Fiction

Sándor Szakács

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It was Christmas Eve. I’d just gotten home from work. People find it strange that I’m working even on holidays. They are always asking the same questions: “Don’t you want to spend time with your family?”; “Don’t you have anything to do other than work?” It seems as if they don’t understand what I’m striving to accomplish.

I sat down on the sofa and opened my emails. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except for two: a letter from my superior and a letter from my dad. I stopped for a moment and then opened the letter from my superior. At first I didn’t think anything of it, as most of the time he sends general stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with me. However, as soon as I started reading it, I knew this was something else. It was a job offer, a promotion of some kind in South America. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve been wanting to make an impact for so long, and I finally have a chance to do so as a journalist.

I felt like my prayers finally found an ear. I’ve given up everything just to open the eyes of the people and help them see what our world has come to.

I was ready to pack my things, then I remembered there was still a letter to read. As I mentioned earlier, I gave up many things for my career, and one of the many was my family. It’s not that I don’t love them, I do. I just simply had my eyes on nothing but my goal. I sacrificed everything that could have served as a distraction: I moved quite far away from home; even so I managed to visit them 4 or 5 times a year, which wouldn’t be possible with this new job opportunity.

In short, my dad told me about his illness and the uncertainty surrounding it.He wanted me to spend more time with him as long as I could.

After I read it, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a while: doubt. Doubting whether it really was the best decision for me just to leave for several years, accomplishing my dream, but risking never to see my father again.

I was thinking about it the whole night and couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk, hoping to get an answer from the fresh air.

Laura Móra

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Reed Hay is a nineteen-year-old boy who got accepted into college. He plays professional basketball and is really good at it; he is talented and hardworking. He is not just exceptional on the court, he also has a beautiful loving soul, his friends and family are the most important to him, and he will do anything for them.

He is used to being the best player on the court, and when he first met his new team, he had to accept this was not the case anymore. The court was full of Reed Hays, all determined, gifted people. Reed always had a special connection with all of his coaches, they were all happy and felt lucky that Reed was playing in their team, but now it wasn’t like that. The coach wasn’t impressed by any of his highschool wins. Reed was determined to show him what he could do, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. They already had a hectic schedule, they trained from 7 to 11 a.m., and they did not rest much during the day either. He decided to train more, so now he got up in the morning at 5 for this purpose. In the gym he had a talk with his coach; he told him he would do anything to show him that he deserves to be chosen for the team that will compete in the next game, and that he would train twice as hard as the others. The first time, the coach smiled at him and said he couldn’t wait to see what he could achieve.  The days passed, and it was finally the day when they announced the team. Reed’s name was not mentioned, and he was devastated, he didn’t know what to do, he wanted to quit. After talking to his friend who suggested meditating, he gave it a try. His mind calmed down and now he could really think about what to do. He had an important choice to make: either stay here or go to another university where they would be happy that he was there and his ego would be boosted. At the other university it would be so much easier, the training would be shorter and he could do it effortlessly, which might be the dream for most people, but not for Reed Hay.

He decided and it was a big decision, but not the most important one. The important decision is what he makes every single day, that he wakes at 5 am to train, that he gives his maximum effort to everything he is doing, every single hour he makes the decision to be great, and that is why he is the best basketball player in the world. Not because he didn’t transfer to other universities, but because he makes every single moment count.

Ilona Králik

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It was December. Not long ago, Julie had got into the university of her dreams, and now the first semester has almost already ended. She only had two days left before her Latin exam. The subject she was most scared of. Julie was in law school; she actually enjoyed every part of it except the Latin. That is the reason she did not go to her original, actual exam the day before. She got so scared in the morning she could not get out of bed. Thankfully it was possible to take an exam with the other group of students.

