Where the Blue-bells peal

By Kirsten Nour Namskau

The weather was nice . . . sunny, clear sky and crispy wind which made it as a nice walk from the Castle of Dracula to Madam Viorica’s hut.
Madam Viorica was known as the best witch in the Slavic countries.
I was determent to get my life in another shape than what it was at present time, so as I walked along the road, I only enjoyed the view, the weather, the sounds from the forest and the birds singing.
I didn’t have any thoughts of what should happen when I came to Madam Viorica . . . I didn’t feel any fear.
One could not see the hut from the street. You had to know where it was, to be able to take off the street at correct place and follow the almost invisible track into the forest.
The hut was hidden behind a hill . . . but suddenly I saw the roof of the hut and knew that I had come right. She was standing at the gate of the fence surrounding her little hut.
She spoke only Romanian, I spoke English . . . but it was an instant telepathic communication.
Her daughter spoke English though, so if we felt the communication didn’t go correct, the daughter translated.
We sat at the table outside her hut and her daughter Ioana, came with herbal tea.
As we sat there, she wanted to know so much as possible of reason for me to ask for her assistance.
Madam Viorica was 92 years old, small, thinly but with a strong erect body. Her eyes was pale blue, her skin wrinkled but with a healthy color.
As I told her about my life, her eyes expanded and the surprise in her face was not to be hidden.
She asked many questions and as I tried to answer them the best I could, I could see her many thoughts made changes in the expression in her face.
At the end she said: “I’m not sure if I can help you. You have been exposed to the most evil, strongest and gruesome kind of human behavior, witch-craft and black magic. I have never heard about anything like this. But as I can read your thoughts you are not able to lie to me.
If it was not true, you could not have explained it in the way you have done, because you wouldn’t have known. But you have told me about things so secret, so one has to be in direct contact with the “underground people” to learn about what has happened to you.”
She continued: “But I most certainly will try to do my best, and at least release so much as possible of your traumas. But you have to stay with me for 3 days . . . day and night . . . and do what I tell you to do.”

I said: “ OK, no problem” I was thinking that nothing could be worse than what it already was any way.
She started “the work” right away. It should show up that the whole day every day was a continues “work” of prayers, riddles, herbs drunk or eaten, different kinds of “ceremonies” where I should repeat after what she said.
At the evening, just as the sun started to go down behind the mountain, she made a small bonfire. Again she made a brew. She was messing over it and made some signs above the glass , lifted it up and down, to right and left . . . then she spit in it 3 times and gave it to me and made sign that I should take 3 sips of it.
“Yes, right” I thought “ you have just spit in it, madam”
She hurried me and her daughter told me to hurry before the riddle faded.
Express-information rushed through my head. “ One changes a lot of spit under a deep kiss, or when one drink from another persons glass or eat the children’s food . . . . and by the way . . she didn’t die of her own spit, so I assume I will not die neither . . . and if I do . . .that’s OK too.”
I took 3 sips from the glass.
She went around me and made signs and I sat down as she made signs over my head, all the time humming out riddles.
She took me to the fire and made signs to me to jump over the fire and backwards back again 3 times.
I looked at her: “Was she serious?”
Her daughter shouted: “ Hurry, hurry, it has to be done before the sun disappear.”
I realized that the sun was almost gone behind the mountain. It was only a flick of “a nail” visible.
I jumped without thinking . . . fast forth and back, just as the sun disappeared . . .
and it got fast dark.
Ioana made some food and it was first then I realized how hungry I was.
We were talking about what had happened during the day. Madam Viorica told me that I was very strong-minded. She said that most people would have left after the first ceremonies.
She said: “And even more so, you are possessed by spirits who try to manipulate you, but you are so strong you even are able to fight them. That itself is very rear.”
The next day went on the same way. Ioana told me that the last day was the most important. If they had succeeded, the sun will shine on me, but if they had not succeeded the sun will not appear.

The third day came with heavy clouds in the sky; the wind was so strong so it was difficult to stand up and so noisy so I almost could not hear madam viorica’s voice.
Later it started to rain and the rain escalated and become almost like a storm.
At the end of the day, they tried to make a bonfire, they tried several times without success . Ioana brought new, dry wood from the hut . . . we gathered together and made a kind of roof with our bodies while Madam tried to bring it to burn.
This time she succeeded.
Fast, she made her riddles and went around in circles around the fire. Throw herbs into the fire and spit 3 times into the fire. She made my brew, spit into it and told me to drink.
I drank and she told me to go into the fire and stand there.
I looked at her with big eyes. “ This is it . . . you want to burn me to death?”
She hurried me and Ioana shouted through the wind; “Go, go, don’t worry. Fast, fast.”
I thought: “ Well, I shall die any way in whatever way. The one way is not any worse than another.”
I stepped into the fire as Madam started to sing on a riddle.
I waited . . . I expected to start to feel the heat of the fire . . . that the fire would start to burn my clothes . . . But nothing happened.
I could feel that something happened, but was not sure what it was.
I could not hold my eyes open nor closed, they in a way were flickering.
It was as if I could see shadows disappear in front of me, and I heard voices screaming, swearing, shouting as they disappeared in the wind. Voices which used a “rotten” language I never used to speak.
Suddenly, as I was standing in the middle of the bonfire, the wind took off, the rain stopped and the clouds broke up. All this in seconds of a minute.
Suddenly it came a few rays from the sun . . . right into my face and made a rainbow behind me. (Ioana later told me.)
Madam Viorica and her daughter shouted of happiness as they hug each-other and started to dance. (The magic of Madam Viorica had been a success.)
Madam called me out of the fire just as the clouds closed again . . . the wind rose and the rain pored down again worse than ever.

Madam Viorica told me that it had been a success, but nothing would change over night.
“But” She said: “Little by little, you will discover that your life will change to the better. ‘they’ will not succeed in harming you in the same way any more.”

Well . . . 10 years has passed since this . . . and slowly my life has changed . . .
Little, but at least a little . . . and ‘they’ don’t succeed in harming me in the same way as before . . . .