PART TEN
Chapter 18: Do-Re-Mi
For days after seeing the movie, Eli drives everybody crazy singing the Do-Re-Mi song, although she doesn't understand all of the words, such as how dough can be a female dear and what jammin' bread is. After Sassa stops laughing, she buys a cassette of the soundtrack so she can work with Eli on the lyrics.
Soon the three of them are singing a few of their favorite songs, giving Sassa another idea for enhancing their musical ability as well as broadening their musical world.
Their voices were so lovely singing with Ingrid as the Fairy Chorus last fall. I wonder…
Denise, in her role as the manager of the Limhamn Players Theater, had begun the children's voice training for their roles with Ingrid in A Midsummer Night's Dream. They showed an aptitude for singing at that time, but of course they would. Their range of vocalizations, from subliminal to ear splitting, is part of their condition. And just as they learned from racquetball, singing is about control. Perfect practice makes perfect.
Now Sassa picks up their voice training where Denise left off. And even though Ingrid is busy with her first-year high school classes and with her role as Celia in As You Like It, she buys into the idea of singing with the children and of helping her Aunt Sassa coach them.
Sassa has to adjust her busy schedule, too. She needs time at home each week for designing and sewing costumes for the Limhamn Players and other performing groups, but she breaks precedent by using a sewing machine at Creations during normal work hours so she has more time for the children in the evening.
Troupers
Before long, Ingrid gets a brainstorm, and she and Sassa broach the idea to Denise of putting on a short musical revue at the theater.
Denise presents the idea to John. It's a go, and Denise asks Sassa if she can join the ensemble.
With Denise all in, she and Sassa work with John on how they can make the magic happen—a half-hour revue to take place before a performance of the play that's currently in production. For Denise and Ingrid, it's an opportunity to showcase their marvelous voices, and for Sassa, a chance to polish her keyboard skills so she can accompany the singers.
During their first practice session at the theater, Eli says, "Denise, when we sang with Ingrid last fall, it seemed like we filled up the whole theater with sound. But by ourselves, it doesn't sound the same."
"Don't let that distract you, Eli. Focus on your form. Our voices together would fill an even bigger hall. Anyway, we'll be singing with mics and a bigger amp, so just work on technique."
Sassa goes to see her old acquaintance at the music store where she and Mr. Ávila bought the keyboard and the small practice amp. He helps Sassa figure out what equipment they'll need to fill the small theater with sound, and the music store "rents" Sassa the equipment, although no money changes hands. Instead, Denise gets flyers printed for the neighborhood announcing the show and thanking the music store for its support.
As the children blitz the nearby neighborhoods with the flyers, Eli says, "It feels good to be part of the theater again! Too bad we didn't have time to help out with As You Like It."
"Yeah, Eli. There were no kid parts, but just hanging out feels great."
A few actors who come early to the theater get to hear the ensemble do short runs-through and then the dress rehearsal. The actors are excited to see Oskar and Eli again, and they remember what a delight the enthusiastic children were during the fall production.
"You guys were born for the stage!" one actor says. "You were such troupers in A Midsummer Night's Dream! "
His companion, the older actor who got too tipsy and had to leave the cast party early, casually drapes his arm across Oskar's shoulders. "Oskar, I have to make a point of coming to rehearsal early. Your voice is golden!"
Seeing Eli striding resolutely toward them, Oskar slips under the actor's arm. Eli takes his hand and leads him back to the group.
John and Denise put the word out to the other Limhamn Players that something special will be coming down on a certain late afternoon, ending early enough to give everyone time to get into costume for the evening performance of the play.
On the day of the dress rehearsal, Sassa and Professor Grigor get the keyboard, mics, and larger amp to the alley door of the theater. Denise and John move scenery back to make room so John and the professor can stow the equipment behind the curtain. Mr. Ávila shows up with Ingrid and the children.
After the dress rehearsal, Oskar asks Eli, "How are you feeling now?"
"Sassa and Denise said it went okay, but I know I barely got through it without screwing up."
"I goofed up a couple of times, but it's like our voices all cover for each other."
"Oh yeah. I never thought about that. Good that we had the mics in time for the rehearsal. It makes our voices so big it freaked me out."
Show Time!
Between the locals and the actors who show up early, the audience grows to a respectable size.
Right on time, John steps onto the stage and announces the program. The children open the curtains, and they, Sassa, and Denise roll the keyboard and amp forward, just as they rehearsed. As the children run to close the curtains behind them, Sassa begins to play the "Sound of Music Theme," rocking it a little with a hint of syncopation. Denise steps forward and rivets the audience's attention with the title song, a note-perfect rendition of Julie Andrews' performance in the film.
The audience responds enthusiastically, but the energy rises to its highest level when all five of them perform the Do-Re-Mi song, and of course Denise gestures to encourage the audience to sing along. Now the applause is loud and long.
When Ingrid does a star turn with "Edelweiss," her pure, clear voice—a young voice with no vibrato—sends chills of delight through the audience.
The ensemble performs "My Favorite Things," and after the applause, they finish the revue with "So Long, Farewell," disappearing one by one behind the curtain, much as the von Trapps did in the film.
The congenial audience brings them back for several bows, with no idea that few of them will ever see Oskar and Eli again. As the ensemble takes a final bow, some in the audience might imagine that little Eli is crying from a child's excess of excitement.
Scando Portrait Studio
"Señor Ávila, I imagine the children are still high from how well the musical revue went."
Mr. Ávila sets a cup of coffee in front of his friend. "I'm still high, too!"
"Include Sassa. She is so happy that they were able to pull the show together so quickly and at how well it came off."
"Yes, and who knew that Sassa's suggestion of listening to classical music would lead to the children learning to play a keyboard? And then lead further to picking up their singing lessons."
After Mr. Ávila takes his seat at the table, Professor Grigor says, "So, you have your airline ticket and are ready to dash off to Barcelona for a few days."
"Yes. I'll take an early flight tomorrow. I expect to sign the lease on the space for the portrait studio and then execute a contract with the day manager, who'll also serve as the children's mentor. I'll wrap up those tasks the first day and go over the blueprints with the architect the day after. It's all scheduled."
Professor Grigor studies the Barcelona real estate brochures spread out on the table. "Busy, busy, busy."
"Busy, yes, but I'll spend a day with my parents. I haven't seen them for almost four years, not since I went back to get my passport renewed."
"I remember you told me you did that after Spain voted for the new constitution."
"Yes. I wanted my passport to reflect the change to a republic. Anyway, seeing my mother and father means the trip won't be all business. And I need to prepare them for the two children in my life."
"Señor Ávila, I commend you for your decision to have the children live separately, on the floor above the studio."
