If you are just catching up, see the CHAPTERS section to read the Prologue-Chapter 7 before proceeding to reading Chapter 8.
Otherwise, read PART 1, NICOLAE'S ESCAPE: Chapter 8 from the jump :)
CHAPTER 8
Night fell once again on the path that Nicolae and Teresa
walked. They had gone the entire day barely
saying a word to one another. The extent
of the conversation between them had been Nicolae letting Teresa know if or
when they were stopping and then asking her if she needed something to eat. At dusk, they settled at the edge of another
field near the woods where Nicolae built a fire for Teresa in silence. Teresa had her back turned to him when
Nicolae was finished building the fire.
“I’m going down to the river for a few minutes,” she heard
him say, “Do you need anything?”
Teresa remained seated with her back to Nicolae and shook
her head. There was more silence between
them before Nicolae spoke again.
“Do you still have the dagger I gave you?”
Teresa nodded, feeling Nicolae’s eyes on her. She heard his footsteps walking away from her
and down toward the river. Teresa turned
her head slightly, peering back over her shoulder. She knew Nicolae was going to bathe. He had worked out a system with Teresa that
would avoid any accidental encounters.
Teresa was surprised at how resenting of that system she was. Even with him being as cross with her as he
was, it was difficult for her to push away the desire that filled her whenever
she looked at him and it had been that way from that first day she saw him when
she was with Alea. Nicola was one
frustrating young man and Teresa wasn’t sure if it was possible to fall in love
so quickly. But she was feeling things
for Nicolae that she hadn’t felt for anyone.
Teresa sighed as she wondered if there could be a way she could convince
Nicolae to change his mind about taking her back to the village.
The desire she had for Nicolae caused Teresa to stand and
moved descreetly toward the river where Nicolae was. She hid behind a tree and watched him
stooping down to his bag and taking his box out, holding it close to him as she
had seen him do the first night he was in the village. Teresa felt the heat crawling to her face as
the memory of Nicolae standing naked in the moonlight filled her mind. She chewed her bottom lip as he placed the
box back in his bag.
What do you have in
that box? Teresa thought, what are you hiding?
Nicolae removed his shirt, uncovering his scars. Teresa swallowed back a sob that threatened
to escape and give her away. She was
angry with him; but with that anger was the passion she felt for him and her
decision to be with him. Teresa stared
at the scars on Nicolae’s upper body wanting to embrace him and heal any pain
that still lingered. Teresa walked back
to the fire as Nicolae began slipping off his trousers. She needed to think and there wasn’t any way
she would be able to think clearly staring at a completely naked Nicolae. She sat back down at the fire, watching the
flames flicker and the smoke curling up and disintegrating in the air. As she continued staring at the wavering
smoke, a shape seemed to form in the cloudy substance. Teresa smiled. It was a familiar shape, one that she had
seen since she was a little girl. She
could feel the fire coursing through her body as the shape whispered to
her. The voices were comforting and
assuring to Teresa. She had never told
anyone about the shape and the voices.
She had been seeing and hearing them since she was seven years old,
about two years after her parents disappeared.
It began to strengthen when she was eleven and that was when she had
gone to Gabriella in hopes of something that would give her a clue to what was
happening to her and if it had any connection to what happened to her
parents. Teresa never received any
answers but the visions and sounds kept coming.
They were sporadic and sometimes she would go for almost a year without
hearing or seeing anything. But when she
would hear and see them, the message was urgent and important. They had given her the ounce of courage she
needed to follow Nicolae and now they were reminding her of something that may allow
her to stay with him. Teresa began to
feel a small pang of guilt as she didn’t want to manipulate Nicolae and his
feelings. She had hoped that maybe with
some time together, she would be able to win him over. But that was not what was happening and maybe
just a little manipulation would give the push needed to change Nicolae’s mind
on returning Teresa to her village.
Teresa did have a fear of it backfiring and possibly making things worse
and the voices scolded her for doubting them.
Have we ever let you
down? They asked. Trust us…there’s nothing to lose…
Teresa turned her head back to glance toward Nicolae,
lingering as their last words to her echoed in her mind.
Trust us…there’s
nothing to lose…
Teresa turned back to the fire, feeling reassured and even a
little joyful. She just had to bide her
time, they told her before fading away with the dissipating smoke. The flames continued to dance hypnotically in
front of Teresa who barely noticed the small giggle that escaped from her
mouth.
