Darina Grotto - Unlimited

Victoria wasn’t listening to Kharon’s stories. She was staring at what that no one could see, at what that didn’t exist for anyone. She was observing the woman… the woman spirit which had been following her friend.

Victoria looked aside, called herself a crazy fool in her thoughts. What spirits? Could they exist? Idiotism! Vic didn’t want to think any more about it. There were no ghosts, spirits and other dead.

Vic stared at Kharon trying to switch over to his unbelievable beauty.

Vasilisa was telling him about her painful feelings after she had broken up with her young man, whom Victoria even didn’t have time to see. Her friend was talking about that life was unfair to mock her in such a way. She asked, when she was able to fall in love. She was getting through again and again.

Kharon was listening carefully and didn’t understand what was going with that girl. The demon could hear not only what she was speaking about but what she was thinking about. And she wasn’t thinking about her broken up and a poor fate but about she was unlucky because such man as Kharon wasn’t sitting near her but near the red-hair witch.

The demon was sincerely surprised why it went like that. How could she speak one thing while she was thinking of completely different…?

He heard Victoria’s thoughts who was clearly gave probably studied answers to Vasilisa, thinking about the woman with whitish eyes. At once she could be understood: how many times did Victoria listen to the same stories? How many tears did Vasya shed on her friend’s shoulder? How many times did Victoria try to help? Then she got fed up with it.

There were three months of unrestrained passion, burning in agony love, languorous desire and that’s all. After it doom and emptiness came. The feeling of loneliness… A lone wasp, striped, beautiful and bright… dead and covered with dust layer.

‘Jesus…’ Victoria whispered, taking her cell out of the bag, ‘It’s my mum…’

The girl looked up at the display: that’s right, that was her mum calling her.

‘Yeap’ she answered with no desire. ‘It’s ok. It seems like I’ve got a job. I’m gonna prepare my papers tomorrow. Are you at home today? Good. Me? In the centre, at Mayakovskaya Vasilisa and me are drinking coffee. Late, mum. Ok. I’ve got it.’

Victoria was getting angry with every asked question, but her mother insisted on her question being answered by her daughter.

‘Why do you speak with your mum in this way?’ Kharon asked unexpectedly.

Vic looked at him, at Vasilisa and dropped her head. She touched the napkins, taking sighs but kept silence. What was she supposed to say? She didn’t like speaking about her family atmosphere.

‘It’s complicated to explain,' at least she made herself speak.

The girl looked at the man with eyes full of tears.

Her mother and Vic’s relations left much to be desired. They loved each other like other parents and their children did, but they didn’t understand each other. Her mother wanted one thing, the daughter wanted absolutely another. For long time no one had listened to Victoria. Parents always had a great argument – “I know better because I’m older” and you could have nothing to do.

Olga Vladimirovna had been proving her daughter that she shouldn’t get bad marks at school. She expected her daughter would follow in her mother’s footprints and become a doctor. Victoria didn’t want it. For some time, there had been flaming conflicts in their family until Vic entered the university to get degree in design art.

In her childhood her mother tried to make her daughter be in gymnastics because she had wanted to be the one when she was young. Victoria didn’t like it and she got in dances.

That was what was going on for all her life. There was an opposition even about food: Olga Vladimirovna never made macaroni that Victoria liked…

At the deep evening Kharon was holding Victoria’s hands and looking at her eyes, trying to smile. Vic was perplexed.

When Vasilisa left for home the demon, being tired of her gossips, breathed with relief. Victoria was watching the woman walking away.

‘What time shall I come to you tomorrow?’ Kharon asked to switch her thoughts over to him.

‘I’m gonna get my insurance for work and… that’s really difficult. Let’s meet at three at the Arbat? I’ll be waiting for you in the beginning of the street. Deal?’

‘Deal. May I kiss you?’ he asked for permission carefully.

Vic smiled and reached her lips to his.

‘I wanna tell you something.’ Kharon whispered after he had torn his lips away from hers.

‘Speak,’ Vic glanced at his eyes.

‘Be careful with your friends.’ The demon smirked in a slyly way. A serious hint sounded in his voice, that made her heart shake.

‘What does it mean?’ Vic got nervous. ‘Why are you speaking like this? Kharon!’

‘Because I can hear and see what people think about… And today I’ve seen and heard…’

‘What was she thinking about?’ her heart was beating like a drum.

Kharon kept on smiling. He stopped embracing the girl and focused on her face.

‘Sweet dreams, dear.’ He stooped to her and whispered, ‘at three at the Arbat, tomorrow.’

The man turned around and went in the direction of the park.

‘Kharon!’ Vic cried. ‘Wait!’

But the demon rapidly walked into the darkness, covering with a dark shadow.

‘Kharon!’ Vic screamed again and rushed for him.

The girl was running so fast that she almost got under a car, crossing the street. When she came to herself there was nobody in the distance.

‘Where did he get?’ she whispered, stopped before the road.

It was silence around …and only a thought: I don’t have friends any more. “Be careful with friends” was a terrible warning! What did it mean? What did Vasilisa think of that Kharon decided to warn? Why did he do that? To disappear with no explanations…

Victoria was alone among the empty street and looked at 1905 station where life was still burning near.

