Love Bites

Home Sweet Home

I arrived in Maramures, Romania at about three in the afternoon. Maramures is a beautiful place, it is full of trees and mountains, and  I can't wait to see the sights. That is where I will be staying until I turn eighteen. Apparently that is where my birth parents used to live, before they were mysteriously murdered that is. I wonder what my great aunt is like. I wonder how old she is, I hope she isn't too old. A grouch old lady is so not what I need to deal with right now. As I walk outside, I hear my name being called. And it's not even my nickname, It's my actual name. Nobody has called me that in forever. At least not since the fifth grade when a group of stuck up girls decided to pick on me because my name was weird. I turn around and see a woman waving to me. I would be really surprised if that was my aunt. I mean, she was young and beautiful. Her walk was really elegant. She looks really sweet. "Avaria!" She says my name again, with a big, welcoming smile on her smooth face. I start to walk towards her. When I am close enough, she embraces me in a warm hug, and I can feel tears soaking into my shirt. At first, I'm stiff and reluctant to return her loving hug. But then I relax and hug her back. She steps back but keeps her hands on my arms. "Oh Avaria, it is so lovely to see you, darling." As she says this she wipes at her face in an effort to dispel the tear drops that cloak her face. I am still to stunned to speak. "Oh, sorry darling, my name is Ophelia, I am your aunt. It is a pleasure to finally see you again." The smile starts to disappear when I don't answer. I quickly shake myself to get a grip. "Hello Aunt Ophelia, It is nice to meet you." I say shyly. The loving smile returns to her kind face. "Please, just call me Ophelia." I nod my head and look around, admiring the view of this new world. She wraps one of her arms through my elbow and grabs one of my bags. "Come on darling, I will show you the way to Oz." A frown takes over my face and I begin to wonder about my aunts health. She is definitely different. At least she is nice though, that will make living hear that much easier. We walk down the road for a while, her humming and me admiring the landscape. Soon, we come upon and enormous house, with an even more ginormous yard. It was amazing, and there were horses! I have always loved horses, I used to take riding classes and I got really good at horseback riding. I actually used to own a horse. She was white with black spots. Her name was Persephone, and she was a giant Clydesdale. My aunt opens up the door for me and I walk in. I drop my bags by a table and stare in awe at the decor of the house. My aunt laughs at me and wanders off. I slowly follow her through the house. "Marina!" She startles me by yelling for someone. A small child who looks to be about twelve, skips down the stairs. With the look of awe that's on Ophelia's face, I assume this girl must be her daughter. "Marina, this is Avaria, she will be staying with us for a while." The young girl looks up at me and hides behind her mom's legs. She wraps her arms around Ophelia and stage whispers, "Mommy, that's her, the girl from my dreams, the one with the scary men." My aunt smiles and pats Marina's head. She gives me a nervous smile and bends down, so that she is eye level to the girl. "Now Marina, what did we say about watching what we say?" Marina sticks out her bottom lip and pouts. "Don't talk about my dreams in front of strangers." Marina said in a rehearsed monotone voice. Ophelia nods her head once and taps her on the nose. "Good girl." "Now, run along darling. Ava and I are going to cook dinner." The little girl squeals and runs off. "Um, might I ask, what dreams exactly are we talking about?" I asked, all the while thinking 'wow! Out of all the people in the world, the family I get stuck with, is completely looney.' My aunt clears her throat and says hesitantly, "Well, you see, Marina is a special little girl. She kinda, well, she sees things differently than we do." I frown, not completely comprehending what she said. "It's kinda hard to explain, maybe later over tea. You like tea, don't you?" I don't really but, I don't want to seem disrespectful. "Sure, I love tea." At that she smiles, and something inside of me warms. "So, what's for dinner?"