The Red Dove by A.K. Spalva

Author:A.K. Spalva [Spalva, A.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mystic Feather Publishing
Published: 2022-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

Half an hour later, they were on the road again towards Romania. As usual, Terzić didn’t talk. Not that Amanda minded. She spent the journey drifting in and out of sleep, always on the edge between dream and reality.

When she woke up, Terzić had stopped at a gas station. Her head felt awful, as if an anvil was pressing down on it. And she felt incredibly cold. While Terzić filled the gas tank, she retrieved the blankets from the trunk and wrapped herself up. Terzić gave her a curious look, but didn’t say anything.

By the time they arrived in Arad, Amanda was shivering all over and her teeth were chattering. All she wanted was to go up to her room and disappear under the warm covers, but Terzić held her back.

“Excuse me.” He put his hand on her forehead. It felt cold against her skin, even refreshing. “You have a fever. I suggest going to a doctor.”

She smiled. Why couldn’t you have been Mirko? You would have made such a great uncle… “Thanks, but I think I just need some rest.”

“Will you join me for dinner, at least? You have not eaten for the last thirty hours.”

“Really?” She hadn’t been hungry once this whole time.

“Yes. If you do not eat, you will lose your strength, and your fever may worsen.”

It was kind of awkward that he’d been keeping tabs on when she’d last eaten. But she knew he meant well.

She joined Terzić in a nearby diner, but the salad she ordered tasted awful, like she was eating last week’s leftovers. Amanda mouthed it down anyway. Sending it back would only have dragged the whole dinner out.

Back in her room, she opened her laptop and wrote,

Hi! Sorry for not being in touch. Broke my phone and couldn’t text. Will return home soon.

She sent the same message to Greg, Tom and her mother. It felt wrong not telling them what had happened, but what would be the point? She’d only worry them, and they couldn’t help her anyway.

In bed, her hand hovered over the lamp switch. Would the Red Dove come back? Or had she moved far enough away from Chorna Hora? Did the physical distance to the village even matter? She closed her eyes and flipped the switch. The room fell into darkness. She breathed heavily as the seconds passed, but the room stayed silent.

Thank God. It’s not here. It’s gone and—

“Amandaaaa…”

Right next to her ear. She jumped up in terror and hit the light switch again.

The room was empty. Amanda slumped to the floor and pulled at her hair. It had followed her. All the way here. Would the whispers from the dark continue forever? Would she never be safe without light again?

She started crying once more. Her mother had tried to warn her, and she hadn’t listened. Tom had warned her. Greg, Terzić, Roman and even that stranger, they had all warned her and she had ignored all of them. This had to be her punishment. Her just deserts for her arrogance.

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