow had never but once touched thehuman strings, for he had since always practised on another instrument. But nowin his sleep he saw himself looking at the locked case. Something in it wasattracting his attention, and he found himself incapable of detaching his eyesfrom it. Suddenly he saw the upper part of the case slowly rising, and, withinthe chink thus produced, he perceived two small, phosphorescent green eyes--eyesbut too familiar to him--fixing themselves on his, lovingly, almostbeseechingly. Then a thin, shrill voice, as if issuing from these ghastlyorbs--the voice and orbs of Samuel Klaus himself--resounded in Stenio'shorrified ear, and he heard it say:"Franz, my beloved boy . . . Franz, I cannot, no I cannot separate myself from .. . them!"And "they" twanged piteously inside the case.Franz stood speechless, horror-bound. He felt his blood actually freezing, andhis hair moving and standing erect on his head . . ."It's but a dream, an empty dream!" he attempted to formulate in his mind."I have tried my best, Franzchen . . . I have tried my best to sever myself fromthese accursed strings, without pulling them to pieces . . ." pleaded the sameshrill, familiar voice. "Wilt thou help me to do so? . . ."Another twang, still more prolonged and dismal, resounded within the case, nowdragged about the table in every direction, by some interior power, like someliving, wriggling thing, the twangs becoming sharper and more Jerky with everynew pull.It was not for the first time that Stenio heard those sounds. He had oftenremarked them before--indeed, ever since he had used his master's viscera as afootstool for his own ambition. But on every occasion a feeling of creepinghorror had prevented him from investigating their cause, and he had tried toassure himself that the sounds were only a hallucination.But now he stood face to face with the terrible fact whether in dream or inreality he knew not, nor did he care, since the hallucination--if hallucinationit were--was far more real and vivid than any reality. He tried to speak, totake a step forward; but, as often happens in nightmares, he could neither uttera word nor move a finger . . . He felt hopelessly paralyzed.The pulls and jerks were becoming more desperate with each moment, and at lastsomething inside the case snapped violently. The vision of his Stradivarius,devoid of its magical strings, flashed before his eyes throwing him into a coldsweat of mute and unspeakable terror.He made a superhuman effort to rid himself of the incubus that held himspell-bound. But as the last supplicating whisper of the invisible Presencerepeated:"Do, oh, do . . . help me to cut myself off--"Franz sprang to the case with one bound, like an enraged tiger defending itsprey, and with one frantic effort breaking the spell."Leave the violin alone, you old fiend from hell!" he cried, in hoarse andtrembling tones.He violently shut down the self-raising lid, and while firmly pressing his lefthand on it, he seized with the right a piece of rosin from the table and drew onthe leather-covered top the sign of the six-pointed star--the seal used by KingSolomon to bottle up the rebellious djins inside their prisons.A wail, like the howl of a she-wolf moaning over her dead little ones, came outof the violin-case:"Thou art ungrateful . . . very ungrateful, my Franz!" sobbed the blubbering"spirit-voice." "But I forgive . . . for I still love thee well. Yet thou canstnot shut me in . . . boy. Behold!"And instantly a grayish mist spread over and covered case and table, and risingupward formed itself first into an indistinct shape. Then it began growing, andas it grew, Franz felt himself gradually enfolded in cold and damp coils, slimyas those of a huge snake. He gave a terrible cry and--awoke; but,.strangelyenough, not on his bed, but near the table, just as he had dreamed, pressing theviolin case desperately with both his hands."It was but a dream . . . after all," he muttered, still terrified, but relievedof the load on his heaving breast.With a tremendous effort he composed himself, and unlocked the case to inspectthe violin. He found it covered with dust, but otherwise sound and in order, andhe suddenly felt himself as cool and as determined as ever. Having dusted theinstrument he carefully rosined the bow, tightened the strings and tuned them.He even went so far as to try upon it the first notes of the "Witches"; firstcautiously and timidly, then using his bow boldly and with full force.The sound of that loud, solitary note--defiant as the war trumpet of aconqueror, sweet and majestic as the touch of a seraph on his golden harp in thefancy of the faithful--thrilled through the very soul of Franz. It revealed tohim a hitherto unsuspected potency in his bow, which ran on in strains thatfilled the room with the richest swell of melody, unheard by the artist untilthat night. Commencing in uninterrupted legato tones, his bow sang to him ofsun-bright hope and beauty, of moonlit nights, when the soft and balmy stillnessendowed every blade of grass and all things animate and inanimate with a voiceand a song of love. For a few brief moments it was a torrent of melody, theharmony of which, "tuned to soft woe," was calculated to make mountains weep,had there been any in the room, and to soothe. . . even th' inexorable powers of hell,the presence of which was undeniably felt in this modest hotel room. Suddenly,the solemn legato chant, contrary to all laws of harmony, quivered, becamearpeggios, and ended in shrill staccatos, like the notes of a hyena laugh. The same creeping sensation of terror, as he had before felt, came over him, andFranz threw the bow away. He had recognized the familiar laugh, and would haveno more of it. Dressing, he locked the bedevilled violin securely in its case,and, taking it with him to the dining-room, determined to await quietly the hour of trial.