Nicolae returned to the campsite to find Teresa sitting
eerily still as she stared into the flames of the campfire. He frowned at her as he placed his bag on the
ground. There was an unrest about the
area that made Nicolae rather uneasy and he found Teresa’s behavior rather
peculiar, even for her.
“Are you alright?” he finally asked her.
Teresa turned her head toward him, gazing up at him for a
moment before turning back toward the fire.
Nicolae watched Teresa, taking in her blank stare.
Perhaps I shouldn’t
have been so hard on her. She’s just a
girl…a young, curious girl. I suppose I
can’t fault her for that.
“Teresa,” Nicolae said, “Listen…I apologize for raising my
voice to you earlier.”
“I’ve gotten used to it,” Teresa said shrugging, “If you’re
not yelling at me you’re barely speaking to me at all.”
“Is that how you see it being?” Nicolae asked.
“Well why shouldn’t I?!” Teresa yelled, startling Nicolae,
“I’m the one who has done most of the conversation ever since we left the
village. All you’ve done is criticize me
and treat me like mud when all I wanted to do was be there for you.”
Nicolae stood at a loss for words as Teresa continued. “No matter how it may seem I know what it’s
like to be alone, just like you.”
“Teresa…” Nicolae finally said, “it’s just…I’ve been used to
living a solitary life for two years now.
I don’t think I would make a good companion for anyone. Including you. Especially you.”
“I may understand better than you think, Nicolae! Why won’t you give me a chance?”
“Because you are a child, Teresa!”
Teresa stood, mouth gaped at him. “A child?”
“Yes,” Nicolae said.
“I’m sixteen.”
“Age has nothing to do with it,” Nicolae said, “it’s the way
you were brought up. The way you view
the world. In that, you and I are
completely different.”
Nicolae watched Teresa’s face fell.
I love you, Nicolae! she
wanted to scream and it took every ounce of strength she had to hold it back.
Nicolae turned his eyes away from the girl. It actually hurt him a little to see her so
dejected. But it was true. In some ways, even Sebastian had been more
streetwise at age eleven than Teresa was at sixteen. Nicolae still wondered how he had agreed to
let Teresa come with him. But he
couldn’t deny his admiration for Teresa’s precocious nature even if it did come
across as childish and reckless.
“The way I was brought up is not my fault,” Teresa said,
“just like the way you were brought up isn’t yours.”
”I know,” was all Nicolae could say.
Nicolae kneeled to tend to the fire, keeping his gaze away
from Teresa. The heat radiated from the
flames drying the damp strands of his hair.
He felt a small hand on his shoulder and was instantly reminded of
sitting in the 1950s bedroom and finding Sebastian sitting beside him.
“Nicolae…”
His muscles tensed at the sound of Teresa’s voice and he could
hear his heart loud in his ears as she stooped next to him.
“I care about you, Nicolae.
I really do.”
Nicolae dared to turn his eyes to Teresa. Her dark eyes were intense (intense as Eloisa’s always were during
their nights together) as she made eye contact with him. She brought her hands up to stroke his face
with her fingers. Every muscle in
Nicolae’s body began to go soft at her touch.
For a minute, Teresa began to resemble Eloisa.
“Eloisa…?” Nicolae stammered.
“No…” the woman in front of him said, “Teresa.”
Teresa was moving her face close to Nicolae when he flinched
and moved away from her.
“Nicolae!” Teresa protested.
“We should get to sleep,” Nicolae said, “we have a good way
to go before we reach your village.”
Before Teresa could reply, Nicolae was lying with his back
to her and his bag in front of him.
“Goodnight,” Teresa said.
As usual, there was no reply from Nicolae.
Normally, Teresa would have taken a place to sleep on the
other side of the fire across from Nicolae.
But this night, she moved closer to him, sleeping at the side of the
fire where her head would be near his feet.
She was told to be patient and they still had a fairly long way to go
until they reached her village.
A lot can happen
between now and then.
Teresa closed her eyes, remembering what they had reminded
her of. As she drifted to sleep, the
name Eloisa echoed through her mind. And
it wouldn’t be last time she would hear it.
~~~~~
Teresa and Nicolae continued their travels for another week
and a half. Teresa also noticed a change
in the way Nicolae behaved toward her. He
hadn’t changed his mind about returning Teresa to her village, but he was more
amicable with her than he had been since they ran into one another at the old
house. Teresa had been hoping for more;
she had been hoping Nicolae would open his eyes and see how she honestly cared
for him and his well-being. But she did
see this as a possible start and it was much better than him being short with
her or just not speaking to her all together.