"Thank you. Yes, the blueprints call for a large darkroom and a second room with Pullman beds, a shower, and closets. A third room for desks and tables so they can study. Oh, and here's an innovation I didn't think of when we came to Malmö—a dumbwaiter that goes from the second floor to the basement. From there they can walk up a few steps to the inner courtyard, which is shaded except for an hour or two at midday."
"But you do not plan to hire tutors."
"No need. They'll enroll in night classes for their regular schoolwork. Spain isn't as uptight as Sweden about when children are in class so long as the school has IBO or other accreditation."
"I am relieved to hear you say that. Although we served diligently as their tutors during the past year, their learning has become one-sided—heavy on language and culture, light on many of the usual school subjects."
"That's how it has played out, Professor Grigor. I know I'll have to help them with their homework while they play catch-up."
"Señor Ávila, they will have full plates again."
"Right! Along with their schoolwork, they'll be serving as apprentices to the manager I hire. But they are going to be set up for a good run. A long run, if it works out the way we've planned."
"With so much going on, Señor Ávila, it is good that we dropped the idea of the children learning portrait photography before they left Malmö. Although they could have learned the technical aspects of lighting, lenses, and a larger film format, my contacts in the business left no doubt that becoming professional portrait photographers entails a long apprenticeship."
"Yes, my dear friend, there will be time to start that training after their day manager gets the studio up and running. And anyway, the manager is bringing his own equipment in exchange for owning part of the business, so I didn't have to know what to buy after all."
"I have a good feeling about this, Señor Ávila. Setting up shop near the harbor seems like a smart business move."
"We'll see. The Gothic Quarter is a popular shopping area. The lease is expensive, but the area also gets good traffic from tourists arriving on cruise ships. Plus I hope the proximity to the harbor will remind the children of Malmö."
"From the brochures you showed me, it seems to be an interesting location regardless."
Mr. Ávila laughs. "Everything in Barcelona is interesting!"
"Spoken like a native son. And speaking of that, I look forward to learning how you use your family connections and college friends to get blood for the children."
"Yes. Somehow. But I won't be able to do anything about that until after the move."
"I imagine the money in their account in Zürich will help."
"I'm counting on it. Money speaks with authority in Spain, and family ties and old friendships count a great deal."
Professor Grigor's visit continues into the late afternoon when the kids, scrubbed and dressed in fresh clothes, run to the dining room to greet the grownups with hugs.
"Well, children, it is just going to be the three of us until Señor Ávila gets back."
"Piece of cake," Oskar says. "We don't have any homework."
Mr. Ávila shakes his head, and Professor Grigor says, "Then you're ready for a quiz."
"On what?"
"Oskar! On Spain. Mr. Ávila gave us assignments for the atlas."
"Oh yeah. Better give us a couple of days."
"Surely. And I shall go over the assignments with you before the quiz."
"Okay," Eli says. "What time will you pick us up for our Spanish lesson tomorrow?"
Mr. Ávila says, "You'll be ready before 6:00, right kids?"
Time
Following his trip to Barcelona, Mr. Ávila and Professor Grigor are enjoying coffee at the dining room table. Mr. Ávila fills Professor Grigor in on all that he accomplished during his whirlwind visit, including introducing his aging parents to the idea that he has two young wards now.
But with the trip concluded and the first of April almost upon them, the sand in the hourglass seems to be running faster. Mr. Ávila hopes the tempo of his activities will also pick up and carry the little family smoothly to their departure date of mid-April.
The children sit at the table and mostly just listen to the grownups talk.
"Looking back, Professor Grigor, it seems likely that complications will slow our progress and then require bursts of activity to stay on schedule."
"Yes, Señor Ávila, such as the incident that occurred the first week of February. Let us hope that no more bodies show up in the park."
The children know he's making an insensitive joke at their expense, and they make faces to show their disapproval.
"Yes, professor, that loss of time didn't seem like a big deal because it left time to get everything done. But how quickly the time passed!" and he thinks, It's all about time.
"I feel so much pressure to get it all wrapped up that I've toyed with the idea of putting off our departure until the middle of May, but…"
Eli's face brightens. "Oh, could we? We're having so much fun!"
"…but as I started to say, Miss Eli, just check the astronomical calendar on the fridge. Sunset at mid-April is 8:15, and by mid-May it's an hour later."
"So?" Oskar says.
"So that would lead to awkward times for crossing international borders with two underage vampires. Professor Grigor, we have less than three weeks left, and I still have to visit consulates to apply for visas for West Germany and France. I have to buy a car and a caravan, and I also have to arrange for shippers to pack and move the household furnishings."
Mr. Ávila falls silent as he thinks of another chore. It saddens him that he will see Edina for the last time when he asks her to transfer his accounts to Banco Sabadell, the bank in Barcelona that his family has used for generations. He knows Edina was attracted to him, but he could never see a way to ask her out because of his responsibilities for the children, not the least of which was keeping their secret safe.
But whenever he thinks about Edina, his thoughts lead to Bianca. He doesn't want to revisit the heartbreak of their parting, and he doesn't want to think about the brutality of the Franco years.
When Mr. Ávila sighs and looks up, Professor Grigor asks, "Since you still have so much to do before you leave, may I suggest that we do the hand-off to Bengt early? He seems to enjoy playing racquetball with me, and I can of course continue the weight training and treadmill work on my own."
"You've come along, Professor Grigor. It's been a pleasure coaching you. I'll accept your gracious offer, but I may only skip a couple of sessions. I need to stay in shape, too."
"Well, Señor Ávila, playing racquetball has had a big payoff for me! I am stronger and more agile now. And I no longer get out of breath. Although I have not trimmed down appreciably, at least I am not getting any heavier."
Oskar pipes up, "You look pretty strong. Do you want to arm-wrestle?"
"No Oskar. I do not arm-wrestle, and especially not with anyone who is as strong as an elephant."
"Ah come on. Then how about arm-wrestle Eli? I bet you could beat a little girl like her!"
"Oskar!"
"Well Oskar, why do you not arm-wrestle her in my place?"
"Because I might lose! And then she would never let me forget it!"
"You big baby. I'm not going to let you forget it anyway."
Oskar makes a face at her, and the grownups turn back to their conversation.
"Trimming your waist will be part of the payoff. Since you've stopped gaining weight, 'pushaways' from the dinner table is working for you. As the saying goes, 'When you're going in the wrong direction, stopping is progress.'"
His friend smiles at the aphorism.
"You'll be fine in Bengt's hands, and I can use the extra time. As our departure looms, all I can do is keep checking things off the list."
Professor Grigor laughs. "Looms sounds about right. It looks as though there is nothing for it but to stay the course and respond as things arise."
Chapter 19: Things Arise
Sassa clears away the remains of her and Constantin's light breakfast. "Big day today. Acme Shipping will be packing up two of my older machines and taking them to a new owner."
