The War of the Videnovi

The War of the Videnovi

Ksenia Kisselincheva

 

They could not stand being together in the same room, without an acrimonious remark to one another. The only interruption to their mutual hostility occurred when potential buyers turned up to have a look at the flat they were selling. This flat was their common property, acquired during their marriage. So, they put up a show in front of the buyers and behaved like a dancing duet, which was in perfect rhythm with one another.      

 

For instance, in front of buyers, they never contradicted each other. Even if they had a different opinion, or were bored stiff with answering the same questions over and over again. Both husband and wife, both Angel and Illina tried hard not to betray any signs of how they actually felt for each other. They tried hard not to betray how eager they were to see the end of this sale, which had been dragging on for over ten months. They tried hard not to betray how eager they were to split up for good.

Then they will be able to move on and strike a new start of their lives. The custody of Yassen, their only son, aged fifteen and a half, will be the main bone of contention between the spouses. Surely, they will have to go to court to solve this ferocious dispute.

 

In the meantime, Yassen eavesdropped on their frequent verbal warfare and he was absolutely disgusted with what he overheard. He detested both Angel and Illina. Most of all, he felt strongly betrayed by them. A burning desire to revenge on his so-called 'parents' was brewing up in his soul. Yassen was firmly determined not to allow them to treat him like an object which could be carved out into two. He was old enough to have his own opinion about his future.

His well-planned revenge started by neglecting on purpose his duties at school. He stopped opening his textbooks or doing any homework. As a result, he got a great number of poor grades in important subjects, such as Math, Physics and Chemistry.

He was cunning enough to keep his grade book in the 'hideout' under the bridge. This 'hideout' was a top secret which he shared only with Manol, his best friend. They spent much of their time in the shelter, which was like a cabin, made of planks and covered with tree branches. They skipped school and cowered in the cabin, playing games on their tablets. They did this for a good reason: if there was a final term test, or writing an essay, or a presentation of course work at the end of the term.  They found it difficult to obtain false sick leave notes for they had to pay two euros for each one of them.

Yassen's parents were too busy with themselves to control him and he took advantage of his freedom to do whatever he pleased. During the daytime he was nonstop stuck to his smart phone or his lap top. And late at night, under the cover of the bed sheets, he was back to his travel in virtual reality.  For many hours on end, he untiringly played video games, watched music clips and had endless chats with internet pals from all over the world.

 

For instance, since last Saturday he had a new friend from Iraq. His name was Mustafa, he was eighteen and he was on regular service in the army. Yassen was curious and he scrutinized all the photos of his new pal which he uploaded in the site day after day.

Mustafa demonstrated a very attractive appearance: a charismatic smile and an athletic tall silhouette in his smart khaki uniform. he uploaded lots of photos of Mustafa's daily routine, as he was doing push ups and press ups, lifting weights, jumping over a lath, marathon running and so on. Yassen uploaded a splendid photo, on which he was casually leaning against the muzzle of a tank. He explained to Yassen that he had been commissioned to serve in a tank brigade.

 

Actually, Yassen adored all kinds of sports but he was particularly keen on fitness and marathon running. His childhood dream was to become a military pilot. Unfortunately, he did not think his physique was good enough to be admitted into a sports school. The requirements were very tough, the entry exams were grueling and he never dared  even trying. Luckily, his score at the entry exam was high and was admitted in a high school with intensive learning of Math and the Sciences.

He loved greatly talking in English to Mustafa. He asked him all possible questions like details about his daily routine, or his opinion on international affairs. And most importantly, he was curious to know about his plans for his career development.   

 

One day,  two months after their virtual meeting, Mustafa told Yassen that it might be of interest to him to hear a piece of hot news. He put forward the original announcement to prevent his new pal from suspecting fake news:

 'From January 2020, young boys, aged sixteen, will be recruited from the world over to get versatile training for two years in a military camp, free of charge. In the end, they will be tightly tested to find out if they are eligible to serve in an elite international legion.'

Yassen felt exhilarated at this prospect, for it sounded like a second chance for him to follow a military career. He decided not to share it with anyone, not even with his close friend Manol. He immediately sent in a PDF file with all the data, required for a successful recruitment. He was very particular about not missing the deadline. Then he explained to Mustafa some details about his near future. First, he had to finish the school year. And, secondly, he had to go to the countryside during the summer vacation.

Svilen, his grandpa on his father's side, lived on his own in a village near the town of Silistra on the Danube, in the north east of Bulgaria. Young Yassen usually helped him during the summer vacation with picking up the fruit from his large apricot garden. Svilen had a long-term contract with a local company and sold them the fruit in bulk. This multinational prospering company had state of he arts equipment to make delicious apricot brandy in large quantities. Afterwards they sold the brandy for export to non-EU countries, or to retail shops and markets across the Balkan countries.

This evening, while clearing the table after dinner, his parents were having another tempestuous row. Yassen eavesdropped again because he wanted to update himself with the sale of their God damn apartment.

Illina said:

'You are very greedy. At this high price we might not be able to sell the flat within a year. This is too long for me. Next fall Yassen will have to enroll in high school in another area of the city. I have to submit his documents by July next year.'

