1914

The soldier came around to see Mamma again. Mother let me say hello to him this time. He said his name was Luca. She smiled a lot more when he was here.

I sat in the corner of the living room in silence, watching them as they spoke.

Luca squeezed Mother by the shoulder as he spoke to her. She must have liked it, because she soon put her hand on top of his, holding it there.

‘We’re finding it hard to contain,’ Luca told her.

Mamma shot me a nervous look.

‘Let him stay,’ Luca continued. ‘He should hear what is happening to his town.’

‘But…,’ Mamma started.

‘You’re a strong man, aren’t you, Thomas?’ Luca asked me.

I remained silent - but nodded.

‘There, see?’ he told Mother. ‘A strong young man indeed.’

‘What… what are you doing with the prisoners?’ Mother asked.

‘Nothing,’ the soldier replied. ‘Nothing for now. Your husband is safe… if that’s what you’re asking.’

Mamma looked down at the ground, face red.

‘No…,’ she whispered. ‘It’s not that. It’s just…’

She went quiet.

The soldier spoke up again, adding, ‘If this continues to spread, though, they say… they say that we’ll have to start taking more drastic measures.’

* * *

2018

I stayed long into the evening reading these books, long after Mia, El and Hans went home. I told them I’d walk; it wasn’t far, and, besides, going for a walk around here was a treat.

The journals contained stories that Grandad’s father had told him. They spoke of a box that lived in the forest. They spoke of the last time it opened, when the hell that was inside first leaked out into Gstaad.

If just anyone were to read these tales, they would think that they were nothing more than the drunken ramblings of a cruel man, recorded here by his miserable son. But to me - to someone who had heard those fateful three words - it felt as though this could have been the truth.

I brought one of these journals through to my Grandad, who was fast asleep in his big leather armchair.

‘Grandad?’ I asked, quietly at first, hoping to gently bring him back to the land of the conscious.

He stirred, smacking his lips as he awoke, as though waking from a dream about a great feast. I almost felt bad about disturbing him. ‘...Daniel? Daniel. How is it going in there?’

‘I…,’ I started, voice faltering. I cleared my throat then continued, ‘Grandad, I wanted to ask you about something. Something in these books…’

I held out the example that I’d brought in, handing it over to him. Grandad put his glasses on and blinked the book into focus. A wary expression crossed his face.

‘What is it that you want to ask me about?’

‘Those stories… the ones your father told you. About the box - the one in the woods.’

Grandad kept quiet, his face growing more concerned with every word that escape my mouth. At this point, I thought I already knew the answer to the question that I was about to ask.

‘There’s nothing… there’s nothing real about those stories, is there?’

He put the book down and looked me in the eyes. ‘What have you heard?’ His voice was eerily stern, unlike I’d ever heard him speak before.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean - look at me, Daniel - I mean, what have you heard?’

I kept quiet. Grandad seemed to infer the answer from my silence.

‘Daniel, you must ignore it, you hear me? It is the Devil speaking. You must resist the temptation, you understand?’

‘Yes,’ I replied, nodding. ‘But…’

‘Say it,’ he reiterated. ‘Tell me that you will ignore his voice. That you will remain strong.’

‘But…’

‘Say it!’ he said, voice raised.

‘Yes!’ I replied. ‘I will resist it!’

‘Good.’

‘But it’s not just me who hears it, Grandad. El has, too. And… I think Hans does, whether he says so or not.’

Grandad’s eyes grew wide with fear. ‘Then the day has come. It opens once more.’

‘What do we do?’ I asked.

He rose from his seat, charged into the study as quickly as his legs would carry him. ‘I have something… somewhere… Did you see it?’

‘See what, Grandad?’

‘My Bible…,’ he mumbled.

I reached for a Bible that was resting on a lower shelf, and passed it to my grandfather, half-expecting him to read a verse from it. Instead, he pulled out a slip of faded paper that rested between the pages, and tossed the book aside.

‘You must call this number, OK, Daniel? You must say the words that are on the card, you understand?’

‘Yes, I understand. Why am I doing this?’

‘Because my father swore an oath - that his family would act as watchers.’

I moved to ask more questions, but Grandad waved me away. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and dialled the number.

There was no response for a long time. Seconds became minutes, and all I heard was the faint ring of the dial tone.

Eventually, a man picked up, and in a confused voice, asked, ‘Hello? Who is this?’

‘My name’s Daniel, I-’

‘How did you get this number?’ he asked, his voice grave.

‘I… I-,’ I began to reply, mumbling.

‘This is a military line. How did you get this number?’ the stern voice repeated.

‘I… I…,’ I continued, and then looked down at the paper that Grandad had given me. I read aloud. ‘Pandora is awake.’

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then a click as they terminated the call.

I looked up. Grandad stood in the doorway. ‘Well?’

‘I don’t know… I think… I think they got the message?’

He nodded. ‘They got it.’

My phone rang again in my hands. This time, it was a number that I recognised: Hans.

I answered. ‘Hans?’

‘Daniel! Listen to me: I found it!’

‘You found…’

‘Yes! I found it! I found the box! You must come to me.’

‘Hans, I don’t think…,’ I started, looking Grandad in the eyes. ‘I think you need to get away from it - now.’

‘Get away from it?’ Hans replied, confused. ‘But why would I do that? It has shown me the truth.’

‘Hans, listen to me: get away from it, it’s-’

‘No, Daniel. You will listen to me. You will come here. You will do as I say.’

Hans ended the call without waiting for a response.

I told Grandad what my cousin had said.

‘How did he sound?’ he asked.

‘Angry.’

‘Then he is already lost.’