I Must Betray You
Ruta Sepetys
In memory of the brave Romanian students.
December 21, 1989
BENEATH THE GILDED FRAME
SUB RAMA POLEIT?
They lived in darkness.
Breathing shadows.
Hands plunged deep within their pockets, hiding frozen fingers balled into fists.
They avoided the eyes of others. To look into the face of fear brought risk of getting trapped in its undertow. But somehow—invisible eyes—they were forever upon them. Even in the darkest darkness.
Watching.
Always watching.
Romania’s perpetual sense of surveillance.
That’s how it’s been described: the burden of a secret storm.
This is not recited from memory.
There was a student, a young man in the capital city of Bucharest. He wrote it all down.
Then feared it was a mistake.
We speak of mistakes—some believe that Dracula is the most frightening character associated with Romania. When they learn the truth, will it haunt them?
Dracula is fiction, with no real connection to Romanian history. But there was once a real bloodthirsty monster living in a castle in Romania. He remained in his tower for twenty-four years. While Dracula chose specific victims, this other monster chose to be evil and cruel . . .
To everyone.
He denied them food, electricity, truth, and freedom.
The citizens of Romania were stoic and resilient, but they suffered a terror of tyranny.
How many, you ask?
Twenty-three million people.
Names and history, largely unknown. Then— A metal box. Found next to a grave. Inside was a manuscript.
This is how one boy told the story.
Din biroul lui
Cristian Florescu
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
1989
1
UNU
Fear arrived at five o’clock.
It was October. A gray Friday.
If I had known? I would have run. Tried to hide.
But I didn’t know.
Through the dim half-light of the school corridor I spotted my best friend, Luca. He walked toward me, passing the tedious sign shouting from the concrete wall.
New Men of Romania:
Long live Communism—the bright future of mankind!
At the time, my mind churned on something far from communism. Something more immediate.
School dismissed at 7:00 p.m. If I left at the right moment, I’d fall into step with her—the quiet girl with the hair hiding her eyes. It would feel coincidental, not forced.
Luca’s tall, thin frame edged in beside me. “It’s official. My stomach’s eating itself.”
“Here.” I handed him my small pouch of sunflower seeds.
“Thanks. Did you hear? The librarian says you’re a bad influence.”
I laughed. Maybe it was true. Teachers referred to Luca as “sweet” but said I was sarcastic. If I was the type to throw a punch, Luca was the type to break up a fight. He had an eagerness about him, while I preferred to evaluate and watch from afar.
We paused so Luca could talk to a group of loud girls. I waited, impatient.
“Hei, Cristian,” smiled one of the girls. “Nice hair, do you cut it with a kitchen knife?”
“Yeah,” I said softly. “Blindfolded.” I gave Luca a nod and continued down the hall alone.
“Pupil Florescu!”
The voice belonged to the school director. He lingered in the hallway, speaking with a colleague. Comrade Director shifted his weight, trying to appear casual.
Nothing was ever casual.
In class, we sat erect. Comrade Instructor lectured, bellowing at our group of forty students. We listened, stock still and squinting beneath the sickly light. We were marked “present” in attendance but were often absent from ourselves.
Luca and me, we wore navy suits and ties to liceu. All boys did. Girls, navy pinafores and white hair bands. Embroidered badges sewn onto our uniforms identified which school we attended. But in the fall and winter, our school uniforms weren’t visible. They were covered by coats, knitted mufflers, and gloves to combat the bitter cold of the unheated cement building.
Cold and dark. Knuckles aching. It’s hard to take notes when you can’t feel your fingers. It’s difficult to concentrate when the electricity snaps off.
The director cleared his throat. “Pupil Florescu,” he repeated. “Proceed to the office. Your father has left a message for you.”
My father? My father never came to school. I rarely saw him. He worked twelve-hour shifts, six days a week at a furniture factory.
A slithering knot coiled inside my stomach. “Yes, Comrade Director.”
I proceeded to the office as I was told.
Could outsiders understand? In Romania, we did as we were told.
We were told a lot of things.
We were told that we were all brothers and sisters in communism. Addressing each other with the term “comrade” reinforced that we were all equal, with no social classes to divide us. Good brothers and sisters in communism followed rules.
I pretended to follow rules. I kept things to myself, like my interest in poetry and philosophy. I pretended other things too. I pretended to lose my comb, but really just preferred my hair spiky. I pretended not to notice when girls were looking at me. And this one—I pretended that studying English was a commitment to my country.