Osvanna’s Atonement

Don’t you pretend
That I’m not alive
My bones never ache
Unless she’s nearby
Where is your face
In a safe of dead tongues
I can see your reflection
In your totem first born
I suspect
You’ve been carrying a pack of wolves
I regret
Not killing you while I had the chance

Maybe I will always haunt you
Mark the somnolence with truth
Better hang your dead palace
Than have a living home to lose
In the river Ganges God damns my name

Don’t let these hands
Sharpen your eyes
A rasp of tails

Vicarious Atonement – The Mars Volta

*****

She had only been to the Beaufort home once before.

Osvanna Dadian knew she had only a short time to spare before she was to say goodbye to her last surviving child and the young man she had come to think of as a son. She had hoped to convince her husband to let the teens come with them North, but he was dead-set on the idea of sending them East. She wanted to be there, when the train pulled away from the station, to hug her daughter for what she knew would be the last time. She wanted to tell Julien how much his presence in their home had meant to her, and to warn him of Liza’s treacherous tendencies and selfish nature. The girl was too much like her father – stubborn, strong-willed, and self-righteous.

Osvanna hurried up the front steps of the Beaufort house and rapped upon its glass doors.

She waited for what seemed like an eternity before there was any sign of movement inside the house.

Finally, just as Osvanna was about to give up and leave for the train station, a young woman appeared at the door.

She looked so much like Adelaide… but Osvanna knew it wasn’t her. She had met this girl once before, on her previous visit.

‘Marguerite,’ she remembered.

“Mrs. Dadian… what are you doing here?” Marguerite asked when she opened the door.

“I’m sorry dear, but… I had to come,” Osvanna answered, wringing her hands and fretting. “I heard about Adelaide. I knew I needed to… may I speak to your parents?”

Marguerite nodded her head and sighed.

“Please come in,” she said, opening the door wide to let Osvanna into the house.

Of course, the invitation wasn’t needed – Osvanna had been invited into the house once, and that was enough. She only waited for Marguerite to say the words as a courtesy.

Marguerite led Osvanna through the house to a door that was located at the end of the kitchen.

Osvanna waited politely in the kitchen as Marguerite entered the study.

“Mother, Father… Mrs. Dadian is here. She wishes to speak with you.”

Bernard Beaufort’s eyes were wide with shock as he closed his book.

“Yes, of course,” he replied. “Show her in.”

Marguerite led Osvanna into the study and quickly retreated from an angry Margot, who was waiting behind the door.

“Why are YOU here?” she growled at Osvanna.

“I heard… about Adelaide. I wanted to extend my condolences. I too know how hard it is to lose a child-“

“Don’t you dare!” Margot spat, interrupting Osvanna’s sympathies. “If it hadn’t have been for your monster of a son, Adelaide would still be with us! Instead, she’s in some coffin in a graveyard across town.”

Osvanna tried not to cry. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“That you are,” Margot Beaufort continued. “And I’m sorry too. I’m sorry that I can’t trade your life for my daughter’s. I’m sorry Adelaide ever laid eyes on your boy, and I’m even sorrier that I can’t prove that you all had something to do with my Julien’s disappearance.”

Osvanna gasped.

“Mother! You don’t know-” the young woman exclaimed, but her mother paid her no mind.

“Not for certain, no. But I have my suspicions.”

She stepped closer to Osvanna, their faces only inches away. Osvanna could feel the other woman’s warm breath as she spoke.

“I know what you are. I know what your son did to my daughter – what he made her into. Your whole family can rot in hell.”

Osvanna fled from the room, running back to the front door. She was about to leave the house when she heard Marguerite‘s voice cry out.

“Mrs. Dadian! Please, wait!”

Osvanna steeled herself for another barrage of insults to her family. The soft expression on the girl’s face surprised her.

“I’m sorry, for my mother… for the horrible things she said.”

“But she’s right,” Osvanna sighed. “Pasha… my son… your family has been destroyed because of his actions.”

Marguerite reached out and touched Osvanna’s hand.

“Adelaide made her own choices. I know she loved him, and wanted to be with him. And if that meant…” Marguerite trailed off. She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ‘vampire’.

Osvanna smiled. “I suppose they are together now,” she replied.

Marguerite flustered.

“No… no, I don’t think so. I think wherever Addie is… she’s all alone.”

Osvanna’s still heart dropped. ‘Of course,’ she thought to herself, ‘suicides are different. They go someplace else. I must remember that.’

Osvanna squeezed Marguerite‘s hand before she stepped out onto the porch.

“Goodbye, dear. Thank you for allowing me to unburden myself.”

Marguerite smiled.

“Please take care of yourself,” she returned.

Osvanna knew Marguerite was watching her as she left the Beaufort residence, so she didn’t allow herself to cry. She didn’t have time to cry any way… she would have to take wing if she wanted to reach the depot in time.