There was her cell in her hand. Vic was phoning her friend.

‘Vic? I’ve forgotten anything in the café, have I?’ the girl got worried at once.

‘No. I wanted to know what you think of Kharon?’

There was silence on the phone. Vic was looking at the frozen part of the park without moving.

‘He…’ Vasilisa said, ‘he’s nice. Handsome.’

‘Nice and handsome?’ Vic asked quietly.

‘Romantic.’ The friend added.

‘Did you like him?’ Vic ask straight staring at a tree.

‘I liked him as your man. You both look great! Don’t worry.’

‘I don’t. I just wanted to know your opinion. Ok, I’m going to bed. See you.’

Nice. Handsome. Romantic. Be careful with friends. Victoria sat on a bench near the entrance. There was only one thought jumping in her head – no meetings with any friends. Plus, the demon’s warning did its part. What was Vasilisa thinking while she was looking at the man whom Victoria had sold her soul for?

Vic closed her eyes. Morning. Maybe afternoon. It was her own place near her house at Bolshoy Predtechensky alley. There was nobody here. Suddenly a tall broad-shouldered man appeared with an insane mask on his face. With his big paws he shook the girl and asked for money. She cried and mumbled something not understandable through her closed with his hand mouth.

He drugged her behind the garages, threw on the ground and stabbed. Victoria screamed and rushed to help the girl but… she was back-strapped to do anything. She was a discorporate material. Victoria tried to catch the man’s hand but her fingers, her own fingers went through his hand like in damn horror films.

No matter how many times Vic tried to catch his hand she did nothing and it certainly brought her into a gargantuan horror. The man kept on stabbing the girl one by one. With her last strength the girl cried that the man confused her with someone whose name was Yana. She begged him to stop…

Victoria opened her eyes. Darkness. Her entrance. There was nobody. There were cold sweat and atrocity in her soul.

The girl stood up and barely stepping headed to the mischievous garages. There was a body of that girl, whom Vic had seen in her visions, between the garages near the wall. It was in blood, half covered with a bag.

Having closed her mouth with her hand not to let herself cry, Vic moved back.

‘Tell ‘em…’ she heard a quiet voice.

Victoria lifted up her eyes. There was a living girl’s spirit near its body… Moreover, it could speak. It was difficult to get its words, but she understood. It sounded like a TV or radio electronic interference affecting its words.

Victoria shivered and ran home, praying under her breath. But the more she spoke the pray the stronger her tattoo hurt on her blade and the quiet voice of the cadaver affected by metallic sound didn’t leave her head.

‘No!’ Vic screamed as she came home and slammed the door.

‘What’s up? What are you screaming?’ Olga Vladimirovna appeared in the hall.

‘Nothing. I’ve been speaking on the phone.’ The girl lied along the way.

‘You look very alarmed. Vic?’ her mum called her and added some more light. ‘You’re pale… Are you ill? Vic!’

‘It’s ok, mum.’ Vic answered finally.

‘It doesn’t look like it’s ok…’ Olga Vladimirovna was about to touch her daughter’s forehead, but Victoria stopped her.

‘I told you, I’m ok.’ Vic tried to smile. ‘Ok. Go back to bed. Work tomorrow?’

Victoria had to pull herself together not to let her mother be suspicious.

‘Are you?’ Olga Vladimirovna felt that something went wrong.

‘Mum!’ Vic screamed, stepped back from the door at least. ‘I did tell you! Why shall I say it fifty times in a row?’

‘That sounds that you’re ok. I’m gonna back to bed. I work tomorrow… and please, don’t scream like this.’

‘Ok, mum.’ Victoria smiled, closing the door behind herself in her room.

‘Dinner’s in the kitchen. If you’re not hungry, take it to the fridge.’ Her mother said after her.

‘Yes, I will…’

A half of the night Vic was turning around in her bed trying to fall asleep. There was a real apocalypse in her head like a horrible war of thoughts. Everything connected with Kharon destroyed everything connected with the terrible vision. Her heart and soul wanted to think of her beloved man, his beauty and hellish existence, him in all his way. But her head tried to get what was going on to her exactly. What was the reason that spirits worried her? Was Lucifer’s mark to blame? What attracted spirits to her? She didn’t get struck by lightning and face apparent death. Nothing of those happened to provoke that vision…

… Or could she be crazy? A crazy fool who made up different nonsense, believed in it and pile of questions was breaking her mind at that moment. She had to believe none of those had happened. It was just her mind games.

5

th

September 2013 (Thursday)

Having successfully completed her plan, Victoria came out of tax agency building. She was going along the street trying not to look at people, being afraid of seeing again empty eyes of lost souls. She was afraid of facing someone supernatural.

Victoria was heading to metro to get to Arbatskaya station where Kharon and she had agreed to meet.

There were different thoughts because of which the girl felt uneasy. Victoria had been already tired of thinking, but her mind kept on its weak-willed terror.

There was music playing in her ears not to listen to the outward things. She didn’t want to listen to anyone not to get crazy completely. She was scared to feel her own mind leaving her body. Vacuum. She could understand nothing but perfectly see her own mind walking without saying goodbye.