VI
The terrible hour of the struggle had come, and Stenio was at his post--calm, resolute, almost smiling.The theatre was crowded to suffocation, and there was not even standing room tobe got for any amount of hard cash or favouritism. The singular challenge hadreached every quarter to which the post could carry it, and gold flowed freelyinto Paganini's unfathomable pockets, to an extent almost satisfying even to hisinsatiate and venal soul.It was arranged that Paganini should begin. When he appeared upon the stage, thethick walls of the theatre shook to their foundations with the applause thatgreeted him. He began and ended his famous composition "The Witches" amid astorm of cheers. The shouts of public enthusiasm lasted so long that Franz beganto think his turn would never come. When, at last, Paganini, amid the roaringapplause of a frantic public, was allowed to retire behind the scenes, his eyefell upon Stenio, who was tuning his violin, and he felt amazed at the serenecalmness, the air of assurance, of the unknown German artist.When Franz approached the footlights, he was received with icy coldness. But forall that, he did not feel in the least disconcerted. He looked very pale, buthis thin white lips wore a scornful smile as response to this dumb unwelcome. Hewas sure of his triumph.At the first notes of the prelude of "The Witches" a thrill of astonishmentpassed over the audience. It was Paganini's touch, and--it was something more.Some--and they were the majority--thought that never, in his best moments ofinspiration, had the Italian artist himself, in executing that diabolicalcomposition of his, exhibited such an extraordinary diabolical power. Under thepressure of the long muscular fingers of Franz, the chords shivered like thepalpitating intestines of a disembowelled victim under the vivisector's knife.They moaned melodiously, like a dying child. The large blue eye of the artist,fixed with a satanic expression upon the sounding-board, seemed to summon forthOrpheus himself from the infernal regions, rather than the musical notessupposed to be generated in the depths of the violin. Sounds seemed to transformthemselves into objective shapes, thickly and precipitately gathering as at theevocation of a mighty magician, and to be whirling around him, like a host offantastic, infernal figures, dancing the witches' "goat dance." In the emptydepths of the shadowy background of the stage, behind the artist, a namelessphantasmagoria, produced by the concussion of unearthly vibrations, seemed toform pictures of shameless orgies, of the voluptuous hymens of a real witches'Sabbat . . . A collective hallucination took hold of the public. Panting forbreath, ghastly, and trickling with the icy perspiration of an inexpressiblehorror, they sat spellbound, and unable to break the spell of the music by theslightest motion. They experienced all the illicit enervating delights of theparadise of Mahommed, that come into the disordered fancy of an opium-eatingMussulman, and felt at the same time the abject terror, the agony of one whostruggles against an attack of delirium tremens . . . Many ladies shrieked aloudothers fainted, and strong men gnashed their teeth in a state of utterhelplessness . . .Then came the finale. Thundering uninterrupted applause delayed its beginning,expanding the momentary pause to a duration of almost a quarter of an hour. Thebravos were furious, almost hysterical. At last, when after a profound and lastbow, Stenio, whose smile was as sardonic as it was triumphant, lifted his bow toattack the famous finale his eye fell upon Paganini, who, calmly seated in themanager's box, had been behind none in zealous applause. The small and piercingblack eyes of the Genoese artist were riveted to the Stradivarius in the handsof Franz, but otherwise he seemed quite cool and unconcerned. His rival's facetroubled him for one short instant, but he regained his self-possession and,lifting once more his bow, drew the first note.Then the public enthusiasm reached its acme, and soon knew no bounds. Thelisteners heard and saw indeed. The witches' voices resounded in the air, andbeyond all the other voices, one voice was heard--Discordant, and unlike to human sounds; It seem'd of dogs the bark, of wolvesthe howl; The doleful screechings of the midnight owl; The hiss of snakes, thehungry lion's roar; The sounds of billows beating on the shore; The groan ofwinds among the leafy wood, And burst of thunder from the rending cloud,-- 'Twasthese, all these in one . . .The magic bow was drawing forth its last quivering sounds--famous amongprodigious musical feats--imitating the precipitate flight of the witches beforebright dawn; of the unholy women saturated with the fumes of their nocturnalSaturnalia, when--a strange thing came to pass on the stage. Without theslightest transition, the notes suddenly changed. In their *rial flight ofascension and descent, their melody was unexpectedly altered in