2. THE BLACK KITTEN
or the chapter in which Grandma leaves just for a little while, and all the events that take place while she is away.
It
was early Monday morning, and the girl was already awake. Even though
she could have stayed in bed for at least an hour longer, she was
nervous, and the thought of Miss Greta’s long, pointed nose sent chills
down her spine. She lay in bed, thinking that since she was already up,
she might as well get dressed and take Nanuk for a walk.
All
of a sudden, the door flew open and Grandma came in. She walked swiftly
over to the girl’s bed, sat down on the edge, took her hand, and looked
into her eyes with an intense expression. “I’m glad you’re awake.
Something horrible has happened. Otto’s colleagues have just called to
tell me that Otto has gone missing. Unfortunately, it isn’t fresh news;
he disappeared five days ago. Their radio was broken. They had to
travel through the jungle to the nearest town with a phone line. I’m
worried about him. There’s no telling what could have happened. I must
leave at once and find out what’s going on. I’ll be away for three
days, and you must promise me that you won’t leave the house until I
return. It’s the only place you’ll be safe.”
“And what about school, I have to—”
“I’ll
call the school. I’ll tell them that you can’t come. I’m serious; you
must not go out at all. Not a step out the door. There is someone
around here who could hurt you badly, and I’m afraid this person is
responsible for Otto’s disappearance. I’ve never mentioned it before,
my dear, but I have a powerful enemy. I didn’t think it would be
necessary...”
“I don’t understand... an enemy?” The girl couldn’t believe her.
“Do as I say for now—we’ll talk later, when I return. Unfortunately, I have no time for explanations; I’m leaving in an hour.”
The
girl jumped out of bed, wanting to help Grandma pack, but she already
had everything ready, so they went down to have breakfast. While they
ate, Grandma kept telling her what she could and could not do—even the
obvious things, such as letting nobody, absolutely nobody in, except
for Laura.
“And
if, for any reason, Laura isn’t alone, you mustn’t let her in! Do you
remember the old junkman who attacked you not so long ago? That wasn’t
just a coincidence. I knew how to get rid of him, but if you had been
alone, you would have found yourself in a lot of trouble. As I’ve said
before, this house is built in such a way that it won’t let anybody in
if you don’t allow it. So whatever happens, you mustn’t step outside
the door! Outside, you’re helpless.”
“Why would anyone want to get me?” asked the girl, although the memory of the old man made her shiver.
“Don’t
you understand? It’s because you’re my granddaughter! I’m sorry, but I
really don’t have time to explain everything now. Please, just promise
me that you won’t even stick a toe out of the house.”
The girl promised, and before she could fully comprehend what was going on, Grandma turned and was off.
The
girl felt scared and alone almost as soon as Grandma shut the door. She
couldn’t wait until Laura came to visit after school. She was very
excited, because Grandma had arranged with Laura’s mom that she could
stay overnight.
They
had a great time in the evening; they jumped on their beds, watched
television until late, and fell asleep, completely exhausted. If only
Grandma had seen them...
The
girl wasn’t worried about Otto. She was sure that her Grandma was
capable of anything, and it wouldn’t be a problem for her to find a
lost archaeologist in the jungle.
On the second day, however, Grandma called. “I didn’t find Otto. I’m coming back. I’ll be home tomorrow evening.”
The
next day, after school, Laura came again. Just like the day before, she
brought her homework along with her. She knocked on the door at exactly
five o’clock. The girl opened it, and was pleasantly surprised—Laura held an adorable black kitten in her arms.
“Oh, how cute, is it yours? When did you get him?”
“No, it’s not mine. It was here in front of your door, and I thought it was yours... It must be lost.”
“But
whose is it? I’ll ask our neighbors... Wait, let me pat him first,”
said the girl. Laura smiled and the little kitten purred, snuggling
happily in her arms.
Suddenly,
a gust of stormy wind practically pinned the girls to the wall. Ominous
clouds appeared in the sky. The front yard darkened, and black,
scattered shadows swooped over the stone paving. Heavy drops of rain
were followed by a violent downpour. The rain also hit the kitten,
which wriggled in displeasure and whimpered.
“We can’t let it stay outside now, can we?” asked Laura. “It’s pouring. It could catch a cold or something.”
The girl opened the door and let them into the hall.
“I’ll go and find some milk. It might be hungry, what do you think?”
“I
don’t think so,” sighed Laura. “It’s pretty heavy and it seems to be
getting even heavier and OW...!” she shouted, and the kitten jumped
down to the floor. “Oh, it scratched me! Look, I’m bleeding!”
But
it wasn’t just a scratch. It was a really deep wound, and Laura’s blood
was dripping onto the floor. She seemed more surprised than frightened.
Astonished, they both stared at the kitten...
Everything
around them got dark; a vicious blast of lightning struck the house,
and then another, and another... Suddenly the hall was full of acrid
smoke. In the dim light, they could see the little animal arching its
back and beginning to expand and rise up...
They
didn’t wait any longer. They jumped into the corridor, slamming and
locking the door behind them. They heard a series of vicious blows.
