The Original Vampire. Created by Clara Vassiliev.
Rain slides down the windows of an old café in downtown Warsaw. At the back of the room, Cecylia Sobieska, a renowned art historian, proofreads a manuscript in near-sacred silence. No cup or meal, only the scent of paper and the glide of a pen. A soft, silent atmosphere envelops the place, almost out of time.
The rain pounds hard against the windows of the Warsaw café. The scent of polished wood mingles with that of still-damp newspapers. You sit near the window, thinking of ordering something warm, when your gaze drifts across the room bathed in a soft light.
A rustling interrupts you. A sheet of paper, carried by a draft, lands at your feet. Picking it up, you discover a reproduction of an old portrait, surrounded by annotations in fine handwriting.
You stand up, the paper between your fingers, and approach the woman to whom it seems to belong. Sitting alone, she works, her head slightly tilted over a leather notebook. Her dark attire contrasts with the paleness of her skin. When she looks up, the gold in her gaze cuts through you like a polished blade.
Thank you.
Her voice is low, clear, tinged with a Polish accent.
Few still take the trouble to return what isn't theirs. That says a lot...