character. Thesounds became confused, scattered, disconnected . . . and then--it seemed fromthe sounding-board of the violin--came out squeaking jarring tones, like thoseof a street Punch, screaming at the top of a senile voice:"Art thou satisfied, Franz, my boy? . . . Have not I gloriously kept my promise,eh?"The spell was broken. Though still unable to realize the whole situation, thosewho heard the voice and the Punchinello-like tones, were freed, as byenchantment, from the terrible charm under which they had been held. Loud roarsof laughter, mocking exclamations of half-anger and half-irritation were nowheard from every corner of the vast theatre. The musicians in the orchestra,with faces still blanched from weird emotion, were now seen shaking withlaughter, and the whole audience rose, like one man, from their seats, unableyet to solve the enigma; they felt, nevertheless, too disgusted, too disposed tolaugh to remain one moment longer in the building.But suddenly the sea of moving heads in the stalls and the pit became once moremotionless, and stood petrified as though struck by lightning. What all saw wasterrible enough--the handsome though wild face of the young artist suddenlyaged, and his graceful, erect figure bent down, as though under the weight ofyears; but this was nothing to that which some of the most sensitive clearlyperceived. Franz Stenio's person was now entirely enveloped in asemi-transparent mist, cloudlike, creeping with serpentine motion, and graduallytightening round the living form, as though ready to engulf him. And there werethose also who discerned in this tall and ominous pillar of smoke aclearly-defined figure, a form showing the unmistakable outlines of a grotesqueand grinning, but terribly awful-looking old man, whose viscera were protrudingand the ends of the intestines stretched on the violin.Within this hazy, quivering veil, the violinist was then seen, driving his bowfuriously across the human chords, with the contortions of a demoniac, as we seethem represented on medi*val cathedral paintings!An indescribable panic swept over the audience, and breaking now, for the lasttime, through the spell which had again bound them motionless, every livingcreature in the theatre made one mad rush towards the door. It was like thesudden outburst of a dam, a human torrent, roaring amid a shower of discordantnotes, idiotic squeakings, prolonged and whining moans, cacophonous cries offrenzy, above which, like the detonations of pistol shots, was heard theconsecutive bursting of the four strings stretched upon the sound-board of thatbewitched violin.When the theatre was emptied of the last man of the audience, the terrifiedmanager rushed on the stage in search of the unfortunate performer. He was founddead and already stiff, behind the footlights, twisted up into the mostunnatural of postures, with the "catguts" wound curiously around his neck, andhis violin shattered into a thousand fragments . . .When it became publicly known that the unfortunate would-be rival of NicoloPaganini had not left a cent to pay for his funeral or his hotel bill, theGenoese, his proverbial meanness notwithstanding, settled the hotel-bill and hadpoor Stenio buried at his own expense.He claimed, however, in exchange, the fragments of the Stradivarius--as a memento of the strange event.
Source: Classic Horror Stories
Bio: Wikipedia

Book Choice: Isis Unveiled: Secrets of the Ancient Wisdom Tradition, Madame Blavatsky's First Work

Saturday, April 26, 2008

The Haunted House

This is one of the first short stories i've written. Of course i've translated it from the original greek version, so please forgive me for any possible mistakes. It's the story of a Haunted House and it goes like this:

We've heard a lot of stories about that house. Strange stories. The old people of our village said, that there used to live a very unlucky woman; one of those women that never come to enjoy a happy day in their lifetimes. My own grandma, who was a wise old woman, said that that was the “house of Death himself”.
However, we were children, and in our eyes that place didn’t look scary at all. On the contrary. The bigger the mystery, the more we wanted to explore it. We just had to discover the truth, no matter what. But the older people just wouldn’t let us do that. Every time we brought up the subject they would start praying and crossing themselves and tell us that we were crazy, and that we just had to stay as far away as we could from that haunted place. “Haunted!” Hmm! We were more and more determined to do what we set our minds on doing. As for my grandma, well, she was a bit philosophical about the whole thing: “It’s not right to play games with the works of the Lord and the Devil” she’d say. Come on grandma, not even a play of cards? Besides, I thought that the god and the devil had better things to do, than seat right there and look after an empty house. Unless they were the landlords, of course.
