Impaler

Angelina

 Angelina knew that she had made the right choice of choosing Romania for her vacation; she felt that it was nice being away from Chicago. The past two years have been torture because of COVID-19, especially going through losses within her family. However, her family life was anything but ordinary.

 Angelina's mom was a teen mother, and her father was some wannabe gangster who left after he found out that Angelina's mom was pregnant with her. Her mother gave birth to her to get welfare and other financial assistance. It didn't help that she quit school and would party, which left her daughter neglected. Her maternal grandparents had enough of their daughter's irresponsibility and fought for custody. They also didn't want their granddaughter to go to foster care. Once the grandparents got custody, they did their best to raise Angelina. The young woman remembered her grandparents always tried to buy her food and clothes and make small birthday parties.

Once Angelina was of legal age to work, she assisted them with the rent and bills. The young woman did her best in school; she wanted to give her grandparents a better life so they wouldn't have to worry when they got older. Angelina's hard work paid off; her good grades and test scores earned her grants and scholarships. Angelina was even accepted to the University of Chicago, making her the first in her family to attend university and graduate. She studied History and Archeology. Her grandparents were proud of their grandchild since she was making something out of her life.

However, Angelina remembered that whenever her mother visited, she would always tell her that what she studied was worthless. Still, Angelina proved her wrong when she was accepted into an internship in archeology in Europe. Angelina went on to impress her superiors throughout the years, and they decided to hire her to be a permanent archeologist with good pay.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Angelina's grandparents contracted the disease. Angelina tried her best to care for them, but during her mother's visits, it was found that she had the virus. Angelina's mother infected her grandparents with COVID-19; they died two months apart. This devastated the young woman, and their wish was for them to be cremated; they didn't want to burden their granddaughter financially.

Angelina's mom had no guilt and wanted what was hers in her parents' will. They left nothing to her; they said that she spent her inheritance. Angelina's mom disappeared from the face of the Earth; she was never seen again. The young woman moved to another apartment with her grandparents' ashes. She became depressed, but her acquaintances recommended that she travel once COVID restrictions lessened. 

Once COVID restrictions lessened, Angelina didn't want to be entrapped with her depression. The pandemic made her realize how fragile life was, and she didn't want to live and die with regrets. It was decided to take her acquantices' advice and travel. She researched many tour agencies and the many available countries. Angelina traveled to different parts of Europe during her time as an intern. However, one of the countries she had never been to was Romania; it caught her interest. The country had many beautiful cities, towns, and nature; castles were also famous. Once her destination was chosen, Angelina booked and paid for the trip and her plane ticket. 

 It was her fifth day in Romania, and she didn't regret her decision. During her travels, she was glad that everything was what she had imagined. Romania was a country that almost felt like a fairytale if one went to the right places. Angelina was with a small tour group of ten people; they were all friendly people. The group was in a small tour van heading to the Hoia-Baciu Forest. While on the road, Angelina researched the forest, which had a lot of history. According to Google, there were legends about ghosts and disappearances. This was part of the tour package, and Angelina thought it wouldn't be fun if one didn't take a little risk. 

Maybe she would see with her own eyes if the legends were true.