Wine, blood, and cherries

Amidst the sprawling vineyards of the family estate, Dahlia gazed at the distant horizon, yearning for a life beyond the grapevines. It was nearly the end of her gap year after high school, yet she felt she did not fit in the family business. Everything had a purpose in life, but she had yet to discover hers.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yeah”

“It’s getting dark- time we go home, Dahlia”.

Trees make oxygen, grapes make wine, and her older brother Matteo ran the vineyard for the summers. It was his dream to take over someday, and he was on the right path. She was jealous because he knew what he wanted.

Her former classmates had a path as well, yet she felt she did not exactly fit in with anything. She wanted to go away from that small town and try things in life, but she ended up postponing and staying around.

At her one-year “internship” when she was asking her parents about clients and some big accounts, they recommended she do some other, easier, and smaller tasks. They were right, she thought, maybe she would ruin everything if she started from the big and challenging, such as sales, advertising, or account management. Besides, these were things that her parents knew best. She would do odd chores here and there.

As they were driving towards home, in Matteo’s car, they let the scenery behind them. Muscat grapes were hanging heavy, decorating the vines. They did the sampling already, and this year’s grapes would not be ready for picking for another week or ten days, they needed a bit of time for their sugars to rise and acidity to drop. Then they would be just right.

In the cooling dusk, the vineyard had an eerie feel to it that she could not explain. Maybe it was just the myths of the god Dionysus and his crew of magical creatures and demons getting into her head. That some creatures were lurking in the dark, and as soon it was dark enough, they would start a crazy party till dawn.

“Dahlia, do you even listen to me?”, Matteo said with frustration, but his eyes were kind.

“Sorry- sorry, I was just daydreaming”.

“Honestly, you are so absent-minded. Is it perhaps about the end of your internship here?”

“K-kind of…”

“You know, little sister, you can always talk to me”.

“Thanks, but I would rather think of something else right now”.

“Okay, let’s see… You remember we are having the neighbours over for dinner, right?”

“Oh sh- I… forgot. I haven’t really made plans for the dinner or prepared anything”.

“Don’t worry, I already took care of it, Maria the caterer prepared everything and is already there, we just need to clean ourselves up and dress up before they arrive. She made a Cretan homemade-inspired five-course meal for tonight”.

“Mm, I’m already hungry!” Dahlia said while making the gesture of rubbing her belly.

“Prepare yourself for a feast then!” Matteo laughed, and his wide smile lit up his chubby face framed by thick brown eyebrows and long brown hair tied in a ponytail. Although he was five years older than her, he still looked like a big happy kid.

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They arrived at their house, a large villa in the countryside, about a thirty-minute car ride away from the vineyard.

“See you in a bit!” Dahlia said before running up the front stairs and rushing towards her chambers.

Her chambers were like a suite, with a spacious bedroom, a walk-in closet, a luxury bath with Italian marble, a cozy living room, and a little study decorated with antique furniture and an elegant oak bookshelf. She liked all of it but because she grew up like this, she never questioned it. Only when she had a couple of friends or classmates over, sometimes, she would be marvel at their expressions of amazement.

She didn’t have time now for a bath, although she really liked to take baths and relax. She thought “Next time”, and stepped into the shower and let the water erase her thoughts before she realized she was absent-minded again and hurried to wash up well and get dressed.

She put on her robe and dried her long, lush hair. Then she put fragrant oils and brushed it and brushed it. Again, she felt time passed without feeling it.

But how much time had it passed?

She heard a knock on her door.

“Are you ready sister? I started to get worried, guests were already downstairs in the dining room near the big veranda”.

“I’m almost ready! I’ll meet you there”.

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Her heart pounded fast.

“Why am I so much absent-minded, it’s so annoying. Focus, Dahlia, focus”, she thought to herself.

She grabbed a lavender linen off-the-shoulder dress and her flat leather sandals. The dress was long, airy, and easy to move in. “I choose you!”, she exclaimed.

She was not much for accessories, but she put on the bracelet that the guests brought her last month for her birthday, you know, to show that she was wearing it. “We must be polite and appreciative” she reminded herself and remembered the time and started running off.