“Bang, Bang, BANG!” The kitten—or rather, the thing that used to be a
little black kitten—was trying to force its way in. They quickly pushed
a heavy table in front of the door, and Laura grabbed the phone: “The
line is cut!” she screamed.
“Try the other one! In the study!”
They rushed upstairs, but the other phone wasn’t working either.
“What on earth are we going to do?” lamented Laura.
“We can’t do anything! We must wait for Grandma.”
“Are
you crazy? That thing will break the door down in an instant!” Laura
ran to the window, terrified. “What about the back door? If we run
through the backyards, we can be at my house in a flash. And Mom will
be home for sure!”
“No,
we can’t!” the girl argued. “Grandma said we’re only safe in this
house. We’ve got no idea how quick it is. It could catch us easily...
Wait... do you think it’s stopped?”
But
a blow on the door, almost as loud an explosion, buried their hope that
the creature was giving up. On the contrary—each blow was succeeded by
another, with increased intensity. The door was shaking at the hinges,
but still it held fast.
The
girl was confident now that the monster wouldn’t get through.
Panicking, Laura frantically ran around the room and wept. In the end,
she couldn’t stand it anymore—she opened the window and yelled for
help, but her voice was completely drowned out by the thunder. However,
they could both clearly see that the storm was only above the castle
and the top end of their street, while the rest of the town bathed in
the afternoon sun. Undeniably, there was something strange going on...
“Look!” Laura shouted with relief. “Your grandma is coming!”
Indeed,
Grandma’s black sports car was practically flying up the hill. The
brakes squealed, and the swerving car skidded to a halt a good way
beyond the gate. It hadn’t even stopped before Grandma jumped out.
“Stay where you are!” she shouted at the frightened girls, and ran into the house.
Neither
of the girls would have been able to describe what happened down in the
hall. All they could hear was a thundering scream and a roar, and
Grandmother’s commanding, fearsome shouts. A monstrous windstorm
suddenly arose. The house shook to its very foundations. The girls
thought it would surely collapse under the impact, and they both hid
under the table. Then they heard a remarkable hissing noise, as if tons
of sand were whistling past—or, rather, as if a powerful tornado were
sucking up a huge mass of sand. And then everything went quiet. The
silence came so unexpectedly that the girl felt it like a slap in the
face. Horrified, she sprang from under the table and ran downstairs to
see what had happened to Grandma. The door to the hall was still closed
and the girl, her heart beating loudly, stopped in front of it. She
hesitated for a while. The silence became unbearable. But just when she
had finally begun to stretch out her hand towards the door handle...
“Don’t
do it!” Laura squeaked from behind her, and the girl jumped in fright.
And then they both jumped when all of a sudden, the door opened. The
girls stared at Grandma in astonishment. She was slightly scorched, a
dark streak stretched along the right side of her face, her clothes
were half burnt and half torn, and her ruffled hair stuck out at crazy
angles, creating a bizarre fan around her face. She looked like the
weirdest possible creation of some insane punk fashion designer. It
would have been almost funny had it not been for the expression on her
face. Grandma was looking at them, her eyes glowing with a mysterious,
dark green light, glimpses of which the girl had caught from time to
time before.
“I dare say I arrived just in time,” Grandma said. Her eyes brightened up, and she even seemed to be smiling.
“Oh, Grandma, Grandma!” The ecstatic girl jumped into her arms.
“What...” Laura, still shivering, stood at the end of the corridor near the stairs. “...What was that?”
“I’ll
explain everything in a moment,” Grandma answered calmly. “But if
you’ll excuse me, I’d like to freshen up a little first. Here, my dear,
take Laura to the kitchen and give her some of those chocolate truffles
that she liked so much the other day.”
Grandma knew very well that nothing could ease frightened children’s hearts better than a mouthful of excellent chocolate.
And
she was right. When she came down to the kitchen after a time, the
girls were already sitting at the table and swinging their legs,
excitedly discussing the unbelievable event with full mouths. As soon
as Grandma stepped in, they both turned to her with curious expressions.
“Would you like a cup of tea?” Grandma asked politely.
“No, not now! What happened? What was that?” they shouted together.
“Well,
all right, if you don’t want any. But a cup of strong coffee would
definitely do me good.” Grandma took her time and didn’t hurry with
explanations. “You must understand, I’ve just arrived from South America. The jet lag is killing me.”
Laura
would not let Grandma put her off. “Mrs. Katherine, could you please at
least explain what that thing actually was? I found the kitten in front
of your door and after she let us in, there was a thunderstorm...”
“No,” the girl protested, “I didn’t let you in, until the storm...”
“That’s
all right,” Grandma interrupted, pouring hot water into a cup of
wonderfully smelling coffee, roasted with macadamia nuts. “In the
universe, between the worlds, live various beings, and various events
take place,” she continued mysteriously, and the girls held their
breath. “However, I don’t think this was one of them. In my opinion,
somebody knew you were alone and they really got you good. And I have a
suspicion just who it might be.”