Julie was scared she would fail her exam. She always passed every subject with high scores. Even thinking about failing made her feel strange. After thinking and crying for hours she told herself that she would do it. It wasn’t as though she had any other choices if she wished to achieve her life goal. Julie spent the next two days in her room reading her Latin books. Her parents started to get worried about her; she did not want to leave her room, not even for half an hour. Her mother brought her some food, since she did not want to eat at the dinner table with her parents and younger brother, Alex. After her mother almost forced Julie to eat something she put down the book and ate a sandwich. While eating, she told her how scared she was of losing her scholarship. Julie was clever and was like best friends with her mother, who told her everything. She knew that they would not be able to afford a school like that without the scholarship.

The day of the exam arrived. Julie woke up at 6:30 a.m. The exam started at 9, which meant that she had to arrive at 8:30. To be there on time she would have to take the 7:50 bus. She and her family lived in a small town near the city. Everyone enjoyed living there. It was quiet, everybody was nice and friendly with each other, and it was only a 25-minute bus ride from the city center. The only problem was that there was only one bus leaving every hour.

Julie locked the doors because she was the last one leaving the house, then started heading towards the bus stop, since it was already almost 7:40. She was listening to music, trying to distract herself. She was almost at the bus stop when she saw something moving, a small brown puppy. The dog had shiny fur and looked healthy and well taken care of. It was pretty obvious it had an owner. The fact that it had got lost and had no idea where it was, was also completely certain. Julie was neutral when it came to animals. I would not say she did not like them, but she never really cared about them either. She felt sorry for the puppy, but she kept walking; it was already 7:45. The little dog barked after her. Julie looked back and saw that one of dog’s legs was really bloody. The puppy looked at her with its big eyes. Julie did not know what to do; her parents were at work and her brother was on his way to school. She had to be at the bus stop in a couple minutes. She walked away and got to the end of the street. She kept looking back at the puppy, which did not take its eyes off of her. Julie turned around and ran back to the dog and took it home. When her mother arrived home, they went to the vet with the puppy. After a small surgery, it was healthy and happy again. It turned out its owner had died, and that is why it had run away; there was no one taking care of it. Julie and her family adopted the dog and named it Roxy.

In the end everything turned out okay. Julie did not lose her scholarship, and she will have to take the exam in the next exam season. She also found her best friend that day, Roxy.

Helka Ondok

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A man was standing in the middle of the street, in pouring rain. He had his eyes closed as if he were waiting for something. Then just as he took a deep breath, the blinding lights of a car appeared.

Evan Smith was a lucky man. He had a loving family, he had his dream job, he had a lot of friends and he also had the love of his life.

But one fatal accident took away his wife, and with her, his love for life also disappeared. Every morning he put on a fake smile, went to work, ate, slept and repeated.

His family and friends tried to bring him out of this depression, and day by day, his mood became slightly better. He started to go out again, laugh again, enjoy life again. Until each night came, when he was alone with his thoughts and feelings. The man he was during the day was just a facade for the broken man who came out during the night.

On a rainy night like that, he was in a really bad place. He was afraid that if he stayed alone, he would do something that he might regret, so he put on his clothes and started out the door. His parents’ house came to mind, which was only a ten-minute walk away from his home.

As he was walking, memories of his late wife appeared, all the dancing in the rain, the cozy nights watching films, the laughter in the kitchen while making cookies. The rain, which was pouring down on him, slowly started to mix with his tears.

Just when he started to cross the street, he had to stop. He closed his eyes, as if that would help against the overwhelming feelings. He heard a roar of the motor of a car, and he took a breath.

He had a big decision to make: move or stay.

Sometimes the decision which is the best for you is the hardest. But sometimes we make the decision which is easier. Sometimes this decision can destroy others, but in moments like this, we don’t think about that.

So he stayed still.

Gréta Tóth

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Elizabeth Hammond was a pleasant lady, nearing her 60s, in the area where I grew up. Almost everyone knew her on Ramsel Road by the name Aunt Eli, where she happily lived in a nice two-storey house opposite us. Aunt Eli had a son, Michael, who was the oldest kid in the neighborhood. He was the type of boy every parent loved and adored, and often asked to watch over us for extra pocket money. Even though Michael never admitted it, I still think he enjoyed playing and hanging out with us, even after he met his new friends from the other high school in town.

