Chapter Eleven

Beach

That night, Beatrice was gentle woken by Vladislav’s voice, speaking softly to her.

She opened her eyes, sitting up.

Vladislav was kneeling beside her bed, holding a lantern in his hand.

‘Come with me’ he said, ‘I want to show you something.’

Beatrice took his hand, allowing herself to be led up the stairs through the dark home, guided ever higher, following the dim light Vladislav held above her.

He brought her to a narrow doorway, Beatrice initially thought to be a cupboard, but opening it, Beatrice saw behind it there was a steep set of steps.

‘This is the only place I have not shown you yet’ Vladislav said. ‘I was waiting for the right moment, and tonight is a beautiful cloudless night.’

He climbed the stairs ahead of her, opening a small hatch above.

Beatrice felt a chilly breeze, hearing the rustling of the leaves beyond.

She tilted her head upwards, seeing stars overhead.

‘Come,’ Vladislav spoke softly to her, reaching down through the hatch, offering his hand to her. ‘It’s perfectly safe up here.’

Vladislav helped her climb, supporting her as she ascended the steps, coming through modest hatch at the top.

Beatrice found herself standing on the roof of the home, gazing about her.

They were standing upon a tiny balcony now.

Vladislav lay down a thick blanket for them both, and here, together, they began to stargaze.

Vladislav told Beatrice all about the stars, and Beatrice cried tears of joy in disbelief.

When Vladislav asked her why she shed these tears, Beatrice explained.

She told Vladislav that she had never seen the stars before. Because she had spent so much time looking down, because she was scared, mistreated, and avoidant. Never wanting to make eye contact with anyone, and speaking only when spoken to.

She had been so caught up in her self-pity, that she had never seen the beauty of the world around her. She cried now because of how wonderful life can be, and at the same time, she grieved for the time she had wasted, too selfish and caught up in her own misery.

It was at that moment, as they lay side by side, that Beatrice reached out to take Vladislav’s hand, doing so for the first time of her own accord.

‘Even your hand is skeletal under the glove’ Beatrice uttered, causing Vladislav to emit a high-pitched whine, feeling a little embarrassed suddenly.

‘Even your hand is skeletal’ Beatrice said for the second time, though this time it sounded like she was talking more to herself. Her voice barely a whisper. ‘Are you completely a skeleton?’

Vladislav increased his high-pitched whine, before controlling himself and falling silent.

‘I um…well…’ he composed his thoughts, ‘I have a solid body’ Vladislav explained. ‘But my hands, feet and head, are skeletal.’

‘Oh’ Beatrice sighed. ‘I see…’

‘I hope that does not make you uncomfortable in any way’ Vladislav said.

‘Why would that make me uncomfortable?’

‘Well…’ Vladislav pondered. ‘Some people are afraid or those who are different, some people hate those who are different, or shun them.’

‘I could never hate you’ Beatrice told him then. ‘And I would never shun you.’

‘Might you ever be afraid of me?’

‘Hm.’ Beatrice thought about this for only the briefest moment before responding. ‘I would not be afraid of you for your appearance.’

‘Really?’ Vladislav turned his head to face Beatrice, sitting up slightly to allow space for his horns to that he was able to face her without knocking them.

‘If you were to become angry with me, or threatening towards me…then I would have a reason to fear you, not for your appearance.’

‘I would never want to you feel that way.’

There was a pause.

‘How did you feel when you first saw me?’ Vladislav asked Beatrice then.

‘I don’t know’ Beatrice mumbled. ‘I think…I was more confused than anything else, especially after what you said.’

‘And what did I say?’ Vladislav asked. ‘Do remind me.’

‘You said that I was beautiful.’

‘Ah, yes.’ Vladislav faced towards the sky again, eyes shining bright in the dark. ‘I remember.’

They continued to stare up at the sky.

‘There’ Vladislav pointed then, ‘did you see that?’

‘I saw only a dark shape.’

