Elisabeth Kostova - The Historian

My father’s room, when we got the door open, was spacious and pleasant, and I would have enjoyed every nook of it if I hadn’t felt, uncomfortably, that I was invading his sanctuary for the third time in a week. Worse was the sudden sight of my father’s suitcase, his familiar clothes around the room, his battered leather shaving kit and good shoes. I’d seen these objects only a few days ago, in his room at Master James’s house in Oxford, and their familiarity hit me hard.

But even this was eclipsed by another shock. My father was by nature an orderly man; any room or office he inhabited, however briefly, was a model of neatness and discretion. Unlike many of the bachelors, widowers, divorcés whom I later met, my father never sank into that state that makes solo men drop the contents of their pockets in piles on tables and bureaus, or store their clothes in piles over the backs of chairs. Never before had I seen my father’s possessions in rank disorder. His suitcase sat half unpacked by the bed. He had apparently rummaged through it and pulled out one or two items, leaving a trail of socks and undershirts on the floor. His light canvas coat sprawled across the bed. In fact, he had changed clothes, also in a great hurry, and deposited his suit in a heap by the suitcase. It occurred to me that perhaps this was not my father’s doing, that his room had been searched while he was not in it. But that pile of his suit, shed like a snake’s skin onto the floor, made me think otherwise. His walking shoes were not in their usual place in the suitcase and the cedar shoe trees he kept in them had been flung aside. He had clearly been in the greatest hurry of his life.

“When Stoichev told us he had one of Brother Kiril’s letters, Helen and I looked at each other in amazement. ‘What do you mean?’ she said finally.

“Stoichev tapped Turgut’s copy with excited fingers. ‘I have a manuscript that was given to me in 1924 by my friend Atanas Angelov. It describes a different part of the same journey, I am certain. I did not know that any other documents from these travels were in existence. In fact, my friend died suddenly just after he gave them to me, poor fellow. Wait -’ He rose, swaying in his haste, so that both Helen and I leaped up to catch him in case he fell. He righted himself without assistance, however, and went into one of the smaller rooms, gesturing for us to follow and to avoid tripping on the piles of books that lined it. There he scanned the shelves and then reached for a box, which I helped him take down. From it he pulled a cardboard file tied with fraying cord. He brought this back to the table and opened it under our eager eyes, drawing out a document so fragile that I shuddered to watch him handling it. He stood looking at it for a long minute, as if paralyzed, and then sighed. ‘This is the original, as you can see. The signature -’

We bent over it, and there, with a rush of gooseflesh over my arms and neck, I saw an exquisitely penned Cyrillic name that even I could read-Kiril-and the year: 6985. I looked at Helen, and she bit her lip. The faded name of this monk was terribly real. So was the fact that he had once been as alive as we were, had set a quill to this parchment with a warm, living hand.

“Stoichev looked almost as awed as I felt, although the sight of such an old manuscript must have been his daily fare. ‘I have translated it into Bulgarian,’ he said, after a moment, and drew out another sheet, this one typed onionskin. We sat down. ‘I will try to read it to you.’ He cleared his throat and gave us a rough but competent version of a letter that has since been widely translated.

Your Excellency, Lord Abbot Eupraxius:

I take my pen in hand to fulfill the task you have in your wisdom put upon me, and to tell you the particulars of our mission as we come to them. May I do justice to them and to your wishes, with God’s assistance. We sleep this night near Virbius, two days’ journey from you, at the monastery of Saint Vladimir, where the holy brothers have welcomed us in your name. As you have instructed, I went alone to the lord abbot and told him our mission in the greatest secrecy, with not even a novice or servant present. He has commanded our wagon to remain under lock in the stables within the courtyard, with two guards from among his monks and two from among our number. I hope we may meet often with such understanding and safekeeping, at least until we cross into the infidel lands. As you have instructed, I placed one book in the lord abbot’s hands, with your injunctions, and saw that he hid it forthwith, not even opening it before me.

The horses are tired after our climb through the mountains and we will sleep here yet another night after this one. We ourselves are now well refreshed by the services of their church here, in which two icons of the most pure Virgin have performed miracles as recently as eighty years ago. One of them still shows the miraculous tears she wept for a sinner, which are now turned to rare pearls. We have offered earnest prayers to her for protection in our mission, that we may safely reach the great city and even in the capital of the enemy find a haven from which to attempt our task.

I am yours most humbly in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Br. Kiril

April, the Year of Our Lord 6985

“I think Helen and I hardly breathed as Stoichev read this aloud. He translated slowly and methodically, and with no small skill. I was just about to exclaim aloud over the indubitable connection between the two letters when a thud of feet on the wooden stairs below made us all look up. ‘They are coming back,’ Stoichev said quietly. He put the letter away, and I placed ours with it for the time being, in his safekeeping. ‘Mr. Ranov-he was assigned to you as your guide?’

“‘Yes,’ I said quickly. ‘And he seems far too interested in our work here. There is a lot more we must tell you about our research, but it’s rather private and also -’ I paused.

“‘Dangerous?’ inquired Stoichev, turning his wonderful old face toward us.

“‘How did you guess?’ I couldn’t hide my amazement. Nothing we had said so far implied danger.

“‘Ah.’ He shook his head, and I heard in his sigh a depth of experience and regret I couldn’t begin to fathom. ‘There are some things I should tell you, also. I never expected to see another of these letters. Talk to Mr. Ranov as little as possible.’

“‘Don’t worry.’ Helen shook her head and they regarded each other for a second with a smile.

“‘Quiet,’ Stoichev said softly. ‘I will take care that we can talk again.’

“Irina and Ranov came into the sitting room with a clash of plates, and Irina began setting out glasses and a bottle of amber liquid. Ranov came behind her bearing a loaf of bread and a dish of white beans. He was smiling and he looked almost domesticated. I wished I could thank Stoichev’s niece. She settled her uncle comfortably in his chair and made us sit down, and I realized that the morning’s excursion had left me terribly hungry.

“‘Please, honored guests, make yourselves welcome.’ Stoichev waved a hand over the table as if it belonged to the emperor of Constantinople. Irina poured glasses of brandy-the smell alone could have killed a small animal-and he toasted us gallantly, his yellow-toothed smile wide and genuine. ‘I drink to friendship among scholars everywhere.’

“We all returned this toast with enthusiasm except for Ranov, who raised his glass ironically and looked around at us.

“‘May your scholarship advance the knowledge of the Party and the people,’ he said, giving me a little bow. This almost took the edge off my appetite; was he speaking generally, or did he want to advance the Party’s knowledge through something particular we knew? But I returned the bow and downed myrakiya. I decided there was no way to drink it except quickly, and the third-degree burn I received on the back of my throat was soon replaced by a pleasant glow. Enough of this beverage, I thought, and I might be in danger of liking Ranov slightly.