'I don't care about your scatter-brained plans for the future. The problem with the custody of Yassen has not been resolved yet. The legal procedure might be protracted for too long. It might take ages.'

 'Mind you, I want to get a divorce very expressly.  My partner is eager to have me close to him very soon. He wants to have somebody special to share his life with, somebody special to wait for him at night, when he comes back home from his  draining job of a deputy CEO.'

 

'Damn you, don't you dare speak about him! If you mention him again, I will disfigure your face with a kitchen knife. You, silly cow, don't you realize that you will be the successive playmate of a rich spoilt oldie ,or in Bulgarian, the translation is 'mutra dartak'. He will never marry you. He will kick you out, as soon as he gets tired of you.'

 'Shut up! I simply cannot stand breathing the same air next to you. I might think of moving temporarily to my mother's. However, in such a case, you will be fully responsible for Yassen, if I decide to move out.'  

'As far as the flat sale is concerned, I'm determined not to sell this flat for less than the current market price. I have discussed it at length with brokers from three estate agencies.'

 

'Then you have to look after Yassen and watch out about his reckless teenage adventures.'   

'Go to hell, you bitch! Get out of my sight! I'll take good care of my son. To sum it all, you have never been a good mother to him at any point in his life.

'Shit. You never admitted that I have done anything right. This is verbal terrorism of a male chauvinist pig. I won't put up with it anymore. Tomorrow after work, I will collect a few things and go to my mother's. As well, I will surely register at some shelter for domestic violence.'

 

Yassen secretly gloated over their animosity. He will take his ardently what they had been watching. Yassen admired his dad's sarcastic sense of humor for which there was no "sacred cow".

Now Angel showed a great interest in his son's sports activities. He congratulated him on his fast progress in fitness, but, at the same time, he warned him about the dangers of lifting too heavy equipment too fast. He explained that his body was in the process of fast growing and his bones were still frail or not sturdy enough. On account of this, he concluded, he was  prone to revenge on them in the fullness of time. When he leaves for Iraq, for sure, they will be shocked and disturbed. They will be forced to organize a search party with the help of the police and volunteers. Alas, it will be to no avail!    

 

His mother was adamant and left the house the next day, without saying goodbye.

Despite his demanding job, Angel tried hard to devote himself to Yassen every second of his spare time. He could not bear the idea that his beloved son might suffer from the absence of his mother.

At this stage of his life, Yassen was fifteen and a half years old and, apart from a few celebrities, his dad was an important role model for him. He liked to watch with him TV football, basketball matches, or Formula One car races. They commented traumas due to the abrupt increase of load during the fitness training sessions.

In his desire to make his son happy, Angel went to great lengths. He agreed to enroll him in a judo club to take him away from the intensive weight lifting in the fitness hall.  It cost an arm and a leg. Angel believed a martial art would be a brilliant investment in his son's physical and character building.

   But his father made it clear that he would support Yassen in this sports activity, only if it did not affect his good results at school. Straight away, he started checking Yassen on his current assignments every single night. When asked about his grade book, Yassen explained that he had misplaced it and could not find it.

Angel told him that he smelled a rat and he would check up his progress at school virtually through the electronic diaries. These diaries had recently been introduced and they made a revolution in the parents' control on their offspring.

Yassen had to think up a smart strategy because he had to face and alleviate Angel's anger with his disastrous performance at school lately. Under these circumstances, he realized that he could not hope of joining the judo club.

'You have been lying to me. This is abominable! I have had so much trust in you. For this reason, I haven't treated you as a teenage deviant, but as an equal, a mature mate who won't abuse my trust.'

 

'All I can do is to apologize. Give me a second chance, in due time I am going to prove I deserve your trust.'

'You should start helping me with the sale of the apartment. This means that whenever potential buyers come to have a look at it, you have to take them around and explain all the advantages of our dwelling. Apart from this, you must be ready to patiently answer any boring questions they might ask.'

'Certainly, I will readily do this. And I would like to state my personal decision before the court for my prospective custody. I would like to state...I want to live with you! Please, you should discuss this matter urgently with your lawyer.'

 

'I am really happy to hear about your decision! But, it is up to the court to take the final decision in accordance with the civil law. However, I am afraid we must be patient and wait until you are sixteen. At this stage, you can give proofs before the court that she has neglected her maternal duties and has shown no interest in you for the last year.'    

'I will gladly do that. And I promise I will study hard and I will not disappoint you anymore.' 

'Learning how to keep your word will be a test of your manhood. If we are a good team, we will win the battle!'

They held their fists crosswise for a while and kept silent. It looked like a secret ritual of swearing into loyalty under a sacred oath.

Suddenly, Angel's mobile rang, cutting the enchanted silence like a sword. It was his boss. He gave Yassen a huge hug and rushed out to his office.

Yassen was eager to get in touch with Mustafa. He was eager to tell him that a soon as he would be sixteen years old, he would be able to choose to live with his dad.

Apart from this, he could have a driving license and occasionally, he could drive his father's car, which was a brand new Daewoo. He will be sixteen next year on May 24th 2020. His birth date coincided with  a very special national holiday. This was the holiday of education and culture. Mustafa was online for no more than 20 minutes and he congratulated Yassen on the latest good news. He said he would like to know more about this unique national holiday. Soon he apologized and disappeared from the chat room. It was obvious that he was urgently made busy. 

