by Lumi Laura
*
They followed the tradition of burying family members in the graveyard next to the gazebo where Alex had been bitten. They all stood around the mound of dirt and casket, with Father Zosimos at one end flanked by two young priests. Although Alex had met some of her grandmother's friends, many more were present than she'd imagined. She even suspected some of being royalty.
Jaklin and Mikhail stood to either side of Alex, each with an arm about her waist. They were both decked out in goth, but no one seemed to notice. Alex herself was dressed in a long full-length black dress her mother had found among her grandmother's wardrobe. It was for a slim, rather tall person and fit her better than could have been expected. It was obviously well made but very old. Mikhail kissed her on the cheek when no one was looking, and Jaklin kept telling her how gorgeous she looked in black while hiding an irrepressible smile. "You were made for black," Jaklin said. "Makes those golden curls glow."
Though blustery, the day was warm with bright sunshine, which caused Alex to go into a daze, and she lapsed into remembering that when her grandfather died, her grandmother spent a month with them in Bucharest. Alex loved having her there. She'd made Alex special dishes, and they'd drunk tea together. Her grandmother did so enjoy a good cup of tea. On weekends, they were off together to visit a museum or an art gallery. Her grandmother was highly educated, and she'd read Alex the novels of Dickens and strange short stories by Kafka. Alex had seemed to be her grandmother's antidote for grief.
Although later she tried to remember the ceremony, Alex could not recover much. She simply recalled that it was a strangely generic ceremony, a lot about the spiritual connections of all mankind and our striving for a closer connection to the divine, of peace and understanding with a few sprinklings of Christian thought. It seemed to be at least partially in the tradition of the Baha'i of which her grandmother had spoken.
Alex did remember Father Zosimos swinging the censer throughout and all holding lighted candles. The service consisted of the "Kontakion of the Departed," Father Zosimos speaking the words as the scroll unfurled, then the final singing of "Memory Eternal." At the end of the service, during the final hymn, all extinguished their candles. Father Zosimos said the "Prayers for the Departure of the Soul." Alex seemed to partially come out of her daze as Father Zosimos ended with the words, "...as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen."
It wasn't until after Jaklin and Mikhail left, and the family members all gathered in Father Zosimos' office at the Monastery, that Alex's awareness fully returned. Father Zosimos had been in possession of her grandmother's will, he said, for the past few years as her health declined. He put on his glasses in preparation for reading it.
"This may come with some puzzlement," said Father Zosimos.
"What? She's left it all to the Church, hasn't she?" her mother interjected, cold anger at the edge of her tongue.
The biting comment didn't perturb Father Zosimos. "Let's read the will first, and then I'll answer any questions," he said. He put on his glasses and raised what was a smaller stack of papers than one might have expected for a fairly large estate. Then he read the will, legal wording first, then the giving of certain objects of value to each member of the family: Alex's two siblings first and then her mother. The will said nothing of Alex, and Father Zosimos had stopped reading, as if finished. Alex wondered if she'd been left anything at all. Well, what would she have expected anyway? She'd had her grandmother's unconditional love, and that was something she'd always cherish.
And then Father Zosimos came to the very heart of the matter. He continued reading, "...as to my home estate, and the rest of my wealth and acquisitions, I leave it all to my granddaughter Alexandra Marie Eidyn."
Alex felt a great welling up of sadness in her throat. She choked back a sob.
Father Zosimos continued. "Alexandra has been my one true love in life from the day she was born, and she has been more affectionate toward me than anyone I've known. I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't see to her future. I hope the rest of you will understand, for I truly do love you all. It's just that Alexandra has stolen my heart."
With that Father Zosimos put down the paper and removed his glasses. Alex had heard gasps during the reading but was unable to determine from whom they came. She could no longer contain her sadness and gratitude. Her grandmother actually loved her in life and in death had provided for her. She cried uncontrollably.
"Was Mamă in her right mind when she made out the will?" asked Alex's mother. She seemed hurt and a little angry.
"Margareta had all her mental faculties right up to the end," said Father Zosimos, quite plainly. "The will was written in consultation with me fifteen years ago, when she was sixty-five and Alexandra three. Although she's reviewed it with me several times through the years, it has never been altered."
That's the way it stayed. Alex brought her emotions under control, and they left the monastery. They all acted a little cold toward Alex after that, and she wished that her grandmother had been a little more generous with them. She knew that she'd been given more than her fair share.
Gavril left immediately after the reading of the will, didn't even say goodbye. Sonya and her family left late that afternoon, and her mother, after crying all evening left the next morning. She had to get back to her law practice. Alex dropped her at the train station. Once she was gone, Alex felt more lost than ever. She went back home and wandered about the old house trying to get a grip on the fact that she owned it.
Later that afternoon, Father Zosimos called. He inquired about her family, and when Alex told him that they had all left, he asked if he might come over. He had one more bit of business they had to dispense with.
Alex wouldn't have called him happy, but he did take a certain pleasure in what he had to do. He sat on the sofa again, as he had when he tested her for vampirism, and put on his glasses. He had another wooden box that he sat on the coffee table. He opened it, sorted and removed some papers from inside.
"No sense in troubling the others with these mundane money matters," he said.
"Did Bunică have some bills that'll have to come out of the estate?" Alex asked. She wondered if her grandmother had some bad business investments that might liquidate her entire holdings.
"No, young lady, that's not what this is about. Your bunică had a considerable sum of money that she's left you."
"Considerable?"
"I mean that you're now independently wealthy. Basically, it comes in two parts. You have close to three million lei in your bank account. Plus, you have an allowance from a privately administered trust fund that gives you an additional sixty-thousand per year. If you exercise a little restraint, you'll never want for money again. You won't have to work, if you choose not to."
"But where did this come from? Bunic never had much money. Bunică never worked."
"An anonymous donor, over many years. I'm sure she told you of your kinship with Queen Marie. I'm not privy to the information myself, but I suspect she had something to do with it."
They talked for a few minutes more, and Father Zosimos told her that she could always come to him with any advice she might need and that he'd help her get a reputable financial consultant, if she wished. "All this can be worked out in the coming months," he said. "In the meantime, I recommend you tell no one of this. Money begets animosity between friends and attracts all forms of charlatans."
Alex looked up and scanned the living room, looked out over the yard and garden. "I'll not want to touch anything," she said. "I'll feel guilty and that she might not approve."
"You must make her home yours," Father Zosimos said, sternly. "She gave it to you. She'd be disappointed to know that you couldn't come to think of it as your own, as she did. Remember, she was given it also. It came to her by way of her mamă."
"Yes," said Alex. "Queen Marie's illegitimate child."
"Then she told you?"
"A couple of days ago."
&n
bsp; "There you have it. She prepared you for it."
Alex took a deep breath. Sighed. Shook her head.
"You're right to feel some skepticism about having all this. It can be a burden and could slip through your fingers like quicksilver."
"That's what I'm worried about. Not living up to her expectations." She wondered what she would have received from her grandmother had she known that her granddaughter, Father Zosimos' testing not withstanding, really was a vampire.
Alex had one last question for Father Zosimos. "I've heard a prophecy concerning a special vampire that is to lead them all to redemption."
"Is this something out of the Roma, again?"
"Possibly," she lied.
"Hogwash!" he said. "Redemption is not possible for the forces of evil. They'll all die out eventually, and history will never remember they were here."
