Darina Grotto - Unlimited

‘With a girl? He’s on business trip…’ Vic said, seemed off, understanding in horror that such sensitive matter was displaced by epileptic morning recollections.

At that time the girl got she didn’t actually care whom and where her boyfriend was spending his time with. She just decided that apart from the truth they were going to break up.

Yes, they had two perfect years. There were two years of egoism, self-absorption and self-development. They had a perfect beginning. Victoria often remembered the beginning.

A long time ago they went to common parties. He opened doors for her, gave his jackets to her when she was cold, held her hand when she was walking over kerbstone imagining herself a funambulist, carried her in his arms over the puddles.

A long time ago they laughed looking at each other, holding hands, kissing in the parks… A long time ago and it had already passed.

It seemed to them it was love, that they would be together till the end of life, that no one and nothing would be able to part them. No one and nothing would be, but time did.

Having felt the other man’s touches Victoria realized that she didn’t want to feel Daniel’s anymore. Even in the very beginning she hadn’t felt with Daniel what she felt in ten-minutes communication with Kharon. He was the one who made a decisive end to her thoughts to be or not to be.

Now Vasilisa was re-telling gossips and Vic was trying to exorcise the demon out of her mind.

Olga Vladimirovna came back in the late evening and focused on her own business. Victoria was having a burr under saddle.

I gotta speak to him. No matter what will happen, but I have to…

The girl told her mum that she was going to take a spin on a bike, took it and rushed towards Serebryany Bor.

Vic was cycling through the evening park looking for a quiet corner. She didn’t need any witnesses. What would people think if they saw a girl in twilight with candles, drawing something on the ground and whispering Latin words? They would laugh at best… What would people think? What would people say? Those synonymously bloody questions made others impossible to live. Why did you need to think what people would think of you? Why couldn’t you just live without thinking of public opinion? Those people didn’t even know you personally so what’s the difference what they would think of you? Why did you need to be an object that sweetened someone’s glimpse? Was that all for five-seconds glimpse of a stranger?

Vic didn’t want to make a fool of herself. Before the incubus visited her, she would have laughed with pleasure at a person calling for rain in a forest.

A little connecting thread was nicely floating between oneself and others: we didn’t want to be treated in the same way as we treat the others. I didn’t want to be mocked in any situation but if I were to be behind these situation frames then I could afford myself to mock others.

After re-drawing signs on the ground that was getting cold after the hot day, Vic took a razor tip. The demon said there should be blood… It meant if she wanted to see him again, she needed to spill her blood. But here everything stopped. The girl couldn’t pull herself together to cut and hurt herself. She was frightened. But the desire to see Kharon overcame the fear for cutting herself.

Having closed her eyes Vic slit her finger and cried in pain at once. Dark-red blood was dropping on the ground, the faltering voice was reading the spell.

After having read the girl looked over her shoulder: nobody was there. Convulsively remembering everything that she had done before, she was looking for mistakes. She started reading the spell again. In response nobody appeared.

Something went wrong… Why didn’t he come? What was wrong? The signs, the numerals, the circles, the triangle, the blood, the spell were the same as in that morning. Why? The girl was tortured by questions which she had no answers for.

She had been in the park for an hour and a half, waiting but nobody appeared, and Victoria went home. She was slowly riding the bike, sorrowfully looking at the road, trying to get through her emotions.

Firstly, she was scared as she understood the words “ I can take your life in one millisecond ”. The creature that appeared in her flat was capable of everything. He was unpredictable and whatever he would do nobody would be to blame but herself… if life stayed near.

Then she was suffering from curiosity. She wanted to know everything that was left naked after lifting the curtains for a half of an inch. Victoria craved to open it fully, go backstage and find out ins and outs. But Kharon didn’t come.

‘Where’ve you been?’ her mum was standing in the hall, hands akimbo. ‘I’ve been up half of the night, waiting for you to come back! What’s the matter, Vic?’

‘Mum…’ Victoria unlaced her gumshoes. ‘I’ve been cycling, thinking that you’re sleeping already’

‘Vic!’ her mum said in a severe voice.

‘Mum, I’ve got it. I’m sorry that I made you worry; I didn’t mean to.’

‘What time do you get up?’

‘At 7 am… I’ve got a preparatory meeting before the exam. You?’

‘At 6 am. I’ll be out at 7 am. Shall I call you or you’ll get up?’ the woman softened.

‘I’ll get up. Don’t worry, mum. Go back to bed’

“Why? What did I do wrong? I did the same process exactly to a T, but the place was changed… I don’t believe that he can appear only inside houses! I’m sure that a place doesn’t matter… Then what?”

Almost about an hour Vic was thinking of her actions, trying to find a mistake until she fell asleep. She dreamt about nothing but blackness and silence.

In the morning, Victoria felt low as she didn’t get enough sleep. Of course, night races through the park had taken much strength and time.

She took off the house like a shot from a gun and headed towards Ulitsa 1905 metro station. The weather was good. The sun was behind the clouds and the warm wind was blowing.