Constantin raises an eyebrow. "You do not expect to need the extra machines now?"
She pours coffee for them. "Yes and no. Spring and summer orders are following the same pattern as the Christmas orders. We just don't have the manufacturing capacity."
"You are not thinking of moving Creations…"
"No. Old Town's a great location for the showroom, but the two extra machines and extra cutting table make the sewing floor too crowded. Anyway, it still took me, Elise, and Ingrid working as volunteers alongside my seamstresses to get the dresses to the department stores and on the racks in time for Christmas."
"So…"
"So no way I put my staff and family through that again. The day I spent in Copenhagen last week paid off. I signed an agreement with another garment manufacturer to handle the overflow."
After Sassa lets Constantin drop her at the studio, she and Freja walk upstairs to determine how to reconfigure the manufacturing area. Professional movers from Acme Shipping show up an hour later to begin crating two older machines for shipment to a new owner.
By afternoon the packers are through. They position the crates at the top of the stairs strapped to pallets fitted with large heavy casters. Each crate—holding the lockstitcher, motor, table, and head—weighs close to 200 pounds. The shipper's agent tells Sassa that Acme will pick up the crates tomorrow morning using special equipment.
It's a little after dusk when Sassa hears the street door open. Seconds later, cold air blows Oskar and Eli into her office, and Sassa comes from behind her desk to hug them. "The upstairs looks different," she says as she hangs up their coats. "Want to check it out before we start your lesson?"
The children dash up to the production area while Sassa waits at the foot of the stairs.
Oskar isn't into dresses and stuff, but he's fascinated by the look and smell of the industrial sewing machines. Eli comes down before he does and waits with Sassa.
After a minute, Eli calls up to him, "Come on Oskar. We're going to start the lesson without you!"
When she hears the quick patter of his feet, she turns and walks toward Sassa's office. But she also hears Oskar bump against one of the heavy crates followed by an ominous creak and then a thump as the crate hurtles down the stairs directly at Sassa.
Eli spins around and moves as a blur to shove Sassa out of the way, but the crate hits Eli square in her chest. When it comes to rest, she lies pinned under it.
Sassa leaps to her feet. "Oskar! Help me get it off her!"
"Move, Sassa."
Oskar lifts the crate and sets it aside. His impossible feat draws a look from Sassa as she kneels beside the still child.
"Oskar, she isn't breathing!"
"Sassa, she doesn't have to breathe."
"What? But…"
"Call the fitness center. Get Mr. Ávila or Professor Grigor on the phone. Tell them they have to come quickly."
"I'll call an ambulance!"
"No, Sassa!" Oskar barks in his most commanding voice. "Just call the fitness center."
He feels Eli's chest. There is no blood, but her chest is crushed into a lumpy mess. He feels heat radiating from it as it ripples under his hand.
Oskar's eyes fill with tears as he takes Eli's lifeless hand between his and massages it vigorously.
"Eli, please!"
Eli lies as still as death, but after what seems like a very long minute, Oskar sees her eyelids flutter.
"Is…Sassa…okay?" She has to gasp air into her injured lungs to form each word.
"Yes, you pushed her out of the way in time. She's calling the grownups."
Eli takes a shallow breath and Oskar hears a rattle in her chest. Eli winces. "I've made a big mess of everything."
He squeezes her hand and then hurries to Sassa's office where he stands fidgeting as Sassa holds the receiver to her ear. After a moment, she begins to describe what happened, stops, and hands the phone to Oskar.
"Is Eli okay?"
"I'll let Eli tell you, Professor Grigor." Sassa's blood runs cold as she sees Eli limp slowly into the office and take the phone from her. "Hi Professor Grigor. I'll be okay, but I messed up. You and Mr. Ávila have to come and explain it to Sassa."
She hands the phone to Sassa. "Please stay calm. Señor Ávila and I are on the way."
"How can I…" But Constantin has already rung off and is running flat out with Fernando toward their cars.
"Eli, I don't understand. I mean, you weren't breathing. I thought you were…"
Eli puts her hand over Sassa's mouth, climbs painfully onto her lap, and puts her arms around her neck. "Sassa, we've all had to be so careful. I feel awful that this happened."
"But you're hurt!"
"Yeah, I'm still in a lot of pain. I mean, I remember feeling all the bones in my chest breaking before it went dark, but they're already healing. I'm so glad you're okay, and I'm sorry I ruined everything."
"Eli, I messed up, too. I picked up the crate like it was nothing. But I had to get it off you!"
"Yeah, it must have looked pretty bad. Um, could we listen to Pavane for a Dead Princess while we wait?" She closes her eyes and draws the back of her hand across her forehead as though she might faint.
"Eli, you goof! That's not even funny!"
"Well why did you laugh?"
"I couldn't help it!"
Sassa looks from Oskar to Eli. "Please. I need to know what just happened."
Eli lays a finger across Sassa's lips. "Shh. It's Mr. Ávila's job to answer that."
Getting no help from the children, she tries to make sense of what she is seeing, but her mental checklist of gaps in Eli's knowledge and experience doesn't provide enough information to bridge those observations to what she has just witnessed.
The men arrive, and Eli slides off Sassa's lap to sit beside Oskar. After glancing at the crate, Constantin takes Sassa's hand. "Thank God you are all okay."
Mr. Ávila hugs the children and then rolls a chair from the receptionist's desk into Sassa's office. With Constantin sitting beside him, Mr. Ávila begins the task of explaining the inexplicable.
"Sassa, you are aware that I have asked Professor Grigor to keep certain knowledge from you, and I know you've had questions. You've been very patient with me. However, I believe you know that none of us has said anything to you that is untrue."
"Yes. I would know if Constantin were not being truthful with me. But keeping things from me wasn't being honest, either. It was misleading, at least."
"Sassa, I ask for your understanding. Please. The children have only been with me since May. I've had to feel my way along—bewildered at times, but always hopeful that I could provide a normal childhood for them."
He pauses for a moment. "As you can imagine from what you saw tonight, I have had no choice but to hide what the children are from everyone."
'What the children are…"
"Yes, until Oskar telephoned my apartment in Vällingby, I had not seen him since I was his gym teacher in Blackeberg. At that time, Oskar was being bullied, and I didn't pay enough attention to it."
Mr. Ávila pauses to let his words sink in.
"One night the bullies lured me away from the pool, leaving Oskar alone so they could take his torment to another level. It got out of hand. They forced his head under the water, and Oskar would have drowned if Miss Eli had not intervened… decisively."
Sassa's mind races to make sense of what he's telling her. Blackeberg. A swimming pool. After a moment she remembers lurid captions and photos in The Day's News showing gouts of blood at the pool. She looks at Eli and her eyes grow wide.