Yassen continued daydreaming about the time of his coming of age in May 2020. Later, by the end of June 2020, he will have graduated from the 10th class. He could take the 11th and 12th class as a private student, after coming back from Iraq on leave in two years. Hopefully, by 2022, he should have joined the elite international legion.   

'Now back to reality. In July 2020, he will be in the village where his granddad lived and he will be helping him with picking up the fruit from the trees. He will rejoice in looking after Rocky, the German shepherd who was his granddad's guard dog. He will be taking him for long walks along the Danube River. He loved to go as far as the Srebarna Nature Reserve which was under the auspices of UNESCO. You could watch mesmerized there a great variety of beautiful birds like herons, pelicans, plovers, storks, cranes and so on. Darling Rocky was not a hound, so he was not keen on bird hunting. He sat with dignity by Yassen's side and watched closely every single movement of his master. Rocky adored him and was ready to jump into the fire for him. Yassen will surely miss Rocky tremendously when he leaves for Iraq.

He hoped he could be back on leave to his country the following summer. He had to ask Mustafa about this important detail of his commitment to the prospective project. Angel will plan to visit his son and his father for two weeks during his annual leave. The three of them could make a bonfire in the yard on a star-studded night. Then Yassen could play on his classical guitar and sing his teenage rock repertoire.

 As usual, his smart phone rang and startled him in his daydreaming. It was Manol, his best friend. He was impatiently waiting for him in the hideout.

 

This evening he had to cook dinner for his dad because his mother was gone. All he knew was how to make scrambled eggs and French fries. He grilled a few German sausages on the electric grill too. He made a fresh salad of iceberg lettuce, mixed with tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. He added some sunflower, squash and sesame seeds to the mixture. Then he laid the table with a floral tablecloth, red napkins and silverware. He put a bowl of flowers in the middle of the table.           

 

He turned on the TV to hear the 7 o'clock news, while he was waiting for his dad to return from his office. Angel gave him a tinkle before he entered the metro station. He must be back within half an hour.

Yassen took out his textbook in trigonometry. He was going to ask his dad about some homework tasks. Angel had graduated from the Technical University with flying colors and he loved to help Yassen with solving some tricky math problems.

He felt a bit guilty for having neglected his son recently.  Mostly during the last year, while he had been ferociously fighting with his wife Illina. Now he felt a bit more relaxed because Yassen had stated firmly his decision to live with him after the divorce. But tonight they should discuss how they will share the domestic duties, while Illina is away.

'Hi,  there. Sorry for being late but something urgent cropped up in the nick of time.'

'Hi, there. Never mind, dad. Dinner is ready. I have to warm it up in the microwave oven for a couple of minutes.'

 

'I'll have a small grape brandy on the rocks as a starter. It had been a very hectic day at the office. I had to hand in my report to my boss for the last quarter of the year by today. The deadline is always 10th of December, two weeks before Christmas.'   

 

'I realize you must be whacked by now but I need a bit of help with my homework in trigonometry.'

'Let's have dinner first because I am as hungry as a wolf. I skipped lunch today to overview all the figures in my report before I handed it in to my boss.'

 

Father and son had dinner together and they talked about their plans for the coming Christmas holidays. Angel said that his sister Vera had invited the two of them on Christmas Eve. There will be Vera, his younger sister, Stoyan, her husband and Veronika, their daughter. Veronika was twenty years old and was a law student at the NBU University.

 

For the New Year's holiday which spanned 3 days, father and son agreed to go skiing to Bansko. This was a picturesque alpine town in the Pirin mountain, south of Sofia. They were going to stay at Pavel's, one of Angel's cousins on his mother's side. Pavel, who was a skiing champion in his twenties, now was running a guest house in the old part of Bansko.

When Yassen went to bed, he talked to Mustafa again and told him excitedly about his plans for the winter holidays. He told him that according to the weather forecast, there will be lots of snow in Bansko this year. He showed Mustafa a photo of Bansko and his internet pal agreed that it looks like a Scandinavian fairy tale.

Yassen will never forget this skiing vacation in Bansko. He met there a girl, Dilliana, who was seventeen. Her parents had divorced when she was just five. Nevertheless, her father had taught her how to ski and she had never missed the skiing season for the last seven years. Yassen and Dilliana clicked together, they became hot buddies and she showed him some new tricks down the slope. They had common tastes in music, both liked hard rock and hip hop. Both had a strong distaste for cigarettes and drugs. Before parting, they exchanged emails and mobiles.

Yassen and Angel came back home and were relieved to find out that Illina had not returned from her mother's yet. The team of Boys United organized themselves very fast and by 9.00 p.m. they had unpacked, dined and were ready to watch the sequel of The Farm. This was a famous reality show on a private channel. Angel thought it was useful for his son to watch this program because there were mixed teams of boys and girls, competing in it, showing various survival skills. For example, they managed to build by themselves wooden houses and animal sheds. They ran a dairy farm and looked after domestic animals like cows, goats, chicken and turkeys. Some boys and girls dated steadily and other ones exchanged engagement rings. Like any small community, they had rules set out and they tried to stick to them. But, at the same time, they had arguments, intrigues and slanders as well. Occasionally, the boys had fights over some girl.