Vic was going with half-closed eyes, trying to catch a little sleep. Her subconsciousness convinced her that she was mentally deficient. Being in a depressed state the girl was thinking only of the previous night. She was afraid for her mental state – whether she was healthy? Maybe there was no demon there? Maybe everything that she saw, felt and heard was just a mind game? A dream? Maybe she made up everything and didn’t know how to forget it?

Vic got into the underground, crowded into the third train. It was too crowded, and she couldn’t turn out to be in the carriage without making an effort. Vic held on the hand-rail and closed her eyes, setting her mind on three-hours preparatory meeting before the exam.

‘How’s your finger?’ suddenly a quite whisper penetrated her ear.

It gave her a pretty good jump. Of course, she guessed who was behind her. Her guesses were confirmed when his hands embraced her, giving no chance to turn to him.

‘Hash, don’t be nervous’ Kharon swarmed in her hair with his nose.

Victoria didn’t breathe. Fear conquered her completely. She glimpsed angry faces: nobody paid attention neither to the strong hands, firmly holding the girl nor to her sudden fright, solemnly walking in her eyes.

‘You were summoning me yesterday evening’ the man whispered, holding her tightly. ‘I heard you saying the spell… Blood was on the ground… Fear of cutting your little finger was within you. Schizophrenia diagnoses… Melancholy’

Victoria didn’t blink. Dream, slumber, wish to close hey eyes and all other physical desires disappeared. She got awaken but her mind was glassed. Vic got who was near her and that was all. She couldn’t say a single word, a lump of nerves was in her throat, passion started getting into mind slowly. Through the fear and consternation Vic felt enjoyment. Jesus, she waited for his embrace so much and she feared to confess it.

‘I was busy. Too busy. Victoria, it is Kuznetsky Most station. Shall we go? Here’s a change of line…’

Kharon took her by the hand and led her to the crossing passage.

‘Wait’ Vic finally said something.

‘I am listening to you’ Kharon had a firm hold over her hand and looked into her eyes. ‘Your eyes are of very beautiful olive green. Intense. There is so much life in your eyes’

‘That’s not what I mean!’ Vic interrupted him without expecting such severity from herself, ‘What’s going on?’

The demon withed his head down but kept his eyes on the girl, still holding her hand. They were standing in the middle of Kuznetsky Most metro station. It was rush hour. People hated them. They were pushed and called bad names. They were an obstacle for everyone, but she didn’t care neither did he.

‘Fine,’ Vic insisted, ‘Let’s go’

They left the metro and went to a café. Victoria decided to speak to the man… the demon.

‘Two coffees, please’ Kharon said to the first waiter he came upon and went to the table, leading the girl.

‘But…’ the waiter tried to explain something, and nothing came out of that.

Kharon stood up, looked at the man and repeated his order again, added compulsion into his voice.

Vic was at the table, staring at the man in front of her. His amber-brown eyes opalesced and it didn’t matter, that surrounding colour was dull; dark-brown, almost black, hair covered his forehead, he had thick black eyelashes…

Five minutes passed before Vic started speaking.

‘Okay. That’s okay, isn’t it? Is it okay that we’re here just like nothing has happened? Is that okay that some creature from hell is gonna drink a cup of coffee? Would you like a cigarette, maybe?’

‘With pleasure’, Kharon smiled, ‘but no smoking is allowed in the café’

‘How do you know? Oh, what a nonsense I’m talking… you know everything!’

‘You know, Victoria, I’m glad that today I’m in Russia, in Moscow. I’m glad that no smoking is allowed in the café’

‘What does that mean?’

‘You have to understand you aren’t the first woman in my arms for all these centuries that I have been living’

‘And I do’

‘I heard your voice yesterday, but I couldn’t have dropped everything and run to you… I was adorning a dream of a very sweet madam’

‘You couldn’t have dropped everything?’ Vic grabbed the cup of coffee, hoping that caffeine would wake her wisdom up. ‘I suppose demons must show up as they’ve been summoned.’

‘Oh, no, Dear. We show up to whom we want to. If I’m in a bad mood or busy, or have no desire, I won’t come even if you cut a head of a black rooster’

‘Why did you come to me?’ Vic smiled.

It was her first smile for the last two days. The first smile was in the seducer’s presence from tartar.

Kharon grinned, took the chair and sat closer to the girl. He embraced her a little bit, kissed her lips unceremoniously and smiled again. The demon behaved as if they had been married for a long time already.

Victoria was sitting without moving. The man’s effrontery astounded her as well as her behaviour: why didn’t she put off his hands? Why did she allow him to kiss her? What was going on with her mind?

‘You’re a great interest for me. Your diffident voice, disgusting Latin, cut leg… It has been a while since I saw such an awkward magician’

‘I’m not a magician!’

‘I know. You are a nice, red-haired girl, last-year student. You have got a boy whom you don’t love. You live with your mother and that was the reason why you went to the park yesterday…’

‘So does a demon control his presence? If he wants, he comes, if he doesn’t then he won’t come?