Lazarus

I open the doors with a small push. It opens to a huge open area. It's not a room, I realize at a glance. It is a long balcony, that opens to the forest that surrounds this mansion. Once I step out, I should feel better in the open air, but I feel the complete opposite of that. This place feels colder than the rest of the place, much more suffocating. The oxygen has been sucked out of the place. Scientifically, trees emit carbon dioxide at night, which is why it is not very healthy to be near the trees at night. Should it be this suffocating though? 

I tentatively move ahead towards the edge of the balcony so that I can peek outside the house. The balcony reminds me of Romeo and Juliet. Last weekend I was watching the movie, and thinking of that kind of life. The only complication Juliet had was her forbidden love for Romeo. Well, she did die for her love, but still, it was simpler. What did Aunt Josette say, about not forgiving her? I know she is not normal, but I am not aware of any grave sin that she has committed. What has she done, that is unforgivable?

The sound comes from the other side of the balcony. At the far end, there is someone else standing, watching me. I think of Alp, the young man with platinum blonde hair. He is very handsome, I decide. If I had a normal life I would have fallen for him. 

If I had a normal life, I would probably never met him. Beautiful men like him are rare to find in real life. There are Art and Felix, they are handsome too, but I am too scared to talk to them, let alone make any other approach. 

"You are beautiful." The voice is unfamiliar, and definitely not Alp's. I squint to see through the darkness on the balcony. It is a man, judging his voice, he seems to be older than me. He is tall, quite lean, and he is still standing in the shadow. 

"Thank you?" it sounds more like an uncertain question, rather than a response.

"And your name is?" 

"Francesca," I say and take a step forward. 

"That is a beautiful name," he says. "Just as beautiful as you. I heard from them, but I had to see you myself." 

I take another step. I should say something. Thank him, smile, but I don't feel like it. There is something in the air, that restricts my smile. 

Suddenly the shadow stands right in front of me. "Let me have a taste of you," he murmurs. I gasp, close my eyes, and stand there, cold like a statue sculpted from stone. I feel him breathing on my neck, cold air touches my skin, making me shiver. I start shaking. 

"You smell even better. You are related to Josette," he says again. I don't think he expects my answer. 

"You are a virgin," he concludes. Did he learn that from my smell? I remember Aunt Josette did not allow me to apply perfume or even deodorant.

"Just take a shower," she had instructed.

I must have gone insane for a moment, and in that momentary lapse of common sense, I speak out. "Who are you?" 

"If you want to know about me, you have to look at me. Are you scared, Francesca?" 

His tone is so smooth and tempting, that I forget the prospect of danger at that moment. I look at him. I shouldn't have. 

His face is beautiful, angelic even, but his eyes are cruel. His hair is long, shoulder-length, sharp, square jaws. Lips curl upwards to form a devilish smile. His Mongolian features resemble the historical characters I have seen many times in documentaries. I want to see more of him, even though I know that would be the end of me. There is something extremely wrong with this man. 

He is beautiful, yet deadly dangerous, and I feel like knowing him more. 

"Ask me," he commands in a low voice. Ask him... What do I want to ask him? Will he answer my questions? Will he answer my questions truthfully? 

"Who are you?" I ask my first question. 

"I have many names. The last woman who fell for me named me Lazarus. Right now, I am your owner." 

"I am my own person," I say in an inaudible voice. He has heard it, undoubtedly, as his eyes sparkle in amusement. 

"You did not fall for me," he comments. 

"I don't know what that means," I respond. I notice how his hands have wrapped themselves around my torso. It does not feel uncomfortable yet, but it is a tight hold and I cannot get out of it. The thought pops into my head, he does not want me to realize how he is capturing me little by little. Something happens inside me, something I have never experienced before but dreamed of. 

"Ask your next question, brave Francesca," he says. His smile turns from threatening to amusing. 

"All the women from my family, they are brought to you?" It sounds outlandish as I say the words, but it makes more sense in my head as I think about it. All the women who have accompanied Aunt Josette before me have spent nights out of the house, and nobody ever questioned it. They all came from different generations, but something they all have in common. They are all famous for their beauty. I look at him closely as he chuckles. 

"Do you think so? Why?" 

"Because," I think well before I answer. "You seem like the one she intended me to meet." 

His smile broadens. "I am the one they all met, and you are supposed to meet. Do you want to know why?"

"What happened to them after they met you? None of them remembered anything. The ones that never returned, what did you do to them?" I feel my courage, as well as the heat in my body rising.

 "What happened to them, you have to find that out for yourself. The ones who never returned were too weak to receive what I wanted to give them, or to pay me what I wanted. Does that answer your question?" 

I try to get out of his hold. "You know it doesn't." No matter how much I wriggle or squirm, it doesn't make any change to my current state. I am still in his hold, imprisoned. 

"I'd be more polite if I were you," he suddenly changes his tone into an ice-cold one. Fear creeps into me. He keeps on speaking. 'I like you, so I will allow you one last question. Ask, before I take you." 

"Who exactly are you, and why do I have to listen to you?" I try one last time to defy his powers over me. Whatever is going to happen to me, I will not go down without a fight. All my life I have been lying low, keeping my head down so that I am left alone. If I do the same with this man—although I am starting to feel like he is not just a 'man'— I will have no self-respect left. 

"I am the savior of your family and currently, I am the owner of you. That is who I am, and that is why you have to listen to me." 

I feel like floating. He has pulled me closer to him and lifted me off the ground, but I realize that too late. When I look around again, I am not on the balcony anymore. Instead, I am standing in a spacious hall. Surrounding me, there are Victorian-style couches and sofa sets. Ahead of me, a gigantic wooden table stands, empty, devoid of colors. There is a giant fireplace that is not being used. I look up, at the high ceiling and an exorbitantly expensive crystal chandelier. There is a similar one at my house, so I know exactly how much this chandelier costs in the market. I spin to have a good look at the hall. 

I am not the only one standing here. 

I spot Lazarus standing right in the middle of the hall, in front of the table as if to host an important programme. At his right stands Alp with an impassive look on his face. At his right stands another man, probably of the same age. He looks calm and indifferent like Alp, but his eyes hold a ferocity I have never seen in anybody else. Two more figures enter the hall as I stare at the three men. I turn to see the new faces and freeze. 

Felix and Art wave at me in their ever-friendly manner, their smiles look vicious. "Hello there," they say in unison. 

"I never thought she'd look so delectable in that dress," Art says looking at me hungrily. His eyes halt at my chest. I try to cover myself with my hands and the awkwardness of it hits me hard. Right, the purpose of this dress is to seduce. There is no point in hiding myself. My back is exposed to them, and even though the dress has short sleeves and full length, it still exposes me to the strange men with the satin clinging to me.

"You have good eyes, I will give that to you," the man I still don't know says. 

"I wanted her to look pretty for this special night." 

I feel a wave of sickness washing over me. "What special night?" I ask uncertainly. My fear is rising, and with that my determination to live. 

"You will see soon, dear Francesca," Lazarus says. "It is going to be special for us too, since you are the most unique one we have ever encountered."