Our curiosity was growing all the more as time went by. What was it that the older people were afraid of? And did that so common, in every aspect, house really hide any big and scary secrets? Besides, it was just a big two-storied mud house, that didn’t look even a bit weird. But “It’s during the night that the ghosts come out”, said the old women. And we wondered if anyone really knew how did the ghosts look like. They told us that they had big black horns like the goat mace’s, and their eyes were red, as was their skin some times, and that if they wanted to they could walk with two feet and run with four; oh, they could also fly high and fast like the eagle, or just like the dragons did in the good old days. That was a very accurate description actually. But my friend John and I didn’t feel even a little bit afraid. However, in the days that followed I’ve seen some strange dreams. And they would scare the shit out of the old people every time they heard me talk about them. They were sure that something evil was about to happen. And I kept wondering how something evil could come out of a dream.
As the years passed, the legend surrounding the haunted house became darker, and many different versions of its story were now readily available. The older people, who had nothing else to do, used to sit at the coffee shop from morning till night, playing games of cards and waiting for some foreigner to show up, so they could get to tell him their version of the story. So, it wasn’t long before headless people were seen moving around, or just heads by themselves, somebody heard the old lady who used to live there – and died of sorrow – having her needs met at the toilet, while at full moon nights the passers by would hear horrifying screams come out of the house “ggggg.... vvvvvvvv..... tmeeeeeeeeee”. However, I, to be honest, stood outside that house many times and for long, and I never heard a single sound coming out. Maybe the ghost was afraid of me!
Anyway, the rumors traveled far and away, crossing the borders of our small province and reaching the big cities, so people started pouring in to pay it a visit. They all said that as seen from outside, in the light of day, it looked quite ordinary, just an abandoned house. However, those who went inside in order to explore it afterwards would say that they were certain that it hid a lot of dark secrets. They said that the floor sounded like it was empty underneath, that the walls certainly hid some secret passages and that the three dusty little paintings that hang in the old woman’s bedroom had something evil about them.
A misty spring day, a young weird man, arrived at the village. He introduced himself as a ghost hunter. He wanted to spend a night alone in the house, as he was sure he could solve the riddle and sent the ghost to rest. Everyone tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t take any advice. “Good for him and for us” I thought, “at last we are going to get some action in this sleepy place”. Well, the rest of the people of the village, were not as happy as I was. They had no doubts that something bad would happen to him. The priest, a man of good faith who, however, believed in ghosts, stayed with the man outside the house, until the day started fading away. He was trying to convince him to abandon his quest, but it was just a waste of time. In the end he gave up every hope of success and left. When he got home he told his daughter, Margarita, to bring some food and coffee to the stranger, and left right away for the church to pray for the fool man’s soul.
Night had fallen. A very dark one. Everyone thought and worried about the weird stranger, but none of them would dare go and check out on him. A bit after midnight, as everyone else in the house sunk into sleep, I slipped out of my bedroom’s window and headed for the house of my friend, John, who was expecting me. We were both sixteen at the time and afraid of nothing. So, there was no chance we would miss whatever was going to happen that night at the haunted house.
When we arrived there everything was deadly quiet. Even the wind had no sound. So, having nothing else to do, we sat outside and started drinking in rounds from a bottle of gin that John brought, courtesy of his father, who of course didn’t know.
Time was passing by real slow. Nothing had happened for too long and in the end we’ve fallen asleep. A terrifying scream ringed into our ears, “mamaaaaaaaaaa”, and in a moment we were on our feet shaking like we were naked in the snow. There were fists hitting hard on the door of the house and the next thing we saw was the ghost hunter jumping out of the window and start running like crazy. We stayed there, frozen for a while, but in a few seconds we started running after him. He and the chase stopped outside the church of the Virgin Mary. He had thrown himself in front of the door and whispered, as pale as one can be, “Mary, mother of god, help me. Mary, mother of god, help me!” We tried to bring him back to his senses, but with no success. His eyes looked frozen and his body seemed to burn in high fever. “He acts like he saw Death” John said. The next moment, the priest, who lived next to the church and was upset by all the yelling, was there. After a long effort we managed to convince him to arise from the ground and helped him to his house.
Not a single soul was asleep there. The priest’s wife, their son George and Margarita, they all seemed to be in a state of emergency. Oh, Margarita looked so good in her white nightgown! Anyway, we put the poor soul down to lie on the sofa, and the girl left to prepare some tea for him. “I don’t think that he’ll be able to sleep, having taken the scare of his life” the priest said, but before long facts would prove him wrong. He went to sleep straight away, without even finishing his tea. We felt drowsy as well, and a few minutes later we were on our way home.
The next day was our day! We were the village’s heroes. Everyone would come to us to learn the news first hand. Even Margarita, seemed for the first time in all our young lives, to pay special attention to us. She would smile at us, talk to us, and ask for details. Oh, really, it felt so good to be close to her, to talk to her. It felt even better than the gin we drunk the night before!
