Chapter 1: A fateful meeting
I walked down a road littered with the dead and saw how the ground could no longer absorb blood. I stopped unable to go any further and heard a man's voice, "Mutilate and kill, destroy the earth!".
I suddenly woke up a second before the doorbell rang. I hesitate to open the door, not only because I'm still reeling from the dream, which I've had for the second time in the last six months since I moved to the Coast to a rented apartment near the sea, but also because I'm not expecting anyone, it's my day off. The visitor is not going to give up, the calls persist. I cover my head with a blanket and try to remember the voice from the dream. It doesn't sound like the voice of my fiancé, because of whose crime I had to run away from home, playing a play for my parents, in which I renounced the imposed destiny. I lied convincingly, afraid to sign their death warrant, cutting to the heart of the matter. My parents believed me. I remembered my mother's reproachful look, my father's first and only slap in my entire life, his words now sounding so clearly in my head: "Ungrateful creature!". The knocking and pounding on the door pulls me away from the painful memories, and I get out of bed, instantly changing my silk shirt into a light light dress down to my knees. Brushing my long black hair below my waist, I open the door and let in a handsome blond man, about twenty-four years old, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans that emphasize his muscular figure.
– Hi, Lena! I'm Michael. He's tense, pale, and angry, but he's trying to control himself. Fascinated, he watches the comb move through my silky, thick hair and begins to calm down. And I'm already convinced that this guy is my destiny. Love at first sight? Really?
– Hey, Michael! – I'm putting the comb aside. – Why are you here? My greeting and question distract him from gazing at my perfect figure. He pulls money out of his pocket and puts it on the counter. – Here's a hundred thousand for your help. My sister has been kidnapped…
– Kaar, kaar! – comes from the street. A black raven sits on the window sill and looks at us defiantly.