“Got us good?” the girls cried in disbelief. “But how?”
“And who?”
“And what about the telephones?”
“And what about the storm just above our house?”
“Local
storms aren’t uncommon, and the phones… well, that was probably just a
big coincidence.” Grandma walked to the telephone and lifted the
handset. The dial tone rang out clearly.
“What
about the kitten?” Laura asked with disbelief. “It changed before our
eyes and it even scratched me badly!” She looked at her arm and
couldn’t believe her eyes. Her wound had vanished, without a trace.
“But... but...”
“Precisely!
Nobody should use innocent little kittens for such cruel pranks!”
Grandma exclaimed. The girl kept looking at her suspiciously. “I’m not
sure what went on in that smoke, but the poor thing was probably more
terrified than you were. I bet it still hasn’t stopped running from
fright.”
“But where did the smoke come from?” inquired Laura, still unconvinced.
“Well,
I will have to sort that out with the person responsible! Not only did
he really frighten you, but he could have started a fire and put your
lives in great danger!”
“But
who would be able to do something like that?” The girl remained
suspicious. “That thing almost broke the door down and you looked like
you had come out of a wrestling match with a demon or something!”
“A
demon? That’s what you get from watching too much television.” Grandma
turned to her with a knowing look. “And have you ever tried fighting
against fireworks?”
Suddenly
the phone rang. It was Laura’s mom. They had all completely lost track
of time. Grandma apologized and promised to take Laura home
immediately. Therefore, although they still couldn’t quite believe it,
the girls had to accept Grandmother's explanation. After all, it seemed
more and more plausible that they had simply been the butt of a silly
joke—everything was back to normal now, and they couldn’t see a trace
of anything unusual, even in the hall. On the contrary: the hall was
cleaner and shinier than usual, and the wood even smelled of fresh
beeswax.
They
took Laura home and then sat down to dinner together. The girl was
unusually quiet, and Grandma appeared somewhat exhausted. No wonder;
she had had to fly halfway round the world twice in a few days, only to
be greeted by that terrible incident at home…
The
girl was immersed in her thoughts. What’s more, Grandmother’s
explanations still left her unsatisfied—something in Grandma’s behavior
told her that the story was mainly meant for Laura. Her head was
buzzing. She had a feeling that she was on the verge of some big
discovery. If only she could put all the pieces together! So many
unusual things had happened since she moved in...
“You
know, before, when I told you not to let Laura into the house if she
wasn’t alone, I didn’t realize you would think like a regular child
from the Lands of Dragons,” said Grandma suddenly. The girl’s eyes
opened wide. Had Grandma gone mad or something?
“What are you talking about? What Lands of Dragons?”
“I’ll
explain everything.” Grandma looked at her with a sad smile. “It’s all
so complicated, and at times you’ll probably think I’ve gone crazy. I
know it’s late, and you must be tired, but I have no choice—there’s not
much time. But let me start from the beginning.”
The
girl stared at her with expectation. The tone of Grandmother’s voice
pierced her to the heart. It reminded her of the moments after Mom’s
death. Almost a year had passed since.
“Firstly, about the demon...”
“The demon?”
“Yes, the demon. But please don’t interrupt, there’s a lot I need to tell you!”
“I’m sorry,” said the girl.
“As
I have already said, in the universe, and between the worlds, there are
various beings, and various things take place. When I left, I didn’t
realize you wouldn’t be able to see danger, especially if it was
cleverly disguised. As a cute little kitten, for example. It was
completely black, wasn’t it?”
The girl nodded.
“This
kind of demon can’t transform itself into any creature but a black cat.
Witches are quite different... but that’s not what I want to talk
about. The demon wasn’t from this world. How can I explain...?” Grandma
paused for a while.
The girl sat quietly. “What is Grandma trying to tell me?” she thought.
“A
long time ago, long before the time of present civilization, the world
was different from how it is now. The best way to understand it would
be to imagine one more continent on earth. It was called Mezzarthys. At
that time, various creatures inhabited the earth, including demons and
dragons. In the whole world, except for Mezzarthys, the people led very
primitive lives for tens of thousands of years. They lived in simple
huts, they couldn’t process metals, and they didn’t know how to write.
The dragons terrorized them constantly. The people had to serve them,
and any rebellion was brutally suppressed. You wouldn’t know, but
dragons could exist in, and alternate between, two forms—human and
dragon. Most of them remained in their dragon shape all the time, which
made them virtually invincible. However, if they took on a human form,
the people living here, in the lands of the present-day world, couldn’t
recognize them. Therefore, it was easy for them to reign over the
people, and dragons inhabited these parts of the earth in much greater
numbers than elsewhere. This is why it was called ‘The Lands of
Dragons.’ There were no people in America
then at all, and the only real civilization existed in the lands of
Mezzarthys and a narrow strip of coast that Mezzarthys colonized.”
“Are you trying to say that there are real dragons among us?” The girl cringed.