As for Nicolae, he did, in a way, feel it owed it to Teresa to at least
make an effort in treating her with more kindness than he had been, though
there was still part of him that was disturbed over Teresa’s behavior at the
campfire a week and a half ago. Nicolae
didn’t know why seeing her sitting and facing the campfire made him so
uneasy. People did that all the
time. But there was something about
Teresa’s expression, the way her eyes glistened. It was almost as though it wasn’t even her
“in there.” Even the way she had stood
up to him. There was part of Nicolae
that had been impressed as it was a different side of Teresa than the meek,
quiet young girl he had grown accustomed to.
It was so eerily familiar, so like Eloisa. Despite everything that had occurred,
Nicolae was still trying to find a reasonable explanation for Teresa’s
behavior.
She was pretty upset
when I told her I was taking her back to her village. Maybe that was the trigger that finally put
it in her to stand up for herself. And
perhaps I just miss Eloisa so much that I’m allowing myself to see her in
everything.
It made sense as Nicolae had heard of people who grieved for
a loved one so much that they would begin to see that loved one everywhere,
including on the faces of other people.
His seeing Eloisa on Teresa’s face could have been just that. His intense longing for Eloisa combined with
the shadows produced from the light of the fire. Nicolae knew that the odds of him ever being
able to move on from Eloisa’s death were almost none even if he tried. And he almost didn’t want to find any logic
in anything that occurred. Not the
cloaked man, the two little boys in the field, Sebastian, 1956, or his nights
with Eloisa. Especially his nights with
Eloisa. He feared those were over as they had been
more few and far between since he had met Teresa with her sister outside of
their village.
Nicolae also struggled with the idea that his nights with
Eloisa over the passed two years had been nothing but the insanity of his
grieving mind.
But they have to be
real…they feel too real to be nothing more than a dream or hallucination…
Nicolae had come to recognize the night for being his and Eloisa’s
time ever since they were sixteen and fifteen years old and still slaves for
the Domn Alexanderescu and he felt that had been violated in some way when he saw
Eloisa on Teresa’s face. Nicolae didn’t
want Teresa or anyone to take the place of Eloisa. In his mind and heart, no one ever could. But Nicolae still made an effort to be kinder
to Teresa and he found that doing so actually helped the trip run a little more
smoothly. It would only be a couple more
days before they would be back at her village.
Nicolae anticipated dropping her off and setting out alone again to the
seaport. He knew he would never
completely escape as there would always be a ghost from his life in Europe
lingering around him. Everything from
the deaths of his parents, losing his siblings and Eloisa, to the disappearance
of Sebastian. None of it would ever
completely leave him, but he hoped that somehow, moving to America
would allow him a new start of sorts. He
had been self sufficient for most of his life and would be able to survive
until he was settled somewhere. And
Eloisa would be with him. Always.
The thought of Sebastian still being out there somewhere still
bothered Nicolae and he would be keeping a watch for his little brother until
he boarded the ship. There was still
some hope left in him that they would be reunited before Nicolae would make it
to a seaport, but that hope had been waning.
He had mentally prepared himself for the possible reality that Sebastian
might never be found and that he may even have to accept that Sebastian may not
even be alive. The possibilities of what
can occur in the open wilderness was neverending. Nicolae pushed any horrible possibilities in
his mind and tried to allow himself to believe that maybe, somehow, Sebastian
found somewhere to settle and was alive, well, and happy. While Nicolae felt a little foolish for thinking
of something that sounded so trite, it was better than thinking of any
alternatives. Nicolae had hope the night
he followed Sebastian into the world that was 1956 that Sebastian really had
found his way back to him. But Sebastian
had almost appeared to be in a sleep state, despite the boy having his eyes
open and speaking to Nicolae rather clearly.
The chilling thought returned to Nicolae.
Is it possible for one
to enter a state of sleep and wander but never wake up? And if so, for how long was that possible?
Sebastian had begun walking in his sleep shortly after they
had left the Domn’s property and there were a couple times Nicolae had found
Sebastian wandering quite a ways away from their campsite. It had been a fear of Nicolae’s that one day,
despite his being a light sleeper and swift runner, he would not wake up in
time to catch Sebastian in a sleepwalking spell.
