With a sharp whistle, the train surges forward, chugging with growing speed into the black expanse.
Rubuska: Phew. The train is finally moving!
Hearts long held in suspense settle, lulled by the rhythmic sway of the train.
Rubuska: Now, what to do when I get to Budapest? First, eat a lot of Kapama!
Rubuska: No, no, wait. First thing's first. Find a job, then Kapama!
Rubuska: ...
Rubuska: Find a job so I can eat Kapama. Eat Kapama so I can work harder.
The girl draws her kaval flute, fingers brushing the tiny cracks.
Rubuska: Мама, will the Kapama in Budapest taste as good as yours?
She looks out at the rolling mountains in the distance, seeing a lone figure running along their spine.
The figure dashes through a graveyard, over cold fields, beneath a sagging sky.
Her silent film is suddenly pierced with sound—a scream that only she can hear.
Rubuska: Whatever happens, I'll do my best to stay alive. I promise, Мама.
The girl sniffles, putting the flute away before taking a quick look around the carriage.
Rubuska: Ms. Semmelweis won't be back for a while, right?
Semmelweis: I'm here to investigate this "duplicity."
Semmelweis: One last question. How familiar are you with vampiric legends?
Semmelweis: Vampires aren't the only dangerous things that may lurk on this train.
Rubuska: She did pay for my beef stew and lark cake, but she seems really obsessed with vampires.
Rubuska: No, the sooner I leave, the better.
She jumps from her seat, hesitates, then drops two coins on the table.
Rubuska: Forgive me, Ms. Semmelweis. I'll repay you, someday! Cross my heart!
Resolute, she turns back, searching for another refuge.
Rubuska: Ouch!
Annabelle: sob
Annabelle: I-I'm lost. hiccup I can't find my friends.
Rubuska: Uh, I'm sure you'll find them sooner or later! It's not like they were thrown off the train or something.
Rubuska: So, just keep on searching! Go on, you can do it!
The girl hurries to leave, but her hem is caught.
Annabelle: Please help me. sniffle I don't know where I am.
Rubuska: ...
Her sobbing echoes so loudly that people three carriages away prick their ears.
At last, she plays her trump card, removing her hat to reveal her fangs and crimson eyes.
Rubuska: S-Stop crying. I'm a vampire. If you don't stop, I'll bite you!
Annabelle: ...
Annabelle: Really?
No fear. No disgust.
Only curiosity. Innocent wonder.
Rubuska: Uh, aren't you afraid of me? I'm a red-eyed vampire. See?
She leans closer, pulling down her eyelids.
Annabelle: Wow! Your eyes are so pretty! Like rubies!
Rubuska: Rubies? Never heard that one before.
She flushes red, caught off guard by the compliment.
Annabelle: Rubies or-or maybe the red roses of Damascus!
Rubuska: Roses? I—Sure they are! Roses that never wither!
Rubuska: Tell me more—more of these good things about vampires.
The girl circles her while jumping up and down like an excited puppy.
Annabelle: But Ms. Dorothy doesn't let us read vampire stories. She says they're, um, made-up-believe. I don't care, though. I think they're amazing, don't you?
Annabelle: So I read them myself. The pure-blooded vampires are the strongest, and they live in big, big castles! You must live in one too, right?
Rubuska: S-Sure I do. Now that you mention it ...
Rubuska: Maybe I can tell you all about my glorious ancestors.
Rubuska coughs lightly, claps her hands, and recounts her proud history.
Rubuska: Ahem. Long, long, long ... a lot of longs ago, back in the earliest times.
Rubuska: A most amazing ancestor of mine gave some invaders a good beating!
Rubuska: Yeah, that's right. He was the famous Impaler, known as Dracula, Arnold, um, Arnold V!
Annabelle: Dracula! Dracula!
Rubuska: My great-grandfather Arnold lived for 155 years! Then he took a wooden stake to the heart and bled to death.
Annabelle: Then, how old are you? Um ...
Rubuska: Name's Rubuska. I'm 14 years old.
Rubuska: Erhm, I'm, I mean, I'm 214 years old.
She quickly corrects herself.
Rubuska: Yep! I've already lived two hundred plus two times seven years.