"Please, Fernando, you can't mean the 'Blackeberg Massacre.' Not that. Not Eli."
Professor Grigor interjects, "Sassa, the Oskar and Eli you know and love are as you see them. Their tragedy is that they are infected with a kind of virus—one for which there is no cure."
"I'm not stupid, Constantin!"
His head jerks as though she had slapped him, and he winces, knowing how disrespected she must feel.
"I've kept my eyes open. I see they are only active at night. I see they don't eat, and I see how pale they are!"
She turns to Mr. Ávila. "I suppose you're going to say next that the children are vampires or something."
Mr. Ávila looks at Sassa tenderly. When she realizes he isn't going to deny it, her voice rises to a higher pitch as anger and fear emerge from the welter of her emotions.
"You're saying you put Ingrid, me, all of our lives in danger?"
Oskar's face scrunches up and he hangs his head. Eli starts crying like a much younger child. Heartbroken. "I'm sorry," she sobs. ”I'm so sorry."
Sassa looks at the tears streaming down Eli's cheeks. No! She's just the little girl that I love so much! She gets up and walks from behind her desk, kneels, and gathers the children to her. "Hush. Hush. It will be okay. It's not your fault."
Sassa stands and turns to the men. Fury arising from her sense of betrayal drains the color from her face so that she's almost as pale as the children. In a barely controlled voice, she says, "Fernando, please take the children home. Constantin, I'll ring you at your apartment. I don't know when."
Sassa's anger speaks louder to little Eli than her reassuring words did. Constantin looks miserable as the family collects the kids' coats and forms a solemn procession. The only sounds are Eli's sobs and the door closing behind them.
Now Sassa thinks about how happy she and Constantin have been. She folds her arms on her desk, lays her head on her arms, and cries hard.
When she can't cry any longer, Sassa raises her head and finds she's no longer angry, just hurt and sad. She fears how her life with Constantin will change now that she has heard the dreadful truth—Oskar and dear little Eli kill people to get blood.
She rings Freja and tells her about the crate and what to expect when she opens tomorrow. "Would you work with the shippers? I don't think I can face it. I'll be in later, okay?"
She takes her purse from a drawer in her desk, locks up, and walks to where she knows she'll find a taxi that will take her home—to what had been her and Constantin's home until now.
When Sassa unlocks the door and enters, she thinks the apartment has never seemed darker or emptier. She sets her purse and keys on the dresser and lies down on their bed.
Memories come unbidden—falling in love with Constantin the night he and Fernando came to the little theater in Limhamn to check on the children. She remembers details from their date three months later at the coffee shop.
The dear man said he didn't know how to proceed. Now I'm the one who doesn't know what to do.
From the coffee shop, they had walked arm in arm to the park where she told him there was no room in her heart for doubt, that he was the one she would spend the rest of her life with.
But now she has to reexamine her certainty. What would have to change if we were to marry? He said the children have a kind of virus, but does it have to involve Constantin?
She recalls Constantin saying that Fernando is his only close friend, ever. How could I ask this dear, shy man to make such a choice?
This is just so dark and strange! I saw Eli recover from an accident that would have killed or crippled anyone else.
She remembers Eli's lament—"We've all been so careful!" Sassa wonders what kind of strain it must have been for Eli and everyone, how careful they had to be to keep her in the dark.
Maybe Constantin planned to tell me after Fernando and the children move to Barcelona. Then we would have been able to go on with our happy life.
Oh, that's wrong. Keeping such a secret must have been an intolerable burden for the dear man. Sooner or later I would have to know.
But why not later!
Yet she knows the dramatic disclosure wasn't in anyone's hands. And she thinks of how Eli put herself in danger with no thought for her own safety. Eli survived, but the look of distress on Oskar's face and his pitiful plea—"Eli, please!"—made it clear that Eli's survival was a matter of chance, not just because of her extraordinary recuperative ability.
Into the Valley of Decision
When the morning light wakes Sassa, she is lying on her bed still dressed. She remembers her dream. An unseen but terrifying entity was trying to enter the apartment, straining at the door, but Constantin held the door closed with main force. After a moment, Sassa gets it that Constantin was protecting her from the knowledge of what the children are.
She swings her legs around and sits on the edge of her bed. Is it odd that no one showed any fear that I would expose the children's secret? They only seemed to be concerned about how the knowledge would affect me.
She gets up and walks to the telephone in the kitchen.
Without more information, my imagination will lead me down darker and darker paths.
She dials Constantin's number.
He picks up on the first ring. "Have you…"
"Constantin, it's Sassa."
"Oh, I…I just got off the phone with Señor Ávila. They are gone, Sassa."
"What!"
"The children are gone."
"Where?"
"We do not know. And since we are the only family they have, we can only guess where they might be."
"But why? Surely Eli wasn't afraid I would betray them."
"No. It was your rejection. It shattered her."
"Oh my God! No! I didn't mean for her to…I mean, how could she take it that way?"
"I imagine that was her response to your anger. Children are frightened by anger, and Eli is an emotionally fragile child."
"How long have they been gone?"
"Señor Ávila is not certain. He checked their pallet a few minutes ago. It is missing and so are their backpacks."
"I'm coming. Meet me at the house."
As she quickly freshens up and prepares to leave the apartment, she realizes that her doubts and confusion are gone, too. All that matters to her now is finding the children.
She grabs her purse and keys and heads for her car in the apartment garage.
When she gets to the big house on Järavallsgatan, she sees that Constantin has parked on the street and is waiting for her. He directs her to pull her VW bug into the garage next to Mr. Ávila's old Fiat, opens the car door for her, and the two walk to the front of the house to let themselves in.
Constantin helps Sassa take off her coat and hangs it up. A small gesture, but Sassa takes comfort in Constantin's unwavering old world courtesy.
Mr. Ávila gets up from the dining room table and greets them. His face is ashen.
Sassa goes to him. "I'm so sorry. I was…I mean…"
"Hush. Your reaction was normal. It's on me. Knowing how upset Miss Eli was, I should have sat up with her and Oskar."
Constantin pulls out a chair for Sassa. "Let us just put our heads together. What time was it when you last saw them, Señor Ávila?"
"They went upstairs around 11:00. I didn't hear them after that. I think I dozed off around 3:00, but they move like shadows when they don't want to be seen or heard. And if they left by the front door, they would not have gone past my room."
Professor Grigor observes, "If they left at 11:00 they would have less than seven hours to find a safe place."
"Yes, and I know from our trip from Vällingby last year that there are no buses or trains scheduled for those hours. They would be traveling on foot or by car or taxi. Either way, they can't have gone far before they would need to find shelter from the sun."
Professor Grigor asks, "What about their old hideouts?"