And maybe that’s the
simple explanation for Sebastian…he walked away and never woke up…
~~~~~
It was dusk on the fifth night of the second week. Nicolae picked out an area for him and Teresa
to settle at for the night. Nicolae had tried
to maintain the boundaries he had set for the two of them, but Teresa seemed to
be getting more brazen and while she hadn’t really crossed any lines, she
seemed less respectful of those boundaries than before. There were even a couple times when Nicolae
would wake to find Teresa sleeping dangerously close to him. She would always apologize with an
explanation of maybe having rolled over in her sleep, but Nicolae found that
hard to believe as it was almost impossible to do that with the way the
campfires had been set up. But he didn’t
question it further in order to avoid confrontation.
It’s alright. We’ll be back at her village in a matter of
days, Nicolae would keep telling himself.
But there was still something sitting in the back of his
mind that bothered him. Something that
caused him to question the finality of their journey back to Teresa’s
village. Nicolae had considered that
there may be consequences for Teresa when she was returned to her village and
Nicolae did feel for her and he figured the doubtful thoughts he was having was
a result of just that. But he couldn’t
trouble himself with any of that. In
order for him to have any sort of hope and having any kind of life, he had to
leave and leave alone. Having Teresa
travel with him was also putting her in far more danger than any reprimanding
she might face back at her village. It
had been two years since Dimitri had been killed by Nicolae’s hand and he was
far away enough from Romania
where the country’s officials would have a difficult time catching him. But one could never be too certain and Teresa
was slowing down his travels much more than Eloisa and Sebastian would have.
But her could
austrocize her with nowhere else to go…then what would you do? What would she do?
Nicolae knew that was possible, but unlikely. Romani families and communities normally
remained close knit even if one member of the family did something less than
favorable.
As Nicolae set up the fire, he could feel Teresa’s eyes
burning into his back.
Just a couple more
nights, Nicolae reminded himself.
The fire began to blaze and Nicolae asked Teresa if she
needed anything to eat. She said she
did. He did his best to avoid eye
contact with her as he got them situated and surprisingly, Teresa didn’t bother
him about his lack of contact with her. Though
there was something in her tone that made Nicolae’s insides jump when she made the
announcement that she was going to head down to the nearby lake to bathe. Nicolae reached into his bag, still avoid her
gaze, and gave her a cloth to dry herself with.
“Thank you,” she simply said.
Nicolae caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his
eye. She was regarding him rather
strangely before she turned and headed down to the lake. He sat with back to the direction she was in
as he always did when she would go to bathe.
“Take the dagger with you,” he told her, “just in case.”
Teresa turned to see his back to her before she headed down
to to the lake.
Teresa loved feeling the cool water pouring it’s way down
her skin. Sometimes, she would imagine
the droplets of water being Nicolae’s fingers, feeling their way down the
curves of her body. At sixteen, Teresa
had never even kissed a boy and it even surprised her at how vivid her
fantasies of Nicolae had been since the night she followed him to the lake by
her village. But in the last week or two
since they had come to her, she felt her confidence growing and she felt bolder
than before. She still wasn’t sure how
she could approach Nicolae, but she was at least beginning to feel as though
she actually could approach him and
that was a giant leap from where she had been when she first met him. It was even a great leap from the time he had
discovered her at the old house the first night she followed him out of her
village.
When he wrestled you
to the ground…
Teresa looked back in the direction Nicolae was in. She could see the glow of the fire and knew
Nicolae would be sitting with his back to her.
Teresa sighed. The thought of
Nicolae not wanting to look at her hurt her a little. If Nicolae would be her first, last, and
always, she would be content for the rest of her life.
A rather cool breeze rustled the trees causing Teresa to
shiver and her skin to prickle as she stepped out of the lake to dry
herself. She had gotten her
undergarments on when she heard them.
He really could be
everything for you, they told her, your
first, last, and always. But you need to
act soon. Tonight.
“Tonight?” Teresa asked, “but he hardly looks at me. And when he did he called me Eloisa. Who is Eloisa? Do you know?
He won’t tell me.”
Don’t you worry about
that now, one of them said, she is no
threat to you. Do you see anyone named
Eloisa with him right now?
“No,” Teresa said.
Then you have nothing
to worry over.
Teresa stood silent, looking back toward the campfire before
speaking again. “What should I do?”
We’ll take care of
that when it is time and that time is soon.
Teresa’s eyebrows raised when they told her they would need
a payment.
“A payment?” Teresa said, “but I don’t have anything!”
But they didn’t want money or spoils of any kind. What they wanted was blood.
