Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

Abruptly her vision had narrowed, as if looking through a telescope. Adishi had appeared straight ahead. Gocha wassitting in front of her house and waved, expecting her. The color of the light had changed to an intense blue.Gocha was drumming on a shaman’s drum. Hers or Shalva’s? A great anxiety overcame her connected with themonotonous sound of the drum. She was still hovering high above ground when Gocha spoke: "Child, you have avoidedme. You should visit me more often, you are a healer wasting your precious gift. Why are you scared? Have youforgotten to talk to your soul bird?"The raven suddenly swooped down on her, growing so big that he blotted out the sun. Struck by fear she began to fallrapidly towards the ground. The sickening feeling of falling woke her. Completely wrung out, her entire body aching, shefound herself next to sleeping Konrad. The sun was gone, a thunder clap released a sudden downpour. This time Konraddanced in the rain, she was too benumbed to follow him. She had never told Konrad about this experience."Alexandra! Don’t fall off the horse!" called Claudia.Alexandra shook herself. "How long have I been away?"Claudia stared at her with wide eyes. "What happened?"Alexandra touched her head. "I felt dizzy."They had ridden a good distance. Slowly she regained her senses. "Do you really want to hear about my encounters withGocha?" she said very slowly. "They frighten me when they happen. I was thinking of the last time I have been ‘flying,’and it completely put me out. I am lucky you caught me before I fell."Then she remembered Claudia’s request: "I envy you the sober intellectual environment in Munich." Alexandra saidlooking straight ahead. "Here you have to defend yourself against psychic influences. People go into a deep trance at thedrop of a hat, the tables start dancing, the dead rise, fashionable women shriek.... I stay miles away from ‘spiritually’gifted people and their seances."She wiped her hair out of her eyes and turned to Claudia. "But to be invited to work with your father is a great honor. Iwould have to work out some arrangement with Konrad and Helena to be able to visit you. After Konrad’s extendedabsence he will miss me," she sighed, "or so I hope. Otto is at school, I have patients to take care of, and my father isgetting old. We need to consider a visit to Tiflis."She knew that Claudia’s invitation would not leave her in peace.Late one night, they were having dinner, Tamara came home highly excited. Her face was blotched, her hair disheveled.Very unusual for her, she was obviously partly drunk. She could barely contain herself. "Stolypin is dead!" she shouted."Finally they succeeded in assassinating the bloodsucker."They stared at her in shocked silence.Eventually Niko was able to get the details out of her. Four hours earlier Stolypin had been shot by an extremist at closerange in the sold-out Kiev opera under the horrorstruck eyes of Emperor Nicholas and the Empress.Niko crossed himself and quietly pointed out how serious this tragedy was. Stolypin had been the only man capable ofstemming the total disintegration of Russia."Exactly," screamed Tamara, interrupting him, "by shooting, exiling, and imprisoning thousands of revolutionaries! TheEmperor has become a mere puppet of the Empress and Rasputin, her starets. Do you want to save this rotten regime?Nicholas has to go. If he doesn’t abdicate of his own, we shall push him off his throne!" she shouted."And then what?" retorted Niko exasperated. "You are drunk! Let’s discuss this matter when you have sobered up."Tamara collapsed at the edge of the table. Tears streamed down her face. Vladimir got up and tried to calm her.She pushed him away. "Leave me alone, you imperialist. You only make fun of me, you have no clear opinion and nomarrow in your bones."Vladimir sat defeated and smiled, embarrassed, at the others. He gestured with his hand to show that this was one oftheir usual, irrational fights.Tamara rose, shot him a withering look, and disappeared into the bathroom."In principle, as far as Nicholas and the Empress are concerned, I don’t disagree with her," said Niko pensively. "ButStolypin would have been the only man who could have persuaded Nicholas to abdicate."Alexandra rallied to Tamara’s help. "Niko, keep in mind that Stolypin was the arch-enemy of Socialists and Marxists. Idon’t agree with her, but I am not surprised by Tamara’s rhetoric. This was the third assassination attempt at Stolypin. Idon’t have to tell you what happened to the revolutionaries who tried to ambush him before. In the present politicalclimate Stolypin could never have rallied the left behind him."Tamara returned slightly more composed. She ater a few spoons of soup and looked at Niko. "You asked me what wouldhappen if Nicholas were forced to abdicate. Then we could have a free democratic government led by the Socialists."Niko tried to control his voice. "Before we discuss the question of a ‘free democracy,’ I would like to know for which brandof socialism you are praying?""I don’t pray. I want to act.""What group do you think will give us hope for a stable government? I agree with you that the emperor has to submit to aconstitution which restricts his reign or abdicate. But I don’t see any party capable of governing itself, not to mention this171