A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(27)

They left the hotel and found the driver from the day before waiting for them outside. They climbed aboard the van and all sat on the edge of their seats, excited about their first German adventure. The van hurried through the Berlin streets and the girls once again took pictures of everything they saw. They drove through Tiergarten Park, which stretched through the center of the city like a German version of Central Park, and past the iconic Brandenburg Gate. Conner instantly recognized the gate’s pillars and its statue of a chariot at the top. A few minutes later, once they’d driven through a winding maze of buildings, they finally arrived at St. Matth?us-Kirchhof cemetery.

Although Conner hadn’t been sure what to expect, the cemetery was different from what he had imagined. It was at the end of a long cul-de-sac and almost looked like a courtyard to the tall apartment and office buildings that surrounded it. A domed playground sat a few feet away from the hundred-and-fifty-year-old cemetery’s entrance; even it was no exception to Berlin’s integration of old and new.

A massive stone gate guarded the entrance to the cemetery. It was covered with traces of dead ivy and had a crucifix at its peak. Although it was the oldest structure in this part of the city, it had maintained its authoritative and imperial prestige over the years. There was something about the gate that demanded respect.

Brown welcoming posters advertising the Grimm-Fest were placed all over the gate. Their van was one of many vans and buses dropping people off for the readings. There were even a couple news crews covering the event.

“Here we are!” Mrs. Peters said. She led her group out of the van and through the stone gate.

“This place is creepy,” Lindy said, and Wendy nodded along with her. They were hesitant to go very far inside.

“This place is awesome,” Bree said, and took a picture of the gate with her phone; it was her first picture of the trip.

Beyond the gate, the cemetery was very festive. Everywhere they looked they saw students from the University of Berlin in brown shirts that matched the posters answering attendees’ questions. Teachers and students of all ages, from all corners of the globe, were clumped throughout the cemetery, speaking in different languages.

Most of the attendees were gathered around the miniature chapel in the center of the cemetery. A red velvet rope blocked the front steps, making the porch into a stage of sorts. In the center of the porch was a white pillar with a glass display case on top of it. Inside the case was a very old wooden chest. Without a doubt, Conner knew he was looking at the Brothers Grimm time capsule. He smiled from ear to ear. Alex and his grandmother would have been as happy as he was to see so many people so enthusiastic about the work of the Brothers Grimm.

“Mrs. Weiss! Mrs. Weiss!” Mrs. Peters called out to the crowd ahead of her. A woman who could only be described as the German version of Mrs. Peters turned to face them. She wore almost the exact same pair of glasses and dress that Mrs. Peters had on.

“Mrs. Peters! It’s so wonderful to see you!” Mrs. Weiss said, embracing her old friend.

“Students, allow me to introduce an old colleague of mine, Mrs. Weiss,” Mrs. Peters said to Conner and the girls. “She’s the reason we’re here. She teaches English in Frankfurt and contacted me immediately once she heard about today’s event.”

“I’m so happy you could make it,” Mrs. Weiss said, and looked down at her watch. “The readings should begin in twenty minutes or so, but until then, please have a look around the cemetery. There is face painting and a short story contest on the south lawn.”

“Yes, please enjoy yourselves while Mrs. Weiss and I catch up,” Mrs. Peters instructed them. “Just don’t go too far.”

The group split up, going in separate directions like moths drawn to different lights. Mindy and Cindy went to check out the face painting while Lindy and Wendy hurried to see if it was too late to enter the short story contest. Conner wandered deeper into the cemetery to discover it by himself.

The perimeter of the cemetery was lined with enormous mausoleums while smaller graves and tombstones were scattered across the center of the lawns. The dates of birth and death spanned to more than two hundred years ago. Conner almost couldn’t believe how long most of the dead had been buried there. He did, however, have an inkling of what it would be like, after flying internationally and being stuck in his own cramped space for a long period of time.

He walked along the mausoleums admiring the pillars, statues, and stained-glass windows. He figured these must be the grave sites of the very important and wealthy—he was sure he would find the graves of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm among them. But after walking the perimeter of the graveyard twice, he still hadn’t found their place of rest.

A cluster of people were gathered around a row of smaller graves in the center of the cemetery. Conner’s curiosity got the best of him and he went to see what all the fuss was about.

Finally, he pushed his way through the crowd and saw who all the excitement was for. Everyone was huddled around four identical graves lined up in a row. Each tombstone was tall, dark gray, and square. Conner had to read the names on the last two in the row twice before he believed his eyes. He was staring at the very humble graves of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, buried alongside Wilhelm’s sons Rudolf and Herman.

“I don’t believe it,” Conner said to himself.

“What don’t you believe?” said a familiar voice. Conner looked to his right and saw Bree standing beside him. She had also just pushed her way to the front of the observers.