Sarah. This story begins and ends with Sarah. My life begins and ends with Sarah. But first, let's go back to the day it snowed here. Three things happened that day : first, it was my fourteenth birthday. Second, it was the day she died. And third, it was the day I died as well. Or at least began to. How did all this happen? You should know that Sarah was my best friend, we'd known each other since pre-school. We were always in love with one another, and she was - no, she is - the love of my life. That day had begun well enough, happy birthday wishes from friends and family, a few birthday presents, then Sarah comes 'round, and off we go for a walk, just the two of us. Mom makes me promise to be home well before dinner, and of course Sarah is invited too, she says, winking. Everybody know. Everybody knows that together we will live forever. We are just meant to be, it's written in the stars. Sarah says that she'll take good care of me, and my mother asks her 'Promise?', to which she says 'Cross my heart and hope to die.' I still hear those words echoing inside me to this day. We leave the house, and amble around, no set direction. When we reach a nearby park, Sarah says that she has my birthday present. I didn't see her bring anything, maybe she has it on one of her pockets. She motions us to sit down on a bench, and after we sit, she asks me if I really want my birthday present. I say I do, of course I do, whatever it is it's something I'll always treasure. She says ok, and holds out her hand. When she opens it, there's nothing there. I look at it, and then at her, nonplussed, and before I know it Sarah kisses me in the mouth for the first time. It's the best birthday present I could have ever wished for, and one kiss follows another, all clumsy and inexperienced, but exciting and filled with wonders nonetheless. We hold hands, and she asks me if I want to be her boyfriend. I can't wait for the day I marry this girl. This is the best day I've ever had.
After we left the park, we kept on walking around, our hands inseparable from each other. There's such a newness to it, and yet it feels like we've always held each other's hands. There's a church pretty close to where I live, and as we start to slowly walk by it, we feel a bitter cold starting to set in. Much colder than usual, like a preternatural chill left us on the verge of freezing. There's a couple just off to the side, and they catch my eye because for some reason they look like grown up versions of me and Sarah, and we almost bump into another girl who was leaving the church. We stop by the crosswalk, still reeling a bit from the sudden cold, and Sarah looks up when she feels something falling on her head. She looks up, and sees the falling snow - she twirls, and dances all about me, but she's distracted by the snow, and dances in the road. I see everything happening in slow motion : she smiles, my god, she smiles, the snow makes her so happy, my hand reaches out to her, she's just out of reach, and a car approaches and she's still smiling, and there's a sickening sound of tires screeching but it's too little too late, and it hits her, and she's propelled upwards and towards the front of her car, and I can see her spirit exiting her dead body and she smiles and waves at me, says she will wait for me forever, and then a meaty thud of her limp body falling to the ground breaks the reverie.
The day she was laid to rest, the very skies wept at that injustice. I swore right then and there that no matter the price, I'd make things right again. For the next many years, I dedicate myself to academia, and then to climbing the corporate ladder. In time, I amass a veritable fortune, and at last I reach a point where I don't even have to work anymore, such are the streams of passive income I generated for myself. Good, now the work begins in earnest. There would be nothing I wouldn't do to have her back - nothing. I use all my connections to see who can direct me to those who would traffick in the occult. Along the way, I meet a veritable horde of charlatans, quacks and shysters. I can smell their bullshit from miles away. But nothing seems to be a viable option. No matter, I'll do things my way then. I travel up and down the country, going to small villages where old traditions are still kept alive. No one can help. They whisper of forbidden magicks and of ancient, deep lore. If not here, I'll scour the world. In Tanzania, a witch doctor laughs at my request, says I will find no solace in my quest. There will only be pain in my future should I continue. There is only pain now, it's an old friend of mine. I depart for Bhutan, where a monk tries to dissuade me from pursuing this course of action. In New Orleans, I am directed to Haiti. I talk to a houngan and a mambo, and all I see is how much they pity me. In Havana, Santéria proves just as useful as everything else. I go to Brazil and see a pai de santo said to be possessed by an Exu. What talks to me is no man, no human being. I do not sense it pernicious, but there is mischievousness there. For the first time, I am offered hope. 'Everything for a price.', it says. But it is not powerful enough to do what I intend. Who is, though?, I wonder, and it seems to be reading my mind, because I hear it's ungodly voice inside me. It says the road I'm on will lead me to someone who can do what I want. It also says that I will find damnation. Did I not swear I'd do anything? 'Go to eastern Europe', it says. 'There in the Wallachia of old you will find those who fled the steppes long ago, and who still worship the Baba.' The voice disappears. Then the old man looks at me, as if seeing me for the first time. 'Child? Do not go. The price is not worth it.' Fool, I decide what price I will pay.
I fly to Bucharest, and soon I'm on my way to Târgoviște, the capital of old Wallachia. I start making enquiries, but I am treated with distrust. No wonder, the questions I ask are not for the faint of heart. I find lodgings in a small inn, and I ask the innkeeper where one might find a bookstore that would specialized in old books. He looks sideways at me, this bulky, hulk of a man, a very large moustache framing his face. He writes down an address and tells me to say Radu sent me. The following day, I am there as soon as I can. To my surprise, I am greeted by a couple of fairly young kids - probably in their early twenties. I surmised they were a couple, but alas, I was wrong. Brother and sister, though they look nothing alike. I tell them Radu sent me, and I feel a tinge of nervousness. I can sense a future where I wake up in a bathtub minus one kidney. They laugh, and tell me it's their father. They invite me to a back room, and we sit in a dimly lit table. 'What am I looking for?', they ask. 'And the whole truth, we'll know if you lie, and you do not want to lie to us.' Fine, it that's how it's going to be. I collect my thoughts for a few seconds, then tell them the whole story. They look at me with no emotion in their eyes. After I finish talking, there are long moments of silence. Then, from a corner of the room, I hear a voice coming from the shadows. It says something that I cannot comprehend, but soon the girl - she's called Viorica and is drop dead gorgeous - translates what I heard. 'Baba can do what you request, but there is a price, and it is very steep.', she says. I say that money is no objection. They all laugh at me. The voice from the shadows speaks again. Viorica nods and looks at me, 'Baba says, 'Child, we do not care for money. We do not need money, nor depend on it.' Do you want to know what it will cost you?', she finishes. I say I do. The boy - called Scarlat - tries to dissuade me. 'Go away. Forget you were ever here. If you wish, I will provide you with a charm that will take away your memories, and your pain. Go and live. There is only pain here for you if you stay.' I'm enraged, I bang my hands on the table, and say that I will do anything, I will pay any price. Then I feel the shadows look at me, I feel my very soul being pierced by an unseen gaze. 'Anything? The price you have to pay, child, is everything.' And then she lets me know just exactly what everything means. I am assailed by waves of cold fear washing over me, I want to run away, and that's what I do. As I flee, I hear her voice chiding me, 'Do not return here until you are prepared to pay the price.'
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