"The children move fast, but they would have a long run to get to one by sunup."
"And for that matter, they could dig a new den."
Sassa interjects, "They lived in dens? Like animals?"
"Eli did. In dens or, after she and Oskar left Blackeberg, abandoned houses or empty buildings."
"So they could still be in town. But okay, no trains or buses. Boats? If they left before midnight, they would have time to take the last ferry to Copenhagen."
The men look at each other. Without a word, Constantin gets up, goes into the kitchen, and dials a number. It rings until at last he hears Bertie's sleepy voice.
"Hello."
"Bertie, this is Professor Grigor. Sorry to ring you so early. I am looking for a couple of missing knuckleheads."
"No knuckleheads here, Professor, except for me and Axel."
"Okay, please check to see if the door of their room is locked."
"Oh, those knuckleheads. Hang on." A minute later Bertie says, "Yep, it's locked okay. Oh, but don't that mean they're in there? Like you told us, we made it so it locks from the inside."
"Bless your sweet soul, Bertie! That means Oskar and Eli slipped into your house while you were asleep."
"Well, I wouldn't put anything past the little rascals. They showed us a merry time while they were here—what is it?—a month ago? I mean they…"
Knowing that Bertie is as chatty as Axel is taciturn, Professor Grigor cuts her off with, "Yes, about a month ago. Here is what I need, Bertie. First, make sure that you and Axel do not disturb them. Second, with your permission, I would like to introduce you to a friend. Her name is Sassa." He looks at Sassa and she nods. "She has been helping me look after the children."
"They ain't in some kind of big trouble are they?"
"No Bertie, they are not in trouble. Eli just got her feelings hurt and took off. I shall bring Sassa with me so Eli can see that everything is okay."
"Just got her feelings hurt." I have to learn to talk that way about the children.
"If you say Sassa's alright, that's good enough for me and Axel. Do you know when you'll come?"
"I imagine that we shall take the ferry around 3:00."
"Okay then. We'll look for you when we see you coming."
Relieved, although still keeping their fingers crossed that it will work out, the three review the situation.
"Are the children really vampires? What does that mean?"
"May I?" Mr. Ávila asks, and Constantin nods.
"Sassa, the worst of it is what you already believe. Vampires kill to get the blood they need to stay alive. Professor Grigor and I don't like it, the children don't like it, and that will change when we get to Barcelona. But for now I have not interfered with the way they have to live."
"They couldn't buy blood or something?"
"Not legally, and Malmö is a small city. The more transactions, the more people involved, the greater the risk of exposure. And not just risk for Oskar and Miss Eli, but for you and Professor Grigor as well."
Mr. Ávila watches Sassa's face to see how his words are being taken.
"Until we get to a large metropolis—where I have deep connections—I feel it would be rash to change what Miss Eli has done for so long."
"What do you mean 'for so long,' and why did Constantin say that you are the children's only family?"
"The two facts go together. Eli's parents, simple peasants, put her under the care of a lord whose estate was near Norrköping. Her family had no way of knowing he was a sadistic vampire. Before he infected Miss Eli, he tortured her for his amusement."
"Oh my God! But she got away?"
"Yes, and the evil lord is probably dead. Miss Eli doesn't understand all that happened, but one night a large body of mounted men attacked the compound. She remembers the shouts, the gunfire, the flash of sabers. As buildings started to burn all around her, Miss Eli escaped."
"But Fernando, the way you're talking about it, it sounds like a fairytale."
"Okay. You may want to take a breath and compose yourself."
She sits up straighter and takes a slow breath.
"The events I'm describing occurred more than 200 years ago."
"But no! That can't be! She's just a little girl!"
"She's 12 years old, Sassa, and always will be. Neither her mind nor her body ages. As you saw after the crate hit her, the virus tries to restore her body to the state it was in when she was infected."
"She's immortal? She can't die?"
"She can die. It's a miracle the crate didn't kill her."
"I see. Yes, I was so sure it had. And I could see that Oskar was really worried. But Fernando, surely she remembers stuff that happened to her during all those years."
"True, in a way. But until the last few years, she lived alone in the forest. She can recall memories of a few people and of exceptional events, but otherwise, each day, each decade, was much like the previous one. It was a lonely, feral existence, a brutal life that kept her intellectually, emotionally, and socially impoverished."
That explains so much. Eli's reaction to riding a roller coaster and to seeing a music box for the first time. And a movie. How her delight in everything makes it seem as though the world is bright and new for her.
"Fernando, was I, were any of us, in danger?"
"No Sassa. Being infected didn't change how Oskar and Miss Eli think of themselves. The virus changed them physically. It changed every cell in their body, but their personalities are intact."
"But that's not how everybody thinks of vampires!"
"No," Constantin interjects, "they are depicted in popular imagination as being inherently evil, cruel. With supernatural powers. But a biological model fits what we know about the children, although people are quick to call anything they cannot explain supernatural."
She gives Constantin a look. "When were you and Fernando going to let me in on this? I mean, you were, weren't you?"
"Yes. Señor Ávila knew I had to tell you, but I kept finding ways of putting it off. And how could I find the words? 'Sassa, will you marry me, and oh by the way…'"
"Yes!"
"What?"
"Yes! Yes, you wonderful idiot, I'll marry you!"
Sassa jumps up and covers his face with kisses.
"That's it? We're engaged? Sassa, I was so afraid that you would…"
Sassa stops the shy man's words with a long kiss. "Constantin, we've been engaged since the night we met at the theater."
Mr. Ávila pushes back his chair and stands up. "This calls for a formal acknowledgement!"
He goes into the kitchen and returns with three snifters. He pours a small measure of brandy into them and says "Salud!"
After they drink, he charges their glasses again. "Let's make this official, too. Welcome to the little family, Sassa."
They raise their glasses again and clink them together.
The brandy relaxes Mr. Ávila, and a little color returns to his face. He excuses himself and goes to his room to lie down.
Sassa turns to Constantin. "Do you remember me saying at the coffee shop that I knew we would be together?"
"I remember. So, you have been waiting for me to propose?"
"Yes, and everyone we know has been waiting."
"Even Señor Ávila?"
Sassa laughs. "Yes. At the Christmas party, Fernando offered to throw a feast for us when we visit Barcelona on our honeymoon."
"Okay. I get it. I see why you called me an idiot. Everybody knew but me."
"A wonderful idiot. I knew your shyness and lack of experience were keeping you in a state of uncertainty, and I had made up my mind to propose to you before the family left for Barcelona—just for the relief it would give you."
Constantin's eyes become misty and he gives her a long grateful hug.
"Now tell me how you got to be part of the little family, as you and Fernando call it."