“Blood?” Teresa choked out.
The idea made her terribly uneasy
You have the dagger he
gave you, one of them whispered.
Teresa swallowed.
“Yes…but whose blood do you need?
Not Nicolae’s. I would never do
anything to hurt him!”
Not to worry. We don’t need his. Not if we have yours, one of them said, yours in an oath.
Teresa drew in a jagged breath and looked down at the dagger
on the ground. She picked it up, turning
it over in her hands in her shakey hands.
The sight of blood was not something Teresa was fond of. Even when Nicolae had given her the dagger
for protection she wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to use it even if she
was in a situation where she might have to.
She didn’t think she had it in her to cut into another living creature
and she always wondered how the butchers of her village where able to do that
to the animals they killed for food. And
the thought of cutting into herself was enough for a queasiness to erupt in her
stomach.
We only need a little,
it assured Teresa in response to her hesitance.
“How?” Teresa asked, her voice still shaking a little.
See that patch of
ground where the moon casts in beams?
You will slice a little of your palm til the blood flows and let it fall
onto the soil. That’s all you need to
do.
“I don’t know…” Teresa said.
Not only will you have
the man you desire, but the bloodline of you and Nicolae will possess many
gifts, just as your mother and father did.
Only the gifts of your descendents will be threefold of what your
parents had.
“What kind of gifts?”
Teresa asked, unable to help her curiosity. Maybe they would tell her more about her
parents.
It chuckled. Anything
you can think of. But you will have to
make the oath before you can even begin to know. Before you would be able to have the man you
desire.
Teresa turned her gaze again toward Nicolae. They were right. She did want him. But was this really necessary to win him
over? He did seem to warm up to her and
maybe with a little more time…
There is no more
time! they said rather sharply,
forcing Teresa out from her thoughts. You’ll be at your village in a matter of two
days! Three at the very most!
Teresa gasped, noting the difference in the voices at that
moment. What had been so sweet and
comforting to her as a child, especially after she had lost her parents, seemed
almost…menacing? They were still beautiful
and angelic, but there was something about them that chilled Teresa down to the
marrow of her bones. She turned her gaze
to the moonlit area and then back at Nicolae.
She looked again down at the dagger he had given her to ensure her
safety.
“Isn’t there another way?” she asked after thinking for a
moment. “I think he does care for me even
if he may not know it.”
Foolish girl! Do you
not even realize how close you are to Aragon? How
close you are to the elders and Gabriella?
How do you think they will react to a girl who dishonored them and
herself? Do you even know all that
Gabriella went through when she had to tell the family of your betrothed that
you had ran away? Do you honestly think
they will be welcoming you back in with open arms?
“You don’t think they’ll take me back into the village? I mean, I’m sure Gabriella will be angry, but
I don’t think…” Teresa asked, her eyes
beginning to well up with tears.
Even if they did take
you back in, how would you face everyone?
They will all know what you have done and you will be a disgrace. You will end up dying alone. Alone and a disgrace to your kin.
The tears that stung Teresa’s eyes began to flow down her
face. She knew they were right. Even if they did take her back in, life for
her would never return to the way it was before she had left with Nicolae. She had followed her heart’s desire and it
was about to get her nothing but a lifetime of heartache. Teresa knew what she wanted and that was
Nicolae. She had hoped she would be able
to win him over on her own, but her visitors were forcing her to accept that
that was not going to happen. Teresa
sobbed at the thought and the desperation she felt grew to where her entire
body was shaking so violently she felt as though every fiber of her would
shatter into a million pieces. For a
moment, Teresa welcomed that idea, wishing for it to happen. Wishing that death would just take her and
she would be a burden to anyone ever again.
Teresa, they said,
their tone much more gentle, almost comforting as they had been all of her
life.
Teresa wiped her tears away as she calmed down, the voices
soothing her as a mother would comfort a child.
She could almost feel arms around her, embracing her.
You trust us, don’t
you? one of them asked.
“Of…course,” Teresa stammered, fighting back the fear she
was actually feeling.
You know, it
continued, there is another method of
payment we can take…
Teresa perked up a little.
“Really? What?”
Unfortunatly, we
cannot let you know until it is time to collect, they said.
“Why can’t you tell me?” Teresa asked.
And the only answer to Teresa’s question was, Do you not trust us?
Nicolae looked up from his map to see a slightly damp Teresa
returning. He watched her intently as
she sat back down in front of the fire and spread out the cloth she had dried
herself with.