Of the two schools, West High School has  always been the more popular, where rich and gifted kids went, while South Park High had a reputation for the opposite. In the tales of the locals, South Park was said to be similar to a correctional institution rather than an average school. Barely a handful of students graduated each year, never mind continuing their studies.

Somehow Micheal got to know three guys from South Park High, and suddenly he was no longer the same. Don’t get me wrong, he was still that nice and respectful boy in front of the parents, but there was a visible shift in his demeanour, only noticeable to those who truly knew him and saw him roaming around town after school.

His mother never realized this, or at least I believe she did not know anything at the time. She was happy that her son had finally found friends after being somewhat of an outcast for years. Even though we were good friends together with a bunch of other kids from the street, he never seemed to fit in with us. It seemed as though he was keeping his distance whenever we had company. At first it unsettled me, but when I started high school, I slowly understood what he might have felt, so I never called him out for this.

When I was a freshman in West High School, Michael was already a senior and because of his successes, he was rumored to have great opportunities regarding his future. Everyone believed that he would become a lawyer or a well-known businessman. That was until the day after his graduation, when Michael seemed to have been wiped off of the Earth’s surface. Police investigations started and everyone was interviewed: the students, the teachers, the people in the grocery store and the neighbours.

Aunt Eli was heartbroken and for months, she could not sleep or go out of their house. She could not bring herself to meet the locals with fake sympathy in their eyes. Soon, all types of rumors started about the mystery of the Hammond boy: people made up unbelievable tales about dead bodies found in various places in the suburban area of town, along with conspiratory theories about people being kidnapped and forced into hard labor. It was insufferable for everyone who had known Michael before the case.

A couple months later, Michael Hammond’s case was closed due to lack of evidence, and in a year or so, people did not remember him anymore. Only we, his friends and family, were still grieving his loss after all those years. During this time, Aunt Eli and I became inseparable. She used to say that I was like the daughter she never had, almost like a supplement after the disappearance of her beloved son; and that is exactly what I was trying to do: to help her in any way possible and make her hurting heart heal a little faster. I did her grocery shopping, helped with the cleaning and spent as much time with her as possible. We even sorted through Michael’s stuff together. Even after moving to the nearby city, I went home regularly, not only to visit my parents but to see her.

Unfortunately, during the cold winter months, she came down with a cold, and after a year of being ill, she passed away exactly twenty years after the disappearance of her son. I was devastated and never expected her not to recover  from the cold. I think that she was so heartbroken that she did not want to get better anymore; she wanted to end her nightmares. The hurt and guilt were eating me alive, because…

She never got to know that her son was still alive and was taking care of her from afar. She never got to hear the story that I have been keeping a secret for so long, guarding it from everyone, especially from the people in my hometown. She never got to know that exactly two days later, the now thirty-eight-year-old Michael would have come back to fly her to his new home, where he had been hiding for the past twenty years. Aunt Eli never found out that her son left her because he was forced to do so, because it was the only way for him to keep her safe.

Shortly after a month of going missing, Michael contacted me through an  unknown number, and told me the story of how he had got into this situation. He owed money to those three kids from South Park for a robbery that he had cut short. It turned out that the other students were involved in underground activities, and Michael prevented them from paying their boss, whose new target was Michael. He was given an ultimatum: either to not pay and get reported to the police, risking his mother’s and his own life, or to pay. He could not do either, so he moved and started working in a factory. After so many years of hard work, he had finally earned enough to pay back his debt and come back without fearing his or his mother’s death.

Unfortunately, he was late and could not tell this to his mother. He could never say his goodbye or tell her one last time how much he loved her. He regretted his decision, we both did, since I watched the woman, my second mother, pass without finding out the truth. But we both made our own decisions and there was no going back, no alternative to the past.

We could only hope that she saw us somewhere from above, living our happiest lives, even if it meant keeping something so important from her. I am so sorry for not telling you any of this, Aunt Eli, but I was scared to lose both you and your son.

Did we make the right decision? Unfortunately, we will never find out. You are gone, and there is no more room for what ifs.

