Viennese Story
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
With the voice of a thousand hungry wolves howls the wild wind. It stirs up the thick snow blanket and blows it all around the forest. Suddenly, quiet sits upon the shoulders of the mountains, and mute fog envelops the valleys and meadows. Is General Winter tired or is he just trying to help to somebody with the curtains of fog? There is someone who braves the elements on this frozen no man's land. He is a young boy, who just passed seventeen. Why is he out there? He wants to escape the past that robbed him of his childhood. He was only twelve years old when he lost the two persons of his family whom he liked the most in this world. They were the victims of the communist regime, which kept the free thinking Hungarians in terror. Zsolt's parents were members of the banned Democratic Party; they wanted to liberate their fellow countrymen from the red oppression. Unfortunately, a traitor betrayed their group, and the secret police arrested them. Zsolt's mother was a delicate lady; she couldn't stand the torture and she died two days later. There were only two words on her Death Certificate for the cause: heart attack. His father was a strong man; after the beatings he got a trial. The judge sent him to prison for twenty years, without the possibility for parole. A good aunt wanted to take the homeless child and raise him with her family, but the court ruled that wasn't in his best interest. They put him into a state orphanage. The life was harsh there, but something kept Zsolt going. He inherited the love of freedom from his parents. When he could read his books, his sad soul changed; happiness covered on his face. He forgot the misery that he lived in. He was free because the flight of imagination took him thousands of kilometers away to chase buffaloes on the wild West, to fly jet planes, to fight a battle for Napoleon, and drink melted snow at the North Pole. After Zsolt closed his books, his mind went back to the present, but the ray of hope healed his wounded heart. He knew, somewhere there was a better life. In January 1978, lots of snow fell on the border town where the orphanage was located. Zsolt thought he had a good chance to escape from the country that had given him so much misery. The blizzards ruined the electronic wire system which the border patrol had built. He hoped the freezing cold would keep the guards close to the fire. The fearless teenager chose a weekend for the big adventure during a time fewer staff members were on duty. Saturday morning he dressed in his warmest clothes and got permission from the orphanage's teacher on duty with some of his classmates to go to learn skating. Instead of that, he started with his secret plan. When they got to the lake, Zsolt told them that he had a terrible stomach ache. The senior advised him to go home and rest. He pretended to do so, but when his friends couldn't see him anymore, he changed direction and headed to the forest on the border. He had begun to study a map of the area months ago. Our hero was a smart kid; he memorized all of the trails, but he forgot about something. He didn't expect the snowstorm, and he got lost. 'My Lord, help me please! Don't let me down,' he prayed to God. A miracle happened; the wind went to sleep, and fog cuddled the forest like they were lovers.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The scene of my novel is Vienna, the capital of Austria, in 1978. There are four main characters: Frau Grete Sommer, a beautiful single lady in her forties; Walter, a young Mormon missionary; Zsolt and Csaba, refugees from Hungary. The middle-aged lady and the soldier of God fall in love, but their cloudless happiness doesn't last long. Zsolt was twelve years old when he lost his parents. He grew up in a state orphanage until he could escape from communist Hungary five years later. In Vienna, he finds a roommate, who becomes his father, brother and best friend in one person. The caprice of fate brought together these four characters. Their story tells about love, care, joy and pain. As I put this bouquet of human feelings onto paper, sometimes I used poetry to make my readers inhale the fragrance of it. I hope, even if the plot of my novel fades away in their minds some day, the feelings they feel as they read it will remain with them in their hearts and brains forever, like the sweet scent of violets.
About the Author
I was born in Hungary, in 1963, and fled to Austria from the communist oppression in 1988. I moved to the United States in 1990. This is my first novel.