“You were gone for quite sometime,” Nicolae said, “I was
actually going to come and look for you if you hadn’t returned within the next
few minutes.”
“Sorry…I got distracted…” Teresa said lamely.
Nicolae frowned but didn’t inquire any further. He noticed Teresa’s right hand was wrapped
with material she tore from the cloth he had given her to dry off with. A small amount of blood had seeped through
the cloth.
“What happened to your hand?” Nicolae asked.
Teresa hid her hand in her skirt. “Oh, it’s nothing. I accidentally picked the dagger up by the
blade instead of the handle.”
“Well, you need to be careful when dealing with a weapon,”
Nicolae said, “here, let me look at it.”
Teresa walked over and sat down next to Nicolae who
unwrapped her hand and inspected the cut.
“Looks like you sliced it pretty deep,” he said, “does it
still hurt?”
“Only a little,” Teresa said, trying to hide her enjoyment
of her hand in his.
Nicolae took his flask of water out, wetting her cut before
taking out a small bottle of vodka.
“This may sting a little,” he warned.
Teresa cringed as the alcohol stung her open wound. Nicolae then re-wrapped her hand telling her
to keep light pressure on it for a little while until the bleeding
stopped. Teresa was surprised at how
easy it had been for her to lie to him about how she had cut her hand. She had never the greatest liar but somehow,
everything suddenly seemed easier.
~~~~~~~~
The fire had died down to ash and embers as Nicolae slept,
unaware that Teresa sat wide awake watching him. She took in every stir, every breath he took
in and exhaled out. It was one of the
most peaceful sleeps she had seen him in.
She stood up and taking in a deep breath, she walked to where he lay.
Don’t be afraid, she
heard a familiar voice in the back of her mind tell her.
When she got to Nicolae, she sat down, taking in his
handsome features. With a sudden surge
of courage, she leaned in and kissed him softly on his lips. It was only a small kiss, but it was enough
to send the blood rushing down to between her legs. As her breath quickened, she slowly lay down
beside him and brought her hand to his chest, softly stroking with her
fingertips. Teresa’s arousal heightened
when she felt Nicolae’s defined chest muscles through the material of his shirt. Nicolae began to stir and open his eyes. Teresa froze, her heart pounding as she
anticipated Nicolae reacting negatively when he saw her beside him. But when he opened his eyes and looked up at
her, the corner of his lips turned upward.
It was one of the few times she had ever seen him smile and this time,
he was smiling at her. Teresa searched
for words to explain her actions, but Nicolae stopped her by bringing his hand
to her cheek, stroking it before bringing himself up to her and pulling her
into a passionate kiss.
It would be a night Teresa would never forget for as long as
she would be alive. The night of passion
she had with Nicolae that would result in her continuing his bloodline. They would never return to her village and
Teresa would never know of the sleepless nights her adopted mother, Gabriella,
spent agonizing over the loss of her adopted daughter. She would never know the tears Alea shed over
the idea of her older sister she loved and looked up to just leaving her. Having to inform the family of Teresa’s
betrothed wasn’t nearly as painful for Gabriella and even the elders as not
knowing where Teresa was or what had happened to her. Gabriella had the feeling that Teresa had
followed the young man she knew as Luiz when he had left their village. Gabriella had seen the way Teresa had
regarded that young man and it frightened her.
She thought that by finalizing Teresa’s suitor would allow the young girl
to take any thought she may have had about the young drifter. But Gabriella had severely misjudged Teresa
and she now recognized that doing so might have pushed Teresa’s rebellion even
further. It was the same carefree nature
Gabriella had seen in Teresa’s mother, Dominique, whom Gabriella had grown up
with.
“Too much like your mother,” Gabriella lamented as she sat
at the small table in her hut.
Alea had
gone to bed and Gabriella sat, looking into the small, flickering flames of the
candle she had lit while Teresa made love with Nicolae not too far from the
village and, as a result, became his wife.
But the pleasure and joy Teresa felt would be short
lived. She would have Nicolae and, yes,
continue his bloodline, but it would never be as she imagined and hoped it
would be. She would come to find out
what was inside of Nicolae’s precious box and come to know Eloisa and would
never be the same. Teresa would still
always be alone and, at times late at night while alone with her thoughts, would
wonder if she really would have been better off staying in her village back in
Aragon, only having known Nicolae Ganoush as a young man named Luiz who had simply
come passing through.