“Not
anymore—and that’s the mystery. Many years ago, when our worlds
separated, it was a major catastrophe. Many people, magical beings, and
animals perished as a result. I only know what I heard in our myths. It
is said that one day, all the continents except Mezzarthys suddenly
disappeared from the face of the earth. Endless ocean surrounded our
lands, its surface only occasionally interrupted by sharp rocks
pointing to the sky. At first, the wizards thought the dragons were
behind the disaster, but after many years, when they managed to open
the first gateways between the two worlds, they discovered that the
dragons had vanished completely, along with practically all the magical
beings.”
“Wait,”
the astonished girl interrupted, “and how come you know all this? Do
you want to... are you saying that you’re from that other world?”
“Yes,
my dear.” Grandma smiled sadly. “I know it’s hard to believe. And I’ve
only just started. I was hoping that I wouldn’t ever need to sit here
with you, discussing it all, but after what happened today, and
especially after Otto’s disappearance, I have no choice. I’ve never
told anyone, not even your grandfather or your mom...”
“Oh, yes, what actually happened to Otto?”
“That
is what I don’t really know. It seems as if he was attacked by a demon,
the same kind that attacked you. He can’t have been prepared, and yet
it appears that not only did Otto successfully ward off the attack, he
even paralyzed the demon in some way. At least according to the clues I
found. I can’t imagine how he managed it. And I have no idea what
happened to him afterwards. He simply evaporated. I couldn’t trace him,
and yet something tells me he’s alive… But I couldn’t stay there any
longer. I knew you were in danger.”
“But
why? Who would want to attack us?” The girl couldn’t understand. She
was puzzled, and she didn’t know whether to believe her grandma or her
common sense. The more Grandma talked, the more confusing and less
believable it all seemed. Even little children know that demons and
wizards are only made-up beings from a time when people were still
afraid to go into the woods at night, and didn’t understand the world
around them.
“It’s
a long story,” Grandma answered. “Do you remember those tales I used to
tell you? You must have noticed they weren’t your typical fairy tales.
They were mostly my real adventures and the stories I heard when I was
little. I lived with my two sisters in a house almost identical to this
one, except that the other one was near the woods, not far from the
sea. As a matter of fact, I modeled this one on our old house in
Mezzarthys.”
“So you had sisters?” The astounded girl gazed at her. “How come you’ve never mentioned them before?”
“I
had, and I still have, two sisters. And I’ve already told you a lot
about them.” Grandma smiled. “I’ve mentioned them many times, and they
always amused you. Seelia and Nanet. Do you remember those two witches
who were interested in nothing but cooking?”
“Witches?” the girl blurted out. “Your sisters are real witches?”
Grandma nodded.
“But if your sisters are witches, doesn’t that mean that you’re...?”
“That’s
right. I was afraid to tell you straight away—I might have frightened
you. Being a witch in reality means something quite different to what
people usually think. We don’t even consider wizards and witches to be
magical beings. Where I come from, witches are simply people with
exceptional skills.”
“So
it’s true! Well, I didn’t think… but children are very afraid of you,
and they told me... although, I don’t think that any grown-up... well,
maybe Miss Greta…” Then she frowned: “No, I don’t believe you... so
what else is there? Do Snow White and the Seven Dwarves live there, and
Little Red Riding Hood, too...?”
“No,
absolutely not. It’s not a fairy tale. It’s only a piece of land—the
earth as it was thousands of years ago, long before the oceans rose.”
“If you really are a witch, show me some magic!”
“Well, we can’t waste too much time, but all right. At least you will find it easier to believe me.”
Grandma
tilted her head, and then slowly, gently, with a focused expression on
her face, leaned backwards. All the lights in the house dimmed at once.
The girl held her breath. Suddenly, a gentle, refreshing breeze sprang
up from nowhere, and one by one, all the candles around them lit up.
The girl gasped with astonishment when the cinnamon spice box flew in
from the kitchen; gently it sprinkled the apple pie that had stood
untouched on the table since dinner, and remained swinging in the air.
Grandma smiled, caught it with her hand, and put it down on the table.
“So I was right! I saw you!” said the amazed girl. “And you noticed?”
“My dear, all these years of living here among people have taught me to be careful.”
As
if by magic, the lights lit up again and the candles went out. Only the
spice box rested on the table as a silent reminder that it hadn’t all
been a dream. The girl sat as if she had been struck by lightning.
A sensational idea suddenly popped into her head. “But Grandma, if you are a witch, does that mean that I’m a...”
“No,
my dear.” Grandma shook her head. “Even I am now an ordinary human
being... well, almost. Of all the things I ever did, this was the
bravest. ”
The girl was disappointed. “How can you be an ordinary person if you can do magic?”
“It’s
complicated. I would have to explain a lot and we don’t have time for
that now. I was too tired, and when I met your grandfather, I simply
fell in love. He was a truly exceptional man. I miss him every day. To
be able to live with him, I decided to live the life of an ordinary
human being. I wanted a normal child, and my dream came true when your
mother was born. I brought her up as a normal child, the way any normal mother would.”
“And you never told her anything?”
