muttering. His gaze was blank. Like a fish on the fisherman's
bench. Maria, while struggling, managed to pull him down from
the cliff and almost dragged him to the inn.
Her grandfather said nothing on the way home. As if he was
sleepwalking. She put him to sleep and sat beside him to watch
him. But he didn't close his eyes. Not even to bat his
eyelids. Maria stroked his hand affectionately. And suddenly
he squeezed her hand. He looked at her with eyes full of
terror and said. "I'm going to die. I'm going to die soon. And
when I die, you will die. That is its prophecy. The creature
over the hill. It will take us all. Just like it took your
grandmother. Just like it took your parents. 'And as he has
taken so many others.' Mary jerked back and broke down
sobbing, while her grandfather fell into a stupor.
So that was the reason she was worried. Because this
afternoon, too. After washing the dishes and cleaning the
empty beds, she went to her grandfather's room and he was
gone. This time, she called the police and the doctor. The
police told her to stay inside in case her grandfather
returned and found the inn empty. So she waited.
The waiting was killing her. She was reduced to running
errands. She decided to go to the upper balcony and mop up as
the owls were filling the wooden floor with poop. She stepped
outside and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and gazed
at the view. The stars were shining. But the moon was nowhere
to be seen. The forest stretched out below her. She could see
the lake in the distance reflecting the starlight, like an
earthly sky. This balcony always made her calm. She looked at
the lake again and remembered being a little girl and going
there with her grandfather to fish. The first time she had
caught a huge fish. She brought it home and her grandmother
cooked it and the three of them ate it. She was so proud. A
tear rolled down her cheek. The lake now, in the darkness,
looked different. Eerie, almost frightening. In its depths now
not only the stars were reflected. Two huge swirling orange
eyes looked directly into her soul. Maria opened her mouth,
but could not make a sound. She took her gaze from the lake
and began to slowly turn her head towards the sky, searching
for the source of this awful reflection. She looked at the sky
again and with a cry she fell to her knees and began to weep.
A huge shadow stretched over the hill and peered at her
through two orange holes that were weeping blood. It was
taller than the hill and had no beginning or end. The creature
over the hill. She closed her eyes and ran inside.
Translated from Greek to English.