“Maybe instead of bracelets I just need a watch”, she thought sarcastically, while passing through the living room to get to the veranda. She was running so fast she bumped into someone and fell making a thud on the floor.

“Sorry, sorry- Nico?”

“There you are! Need a hand?”

Nico was laughing at the scene, and Dahlia started laughing too.

She took his hand and stood up. Nico was the only son of the neighbours, her former classmate, and a good friend.

 “You look amazing, Dahlia”, he exclaimed.

“Thank you, you do too” and she did a theatrical bow. “Let’s go to join the others, I am sorry I am so late, I lost track of time…”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about that. How have you been?”

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A series of fine dishes was coming. After the dinner and drinks, it was time for the dessert.

They were served honey-cheese Cretan pie. The old graviera cheese in the filling gave spicy, savoury, and salty notes, while the wildflower-thyme honey was spreading on the warm bread-like thin crust, bringing out all the aromas and sweetness. The other option for dessert was a lemon sorbet, which was popular with the guests.

“So, when are Elena and Marco coming back from the Maldives?”

Anastasia, Nico’s mother, was running their vineyard business also nearby. There were pleasantries and friendship of some sort, but also some competition between the families. Besides, they were both in the same business, but somehow Dahlia’s family seemed to do much better. Especially with the parents going on extravagant vacations every year, even when there were chores to do in the vineyard.

“Our parents are coming back at the end of the month”, Matteo replied.

“Well, it’s good that they have someone to take over for them. How is it going with you, are you managing well?”

“Yeah, I really love it. Learning about the nature, art, and science of it all is such a beautiful thing”.

“Oh, that’s very nice. Our very own Nico is also very useful, and he’s helping around all the time. And you, dear?” Anastasia asked. “You had an internship. How was it?”

“Well… I got to witness first-hand how Matteo is doing a really great job. I could never compete; he is the best” Dahlia spread a smile across the table before stuffing her face with some more pie.

She glanced over at Manuel, the father of Nico. He was rather not talkative, but he seemed to enjoy the food and drink.

As Dahlia was almost letting her mind wander, off to the starry sky. There were three steady knocks at the door. They were not expecting another guest. Her “social battery” was starting to run low for any interactions. She got up to be polite, but then her brother gestured to sit, he would take the door to see who it was at that late hour.

After a few minutes, Matteo came back with a different expression on his face.

“Ehm, thank you very much for coming to the dinner tonight, we really enjoyed your company”.

“What’s wrong?” Dahlia asked.

“Nothing, it was the wrong house, it was nobody. But we must wake up early tomorrow, I just remembered a little engagement I have in the morning”.

“It was a pleasure as well, and thanks for the invite as always” Anastasia replied, with so many questions in her eyes. “It’s getting late anyways, thank you for the wonderful dinner”.

As Dahlia hugged Nico goodbye, she whispered in his ear “Something’s wrong, could you come back later?” and he nodded.

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As the guests were leaving, Matteo gestured for his sister to follow him to the main study, where their father was standing there with a piece of fabric wiping blood from his face. Dahlia’s eyes opened wide, and she paused for a moment to realize what was happening. The blood he was wiping was not his blood.

“What’s happening?”

“Sit down kiddo. It’s time you knew about our family business. We had that talk with your brother years ago, and he chose to run the grapevines side. Your internship is finished and clearly, you are not cut out for that. So, maybe you can try your hand at our side of the business”.

“Does your side of the business hurt anyone by any chance?”

“Only those supposed to be hurt”.

“Then my answer is no, and I don’t want to know more of this matter!”

“Well, tough luck, kiddo, because even if you don’t know, it’s the same money that takes care of you, our house, your clothes, your education. Do you think you are innocent and therefore you are better than us?”

Thoughts and feelings were racing, Dahlia started to breathe briefly and fast, her hands were doing a thing. “Slow down”, she thought to herself. She clenched her hands into fists, took a breath, and then released.

“I know it’s a lot, but you have to contribute to the family somehow”, her father continued. “I know you have it in you, you take after your mother in cleverness, I am sure you will figure it out. But you must prove it by doing your first job”.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone. Where is mom?”

“She… is busy with a client at the moment”.

Dahlia got up and was ready to storm out, but she had too many questions.