“I
did, I told her a lot. I told her stories and fairy tales, but she
didn’t know that all of them were true... And she loved them.”
Grandma
fell silent again. Unbelievable ideas whirled in the girl’s mind. She
was curious and wanted to ask so many questions, but one thing bothered
her in particular. Who would want to get rid of her? And why? Grandma
had still not answered that question. She had begun to ask her once
more, when the chimes of Grandmother’s big clock suddenly struck midnight.
Grandma came back to her senses. “Oh, it’s so late! Quickly, you must go to bed! There is so much we need to do tomorrow.”
“You still haven’t explained what happened with the demon,” the girl objected.
“There
is much more I haven’t told you yet, but it’s really late now and as I
said, we will be very busy tomorrow. Then I’ll tell you everything you
need to know. But now chop-chop, off to bed,” Grandma insisted,
and started to clear the table.
The
girl reluctantly went upstairs. After all that had happened that day,
she was so exhausted she could barely walk. However, when she finally
got to bed, she simply couldn’t fall asleep. For a long time, she
tossed from side to side, Grandma’s words still buzzing in her head. It
was all just too thrilling. She had believed everything at first, but
after a while, when she lay there alone and reconsidered all she had
heard once more, she started to doubt Grandma’s words. Indeed, it was
too fantastic. To tell you the truth, she also wondered about the state
of Grandmother’s mental health. Perhaps all that had happened over the
last two years had just proved too much for her, and Grandma was really
old. And after all, she had always been strange...
The
first thing that flashed through the girl’s mind when she woke up in
the morning was her evening conversation with Grandma. She was
downstairs in a moment. She was very curious as to what Grandma would
say today, and she immediately wanted to bombard her with questions,
but the sight of the kitchen stopped her in her tracks. While she was
sleeping, Grandma had cleaned out everything. It had all been packed,
and there was hardly anything left on the shelves; all the groceries
were stacked in boxes by the door.
As soon as she came down, Nanuk ran up and jumped at her with enthusiasm, but she ignored him.
“What’s going on?”
“We
must leave,” Grandma said, and at the sight of the girl’s amazed face,
she smiled sadly. “It’s not safe here anymore. But let’s have breakfast
first. I’ve packed almost everything, and there are a lot of things I
need to explain today.”
The
girl wanted Grandma to start her explanations right now, but something
in her expression startled her, so she didn’t object. When they had
finally finished eating and the girl had taken Nanuk for a quick run
(even under these circumstances, Grandma insisted that their daily
duties be fulfilled), they sat down together in the lounge. Before
Grandma could start, the impatient girl assailed her with questions.
“Why do we have to leave? Where are we going? You said this house was
safe! And who wants to get me, I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Wait,
wait! I can’t answer twenty different questions at once,” said Grandma,
stopping her. “This house is very secure, but we can’t stay locked up
here forever. And anyway, it isn’t completely indestructible. We have a
very powerful enemy... Oh, it’s very complicated,” she sighed. “Please
be patient—I must explain it all in a way that will make it easier for
you to understand. Even so, I don’t have time to tell you everything
you need to know, so please don’t interrupt me. Well, first things
first. You should know that we are being pursued by the Great Witch. She is known as the Sabatas—the Sabbath mistress, in the land of Mezzarthys.
Her name is Hissatam. She was once a normal human being. She is
extremely malicious, and as a matter of fact, she is really out to get
me. Why, I don’t know. I’ve tried to avoid her, and I don’t know how
she found me and why she believes that I’m a threat to her. Maybe her
only reason is the fact I left Mezzarthys. Even I hadn’t known about
her presence in this world. I only found out not so long ago. I
repelled an attack by her demon at about half past five
yesterday evening, and as far as I know, we have exactly forty-eight
hours to disappear. We’re leaving tomorrow morning at sunrise, so we’ll
have some extra time to spare. Therefore, we have one day for me to
explain as much as I can and for us to get ready. Do you fancy a piece
of cake or a cup of tea?”
The girl just shook her head.
“Well,
have it your way. Mind you, it will be a long explanation,” remarked
Grandma, and then continued: “Like I said before—a long time ago, when
I was a small child, I lived with my sisters, Seelia and Nanet, in
Mezzarthys. Our parents died during the wars, which, as far as I know,
brought Sabatas Hissatam to power. I was still very young then. It was
a dark age, and it still persists today. Hissatam is now much more
powerful than she was when I lived there, and although it seems
inconceivable, her power stretches as far as this world. I should
explain that there had been no contact between the two worlds after
they were separated. Centuries have passed since the time when the
first gateways to the Lands of Dragons were opened. Nobody knew then
that time passes differently here. It passes quicker for people—they
grow, mature, become old, and die faster. By the time the gateways were
opened, many people who lived in Mezzarthys had lost their relatives
and possessions, and so of course, they all rushed to get here. Well,
they were horribly surprised, for the lands that they had once known
were gone; some had disappeared under the sea, and even the people here
acted differently. During all those centuries, new civilizations had
arisen in the Lands of Dragons. Later, the gateways proved to be
dangerous, and many people died going through; some could be used only
by children, and others only by ghosts. Occasionally, people turned
into dust after they had passed through. So the gateways were shut
again until a way to make them safe could be found. But the wars broke
out after they were closed, and no one bothered with them anymore. As
the millennia passed, the tale of a connected world became a legend.