 

Angel was particular about discipline and made sure Yassen went to bed at 10:30 p.m. By Jove, he did not suspect that his son had a secret chat under the bedcovers. "The prodigal son" updated Mustafa on his winter vacation and shared with him his impressions from "The Farm".  Mustafa approved of what the reality program taught young people to do, while competing with each other. He put emphasis on their team work, how problems arise and how they solve them through negotiation. Unexpectedly, he wished Yassen good night and disappeared from the chat room.

 

The second term of the school year Yassen studied second shift and he did not have to get up at 6:30 a.m. But his dad made sure he woke him up at 8:00 a.m., before he left for his office. Sometimes, he made some espresso coffee and left it on the table. Yassen loved his time on his own in the morning.  He had his toast with jam or cheese and tuned in to a hard rock radio. Then he prepared his rucksack and attended to his daily assignments. His Hi His dad checked up on him a few times in a week and he helped him with Math and Physics. At 12:30 p.m. he called Manol and he arranged to meet him at the hideout.

 

 At 1:20 p.m. they were both at school, updating each other on the latest assignments. Manol had seen the photos from Bansko and was absolutely fascinated with the ski runs and the taverns. He was really impressed with Dilliana's good looks and her self-confidence in skiing. Yassen told Manol he was a baby, so he won't be noticed by a girl like Dilliana. But, who knows, she might have some younger girlfriend.

 

Anyway, life took its usual course and Yassen tried hard to please his dad for he craved to enroll into the judo club. Illina tried to call him every evening but he picked up the receiver only twice a week.

Sweetheart, how are you? Are you starved since I'm away? 

'No way, I have put on three kilos after your wrangling stopped.'

'Is he dating some woman? Is he going out in the evening on his own?

'We are Boys United, so you will hear nothing from me.'

'Will you come over for dinner. I will be so happy to see you.'

'So far I cannot promise. I am very busy preparing my lessons. Also, I have my sports schedule and I have a girlfriend who I'm dating.'

'Common on, Yaschik, I miss you a lot. Mummy will cook your favorite pizza with four cheeses.'

Bye-bye, mum. My favorite reality show is coming.'

'Bye-bye, sweetheart. Hope to speak to you tomorrow.'  

'Bye.'

 

There was a ring, while he was crossing the street. Hurray, it was Dilliana!

'Hi, there. Tonight I'm inviting you to the hip hop club. My friend Antonia is giving a party for her saint's day.'

' Super-duper, I will certainly  join the gang. Can I bring Manol, he is a hard boiled crimka?'

'Certainly, you can bring him. How about meeting at 7:00 p.m.?'

'Super. We will be there with sunglasses on. This is an under cover strategy of cops. '

Dilliana laughed out and hung up abruptly.

 

The first meeting at the hip hop club went like a house on fire. Suddenly, the flashing lights went out and during the short blackout Yassen and Dilliana grabbed each other and kissed passionately. The lights went on again but they were still sucking at each other. Manol and Antonia liked each other and never stopped dancing. He ordered a bottle of champagne and she yelled with joy at the top of her voice. They exchanged mobiles at the closure of the club and Antonia gave Manol a big hug.

There was a fight between some ultras after the club closed, but the police arrived in five minutes on the spot. The ultras were handcuffed and taken to the police station. Many club goers waved vigorously to cabs, eager to avoid the freezing cold. It was well past 12:00 and it was minus ten. It was time to settle down.

Next time Dilliana's parents were on a team building trip to Prague and there was a huge party at her place. Yassen and Manol were specially invited and hey arrived on tratonettes. They carried their judo costumes in boxes, full of exclusive wine and whisky. The two had planned a big surprise for the party, which was a judo demonstration.                   

The effect of their act was tremendous. Both of them had kept sober till their turn came. Everybody took photos of their performance on their smart phones, while Dilliana made a video clip of it.                       

Later on Dilliana was the first girl with which Yassen had  great sex more than once. He would remember her and the St Valentine's they spent together in Greece. Manol, on his part, was eager to share with his buddy in the hideout that he had admitted to Antonia that she was the best thing that ever happened to him and she gladly reciprocated with the longest kiss by Guinness records.

 

On 24th of May 2020 Yassen came into the rite of maturity and ever since he was allowed to do many things he had been longing to do. He could not wait for the day when he was able to state in court that he wanted to live with his father, Angel Stoyanov. He told the court that this was not an impulsive decision but the result of a long process of reckoning. The court jury was impressed with his level-headed and persuasive statement.

His mother made an hysterical scene and threatened with litigation, but her son turned a cold shoulder on her and rushed to the hideout to smoke some joint with Manol.

Later on, between the sheets he had a chat with Mustafa and told him about his difficult decision to live with his dad. He also said that he realized that coming of age gave him many new opportunities. But maturity also involved many new responsibilities. For instance, first he had to complete the school year with flying colors in order to deserve his membership in the judo club. Secondly, he had to help his grandfather in picking up the fruit from his large garden, for it secured his livelihood throughout the year. His pension was very modest though he had had forty years of working experience as a skipper on a cargo ship along the Danube River.