"Oh. Yes. I knew that Oskar and Eli were vampires the first night I met them, but I saw them as two lonely children forced to live an isolated existence, cut off from what should have been a normal childhood. It broke my heart to see them putting so much effort into just being normal 12-year-olds as they threw themselves into learning photography.
"The next day, Señor Ávila and I talked about it, and I asked to be allowed to help them."
"But Constantin, that had to be hard. You were working with the police but protecting two children who kill to live?"
"It was not hard. I saw that they were victims just as much as the people they kill. But you need to know this—Just after our big shopping trip to Gustav, Eli asked for a family meeting. She challenged us to explain how we could justify our roles. Eli shot down all of our rationalizations—that vampires are part of nature, that the children are not criminals. But one fact Eli was not able to overcome—She and Oskar would kill at the same rate year after year whether they lived like animals or here with Señor Ávila.
"During that meeting, Señor Ávila revealed his idea about Barcelona, how they might be able to get the blood they require through medical channels."
"Okay, but why did Eli call the family meeting?"
"She said she was sick of blaming the bad things she and Oskar do on 'some stupid virus,' as she put it, sick of being two people in one body—a little girl and, when forced by hunger, a killer."
Now Sassa becomes aware of how exhausting the night and morning have been, and she's content to just sit and talk quietly with Constantin about all that has happened. They talk until midmorning, when Sassa calls the studio.
"Hi, Freja. Just checking in."
"It's all good here. The shipper sent an insurance adjuster."
"What is Acme willing to do?"
"Whatever needs done. The adjuster figured out the packers didn't lock down the casters."
"Oh Jesus."
"Yep. Those were my very words. Accident waiting to happen. They'll pack the machine in a new crate and move it today. If anything's wrong with the machine, they'll fix it or replace it."
"Freja, it sounds like you've got it handled. Any reason I need to come in?"
"Sure not. Just take it easy. I imagine the accident shook you up."
"Well, that and Constantin's proposal."
"What!"
"Constantin proposed to me a little while ago and I accepted."
"Oh my God! Wait!"
Sassa hears Freja running upstairs and yelling. "Girls! Finish up what you're doing! Lover boy proposed! Julia, run next door and ask Mr. Wu for that bottle of champagne he's keeping cold for us! Somebody get the plastic champagne glasses from that box in the storage cabinet!"
Freja comes back to her phone. "You're about to miss one heck of a party."
"Oh, we're celebrating here at Fernando's. Anyway, one celebration isn't going to be enough. By the way, who won the pool?"
"Oh, you know about the pool, do you?" Sassa hears a drawer open. Freja calls out, "Agnes, come here, dear. You won the pool!
"My luck. I picked Valentine's Day. And Julia picked Leap Day. Oh well."
Constantin motions for the phone. "Freja, I hope you do not think your teasing had anything to do with this. Had I envisaged in my wildest imaginings that Sassa would say yes, I would have proposed to the darling woman the night we met!"
Sassa takes the phone back and says, "Have fun, but if anybody gets tipsy, don't let them cut fabric or sew, okay?"
After she replaces the receiver, Sassa asks, "Do you think Fernando would mind if I rummage in his kitchen for something to eat?"
"Well, not that he would mind exactly. Let me check on him."
Fernando wakes easily from his long nap and volunteers to prepare breakfast for them. After he splashes water on his face, he goes into the kitchen to put on a fresh pot of coffee and to start the meal. Knowing it will take about 45 minutes, he puts bread, fruit, and two of his favorite cheeses—Manchego and Mahón—on the table for them to have with coffee while he dices the potatoes, slices onions and peppers, and chops the parsley. He won't beat the eggs and add salt and pepper until the potatoes have cooked in the olive oil for a while.
Small World
Not long after 4:00, Sassa and Constantin tap on Bertie and Axel's door in Freetown, and Bertie motions them inside. The neighbors don't need to know their business. Constantin introduces Sassa, and Bertie leads them through drifting layers of sandalwood incense to the sitting room.
Yep. Small world.
Constantin introduces Sassa to Axel, seats her on a cushion, and goes to the back of the house to confirm that the door to the children's special room is still locked. He returns and, even with his regimen of racquetball and pushaways from the table, he's still a big man. After he carefully lowers himself onto a cushion on the floor, he says, "We know the children will awaken at dusk, but I would like to rouse them a little before then."
"How'd Eli get her little feelings hurt, if you don't mind me asking."
"Bertie," Axel warns.
"Oh sorry. Axel says I'm kind of a Chatty Kathy."
After a minute of silence, Axel says, "Let's take a walk, Bertie. Our guests may want to talk."
Once Bertie and Axel are out of the house, Sassa says, "I couldn't help but notice—Your clothes smelled like incense the first night you were on that case. The kids' coats, too, when they came back from their photo shoot."
"Yes, of course you would have noticed that. I do not discuss police business, but what the department wanted from me involved the children. I had to let Señor Ávila in on it."
Constantin lays out the whole story, from the time the kids broke up the mugging attempt to the incident in the park and his role in the investigation.
"I get it. It was lucky the department asked for your help."
"It is not the only high-profile case the department has asked me to sit in on. It is good that the chief felt enough pressure from the mayor's office to ring me."
"Especially, Constantin, because that detective figured out the mystery girl in Vällingby was a vampire without having a lot of clues to help him."
"My darling, highly intuitive people do not need a lot of clues. I wonder how much longer it would have taken you to figure the children out."
"You know, I think I had enough clues. I knew you were keeping me in the dark about a deep mystery, but how could I ask questions about it without crossing the line that Fernando asked me not to cross? But how did you figure out the children so quickly?"
"Intuition is not the only way to get to the truth. A mind trained over a lifetime of deductive reasoning has its strengths, too. That is why the police ask me to sit in on a case from time to time."
They continue to talk, and soon it's after five. Constantin raises an eyebrow, Sassa nods, and they get up from their cushions and walk to the back of the house.
"Eli, it's Sassa. Will you talk to me?"
The silence feels ominous to her, but soon she hears rustling, and the door opens a crack.
Sassa is shocked at Eli's changed appearance—her expressionless face and her lusterless eyes. Not so much a wary look as "not open for business."
"What is there to talk about? We're monsters. We're demons from hell. Nobody can love us. Nobody can even feel safe around us," Eli intones, her voice devoid of feeling.
"You are not monsters. I love you. Your family loves you and wants you."
Oskar speaks up. "So why did you tell Mr. Ávila to take us away?"
"And why were you so mad at us?"
"Oh you poor dears." She looks at Oskar. "I told all of you to leave, not just you and Eli. I needed to be by myself."
"Why? I mean, Eli just almost got killed saving you."
"I needed time to think about what it all meant."
"Yeah," Eli says, "but I never saw anybody as mad as you."