Many people in Mezzarthys now think it’s just a myth.”
“Millennia?” the girl blurted out in surprise.
“Yes,
millennia.” Grandma nodded. “I can’t tell you exactly how many years
have passed since, but I estimate that in this world, it must have been
more than ten thousand years ago.”
“Ten thousand years!” repeated the girl. She was stunned. “That must have been years before the dawn of ancient Egypt! Well, I’m not surprised that no one knows anything about it. But then how did you know?”
“I
already told you that time passes differently here than it does in
Mezzarthys, and even the people live much longer. Everything there is
simply different. I alone am more than seven hundred years old.”
“I don’t believe that! You always told me you’re going to be seventy. And you look too young, even for seventy.”
“I’m
not lying, and my two sisters are a good deal older—three hundred years
older, in fact. Look at all the paintings in the house—I’m in all of
them. It’s not my mother or a great aunt, like I said.”
The girl raised her eyebrows.
“My name isn’t even Katherine, it’s Attanai.”
“You changed your name too! But why?”
“I
changed it, and I have always been changing it. For a long time, I... I
am your grandmother and you are my only and beloved granddaughter, but
I have lived this way for just a few years. Because I wanted to live
here without raising suspicion, I had to change my name, and I often
had to live somewhere else for many years, away from this small town.
When I was set to ‘grow old,’ I left, and someone else came to live
here instead. There was always somebody who became attached to me. Now
the house will be looked after by Otto’s parents—we have already agreed
on that. I always return after a few years, claiming that I’m a
daughter or niece of mine—I mean, of the previous owner.”
“And
nobody noticed anything? Ever?” The girl couldn’t believe her. “Are you
telling me that in all those years, no one ever realized that a young
woman with a missing little finger always came back? Or did you really
lose your pinkie recently? At the circus?”
“Oh
no, of course not. I had to cut my little finger off before I left
Mezzarthys. That was the only way to escape unnoticed. I placed a spell
on it, and as it’s there in every population count, I appear to be
there too. And the circus? Well, I had to come up with something to
explain my less-than-normal ways. I know I shouldn’t have lied to your
mom, but I wanted to protect her from many problems. It was much
simpler that way. As a former acrobat, I could do almost unbelievable
tricks without raising any suspicion. And in the past, I had no problem
hiding my missing little finger; a real lady would never appear in
public without gloves. There is one more thing, remember—I’m a witch.
If necessary, I could always transform myself into someone else. Of
course, that can be dangerous, and I prefer to hypnotize people to make
them see what is convenient for me. But hypnotizing a number of people
at once, and making them think I’m someone else for a long period of
time, is rather difficult. Anyway, during all that time, I only had to
transmute for real very rarely, and on one occasion, an ancestor of
your favorite teacher, Miss Greta, was involved. It seems our paths are
destined to cross from time to time. It runs in the family.”
“Really?” The girl almost jumped from surprise. “And what happened? Was her great-great-grandfather your teacher or something?”
“Oh,
please, of course not! God forbid.” Grandma grinned. “I think I’ve
already mentioned that Miss Greta’s ancestors have lived here in our
town for centuries. They were either executioners or their assistants
and, of course, active members of the Inquisition. It happened around
the year 1540. I was at the nearby ranger’s lodge, helping his son, who
had been taken ill. I was on my way home when suddenly, out of the
blue, a gang of local witch hunters assaulted me. I knew them all, the
greedy brutes—they had made a profitable business from falsely
incriminating innocent people, and what else could you expect, the
local hangman, Georgey Pretzeller, was their leader. They accused me of
witchcraft, and naturally, I immediately confessed. I wouldn’t let them
torture me, after all! And then, when they dragged me up to the stake
to burn me, they gave me a broomstick, like a ‘real’ witch, just to
mock me. So I flew away on it.”
“Seriously? You flew away? You can fly on a broomstick?”
“Well,
yes... yes, I can, although not very well. It takes ages to learn how
to fly a broomstick, but I could fly it well enough to escape them.”
The girl began to laugh. “They must have been surprised to find a real witch!”
“They
certainly were,” said Grandma grimly. “However, it had a terrible
effect. I gave those slimy idiots evidence that witches really did
exist. Immediately afterwards, they unleashed terror on the people.
They wanted to burn this house down, too, but fortunately, as I said,
it’s almost indestructible. They were furious when they realized they
couldn’t even get in. But the worst thing was that they started to
accuse innocent women on a massive scale. Sometimes it was enough for
some fool to let the milk go sour in a dirty jar in the sun to make the
poor neighbor a witch. And that was one of those cases when I had to
transform myself.”
“Really? And who did you transform into?” asked the girl, thrilled.
