The way that it should have been

Chapter 28

How in the ad did Zoya have any idea what was going on?!!! Looking around the room I looked at each of my sestry faces and I could tell that not a single one of them had any clue as to what was going on. So how in the world did Zoya know? (hell, sisters)

Roza leaned back on the sofa with Zoya in her lap and her little arms still wrapped tightly around my Roza's neck. Roza's head laying against my chest with my arms wrapped around both of their sobbing bodies.

Soon Paul came over and sat down next to his Auntie Roza as well, and then he wrapped his own arms around her and Zoya. Roza opened her arms and also pulled him into our little group hug.

I didn't know if he knew what was going on or not. Or if he was just trying to comfort his obviously very deeply distraught aunt and little sister.

(VPOV) Vika

What is going on? Roza and Zoya are both a crying, sobbing, weeping, wailing mess. Zoya kept telling Roza, "it's ok Auntie Woza, it will be ok. She loved you very much." Over and over and over again.

Looking at my mother and grandmother I could see that they had both been crying as well and then I looked at my big brother. And I could tell that he was doing his best to hold it together for Roza's sake. But I could also see that he is in pain simply because Roza is in very serious emotional pain. So, what in the ad is going on here? (hell)

My niece, nephew, brother and sestra in law all sat on the sofa for well over an hour. The two girls crying and the two boys just quietly holding them both comfortingly. (sister)

Eventually Dimka looked up. "Vika, can you get Paul and go put him to bed? Karo, Zoya's asleep too."

My big sestra and brother finally managed to unwind Zoya's little arms out from around Roza's neck, without waking up either one of them. I picked up my nephew and carried him up the stairs to his bed, followed closely by Karo with Zoya and Dimka with Roza. (sister)

After Karo and I had tucked both of the kids into bed, we came right back downstairs and into the living room. Where we saw a red eyed, obviously exhausted, and deeply distraught, Zmey sitting silently in a chair staring out the window. But Dimka never returned, he stayed by Roza's side.

If all ad hadn't of broken loose, I would have said something about Roza being Zmey's daughter. Or about Dimka having fallen in love with Zmey's daughter, or about Roza being Zmeyette. (hell)

But it was more than obvious even to me that now was sooo not the time for wise cracks, smartass comments, or jokes. I may be a snarky smartass sometimes, but even I know that now sooo wasn't the time for it. Even though I didn't know exactly what was going on, even I knew that something was very badly wrong here.

Sonja spoke up first. "Mama, what's going on?" She whispered.

My mother took a deep breath before she answered, "last night there were two major strigoi attacks. One in Nepal and another in Romania. Because of the one in Nepal... Roza lost her mother."

My sestry and I all gasped, my eyes started to sting with tears for Roza. Even if Roza had hardly ever gotten to see her mother, voluntarily on her mother's part, it was more than obvious that Roza still loved her. (sisters)

"And in Romania?" Karo asked in a choked voice also obviously distraught for our new sestra in law. (sister)

"She lost her uncle, her aunt and two of her cousins."

"Oh, my God, poor Roza!!" Sonja cried out quietly in order to keep from waking anyone. Especially poor Roza.

We all sat around the living room silently for a long time before a thought occurred to me. "Mama, you don't think that these attacks could possibly somehow be some kind of targeted attacks against Roza do you? I mean what with it being so many members of her family being killed in two completely different countries. Is that even possible?"