Bernadett Sági

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David woke up in the morning still extremely tired from the previous day. He could barely crawl out of his bed but finally succeeded somehow. He just stood in the middle of his room for minutes, with his eyes closed, trying to put the things in his head together. Yesterday was one of his worst days, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He shook his head, attempting to sweep all the second thoughts out of it. He had gone through so much worse in his life, so he had to get through this as well. He had no other choice. He opened his eyes and stepped out of the bedroom. He looked around in his small apartment, trying to decide how to start his morning. David had lived here on his own for years, trying to make a living, but barely could pay his rent. The sky was still grayish outside, the sun hadn’t risen yet and everything was covered in silence. David loved this time of the day. He always woke up early so he could start his mornings without anybody interrupting him. He decided to go to the park for his usual walk before worrying about the things he had to take care of that day. By the time he put on his suit for work and got down to the street, it was already brighter outside. He made his way to the nearby park with a newspaper in his hand, breathing in the morning air. After a few minutes he arrived at his nearly empty destination. Wandering around the trees and bushes, he searched for his bench while swinging the papers in his hand. When David finally found it he sat down, let out a sigh and spread out the newspaper on his lap. He ran through some articles whose reliability was questionable, but then a writing caught his eyes. It was about a bank robbery that had happened the previous afternoon. David furrowed his brows while reading. There was also a picture of said building next to the article. Arrest after large amount of money stolen in an aggravated burglary. – said the title.  He started to feel sick. That bank was just a few streets away from his flat. Aggravated burglary. How can a person do that – risking innocent people’s lives? Someone he knew could have been hurt. He turned to the next page where the article continued. By the time the cops arrived, the perpetrator had got away with a bag of money. Then David’s eyes skipped to the picture under the paragraph. He froze. It was a facial composite of the possible suspect. He started to examine it. He has seen those eyes and nose before. David recognized the man in the picture and was totally shocked. He knew this guy. He always thought that he would have a bright future ahead of him. He would have never thought… Looking up from the newspapers he had so many questions in his head. What could have happened that led him to do something like that? Could he have changed that much through the years? His train of thought was interrupted by the time. He had to go to work. David stood up, folded the newspaper and headed out of the park. The city had woken up and the streets had begun to fill up while he was “away.” On his way, staring at the toes of his shoes, David was still thinking about the article. A thought crawling into his mind made him stop in the middle of the street. What should he do with the information he has? Should he go to the police and report this guy? He did what he did and he deserves to be punished for that. Or doesn’t he? David hesitated. He knows him and he is not a bad person; or at least he wasn’t before. Maybe he had a rational reason for what he did.  Is there such an acceptable reason at all? If he reports him now, then it can destroy his life forever. Does David really want that for him? David was a good-natured person all his life. He thought that despite his mistakes he always did the right thing. But now he was totally clueless. Would it be the right choice to go to the police? David thought so. But the next second he changed his mind again. He already had so many problems in his life to deal with. Did he want to be involved in such a case? He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to clear his head. He let out a long sigh and slowly took a step forward. And then another. David continued on his way into the city, still not sure if he had made the right decision. Now that he had calmed down a bit, he looked up at the buildings he knew very well as he always went on the same path every morning. He watched the people getting in their cars. Many were walking with coffees in their hands, not ready for the day yet. David loved it here, but when he was younger he imagined his future quite differently. He had many dreams back then, but life got in the way. David looked up at the sky and suddenly stopped. He dropped the newspaper in the closest trash can and then started walking down the street in the other direction. He hesitated but stepped into the building and went up the stairs. David was at his apartment. He rushed into his room and opened the closet searching for something. When he found it he made his way down the stairs and within seconds was on the streets again. He quickened his steps towards the station. David looked down at the bag in his hands and knew that he had made the right choice. He had to get out of the city before anyone else recognized his face from the newspaper.

Luca Ballók

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(ACT FOUR)

(An imaginary coda to Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros)

It is Bérenger’s room. There is only a small table with an armchair. On the table Bérenger notices a small bottle. He walks slowly to the table.