“I
transmuted into an old man; a judge, to be precise—an inquisitor.”
Grandmother smiled. “And I arranged for the Inquisition to send me here
to help with an unprecedented outbreak of witchcraft. The first thing I
did was bless this house properly with ‘holy incense’ and ‘exorcise
Satan’ from it. That made me a hero, and I immediately moved in. After
that, I thoroughly investigated every single case of witchcraft in the
district, with no torture involved, of course. I was curious myself,
but as I suspected, I never found any real witches. In this way, I
managed to spin out the years and save many innocent people, until I
was forced to leave by the dissatisfied witch hunters. With me as the
head of the court, they lost their easy money, and the hangman was
useless too. There wasn’t a single execution here in all that time; had
he not caned some pickpocket’s backside occasionally, he could have
disappeared without anybody even noticing. Well, they finally managed
to get rid of me. But one day, a rich and noble lady with a Royal
Decree for the purchase of this house arrived, and history repeated
itself. In the meantime, the wave of witch burnings had faded away, and
fortunately, no danger threatened me or anyone else. People are always
the same, though. It didn’t take long for them to start whispering
about the strange woman living in this house. And as regards Miss
Greta’s ancestors, they were also all the same. I remember her
great-grandfather very well. Whenever he walked past the house, he spat
on my gate if he thought nobody was watching. It must run in the
family.”
The
girl sat for a while, lost in her thoughts. Everything she had heard so
far was so... well, unbelievable, and yet Grandma talked with such
confidence and certainty that the girl couldn't doubt her words.
“And why did you come here? Why did you leave... um... er... what’s it called?”
“Mezzarthys.
Well, it’s hard to explain now. I don’t really know. Maybe I had
adventure in my blood and maybe I didn’t want to live in my sisters’
shadows forever. They are both excellent witches, but I wanted to go my
own way. And why did I come here? Maybe it was just too tempting. Not
far from our house, in a tidal cave, there’s a gateway that was never
sealed. Nobody knew about it, because it was never used. It was never
fully functional. No adult could use it, and you couldn't take anything
with you, not even your clothes. Seelia and Nanet thought it was
useless, but I couldn’t get it out of my head. I explored it
thoroughly, and I discovered that it would work under certain
circumstances. I decided to give it a try. But I didn’t want to stay
here forever. I was sure that I would be able to completely open the
gateway later on, and return. Do you remember the cave under Castle
Hill? We went there just recently.”
The girl nodded.
“The entry through the gateway to this world is there.”
“In the cave? Really? I thought it was quite ordinary...”
“The
gateway is hidden underwater, deep in the little dark lake in the last
cavern. If it weren’t hidden so well, it would have been discovered a
long time ago. But aren’t you hungry? It’s almost lunchtime. I’ll make
something, okay?”
Only
then did the girl notice the loud rumbling in her tummy. Grandma
continued talking as she prepared lunch. She told her about the day
when Seelia and Nanet went to town, and how she had summoned up her
courage, venturing into our world in secret. She left them a short
message so they wouldn’t worry about her. She had thought of
everything, but in the end she left earlier than she had originally
planned, because she was afraid that if she were to grow a little more,
the gateway would become useless even for her. Grandma hadn’t known how
the other world and its different time flow would influence her. Thanks
to her skills and her origin, she grew older much more slowly than the
people in this world. Even so, she hadn’t suspected that she would grow
so quickly, and before she realized it, the gateway was too small for
her.
“I
was too lazy to learn back then—or rather, I thought I knew enough to
simply leave and survive in this strange new world. Then I had to work
hard, and seek out and gather knowledge from the creatures that broke
through from Mezzarthys to the Lands of Dragons, as well as from the
few magical beings that still remained here. I often had to fight for
information, or even resort to force.”
On
this Earth, Grandma had obtained knowledge and important information;
she studied mythology, medicine, psychiatry, physics, chemistry... She
visited museums and experimented with everything, discovering things
that even the beings in Mezzarthys didn’t have a clue about.
“If
Hissatam has the same knowledge that I have, her power in Mezzarthys
must be unlimited. The people and magical beings there act and think
differently from the way they do here, so Hissatam must seem infallible
and extremely wise to them. The inhabitants of Mezzarthys have one bad
quality—they don’t like reading, writing, and exploring the same way
the people of this world do, so they have lost a great deal of their
valuable wisdom.”
Grandma
had always hoped that she could find a way to open a gateway wide
enough to fit through and return. But although she worked hard and
studied practically all the available information, she found nothing
that could help her. She realized that the separation of the two worlds
was also a great mystery in Mezzarthys. The best and most powerful
wizards had worked for centuries until they were able to open the first
gateways, and they weren’t really perfect. Grandma had to accept that
she might not be able to return at all. At that time, she had had no
idea whatsoever that another gateway existed, which was used by
Hissatam. In order to keep an eye on the gateway that she had used to
cross over into this world, she decided to build a house in the closest
and most suitable place. Because she really missed the old house in
Mezzarthys where she had grown up, she decided to build a copy of it
from memory.