‘That was a bat’ Vladislav told him. ‘Look, there’s another one. They’re so fast, they can be difficult to see.’

‘Are they the same creatures like the one I saw before?’ Beatrice asked.

‘Yes, the one you saw in the kitchen, only a different species. The one you saw in the kitchen was a fruit bat, the littles ones that fly above us now, are brown bats.’

‘They are much smaller’ Beatrice noted.

‘They are…’ Vladislav said, his eyes burning bright, ‘dear little things…’

One year later…

Beatrice was fast asleep under the stairs, her hand hanging over the edge of the bed.

It was still early, the sun still connected to the horizon.

Something pushed the front door open from outside, reaching its head in and sniffing the air.

The deer stepped carefully into the hall, moving tentatively, drawing closer to Beatrice.

Its nose touched her hand, but Beatrice was not alarmed in the slightest.

This had been the way she had been woken for the last several months, and not only had she grown accustomed to it, but she had began to find comfort in it also. The deer seemingly did as well. On the few occasions Beatrice had not been in bed in the morning, perhaps having fallen asleep reading in another room, the deer had come looking for her.

Beatrice felt the deer’s soft nose touch her hand, and she smiled automatically, turning her palm over.

‘Good morning sweetie.’

Beatrice sat up, pushing back the sheets.

The first thing she did was to grab a cup from the pantry, scooping some animal feed.

She headed outside, towards the front door, the deer following her.

Outside there were others waiting eagerly for their breakfast.

Beatrice tossed the cup of feed in the air, and the small group of deer began to feed.

Beatrice returned to her bed, tidying it and undressing quickly. She changed into her day-clothes, putting away her nightgown neatly in one of the boxes stored under her bed.

She then went back to the kitchen, tying her hair up.

Beatrice began to cook breakfast.

By the time Vladislav can downstairs, his breakfast was already on the table waiting for him.

Beatrice sat opposite him, eating a bowl of peaches, as was habit for her most mornings. She loved fruit very much, peaches being one of her favourite. She had made Vladislav a full breakfast, which he finished off with a slab of raw steak.

‘That was absolutely delightful’ Vladislav declared.

‘You say that all the time’ Beatrice waved him away.

‘That’s because its always true’ he replied with glowing eyes.

Once the table had been cleared away, and the dishes cleaned, dried, and put back in their place, the two went outside together.

Once the morning chores were completed, feeding the animals and some general cleaning and tidying, the two were able to relax.

Now it was ten o’clock, and the day was beautiful.

Vladislav had left Beatrice for a short time, returning with a tray of steaming tea and some shortbread biscuits.

‘This is the life’ Beatrice sighed, smiling as he approached.

Vladislav stopped, planning the tray on the small table nearby.

Beatrice was kneeing in the dirt now; she had been planting some fresh flowers Vladislav had moved from the greenhouse. They had grown, and were no longer ‘baby flowers,’ as Beatrice so lovingly called them.

‘What do you mean?’ Vladislav glowed. ‘You have been working all morning.’

‘And it feels wonderful’ Beatrice beamed towards the sky. ‘Working gives me purpose. I feel so achieved doing these things. Caring for the animals…caring for the garden…’ she gazed about her. ‘The animals are all happy, and the garden is so pretty. I’m sure that even the flowers are happy.’

‘Unfortunately, not all the flowers are doing well’ Vladislav told her, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a shrivelled plant. ‘These new ones have been dying again. I don’t think the rest of the plant is going to make it. Maybe it’s a good idea to take the flowers while they still look presentable to press them. They would look lovely in a frame.’

‘Another one of the flowers you’ve brought from afar’ Beatrice mumbled, looking at it sadly. ‘I wonder why they’re not thriving here. Never mind’ she said suddenly beaming, ‘pressing them would be nice. It’s something to look forward to tonight.’

‘It’s my turn to cook anyway’ Vladislav informed her. ‘I’ll get dinner ready while you press the flowers.’

‘And can I read to you after dinner?’

‘Absolutely.’