THE DOOR by Teri Borseti Chapter 8 Later on that day after having fresh sea scallops for dinner Shelly headed upstairs. Once again she stood in front of the painting. For the 90th time she asked herself if she was losing her mind but last night’s adventure was so fabulous that she just couldn’t imagine what could possibly be next. She assumed her position on the carpet just a few feet from the painting and started to stare. It was mesmerizing, even more so than the night before. And once again she began to see the white light coming through the cracks. She stood and waited. In a flash Shelly found herself sitting in some sort of stage coach that was in motion. There was a tall man in the carriage with her and she nearly panicked before she remembered, once again, that she could not be seen or heard. It was dark and very cold out. It was snowing and there was already a considerable amount of snow on the ground. At first it wasn’t easy to get any idea of where she was, but wasn’t that part of the adventure? Here and there she saw what looked like simple Christmas decorations as they rode through the small village. The man sitting across from her had a beard but because he sat in the shadow looking out the window she had no idea who he was. It was a bumpy ride and the carriage was quite drafty. After turning off of the main road Shelly could see what looked like a castle in the distance. It was a stunning yellow building with a river or lake behind it. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before. She was thinking that the architecture had a Russian flair when at that very moment they passed a sign. Most of it was in Russian but she could clearly make out “St. Petersburg”. So she was in Russia! When the carriage turned onto the driveway marked Moika Palace the moon came out from the clouds and she saw that the man’s beard was reddish. She sat and thought for a minute trying to figure out who he was. He certainly looked familiar to her. The roads were mostly unpaved except for the one that led to the palace, which was covered with cobblestones. She realized that automobiles probably weren’t common yet. “Who is a tall Russian man? A tall Russian man with a red beard heading towards a palace? Then it hit her. Oh my stars this is Grigory Rasputin!” Shelly said to herself positively stunned! She couldn’t believe she was in a carriage with the man who became famous for the way he charmed the Tsar and Tsarina. He became particularly close to Tsarina Alexandra. So that meant she was in the early 1900’s but what year? Shelly was truly stunned at where The Door had taken her this time but she liked putting the puzzle together piece by piece. “I remember reading about how a Russian nobleman named Felix Yusupov was quite threatened by Rasputin’s relationship with the Tsar and Tsarina. He and a couple of his cohorts tried to kill this guy about five different ways and he just wouldn’t die,” she thought. Then suddenly another piece of the puzzle was realized! It was cold and it was Christmastime. Shelly feared it might be the night that Rasputin was to be murdered. December 16, 1916. Why would I want to witness that? she asked herself nervously and for a moment she seriously thought about heading back home. The carriage slowed to a stop and in no time the driver was there opening the door. Rasputin got out and she followed. He certainly was tall about 6’4”. Shelly got out of the carriage undetected and a man came out from the front door to greet him. “Oh Grigory I’m so happy you have come. My wife Princess Irina will be so happy to meet you,” the man said. The man, Prince Felix Yusupov, led Rasputin into the incredibly opulent palace but they quickly headed downstairs to a basement room that once served as a dungeon. The crude walls were made of stone and concrete. Ceilings were high. The room looked like what is now commonly referred to as a “man cave”. A table had been set with tall candles, crystal glasses, and gold trimmed coffee cups with delicate saucers. There was also a bottle of Madera wine and several dishes of yummy looking holiday cakes. A very dim multi-colored stained glass light hung over the table. Chairs were made of thick, richly carved wood that looked almost medieval. A warm fire raged in an enormous fireplace. “I can’t believe I’m here in this castle. I can’t believe I’m going to see this poor man be murdered and I’ll be unable to do anything about it. If memory serves correctly first Yusupov will poison him, then shoot him, then club him, shoot him again and finally throw him into the river. That must be the water I saw behind the palace, the Neva River,” Shelly thought feeling terribly helpless. Rasputin sat down as did Yusupov and as the prince began to pour some wine for his guest two other men entered the room. Yusupov stood “Grigory I believe you know Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich and Vladimir Purishkevich,” he said and the men shook hands and everyone sat down. Shelly stayed on the other side of the room and sat on an enormous pillow that was covered with an intricate tapestry. That was the last bit of English that was spoken for the rest of the evening. The three men spoke to each other in Russian so thick there was no way Shelly could understand a word of what they were saying. But she watched as they passed Rasputin trays of tiny cakes and cookies and refilled his glass with wine. She knew that both contained poison. Shelly finally got a good look at the man people called The Mad Monk. His hair was long and unkempt as was his beard. His clothing was tattered and had seen better days but his eyes shone like jewels across the room. “That’s how he used to hypnotize people, with his eyes,” Shelly remembered. Time passed and the men continued to drink and eat. At one point Rasputin must have asked about Princess Irina and Yusupov briefly left the room and returned with an explanation but that too was in Russian. Voices got louder as the men continued to drink. At first the mood was jovial but in time it changed. Shelly noticed that when Rasputin wasn’t looking, that Dimitri and Vladimir exchanged knowing glances. Rasputin appeared to be somewhat drunk but there was no sign that he was effected by the poison he’d ingested. Soon words became harsh and a fight broke out. The tall man held his own against the three nobles until a shot was fired and he hit the floor. There was a moment of absolute silence and Shelly so wanted to be able to go to the man on the floor and help him. She felt helpless watching the historical event unfold in front of her eyes and yet she couldn’t bring herself to say the magic words and just get out of there. The three men hurriedly left the room. Shelly didn’t know if she should leave or wait but in just a few minutes Yusupov returned alone. He approached Rasputin presumably to make sure that he was dead but just as he reached down to check his heartbeat Rasputin’s eyes opened like the eyes of a mad man. He grabbed the Prince and threw him on his back. He started strangling him when the Grand Duke reentered the room and fired three more bullets into Rasputin’s back. She watched his body shudder as the bullets tore through his flesh. The whole scene was like watching an incredibly accurate historical movie. The two men ripped a large, heavy rug from the wall and proceeded to pull Rasputin into position so he could be rolled up and neatly taken outside. But once again Rasputin put up a fight. It was something to see. It was just the way she’d always heard, the man just wouldn’t die. He was covered with blood but still came at the men with tremendous force. Suddenly Yusupov grabbed a thick candlestick and clubbed Rasputin’s head. Finally he looked still…..and dead and they were then able to roll him up in the rug and drag it outside. A trail of his blood was left in the snow all the way down to the River. Shelly remembered reading about how when an autopsy was done on Rasputin they found that he was still alive when he was thrown into the river. He ultimately drowned. Shelly stood in the cold courtyard shivering, trying to process what she’s just seen. “I should have left long before it came to this. I wish I never saw any of this. I should have left as soon as I recognized the scene,” Shelly thought remorsefully. Then with very little enthusiasm she murmured the words “Aka Roznel” and was returned to her office where a beautiful fall day had turned to evening. Shelly felt like she was going to throw up. Clearly not all of these trips were good ones.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 14:27:28 +0000
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