Rubuska: But I'm still young for a vampire of my lineage.
The young girl speaks with fervor, reciting the stories from memory.
Stories that rise up from the endless snowy winters: silence, a blazing hearth, her head on her mother's lap, eyes drifting shut.
Fangs soaked with blood, moonlit nights, and dark castles ... She begged her mother to tell those wondrous tales again and again.
Until her voice grew faint.
And the little girl drifted into blissful sleep.
???: Vampire?
Children gather as if drawn by unseen magic.
Annabelle: William!
The lone bird finds companions at last.
Annabelle: You're here, hahaha. This is my new friend, Rubuska. She's a vampire!
Child I: Wow, a real-life vampire!
Excited voices fill the air, until a boy steps from the shadows, scorn written on his face.
Little William: How do you know she's a vampire, huh? You don't have any proof.
Child II: Yeah! Does she look anything like the ones in the stories?
Annabelle: She does! Her eyes are red! Like rubies!
Little William: But-But when Uncle Henry was sick, his eyes went all red, and you said he was a vampire too. Remember?
Little William: Ms. Dorothy even scolded us for being rude.
Annabelle: Don't listen to him! You're a real vampire, right, Rubuska?
Rubuska: O-Of course I am!
She flusters, now determined to defend the honor of her kind.
Rubuska: You want proof? Then here it is. I'll show you what a real vampire looks like.
She makes a performance of strolling under the light.
Rubuska: Take a look. Can you find my shadow?
Annabelle: Shadow ...
Child II: Wait, you don't have a shadow!
Shadows accompany every child, an identical twin matching the movement of their hands in the darkness.
But Rubuska stands alone. As if the light itself goes straight through her, as though she was never bound to its law, never part of the world it illuminated.
Rubuska: Exactly! We vampires don't have shadows.
Children: Vampire! Vampire!
The children cheer louder and louder, clapping with glee.
Little William: Whoa! She really is a bone-and-fide vampire!
Rubuska: Told you so.
Her pride is short-lived. Another challenge soon follows.
Child I: So, you're a vampire. Then you must be brave. How about the scary conductress? Have you ever talked to her?
Rubuska: Conductress? Umm, I mean, more than just talk. She's actually one of my best friends.
Rubuska: You think she's scary, huh? I'm telling you, she's big, but she's slow. If it weren't for me ...
The children watch with rapt attention.
Little William: Wow, you're like a boss! Our boss!
Children: Boss! Boss!
She feels almost dizzy with power.
Rubuska: Well, if you insist ... Alright, fine. I'll be your boss.
Corvus: Looks like you're having fun, "best friend."
A rumbling voice cuts through.
Rubuska: Y-You heard all that?
Aima: We heard you the moment we entered the carriage. How wonderful to see you all getting along!
Corvus: "Big but slow," is that right?
Rubuska: Haha, it's just—just a game. Hahahaha.
Corvus: ...
Corvus: Play as you like, but don't block the aisle.
Rubuska: Sure thing, uh, old pal. Hahaha. We'll, uh, make sure we do that.
Aima: Are these your new friends, Ms. Rubuska?
The stewardess examines the gaggle of children surrounding Rubuska.
Rubuska: Not just friends. They're more like, uhm, familiars!
Rubuska: Right, everyone?
Rubuska sniffs, proud of her new "followers."
Annabelle: Exactly! We're the familiars of the great vam—
Rubuska: Ahem, ahem! This place is too crowded. I must have a larger castle, you hear me?
She changes the subject abruptly.
Rubuska: When we get there, I can tell you some more stories about "that."
Annabelle: That? Oh, "that"!
Children: New stories! New stories!
The noise fades, and the carriage returns to calm.
Aima: How lovely it is to see Ms. Rubuska making so many new friends. I'm almost a little jealous.
Corvus: You've never had many friends; is that why?
Aima: I …
Aima sneaks a glance at her, hesitating.
Aima: Ah, it's about time we headed back. Ms. Semmelweis must be waiting.
Corvus: It is. Let's go.
Before leaving, the stewardess casts a final worried look at the mischievous passenger, remembering her shadowed smile.
And those impossibly brilliant crimson eyes.
Aima: Rubuska ...