The foreigner stayed at the priest’s house for one more night. And then he left the village never to return. As we found out from the visitors that continued to arrive in increasing numbers, that poor fellow went to a shrink to try and sooth his fears away, but the latter thought that there was no cure for him so he locked him up in an asylum.
That man was my ticket to happiness. And the night that he went nuts turned out to be the most important of my life so far. That unfortunate event was my soul’s... salvation. How? Well, is there a way to put this into words? Oh, i’ll just spit it out... My fool soul was in love; in love with Margarita, just like every other young guy’s in the village. But I didn’t know how to get close to her. My good luck, though was working for me, so after what happened she came a bit closer to me. However, I couldn’t bring my self to tell her what I felt about her. She was the priest’s daughter. And she was virtuous. So virtuous that everyone called her “The little saint”. Pure like sin! How could I talk to her about my love? How could I conquer her heart? Being brave was enough to get her under my spell?
I’ve talked to John about my feelings towards her, and it was no surprise when he admitted that he liked Margarita too, but he thought it impossible that someone could become her boyfriend.
He was right, but I wasn’t willing to give up trying. A first step has been taken. Others had to follow. I thought that if I were brave enough to bring out to light the secret of the haunted house, I stood a good chance of making her mine. Wise John said: “Things are easy when you talk about them, but when it comes to action they could get pretty tough. How do you know if she is going to love you, anyway?” Well, I didn’t know, but I thought it was worth a try.
After a lot of serious thinking and since I could find no other way to her heart I’ve convinced John to help me out with my plan. So, just when the summer came and the schools were closed, we started preparing for the task at hand. Many times, day and night, we would go with John and sit outside the house of evil. Some times we would hear weak screams coming out as from a grave and others light footsteps on the floor. I felt my blood freezing at those sounds and so did John, but we never left our post. We heard doors creaking and saw more than once a dim red light passing in front of the closed windows, but we were determined to stand solid at our place.
Oh, yes, that house had many secrets to hide, but after a few days, we weren’t feeling so scared of them. However, we told nobody about our evening adventures because they would try to talk us out of them.
Well, time passed by really fast, making Margarita look even more beautiful in my eyes. Her face was shining just like a fabulous sun in the dark. And her eyes, her eyes... wouldn’t look at us. She only had eyes for god.
One night, after a long long time, we’ve decided to take the big step. So, a little after two o’clock in the morning we went to the haunted house again, determined to get inside and solve all the mysteries. The truth is we were a bit afraid, but after all that preparation, after all the bravery stands, we thought that the time was ripe. So, we slowly opened the door and with light steps moved inside. Just then we heard a yawn “oooooohhhhhh” coming out of the floor and the next minute we found our selves running like crazy in the deserted streets of the village.
The night after we wouldn’t dare go even close to the house again. We were such cowards, so miserable, such cowards. We were cursing each other and our selves. However, we’ve decided to pay it a visit on Sunday morning. At the time everyone would be at church and so we’d be able to explore the house, and return at night for a new “attack of the brave.”
Well, everything went as planned. We’ve searched the walls, the doors and the floors. We’ve searched everywhere and found out a lot of things, more than one could even imagine. So, we decided that on that particular night we would go there very early, and hide in the kitchen, waiting for something to happen. We felt that, at least for us, the mystery that surrounded that house would soon come to light.
We knew that it could be a long wait, so we carried along with us some bread, cheese, olives and slices of pork, as well as a bottle of gin to keep us busy; and of course, our torches. We went straight into the kitchen and while having a pick nick in the dark, we had our ears wide open in order to catch any sound. As we were not able to talk, time seemed to pass really slowly.
It must have been three or four hours later that we heard the back door slowly creaking open. Somebody whispered something and at that very moment we saw a dim red light moving in the living room and two shadowy figures opening an unseen trapdoor and going underground. We remained in the darkness watching. As they disappeared closing the trapdoor behind them, I whispered to John to stay still and quiet for a bit longer. And so he did.
A few minutes later interrupted words started arriving at our ears: “ggggg.... vvvvvvvv..... tmeeeeeeeeee.” The same words over and over again. And right then we started off for the source of those sounds. We crawled towards the trapdoor and opened it suddenly wide, shedding strong waves of light into the underground from our torches. What we saw left us speechless. It was…
Three months later everybody in our village was talking about a miracle. Margarita, the priest’s daughter, the best and most virtuous girl of them all, got pregnant by the... lily. Just John and I knew that the lily’s name was Roddy!