And, last, but not least, Yassen had to finally make up his mind about his further professional development. He dreamt of a military career since adolescence. But did he have the qualities he needed to be really successful at such a career? He had to do a lot of hard thinking before he said the short but fateful "yes" to Mustafa. He was poignantly aware his pal would put his honor at stake.

 

Mustafa said he would not rush him, so he gave him some more time to say "yes". He advized Yassen to duscuss it with his father, if he expected a positive response. Yassen avoided reacting on this suggestion of his pal and he reminded him that he had already come of age and was fully responsible for his actions.

While he was helping granddad Svilen with picking up the yield, he got an urgent message from Mustafa to send his details concerning his airline ticket, if he was ready to confirm his flight Sofia-Istanbul-Baghdad, as agreed. Yassen made it clear that he could not leave earlier than the 10th of September. Any date after that one, he wrote in his email would be convenient for him. The date was set and it was September 17th. The closer it came, the more his heart pounded with excitement. There was no way back, he thought, Mustafa's honor was at stake, he supported Yassen's application.  

He remembered what his dad had once said to him. Learning how to keep your word is a good test of your manhood. Yassen was willing to stand the test and move on. He realized this was the first test of proving he was a real man and no creep. And there will be many similar tests yet to come in the future...

 

       

 

A POKER GAME

A POKER GAME
Ksenia Kisselincheva

She was rushing down the dark street but the sight of her crying children at the window was constantly on her mind. Who will cuddle them and who will put them to bed? She doubted that her husband would bother to act as a surrogate mother to them. He would be hard on them and order them to bed like an army officer at the barracks. Actually, he was a professional soldier, so this attitude had become second nature to him. She could not realize how it had all come to that family turmoil. It started with a telephone call while she was serving them dinner. She rushed to answer the landline as usual, but it was a bad line, the call was cut off. When she got back into the kitchen, her husband was seized by a sudden fit of jealousy.

'It must be your lover who entertained you while I was sweating hard in Iraq. It is very arrogant of you to continue this relationship now that I am back.'

 'It's all malicious gossip, I swear upon the lives of my children that I didn't have an affair with Frank. He just helped me to move in the new fridge.'

'I don’t trust you at all,  you turned out to be a slut by nature.'

'Please, don’t speak in that way in front of the children!'

'They must know that their mother is a slut, not worthy of being their mother.'

'What about your numerous love affairs during all these years?'

'This is quite a different matter. Just shut up your gob or you will be in trouble!'

'I don't think this is a fundamentalist Moslem country! So, whether you like it or not, we are supposed to treat each other as equal partners!'

'Stop brandishing this feminist crap in my presence. I am the boss here and there is no room for a “know-it-all” miss. If you don’t want me to get really furious, you'd better collect a few rags and leave my house!' Anyway, the right place of a slut is nowhere else but in the street!'

As Nikola, her husband, hissed angrily, he rose from his seat and was about to sweep away the table-cloth with everything on it.

Zina glanced at her stupefied children and hesitated a bit. However, she knew quite well her husband's violent temper, so she was quick to act. In a hectic blur, she chucked in a few things into her sports bag, then she grabbed her cape and her scarf, leaving in the rush her gloves behind. He caught up with her at the front door and gave her a real hard kick with his heavy military boots. She staggered and moaned with pain. Walking down the street unsteadily, she was oblivious of her pain. She felt quite guilty for leaving her children upset, deprived of her motherly care. It was well past ten o’clock p.m. and the streets looked spooky and deserted. How could she disturb any friends or relatives at this late hour? She could only go to her parents who lived at the other end of the city. How could she turn up before them in this state of distress, without upsetting them strongly? Her father had a serious heart illness and her mother was a diabetic. Zina has tried hard so far to keep her serious family problems secret from them. Yet, if she decided to go there, but she had to hurry and get on the last tram! However, she missed the last tram in the nick of time! Perhaps, this was a blessing in disguise not to put her parents' lives in danger.

'By Jove, where are you going at this late hour?'

She startled and briskly turned around. She recognized Stefan, a young man, who lived in their street, a few blocks away. She did not know much about him, except a few superficial details: he was still at university, having a jolly good time as a bachelor. According to the rapidly-spreading gossip in the neighborhood, he had been going out with a steady girlfriend for the last year. Zina quickly regained her self-composure and said in a casual manner:

'Oh, my God, I had to urgently take some medicines to my parents. Alas, I missed the last tram! There is no bus going close to where they live. On top of everything, I just found out that I had lost the key to my house. I would not like to wake my whole family up.'

. Stefan instantly smelled a rat... Moreover, he knew from his brother that her husband had a violent temper. For a second, he felt sorry for her and came up with a suggestion:

'Zina, why don’t you come along with me? I'm going to a friend's place. We are going to have a game of poker. We usually stay up all night and go home in a cab in the small hours.'

'I don’t feel comfortable to spend the night in the company of strange men.'

'Come on, Zina, I am no stranger to you. My elder brother is a friend of your husband’s. They have been doing together export business for years.'

At the mention of her husband, she shuddered and felt sick. She could not face her parents in this state of mind. They would ask numerous questions and she would not be able to lie to them. They would immediately know with their gut feeling what the truth was. So, she stammered:

'All-right, I-will-come-along. Let’s get some peanuts and crackers from the non-stop shop. I wouldn't like to come to the poker party with empty hands.'