"Not at you, Eli. And maybe not even mad so much as feeling shut out by all of you, shut out by the people I love so much. Feeling hurt. And Eli, I was scared. I didn't know what it is to be a vampire until Fernando and Constantin explained it to me."
Eli's face remains blank. She closes the door.
"Eli, I love you—both of you—as much as I've ever loved anyone. I can't stand to be apart from you!"
Sassa and Constantin share a look. All they can do is sit in the oppressive silence and hope that Eli will respond. Soon she hears Eli's sobs, so loud and heartbroken that she can picture the child's whole body shaking.
The minutes drag by. Sassa's heart pounds and her chest tightens, making it hard for her to breathe. The longer the crying goes on, the greater her fear that Eli is slipping farther away, so hurt and confused that she is beyond the reach of Sassa's love.
But at last she hears Oskar's voice. "Eli, I want to go home."
Eli stops crying. The door opens and she throws her arms around Sassa's neck. Sassa covers the child's face and swollen eyes with kisses while Oskar patiently waits for Professor Grigor's bear hug.
Chapter 20: Loose Ends
Denise
On an evening in April when Malmö is shaking off winter and the Scandinavian spring has become a little more than a promise, the children drop by the theater to say goodbye to Denise and John. They talk about how well the musical revue was received, and as they are leaving the theater, the children mention a caravan and traveling, but they're vague about their plans. They promise to write, and Denise and John wish them well.
A few days after the visit, Denise wakes in a serene mood. Something about a dream, I shouldn't wonder, and dismisses the feeling. After all, the practical young woman isn't one to dream often or to dwell on her dreams when she does. But around midmorning she remembers the dream—the image of two pale children bathed in a soft light. They are holding hands and smiling, looking directly at her. The image fades, leaving her with the calm, pleasant feeling she had when she first woke up.
That night as she lies in bed reading, with John already asleep beside her, she thinks of Oskar and Eli and wonders how they are doing. A series of images and thoughts come to mind—the "spooky Limhamn shutterbugs" taking her and John's picture in front of the Victoria Teatern. How they were able to hear what she and John were whispering from across the street. And Oskar commanding them to hold still and to stand where he wanted them.
She remembers the pale children holding hands and smiling as they visited the Limhamn Players Theater the first time, how they seemed to be so in tune with each other. She thinks about Eli's unshakeable certainty that things would come right about Oscar's dalliance with Ingrid.
And why did we only see them at night? I never saw them eat or drink. Why on so many cold nights did I not wonder why they were lightly dressed?
She pictures Eli at the cast party—her dress accentuating her narrow hips and her strong hands—looking as much like a beautiful boy as a girl, and that leads her to think of how slender and beautiful Oskar is. Why didn’t I wonder about their gender? After all, gender is so fluid in the theater world.
But do they even have a gender?
And of all the photos they took, why were there no images of them, not even in the cast photo? Is it possible their images can’t be captured?
That thought gives Denise gooseflesh, and, as she rubs her bare arms to warm them, she notes that such thoughts are not like her. After all, her English upbringing hasn’t given her many guidelines for putting these strange ideas together into a coherent picture. Believing that the ghost of your great aunt appears in the parlor on certain stormy nights hasn’t prepared Denise for what is nagging her to understand about the children.
Were they visitors from another time and place? A supernatural realm? Why do they have "teachers" rather than parents? Were they here to experience something? Or for unfinished business, like ghosts? Are they angels or another kind of benevolent spirit?
Wouldn't it be delicious if they were really fairies playing the role of fairies on our stage?
Denise closes her book, lays it on her nightstand, and switches off her reading lamp. As she lies in the dark and waits for sleep, shadows cast by the headlights of a passing car on Västanväg move across the walls and ceiling. She gets a strong feeling that Oskar and Eli are okay, that they have each other and will have forever.
She wonders if the way they were looking right at her in the dream means it was a message just for her. The pleasant, serene feeling, their smile, the way they were holding hands—These all seem to confirm that whatever and wherever they are, they are together and happy.
A sense of sadness tinges her mood. She feels certain the children won’t write and that she and John will never see them again. But she also feels grateful that the children blessed the theater with their presence for a season.
Ever the practical one, Denise knows she won't discuss her dream with John. She locks the dream and her thoughts about the children in a special place in her heart and smiles as she drifts off to sleep.
Constantin and Sassa
Professor Grigor and Sassa enjoy a final evening with the family. Mr. Ávila has prepared a light meal of tapas—fried Padrón peppers with prosciutto and mint served with coffee or chilled sherry. But it is on this night that Eli shows the first signs of distress. She stubbornly insists that she can't understand why Professor Grigor and Sassa have to stay behind, why they can't leave Malmö and go with them to Barcelona.
"Dear little Eli, you and Oskar know why we shall not be traveling with you. I have work that I can only do here, and how could Creations manage without Sassa?"
"I know, but..." Eli runs to him. She climbs onto his lap and hugs his neck while she sobs. "I know, but..."
"But you will just really miss us. Is that what you want to say?" Eli sobs even harder as Professor Grigor holds her close. I would be a poor forensics expert if I did not know there is more to Eli's unhappiness than just missing Sassa and me.
Professor Grigor doesn’t try to comfort her by saying he and Sassa will visit them in Barcelona during their honeymoon. That would seem to invalidate Eli's feelings or make it seem as though she isn't smart enough to figure that out. And anyway, he senses that missing him and Sassa does not account for how distressed she is. He is sure that Mr. Ávila will learn more about what's bothering her in the next few days.
Sassa feels closer than ever to Eli since she became part of the little family, but she knows to stay quiet, that trying to comfort Eli would be beside the point. She senses that the move itself has Eli upset, but she doesn’t know why.
And there the matter rests, with Eli's unease growing day by day and with Mr. Ávila no closer to understanding why.
Renault
A few days later, just after sundown, Oskar and Eli go into the big front room and stand looking at the professionally packed and labeled shipping boxes. Except for their cameras, changes of clothes, and toilet articles, the boxes contain just about everything in the house on Järavallsgatan, their home for nearly a year.
"No darkroom until we get there, Oskar."
“Right, but no classes, either. It's good our stuff will be waiting for us in Barcelona. I bet we have a ton of film to develop by the time we get there."
Mr. Ávila is sitting at the dining room table going over the clipboard that holds a checklist of what he needs to do before they leave Malmö.
He looks up from his list and glances at the children talking among the boxes. He shakes his head. Oskar is so excited about the move, but Miss Eli has been in a bad mood since Professor Grigor and Sassa had dinner with us. I hope she’ll talk to me about what’s bothering her.
Mr. Ávila gets up from the table and takes his clipboard with him to the garage. It's still a pleasant shock to see a shiny blue Renault sedan in place of the little Fiat. More than 20 years ago he had driven the Fiat from Barcelona to Blackeberg when he took up his teaching position. He didn't get much of a trade-in for the old car, but he got his money's worth by driving it all those years.
