Just like a daughter.
Belle reached out toward the writhing door. The hands and faces trapped inside seemed to pull at the wood, as if trying to run through a curtain. But to her own surprise, Belle felt no fear. Her hand quivered as she finally touched it, inching past the surface of the wood. She reached inside and felt around, but there was nothing. Like a trick of the light, the faces disappeared as her hand moved through them. Belle turned and ran.
“But . . . are you going to die?” Christian asked Bicé, as they ran past the shredded wall and through the window.
“I found the cure,” said Bicé.
“But you’re not getting younger.”
“I’m going to stay this way.” Bicé gave Christian a smile that told him that this was better — that he should have courage.
Just as the three were making their way down the fire escape and onto one of the balconies below, Christian heard something.
“What’s that?” he said, looking up through the window into their apartment. Madame Vileroy had receded into the shadows, but something was growing louder and louder, until it was deafening. Suddenly, a plague of insects shot out of the window like a cannon, covering them like a thick, revolting blanket. Belle screamed. Bicé turned to Christian. “Stop them like you did before.” As the swarm hovered around Christian, touching every surface of his body, he closed his eyes and prepared to steal one last time. After a moment, he opened his eyes. No change.
“We should have known. We can’t use her gifts now,” said Bicé. “Just run.”
They tried to ignore the insects as they climbed down the fire escape and ran down the street. Bicé glanced back and caught the frightened look on Christian’s face. He tried to seem tough, but without his gift, he was unarmed for the first time in a long time. At a nearby intersection, the three stopped and looked at one another, confused, wondering which way to turn. They lingered there like little children running from home, aimless and scared and full of self-doubt. But then Bicé smiled and continued on and the other two followed. In the distance, they could hear a passing car on the avenue. But on that little street in New York, there was no one to notice the three fugitives running away in the night.
It was over. But for three lost children, it was the beginning of something new. They could feel it already, in the cool night, not so terrifying anymore. The darkness was no longer hopeless, but full of the promise of daylight. Christian, Bicé, and Belle walked down the streets, everything awake around them — shops, bistros, delis. Had the whole world gone on without them? Had their battle with Vileroy changed a thing? No, it wouldn’t make the morning news for Thomas’s father to see. Mrs. Wirth and Mrs. Spencer wouldn’t whisper about it to their so-called friends. They wouldn’t care. They’d be too busy pushing their children, Lucy and Connor, too far, too much. Ms. LeMieux would keep capitalizing on their obsessions, and competition would get stiffer every year. But these three souls had escaped. They were out of it. After this, no evil would scale their walls and steal them in the night. Because somehow, inside their hearts, they knew something about their governess, something about Madame Vileroy, this friend of Faust, that they didn’t know before.
Here’s what they know: that she doesn’t know everything. She has spies everywhere, maybe some on your shoulder, but she can’t be in your heart — not if you don’t want her to be. She’s lived a long time, though. Stories, myths, and fables of her are all over history books. She’s been around so long that she has a sense about people, knows what they’re like. If you imagine someone watching you all the time, even when you think you’re alone, hearing every word you whisper to yourself, seeing every time you make a face, that someone would know more about you than you think. She could even guess what you’re thinking — and even though she wouldn’t know for sure, she’d mostly be right.
Even though they were no longer afraid, the three runaways would never stop wondering about their other two siblings. They had tried to bring Victoria and Valentin with them. For Christian’s part, he forgave Valentin what he’d done. Over the years, Christian took the time to voice his hopes for Valentin, many times over. If he gets another chance, I hope he takes it.
And maybe Victoria too. But somehow they all knew that what Victoria wanted most couldn’t be had the way she’d chosen to get it.
As for the three of them, they had a whole world to discover. But the lesson was hard-won. They all lost something. Everything didn’t go back to normal, and redemption didn’t come with a do-over. Vileroy’s house was behind them, but Bicé was exhausted after only a few miles. Belle bought a hooded sweatshirt to hide her face, even in the warm weather.
As they walked, Belle found the courage to tell her sister about that night — that frightful, lonely night when the thief Vileroy came to her and offered her the world she wanted. And though Bicé forgave her, Belle never mentioned that moment when Bicé first woke up in a strange bed of a dark house, her mind aching, and said, “Where are we?” and Belle looked at her, pretending not to get it and said, “We’re at home, silly.”
Where would you find five lost children after so many years gone by? Years after their escape, perhaps they would think back and reflect on the family they had made for themselves, the dark counterparts they had left behind. From that day on, Bicé took care of Belle and Christian, as if they were real adopted children. No, they didn’t fit in anywhere they went, but for the most part, that was all right with them. They had each other. And they had more. Did Belle and Bicé ever find their parents? Did Christian become a writer? Did he conquer his fears? Perhaps. They may do so still. They may do so many things. For three lost children, this was no storybook ending, but it wasn’t over. Maybe it was a storybook beginning.
DANIEL NAYERI is a writer and editor in New York City. He wrote and produced The Cult of Sincerity, the first feature film to make its world premier on YouTube. Daniel is also a professional pastry chef and award-winning stuntman.
DINA NAYERI VIERGUTZ is a former teaching fellow in economics at Harvard University. In her spare time, she loves to cook, travel, watch teen flicks, and write stories.
About Another Faust, Dina and Daniel say, “As teenagers, we wanted to achieve and do everything. Like our characters, we were immigrants, and our ideas of the future were a lot less laid-back than our friends’. In this book, we built each character from parts of ourselves, from other people we’ve met over the years, and, of course, from the original Faust. Along the way, we explored the fascinating line that separates accolades from genuine accomplishments.” Daniel lives in New York City while Dina lives with her husband in Amsterdam.
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