'Fine, that’s a good idea.' Stefan took her heavy bag from her and the two of them headed to the shop. She went inside alone, while he acted like her "private guard", waiting for her outside the shop, taking care of her heavy bag.

She hoped strongly that she would not meet inside the shop anybody from the neighborhood at this late hour.  She pulled the hood of her cape up and covered half of her face with her scarf. The cashier gazed at her with curiosity and thought that she must be ill. That's why she was quick to serve Zina. On leaving the shop, she looked at Stefan intently...'He seems like a decent young chap! Now I am scared and am a bit paranoid because of my terrible row with my husband.' she   thought.

They entered a dilapidated two-storey house a few blocks away. She was in a hurry to rush to the bathroom and take care of her appearance. Her hair was disheveled, her lipstick was smeared and her face was the color of earth. Before she left the bathroom, she was shocked with her reflection in the mirror! It was a bit like a death mask. When she left the bathroom, she saw that another man of the poker four had just arrived. He was a burly guy who had the plump cheeks of a boy. His nickname was Becho and he had a funny nervous tic of winking his eyes whenever he tried to outwit his pals and was found out cheating during the game.

 The game was just taking off. The atmosphere was getting tenser and tenser while the cards were expertly dealt around by Peter, who was the host. Each one of the players was watching closely the other partners, oblivious of the woman's presence. Stefan had already had Zina seated in an armchair and he had turned on the TV. It was placed in a corner, away from the dining table, where the poker game spirit was gathering speed.

 A crime thriller was shown on the crime and investigation channel. Though she favored this kind of movie quite a lot, she could hardly concentrate on what was going on the screen. She was worrying about her children all the time! She wondered - had they been able to go to sleep, after witnessing the ugly scene in the kitchen?

She realized that in the first place she had made a fatal mistake by telling her husband about Frank's insistent courting, watched closely by her nosy next-door neighbors.

Before her husband left on a mission to Iraq, he had been coming home very late and very drunk. She did not say a word, she just moved to the couch in the living room. She had been greatly hurt by his macho arrogance! Very often she cried quietly in desperation, while tossing around because she was unable to fall asleep until dawn.

When he came back from Iraq, he looked emaciated and wrecked. He looked like someone who had gone through the purgatory of hell. And she hoped strongly they could get rid of the mutual suspicion and have a restart of their relationship.

She admitted to him about her short-lived infatuation with Frank. She did not want him to learn about it from the busy bodies next-door. Or, probably, she was old-fashioned enough to believe naively that there should be no lies between a husband and a wife.

How stupid she had been! Most of the families she had known at close hand had been living together, bound in a welter of lies and mutual blackmail! What she had done, could not be undone! Now she had to pay a heart-rending price for it.

 She almost dozed off by the end of the movie. However, she was awoken by the heated argument among the players. Stefan was vehemently accusing Becho of cheating on him and insisted on having his money back. He made a menacing gesture of hitting him and while doing that, almost overturned Becho's glass of whisky. Stefan shouted furiously:

'I cannot stand anyone insulting my intelligence!'

Peter resolved their argument by giving the heap of money back to Stefan. He seemed as the one who was in charge of the game. So, to calm their spirits a bit, he produced a bottle of whisky from a cupboard and gave them all another helping of about 50 grams. The bottle was half way full.

The fourth guy had an inscrutable face like a mask but his eyes darted incessantly all over the place. Zina heard them call him Gogo. She was tired and tried to focus her attention on the screen, so she did not notice that time and again, he furtively looked in her direction.

The movie was over. Therefore, she switched to another channel fast. It was a Fashion Channel- a high fashion or haute couture show was running from the catwalk in Milano. She got absolutely fascinated with the beauty of the models, gracefully putting forward the extravagant imagination of the designers. 'But - she thought - this was all done in order to please and excite men. These women walked like robots, exuding lust and allure to attract the male animal!'

It struck three o’clock in the morning.  On that day, she had been working hard at the office until six. Then she had to cook and serve dinner to her family. She planned to iron the laundry after dinner.

However, the unexpected kitchen row overturned all her plans. At that instant, she was all night in a room with four strangers, away from home! But, she knew Stefan, he was her next-door neighbor and he had been kind to her so far. As she was watching a rock musical, she could not resist falling asleep.

She was startled by a jolt on the shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was petrified when she saw that Stefan had left. She was alone with Peter, Gogo and Becho. She panicked and mumbled:

 'Where has Stefan gone?'

Peter laughed sardonically and said:

'You did not mean to screw him, did you? His wife called him and he rushed out like an ambulance on an emergency call.'

She looked around, trying to find her bag, her cape and her scarf. To her horror, she could see them nowhere around!

'Where are my things? I want to leave!'

Gogo, who looked like a furtive guy, hissed through his teeth:

 'You-do-not-set-the rules-here. You will do, as you are told.'

 Peter added in a mocking manner:

'You have to reward us for the free accommodation we offered you.'

 'What do you mean?' she asked, stammering with horror.

 Peter asked in a mocking tone:

'Don’t you do it with your husband? Well, long married couples are usually as dead as dodos in bed. But we will help you use your womanly charm again.'