BÉRENGER: What could this be? (He lifts the bottle and notices the message on its side.) “Drink this to become a rhinoceros.” (His mind becomes confused as to what he should do)

The lighting fades; only Bérenger is visible as he sinks into his thoughts.

BÉRENGER: What to do? What would be the right decision? Is there a good choice?

BÉRENGER: If I drink this potion I could easily become part of the new society. But I would also be just an average member who belongs to a group, but still doesn’t feel like a member of this community. I would just be an eccentric who wanted to be like the others, because I was afraid of loneliness and being different from others.

BÉRENGER: But could the solution be to remain human? And then I would have to be live forever in fear of when I would change, what would happen to me in this upside-down world. And as we know, fear and loneliness keep the individual in dread. I would become more and more unable to live. I would suffocate in the sea of my thoughts, which I cannot share with others.

BÉRENGER: But still there is my conscience and my life instict, which insists that I cannot leave this world just to fit in with the others and maybe live happily. But all these are just a system of theories woven in my brain.

Bérenger heaves a long sigh and then begins to speak in a firm voice.

BÉRENGER: What is a person’s life for? What can a human do for the world? Is it worth giving up our life which we have been given as a gift?

He holds the bottle in his hand: His hand is shaking violently. Then slowly he puts the bottle back onto the table and starts to speak.

BÉRENGER: The most important thing in life is not what we manage to achieve, in this case whether we can save humanity or invent the antidote, but that we have goals and dreams and persevere with them forever. Let’s fight for life!

CURTAIN

Attila Marcell Kiss

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There it was. The last game of the season. Their last chance and final grasp to hold onto a place in the first flight of English football. The team was one point away from the safe zone, sitting at 18th in the league. Their next game coming up was against their biggest rivals for survival, Crystal Palace, who were seventeenth in the league just above us.

The game was about to begin. I put on my laces, the shinpads and finally the captain’s armband. We walked down the aisle onto the stadium for the kickoff. We were prepared for this clash. I was there and ready to give everything I had to stay up and make the fans proud. It was a hard time for me, considering the lack of form of the team, which had led us to the position where we were now. It was also hard for me regarding the rumors circulating my possible departure to one of the giants of English football. I understood the distress of the fans. Their team was on the brink of relegation, and their beloved young up-and-coming captain heading for an exit. I knew that if we were to stay up, it was my priority to stay, but otherwise I had to focus on my own career as well. It would hurt my progress as a player to “have a vacation” in the English second division. But for now I was only focused on our match and to do everything to avoid the drop.

The match began. The first forty-five minutes passed without a single goal. Both teams asserted dominance in defense against the opponent’s attackers. During half-time, Coach Travis gave us the instructions with the aim to finally find a goal.

The second half began. We had been dominating the game, however as the minutes passed we still were unable to score. 60, 70, 80, 90 minutes passed and the score was still 0-0. The extra time was 4 minutes. We had a corner. Playing it short we moved out the defenders from the penalty area which created a perfect opportunity to cross it in. The ball was coming towards me. It could have been my perfect moment. To score the goal to seal the victory. The victory that would have secured our tickets in the top flight for next year as well. I just had to score it…

This memory still haunts me to this day; however, that day in London led to one of the biggest choices of my career . And so the choice was made:

“Hi, my name is Fabrizio Romano and I am happy to announce the latest and biggest transfer of the Summer Transfer Window so far. Isagi Yoichi to Manchester United is  DONE DEAL AND HERE WE GO!!”

Lotti Tajti

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Once upon a time, there was a girl from Italy called Elena. She was 19. She was short, with long, curly, dark brown hair and brown eyes. Her skin was creole.

Once she and two of her girlfriends decided to travel to Greece in the summer. The friends wanted to spend a week there. They talked about how they would get there: by plane, car or ship. Finally, they chose to go by ship.

The summer holiday started; they packed all kinds of things into their suitcases and waited for the day of the cruise.

That afternoon the girls packed their luggage into the back of the car and started toward the port. When they arrived, the ship was already there. They boarded it and went straight to their cabin. All of them chose a bed, sat down and started to talk about what places they would visit. Then the ship embarked.

