The Devil's Daughter by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 4

She was a small, fair-haired child who, only a few months earlier, was carried into Gura Haith, after being found in the mountains by the villages' hunters, her blonde ringlets matted down by dirt and rain. Hurrying towards the men, the women quickly took her and began nursing back to health. They put her in a clean bed, tended to her wounds, and nourished her with food and water. But even before fully recovering, the villagers began noticing something odd about her. Alina would not speak. The elder women had determined that she could hear, reaching this conclusion by startling her from behind. Taking pity on her, they came to believe that whatever it was she had experienced left her mute, leaving her past as an unsolvable riddle. However, she was quickly adopted by the village and taken in by a young, childless couple, who, under the circumstances, believed her presence to be a gift from God. Unable to have children, her new parents, Anca and Nelu, gave her the name 'Alina'. They had always wanted a girl and in the unlikely event of a pregnancy, they had collected a list of names. 'Alina' was near the top.

They watched as Alina continued to grow stronger and tried repeatedly to get her to speak. But unsurprisingly, she would not utter a sound. By this time that she began to find her way around the village. It didn't seem so much the place she was exploring, but the people. She studied them closely, seemingly memorizing everything she saw – the way they wore their clothes, their gestures, and how long it took for them to notice her. Some, seeing the intensity in her eyes, fell back on old superstitions for an explanation, suspicious that she could be some demon, invading their peaceful lives. After all, any stranger recovered from the cold Carpathian Mountains likely harbored a seed of evil. The fact that this stranger was a small girl who had, somehow, survived through frigid nights, hungry wolves, and starvation, gave the fearful a deep suspicion that something dark had entered the quiet solitude of their village.

As is demanded by the church, Alina's new parents took her to be baptized. The elder women created a magnificent white dress for the occasion and in their best clothes, Anca and Nelu stood before God in front of the church's crude baptismal font. But as Father James sprinkled the top of her head with holy water, he noticed something about her eyes. At first, he discounted it as an expression of childlike wonder. Yet, as he closed the ceremony with a final blessing he was, again, struck by that peculiar look. He felt her eyes burning into his soul, causing his mind to drift away, leaving him a victim of something he would not understand. However, just before pulling himself back to the moment, the voice of the small girl invaded his faculties. He would never forget those words or their tone. “If your God truly lives, you will worship Him from the grave.”

Her mouth never moved, yet the words were as clear as though she had spoken them herself. Father James instructed the small family to leave but as they did, Alina turned back for a long look at the priest. Her face blank, he eyes still staring through him, squinting in an expression of anger and resentment. From that time forward, Alina seemed to lose her capacity for cheerfulness and affection, her eyes becoming a constant expression of anger, and seemed to be directed at everyone. Her silence only added to the mystery of her gaze, leading the more superstitious of the village to believe that she carried a curse, something dark and evil. Then, the whispering began as those few started talking amongst themselves. Of course, those of rational mind would argue for sanity. “She is only a child,” they would say. “What harm could she bring?”

Many defended her by noting that she had been found in the mountains and that her wanderings in such dangerous isolation may have robbed her of her senses. But fear being what it is, led to the demand that Alina be examined by the village doctor, as well as the priest. However, the doctor had already examined her when she first arrived in the village. Now, as then, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary, save for her inability to speak. Yet, he did notice a change in her temperament but believed it was due to her wanderings in the mountains. However, the people of Gura Haith believed that this was not sufficient and Father James was summoned next. Based on what he'd seen at her baptism, he believed that bringing her back to the church might pose a risk to her safety, as well as his own. Normally, he was a rational man, but he knew that what he saw that day might very well be something unnatural.

Invited in by her adoptive parents, Father James sat in front of Alina and as they made eye contact, he felt himself break into a sweat as anxiety overtook him. Taking out a ragged cloth, he wiped the sweat from his face and neck as he tried to strike up a conversation. He was aware that she was unable to speak but it was a physical response he was looking for. Many times, words are unnecessary when a simple behavioral cue is all that is needed. Now, as Father James began questioning her, Alina's gaze, once again, began to bore into him, leading him to feel light-headed and nauseous

“Hello Alina,” he said. “There are some here who are very concerned for you.”

The feeling of sickness he had been struck with was mounting quickly, and as he spoke, he held the cloth up to his mouth.

“Some people say that...”

He hesitated as he began to feel the contents of his stomach beginning to make their way into his throat, and it was only a matter of moments before his mouth filled, forcing him to leave. Hurrying outside, Father James dropped to his hands and knees as his body purged itself of the noxious fluid he fought to contain. Those who happened to be present looked on in horror and knowing who was in the church brought their suspicions to a peak. In their superstitious minds, they knew that the little girl living amongst them was not like other children – that she carried within her the essence of something dark. But no one knew what to do. Their Christian values would not allow the murdering of a child and although Father James now held the same suspicions, he would aggressively stand in defense of Alina's life, even at the cost of his own.