“Are you in on this?” she asked her brother.

“Only the vineyard part, and to justify the money- to make everything legal. But I really like working at the vineyard and in nature, that part is true”.

“And we pay taxes, you could even say we are good citizens. Cheer up, kiddo”

“But… but I don’t want to hurt anyone”.

“Okay, but you can help devise the plan and do other stuff. You can do that, can’t you, sweetie?”

Dahlia paused. She saw that behind the smile of her father, was a hint of worry. A thought crossed her mind that if she didn’t do what she was told she would have the same fate as the person that splashed blood over her father’s face.

“I will think about it, okay?”

“Good girl, I will wait for your final answer at this time tomorrow kiddo”.

“Yeah, sister, you got this”.

“It’s late, and we are all tired, why don’t we call it a day, and what a long one that was. We see each other for breakfast tomorrow”. Dahlia did her best to compose herself long enough to exit the room in one piece. She even smiled to show that everything was good now.

“Yeah, indeed, and I have a hunger I would kill for” her father joked.

“We still have lots of food from tonight, I will send the staff home, and you can come eat”, Matteo said.

“What a good kid- you can learn from him, you know?”

Dahlia nodded politely and said goodnight, as she was headed for her rooms.

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Dahlia had so much to process that she almost forgot about Nico. He was waiting for her by the window.

She opened it for him, and they sat on her couch, well not actually hers. None of it was hers, everything was built on blood. She felt disgusted. She didn’t want to turn on the lights in her room and wanted them to think she was asleep.

So, she sat with Nico in silence, as he was very patient with her. The cool air was flowing from the open window, refreshing the room.

“You wanted to tell me something?” Nico asked.

Dahlia’s thoughts were swirling around and around, she thought that people would think she was crazy if she told the truth. She was trying to hold back her tears, but she failed as a few escaped and wet her face. 

“Do you want to run away with me?”

He processed her like he was scanning her face and her whole being to see if she was serious.

“But why?”

“I want to be my own person, I don’t want to do anything with this, here, I- I just want to run away. Do you want to join me?”

He didn’t say anything, but as he leaned in, she kissed him.

He had drunk wine earlier with them at the dinner, so he tasted like sweet wine and cherries. His lips were soft, but he looked surprised at her bold move.

Then she retreated and looked him in the eyes without saying a word.

“Dahlia…” he tried to compose himself. “Look, you look amazing, you smell amazing, you are an amazing person. I would really like to be with you, you can’t imagine- I thought you had friend-zoned me for so long…” He breathed as if he was in pain.

“…But I wouldn’t abandon my family for it. I have a place, and a job to do, and this one day will come to be my land and my house. I am sure it’s just a phase. You also have all this here, why would you give it up?”

She thought fast. If her family heard of her plans to run away, it wouldn’t work out well for her.

“Just kidding, I will stay here, silly”.

She would go to meet her father and accept the job on her own terms, with the goal of buying her freedom as soon as possible.

After she would have to deal with the Nico situation, “Why did I have to complicate things like this?”

As Nico tried to kiss her neck, she felt that nobody understood her. She could not explain the situation to him though, otherwise, he would be in danger.

“Get out,” she said.

“Huh?”

“Please, I am not ready for this”.

“Okay, okay…”

“I’m sorry”

“Don’t be, it’s all good”, he groaned as he controlled himself. “I can wait”.

“Goodnight”

“Goodnight,” he said as he was leaving from the window.

Dahlia had felt the attraction and she liked the kiss, but she didn’t feel there was any space for romance. She also ruined a perfectly good friendship. “Nice job, Dahlia”, she said to herself in frustration.

As she changed into her night dress and removed her bracelet, she felt her eyes drowsy and lay in bed on her side. A shadow passed from her window, and for a moment she thought Nico had come back. As she turned to tell him to go away, she didn’t recognize the person that attacked her, but that person was larger built than Nico- it couldn’t have been him. A burglar perhaps? The figure was wearing a full-face mask and black clothes.

Half-asleep, she didn’t have enough reaction time, she was grabbed from the neck, and had her nose and mouth closed. She struggled, her hands patted the bed, tried to push the attacker away, and her hands eventually released, as she drifted into the darkness.

She was finally free.

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