After a couple of hours it was dinnertime. So they went to the ship’s restaurant and looked for a table. They sat down, and after some minutes the dinner was served. Elena looked around. She didn’t find anyone who was familiar, but she saw a handsome boy with his family. He seemed tall, he had short wavy dark brown hair, blue eyes and a nice smile. His skin was just like Elena’s.

She left her eyes on him. After a while the boy looked right at her. When the girl realised it, she immediately shifted her glance. She blushed like a rose, and her friends noticed it.

– Who did you see? – asked Ines.

– Just a guy. – Elena tried to act normally, but she was totally embarrassed.

– Maybe… You might already like him? – laughed her other friend, Catarine.

– Noo! I.. I just looked into his eyes! – she tried to explain it, but her friends made fun of her.

They went to their cabin and they talked about all kinds of things until they fell asleep. At night Elena woke up because she felt sick. She went out to the corridor and then straight to the deck, where a narrow staircase led. On deck she sucked a little fresh air, and after she felt a little bit better, she went back to the stairs leading down. She stepped down two, slipped on a wet stair, and fell down. But she didn’t land on the floor; there was something soft under her. She fell on a passenger. This passenger was none other than the boy she had seen in the restaurant. They were around the same age.

– Are you okay? – asked the boy, lifting Elena up.

– You asked me this, when I fell on you. You didn’t hit your head, did you?

– Just a little. But now I know what it is like when an angel falls from Heaven. – Elena immediately got butterflies in her stomach and she couldn’t do anything, just smile. The boy also smiled at her.

– I’ll accompany you to your room.

– Oh, thanks. – They followed the way to the girls’ room.

– What’s your name?

– Elena.

– It’s a beautiful name for a girl like you. I’m Matteo. Nice to meet you! – They shook hands. The two young adults arrived at the door.

– I hope we will see each other!

– So do I! Have a Good night, Matteo!

– You too, Elena!

She went inside, leaned against the door, and let out a big sigh. “Now I believe in love at first sight,” she whispered.

The boat moored on the Greek shores of Corfu at midday. The girls got off and took a taxi to their accommodation, which was in a motel. As they had plenty of time, they decided to look around the town.

Even this little bit of sightseeing was an unforgettable experience. The island of Corfu also showed the typical Greek townscape. There were lots of houses on top of each other on the hills.

Most of these buildings had walls polished white, but there were some painted red, orange and even blue. Probably the houses were monochrome, but the people were very varied.

Their lives took place in the street. Wherever the girls went, they saw many men in pubs and cafés. They heard the women chat and whisper. Almost every store played music, and there was a street musician on every corner. Little boys played football on the squares. Everyone looked happy.

The view was astonishing. Bays surrounded by steep rock walls, long sandy beaches, lush green vegetation. From hundreds of meters you could see the sand sinking below the water’s surface. Some parts of the island showed untouched nature.

The girls also saw different kinds of sculptures in the streets. They were similar to those in Italy, but not the same. These Greek statues looked as if a living person had hardened into stone. Their faces also showed real feelings, like happiness and sadness. And the precision with which the details were depicted on the human body and face was simply amazing.

It started to darken. Instead of going back to the accommodation, the three friends visited a pub to have fun. This experience was almost the same as in their homeland, just not in Italian: everybody was talking or singing very loudly. After a couple of shots the Italian young women started to enjoy themselves.

They sang, danced and drank. Around two o’clock the tipsy girlfriends left the pub and somehow got back to the motel. Ines and Catarine went into the room, but Elena stayed in the hallway, because there was a food-dispensing machine and she felt hungry for chocolate. She bought one piece and ate it. Even before she went to sleep, she heard somebody calling her name.

– Elena, is that you? – asked a guy with a deep and soft voice.

– Who’s asking?

– Don’t you remember me? Did you forget last night, my angel? – At that moment she realised who was standing in front of her; she didn’t think, just did what she had to do…

She kissed him.