 Gogo chuckled, while Peter was moving the table to a corner, turning up the music full blast. Of course, that was low-grade “chalga”, a disgusting pseudo-oriental stuff which had been super hot since the start of the so called transition period.  They played it everywhere: on buses, in restaurants and taverns, on many private TV channels. The women were supposed to do belly-dancing on table tops, while the men stuffed money into their bras and panties.

Becho got a call on his mobile and he vanished, without saying goodbye. 

Gogo and Peter started dancing in a mock Greek sirtaki like style, taking in between big gulps of whisky. She rushed to the door. But to her horror, she found that it was locked. Both of them laughed heartily, being greatly amused. They pushed her back rudely into her armchair.

Peter shouted at her:

'Now it is your turn, baby!'

'Hold on a minute. I am not in the mood yet.' She scurried to the table, grabbed the empty bottle and brandished it menacingly:

'Don’t you get near me, or I’ll kill you!'

Both men got behind her instantaneously. They struggled and snatched the bottle from her hand and painfully twisted her arms behind her back. They acted with the spontaneous fun of a children’s game and they seemed to enjoy tremendously her desperate attempts to resist them.

 'Come on, you are a wild mare who needs taming. There are two jockeys to do the job here.'

They both grabbed her and banged her head against the cupboard. She slipped down on the floor and lost consciousness. When she came to, they were slapping her on the face.

By that time, her boots were off and her blouse was unbuttoned halfway. She started punching them in the face but it only got them more furious and more determined to get on with it. One of them held her arms behind, while the other one ripped her blouse open and started taking off her corduroy pants. As soon as she started shouting vehemently, Gogo gagged her mouth with his dirty handkerchief, while Peter was wildly twisting her arms above her head. He hissed at her:

 'Don’t tell me, silly cow that your husband is a prosecutor and you will get us into prison. Your husband does not give a damn about you and now he is having a good time in bed with a pretty younger chick.'

She tried to speak. Nothing but a mooing sound was

heard. Her mouth had been tightly gagged. Stark

naked, she crawled across the floor on all fours,

trying to cover her naked body with her long woolen

jumper. While she was doing that, Gogo stuck the

empty whisky bottle up her fanny. Both men laughed

their heads off, they were greatly amused by their

dirty sex game.

'Now you will do a bit of a show!' Peter shouted,

getting her boots out of the cupboard. While Gogo

was pouring whisky over her the nipples of her

breasts, Peter was pulling her boots onto her naked feet.

They played a CD with a Moulin Rouge can-can, which was performed in some elite night clubs. Both pushed her and forced her to raise her legs higher in tune with the music. They clapped their hands and shouted:

'Come on! Raise your legs higher, put some beef into it, you do it like an old mare!'

When she did it quite reluctantly, they gave her a kick on the naked bottom with their heavy hobnailed boots. Little by little, they started taking their clothes off and made her crawl naked on all fours. She grabbed one of her own boots and hurled it, missing Peter's head. Gogo grabbed her by her hair and banged her head against the cupboard. She passed out.

 'It is good practice for her if she wants to please her husband tomorrow night.'

When she came to, she shouted:

'I’ll send the police after you. I have enough evidence on my body!'

'Don’t you dare to threaten us, you bitch! You cannot count on Stefan as a witness, he is gone! And this is not my place at all. I borrowed the key from the last tenant. The owner lives and works abroad.'

They gagged her mouth again. She felt an excruciating pain from their hard kicks, on top of an unbearable sense of humiliation. All she could do was to keep mooing like an angry cow. They banged her around and beat her up with a golf stick, so she was all blood, sweat and bruises. She thought to herself: I must make those two quarrel! While she was thinking of how she could unclog her mouth, she was punched by them in the jaw and almost fainted with pain.

 She made a sign that she wanted to speak. They unclogged her mouth for a while. She asked temptingly:

'Is there a bathroom with a bathtub here? I know some special tricks that could be done in the water.' Peter opened a door and let the water flow into the bathtub.

 Then she said:

 'I want to be there with you first!' She coquettishly wriggled her body like a Playboy bunny and pointed artistically her index finger at Peter.

 Gogo was definitely insulted and annoyed:

'You have no say here. Mind you, I go first, before the mare is too tired.'

Peter exclaimed: 

'Gogo, I'm the boss here. Don't keep getting on my nerves, or I will kick you out of the door!'

'You cannot kick me out of the door so easily!'

 Gogo snarled:

'Don’t forget that I have a black belt in karate.'

Peter got even more furious and they caught at each other’s throats. While they were locked in a wrestling knot, the water in the bathroom was overflowing. Zina rushed to turn the tap off. In the meantime, Peter had knocked Gogo down. While still keeping him flat on his back, he told him to get up and immediately leave. Gogo cursed him continuously and growled:

'She is a rag by now. She is not even worth spitting on.