Now the four-door Renault will fill their needs—not overly powerful, but a car that will pull the second-hand caravan Mr. Avila bought. You might say the Renault is more comfortable than the Fiat, but that would imply that there was anything comfortable about the old car.
He checks inside the used caravan, a small aluminum Airstream. The bench seats on each side of the table lift up to store things, such as two sleeping vampire children. There is a raised platform at the back of the caravan for Mr. Ávila's sleeping bag. The table between the two benches holds cameras, lenses, and film cans. And roadmaps marked with campgrounds for when Mr. Ávila needs to rest. He doesn't plan to stop before Paris, but he will after they leave his uncle's place to drive the long stretch of highway to Barcelona.
Mr. Ávila gets behind the wheel of the Fiat's replacement and breathes in the new-car smell. He smiles as he thinks about Oskar's reaction when he told the kids he had bought the Renault.
"Why not a Volvo or a Saab?"
"Because when we get to Barcelona, I don't want to be driving a forensic footprint."
"Okay. I kind of get that. So, a French car would be better?"
"Right, Oskar, since Renault builds some of its models in Spain."
"Okay, but if you were going to blow a pile of money on a car, why not get a classic muscle car, like a Pontiac GTO or a Boss 302?"
"Well, I would say that having an Oskar GTO and an Eli 302 is about as supercharged as I can handle."
"Nope. Not going."
Mr. Ávila and Professor Grigor enjoy their final morning coffee, the routine they've observed most days since the professor became a member of the little family. Although watching the movers empty the big front room of boxes underscores that the Malmö adventure is over, it adds to Mr. Ávila's sense of anticipation. His last coffee with the professor combines feelings of excitement and melancholy.
After the movers drive away and Professor Grigor takes his leave, there isn't much that needs Mr. Ávila's attention. Since they can't go until the children wake up at sundown, he putters around the house and goes outside to the car and the caravan from time to time to double- and triple-check that everything will be ready when the children get up.
Although Mr. Ávila tried to prepare them for waking to an empty house before he crawled into his sleeping bag last night, he is concerned about Eli's continuing unhappy mood.
At last he hears the children showering, and in a little while Oskar walks through the empty front room and joins him at the dining room table.
“Where’s Miss Eli?”
“When she saw the boxes were gone, she went to her bedroom. She didn’t look happy.”
“I know, Oskar. She hasn’t been happy about the move for a while. Um, do you know what it's about?”
"Nah. Whenever I start talking about the trip, telling her how excited I am, she just turns away from me and doesn't say anything."
"I guess I have to take a shot at it."
Mr. Ávila walks down the hallway to Eli's empty bedroom and sits on the floor beside her. Before he can speak, Eli says, “I'm not going.”
“Miss Eli, we have to go.”
“I don’t. Oskar and I don't have to go.”
Mr. Ávila knows that’s incontestably true. No one can make Eli do anything.
They sit quietly for a minute. “Miss Eli, your friends must have already started to wonder why you and Oskar haven't changed. Ingrid will turn 15, but you and Oskar still look 12. Denise, John—especially Ingrid—will have questions about other stuff, too.”
“Like what?”
“You tell me, little one.”
“Like we can’t be in sunlight?”
“Like you don’t eat. Like you have a condition that makes you pale.”
“We can go where people don’t know us! Another part of Sweden!”
Mr. Ávila was under the impression they had laid that idea to rest. So it’s not about leaving Malmö—it’s about leaving Sweden. He admits to Eli that it's a consideration.
“But why Sweden? How is Sweden better than Spain?”
“Because I know I can take care of Oskar in Sweden!”
Of course! Bless her heart, survival is her main job—that and protecting Oskar.
“Yes, Miss Eli, and you do a great job of it.”
Eli doesn't respond. Mr. Ávila thinks for a minute. "Miss Eli, do you remember how you had to get out of Göteborg? And how quickly the police came up with your description in Vällingby? There aren't any places in Sweden where you couldn't be recognized. Malmö isn’t safe. You were so public about your photography, and you even acted in a play. So much exposure made sense because we knew we would be leaving."
Eli still doesn't respond.
“Miss Eli, you did a good job of keeping Oskar safe. But it meant a lot of running and hiding, didn’t it? To have a normal life, you have to let other people help you. You know that’s a big risk. Just staying in this house for almost a whole year was a risk. You see, Miss Eli, it’s not only your job to keep Oskar safe, it's..."
"It is my job! It's the one thing I have to get right!"
"Little one, it's all our job. It’s the family’s job to keep each other safe.”
Eli stubbornly shakes her head and looks away.
Oh boy, Mr. Ávila thinks.
"Okay Miss Eli, if you want to stay, I will give you my blessing. But you have to be clear that you understand the choice you're making. You're choosing between being a member of a family that loves you or going back to a life on the run."
"But I don't want that either!"
Mr. Ávila waits.
"Mr. Ávila, I'm so scared!"
Now Eli is trembling, and she begins to cry when Mr. Ávila takes her in his arms. After a while, he says, "Miss Eli, I want you to think about something. Courage is not the absence of fear."
"It's not?" she sobs.
"No, it's keeping going even when you're afraid."
Eli stops crying and is quiet for a moment. They stand without speaking. She's still trembling, but she takes Mr. Ávila's hand and they walk down the hallway to the front of the house.
Car Ferry
With the car and caravan on board the car ferry to Denmark, Mr. Ávila and the children find seats in a passenger area. Soon they hear the mighty engines start up, and as they pull away from the berth, the three of them fall silent, immersed in their own thoughts and feelings.
Now that the journey has begun, Mr. Ávila is filled with an even greater sense of longing for his aging mother and father. And for his old friends. And for Barcelona itself, the city that he loves and has yearned to return to for more than 20 years.
Oskar thinks of his mother. Although Eli is still fearful of leaving Sweden, a country she has survived in for more than two centuries, for Oskar it means giving up the dream that he might one day see his mother again.
Sometime soon I'll write to her.
Oskar's lips start to tremble, but he forces his face into a stern mask. It's time I started acting my age. I'm not a child anymore.
Eli senses the depth of Oskar's sadness, and she puts her arm around his waist and snuggles close.
Mr. Ávila's mood brightens as he thinks about seeing his old uncle during their stopover. And Oskar's mood won't last even as far as the end of the ferry ride, but Eli's anxiety will stay with her until they get to Paris.
After all, what little vampire could be other than thrilled by the City of Light? Especially as seen from Montmartre, the highest point in Paris, or after she and Oskar launch themselves into the night sky and soar high above the huge metropolis.
END OF BOOK TWO