“I
had this house built, then the bridge over the river, and then the
castle. Later, I had some of the houses in the town built. The
architecture of these buildings is different from anything else you can
find in this country. That’s why a lot of tourists visit the old
castle.”
The
girl loved the idea that her grandmother had founded the town. “You
must be a really important person around here,” she exclaimed. “It’s
too bad I can’t say anything to Laura. But that means the old story
about a witch once owning the castle is actually true.”
“There is always at least one grain of truth in every legend.” Grandma smiled. “But otherwise, the story is pure fantasy. Believe me, no witch ever flew along the castle corridors.”
“And where are we going now?” asked the girl.
“Well,
I have thought about that a lot, and I think we have only one option in
this situation. We have to disappear in such a way that Hissatam won’t
be able to track us down.”
“And
how do we do that?” The girl was very curious, but at the same time, a
needle of sorrow struck her heart. She would have to change schools
again. “I’d really like to stay here. Laura is the best friend I’ve
ever had.”
“I
know, my dear.” Grandma sighed and embraced her. She gently touched the
girl’s chin and turned her head so she could look directly into her
eyes.
“I
have considered all the options, and there is no other way. We must
leave. I don’t want the news of our departure to spread quickly,
because every minute is literally vital. But you can say goodbye to
Laura. They’ll take good care of Nanuk. I have already arranged it with
her mom.”
“What?”
The girl shrugged herself out of her embrace. “You want to leave
without Nanuk? You can’t do that! Nanuk is mine and I won’t let him go!
My mom gave him to me! I’m not going without him! Ever!”
But Grandma stopped her with a sharp gesture. “We can’t take Nanuk with us. We can’t take anything. And we must go separately.”
“Separately?
What do you mean, ‘separately’?” The girl couldn’t believe her ears.
She stood there, petrified, feeling as if somebody had poured ice-cold
water down her spine. Was she supposed to venture out alone to a place
somewhere on the other side of the world? She could never have imagined
that her grandma would abandon her like that.
“Look,”
Grandma continued, and something in her voice made the girl look up.
“Try to understand. Even I’ve never been in a situation as dangerous as
this before. When I disappeared from the town before, it was only a
precaution, but now the most dangerous being with supernatural powers
is able to move freely between the two worlds and pursue
me. We must go separately! It’s our only chance. Please understand, I
am a witch and I know what to do. But Hissatam is too strong, and under
these circumstances, I can’t take care of you. You must trust me! I
want to hide you in the only place where you will be safe. You must go
to the magical land of Mezzarthys. You must go to live with my sisters.”
The girl had to sit down. She didn’t know what to say. It was absurd.
“Don’t
worry, I have thought it over,” Grandma continued. “We need you to
leave and hide, to disappear long enough for you to be forgotten.
Because time passes differently there, when you come back, you’ll be
the same as you are now.”
“But I...”
“If
you’re careful, Sabatas Hissatam will never find you, and I’ll arrange
everything here so that she won’t even look for you. She could never
imagine that anyone from this world could cross over. And as they say,
the best place to hide is right under your enemy’s nose. Nobody has a
clue about the gateway in the cave, because nobody has used it since I
came through. Seelia and Nanet will take good care of you, so don’t
worry. The area where they live can be a dangerous place for a little
girl, so you’ll need their protection.” Looking at her granddaughter’s
stunned face, Grandma added, “One thing I can guarantee is that you’ll
only eat the finest delicacies. Better than the feasts of kings, that’s
for sure!”
The
girl didn’t smile. Although she was still startled, her curiosity
started to take hold, and she became excited at the thought of a
strange and unknown world, even though she wasn’t thrilled about living
with people she had never met before! She imagined two shriveled old
ladies with white chignons and piercing eyes behind thick glasses. How
much older had Grandma said they were? Three hundred years?
“Do
we really have to go separately? Why can’t you go with me? I don’t even
know them! What exactly do they do when they’re witches? Do they even
know I’m coming? And how will they recognize me? Have they seen me
before?”
“I
don’t want to leave you, not even for a second!” Grandma interrupted
her barrage of questions. “If it were even remotely possible, you would
stay with me. But I’m afraid that we wouldn’t last twenty-four hours in
this world together! I told you before—the gateway is totally useless
for me. I have to make sure I conceal every scrap of evidence. Look,
it’s nearly dark. Say goodbye to Nanuk. Laura’s parents are surely home
by now.”
Once
more the girl’s heart was pierced with sadness when an unsuspecting
Nanuk licked her hand and jumped up at her. As soon as she opened the
door, Nanuk ran out, his tail wagging, and scampered around excitedly.
Her
visit to Laura was brief. The girl couldn’t fake any excitement about
the upcoming “holidays,” and couldn’t bear to be separated from her
little dog.
“Don’t be sad. I promise I’ll look after him,” Laura comforted her, startled by the tears in her eyes. “Don’t be afraid.”
Grandma,
making an excuse about packing, hurried the little girl and thanked
Laura’s parents once again for being so helpful. Then they were gone.