He picked up his jacket, got the key out of the hideout and angrily hurled it at Peter's feet. Zina tried to grab it, but Peter bashed her on the head and picked it from the floor. Then he blindfolded her and put it back into its hideout. She was mad at her torturer but she pretended she had a crush on him. There was only one male beast left to deal with! '

She simulated that she was happy to play as many sex games with Peter as he could take. She suggested sharing a glass of whisky with him in order to get both properly "tuned" for the bathroom séance. He realized he was the winner of "the stag contest" and he was truly flattered. She let him lick some whisky off her nipples and her navel and she whispered in his ear in a seductive tone:

'I know some tricks like those fabulous playmates in Thailand. You have heard of the massage parlors in Bangkok, haven’t you?'

 Peter nodded and gulped down more whisky in anticipation of his sexual bliss. When he turned with his back to her to check up for more booze in the cupboard, she sneaked into the bathroom and stuffed his leather belt into the pocket of a dirty bathrobe. Then she carefully stepped into the foamy bathtub and cried out in a most seductive manner:

' Come on, honey. The water is getting cold.'

Peter was getting less wary because by that time he was as drunk as a skunk. Moreover, his male ego had been polished by her fake display of an unquenchable desire to fulfill his sex fantasies.

'Lie down in the tub like a Roman patrician and I will get on top of you.' she whispered tantalizingly.

 He hesitated for a while but then he saw no risk in letting her get on top of him. She started slowly by massaging his back and neck and all his sensitive points with shampoo foam. When he turned hard and horny, she rode on him in the water like a bitch in its mating season. Though she hurt badly inside her vagina, though she hurt all over her body, she acted as if she howled and screamed with the ultimate sensual pleasure. He was getting more relaxed, keeping half an eye open on her.

 'Fuck me hard, baby! Ride on little Peter like a lioness in her mating season, ride on him like Red Riding Hood till the end of the world.'

He had closed his eyes and he started howling with sensual ecstasy. He howled in a crescendo steep curve to the peak of his huge orgasm.

The next thirty seconds she was as fast as lightning. For her, it was a matter of life and death! She turned the light off and grabbed the leather belt out of the bathrobe pocket.

'Stop playing these silly games with me, you slut. Turn on the light! Now I would like to suck your throbbing fanny for a while.'

He was unable to continue further. She had already tightened the belt round his throat and had pushed his head down into the water. With all her strength, though she was at the end of her tether. Suddenly, he stopped lashing around, trying to pull himself out of the water. Zina kept tightening the belt until his face turned blue. At last, he sank like a blown up float on the bottom of the bathtub, while the water was gently overflowing.

Now she had all the time in the world and she sighed with relief after this agony, going on for hours on end. Outside, it was already dawning. She staggered out of the bathtub and pulled all the curtains up very tightly. She turned the light on and struggled to wipe off her fingerprints. Oh, my God! These fucking fingerprints were everywhere: on the belt, on his body, on the glass, on everything she had been touching during this chalga-like orgy.

She did the cleaning with pedantic absorption like a surgeon, operating on a patient's body. But, unlike the surgeon, there was a weird streak of sadistic delight in her actions. She did not care, if she would be caught or not. Thank God, the black farce was all over. She meticulously put some make up on her face and she polished her boots with a rag. She put Peter's gloves on, before touching the key, which he had moved to another hideout. Once she was out of the house, she dumped both key and gloves into a dustbin.

Strangely, she had taken her own revenge for having been abused and humiliated. In a man-made world, you could hardly hope to have justice for a woman, secretly abused by men.

 She looked anxiously at her watch. It was five minutes past ten. Hopefully, at this hour, her children must be at school. She had to call their father to find out." He did not answer her call. He does it on purpose. To hell with the bastard! A wave of hatred surged in her tortured soul. She needed badly to see her friend Dora,  for she was a born psychotherapist. How could she face Dora after all that? She would instantly smell a rat.

Zina felt there was an insurmountable barrier between herself and the so-called normal people. She will share her dark secret with God alone. Only Jesus could judge her and hopefully give her forgiveness. Then she will go under cover and seek oblivion in her daily routine. The policemen will turn up at the front door sooner or later. And then her life will never be the same. She wondered how many normal people she met on the street had masks, concealing dark secrets like hers. She probed into their eyes, searching for the telling clue, for that twinkle of guilt which might bond her with them, even for a second or two. Her soul had been scarred for good.

In her troubled dreams, she often saw Peter, rising out of the water and lashing her with the belt across the face. Then she screamed and woke up all in sweat. This occurred time and time again.

The alarm on her mobile went on in the darkness. It was six thirty, time to wake up the children. Then there was another ring. She shivered with horror. It was the doorbell. This must be the policemen.

She wrapped her dressing gown around her shivering body and rushed to the front door. I will be a brave girl and will make no scenes., she promised herself. She flung the door open. There was nobody, it was a complete sound hallucination She splashed water on her face to get over her fit of paranoia. How long will she have to wait for them? Why are they torturing her for ages?

 Later when she had to help her children get dressed, she saw things in a different light. The children were very young and helpless. Did she have a chance to get away with her crime?

Still later, when her husband and the children were out, she loved to take care of the flowers, overhanging the balcony rails. Suddenly, she shuddered with horror. It seemed to her that a pink liquid was pouring out of the watering can. She hurried to the sink and changed the water. Pull yourself up and think only of your duties to the children. She instinctively splashed her face to get over her anxiety.

For a second or two, she saw pink liquid, coming out of the tap.  She withdrew her hands from the tap as if she had touched fire.