Matteo was surprised at first, but then he kissed her lips again. He knew the girl was drunk, but it was too good to stop. However, this whole thing couldn’t take so long, because Ines and Catarine came out and took their friend into the room.

The next morning Matteo wanted to knock on the girls’ door, but his family called him to come before he could do it.

When Elena woke up, her girlfriends were already awake. She wasn’t sure about the previous night, because she thought that it was only a dream.

– Good morning!

– Good morning! Did you sleep well? – asked Catarine.

– Very well. I had a pleasant dream. The boy from the boat, Matteo, kissed me. – The two girls started laughing.

– What’s so funny?

– You’re such a silly girl. Don’t you remember? – said Ines.

– He really kissed you last night – continued Catarine.

– Did he? – Her friends nooded.

– By the way, he is very handsome – Ines commented.

– I think so too.

– Did you see him this morning? – asked Elena.

– Yes, he was walking in front of our door. – She immediately ran out to the corridor, to make sure Matteo was really there.

But he wasn’t in the motel. She didn’t see him anywhere. Then Elena went back sadly to the room.

– Don’t grieve! You will see him again. We have many more days left in the holiday – Catarine sat down next to Elena and hugged her. – Let’s go to the beach! Maybe then your mood will come back!

They went to the coast. They spent much time in the clear blue water and swam a lot too. Catarine and Ines talked about the boys they saw. How handsome this one was, how muscular the other. They could chat about it all day long. But Elena didn’t look at anyone. Matteo was in her mind all day. She wondered what she would say to him when she saw him again. But Elena didn’t think about what would happen if they didn’t meet again while they were in Greece.

The days passed very quickly that week. The friends visited museums and cultural places. They also tried the typical Greek food, such as gyros, salad and souvlaki. And when they could, they went to the shores. Unfortunately Elena and Matteo didn’t meet again, because they always looked for each other when the other wasn’t in the motel. She felt pretty sad, because she couldn’t say goodbye to Matteo, with whom she fell so strongly in love during these few days.

The three friends traveled home. A week, two, and even a month passed. Elena couldn’t get the boy out of her head. Catarine and Ines tried to cheer her and told her to get over him.

But the girl did not listen to them.

Even before the end of the summer holidays, new neighbors moved across from them. The girl’s family decided to greet them. One evening they went over, Elena rang the bell. The door opened and at the door was none other than Matteo.

Erika Szántó

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I finally arrived at the old sanctuary. I wasn’t even in the organization yet when they abandoned it for good. And yet, decades later, the secret door was wide open. The traitor should be here. At least I can finally put an end to his madness.

As soon as I entered, the smell of decay and rot hit my nose. The lack of furniture and tapestry made every little sound echo, and I knew I couldn’t stay hidden from him for long. Just as I started to advance, I heard his sickening voice resound through the chambers.

“Is that you? Oh, I knew you would come for me! Send the best to defeat the best. Boss knew her stupid brat couldn’t slay sly silly me. All right, so poor me attacked that harlot! But what’s a fool to do, when slandered and mocked? Surely one would understand.”

It’s a shame that he heard me coming. It only made my work harder.

I continued searching for the traitor in this unfamiliar place. Though it wasn’t particularly hard. I just had to follow his giggles.

“Ha ha ha! You found me! You caught me! I surrender, of course I do.”

There he was, crumpled up, bleeding. Wonder how he’s still alive.

“There is only one cure for madness, traitor. You know that, right?”

“Hah! Listen to this – let poor old me live. I attacked that wrench, I did! And I’d do it again! Return to the boss, tell her I’m dead! Tell her you strangled me with my own entrails! Ha ha! But lie! Lie and let me live!”

I hesitated. I shouldn’t have. At least I should let the traitor die with grace. That much he deserves. I would have done the same in his place, madness or not.

I didn’t kill him. What a grave mistake it was.

…

Months have passed since then. I thought I’d never have to see his disgusting face again.

“It’s good to see you, old friend.”

“Oh yes, it’s poor old me, all right! To spare me was a fool’s idea. What made you assume that I would appreciate the assistance? Ha ha ha ha, you should see the look on your face!”