The Closed Garden

Chapter Three

October 27, 1956

Konstantin's hazel eyes were wide with anxiety.

He'd been pedaling along as fast as his bike could take him for a quarter hour now, but it was becoming clear that words were faster than him. People in places farther from the University (he'd left as soon as it all had begun) were chattering, calling and playing music loudly out of their windows already. Shivering in excitement, images of the romantic and the Teutonic were playing in his head almost like another painting of his. Images of the possible future. Hands on the steering bars tightened to a near-painful point as the younger Kelemen boy saw, in the distance, the gloomy, hope-forbidding buildings of Szabadság sor.

Bracing himself, he let his bicycle be overtaken by gravity and roll freely down the large hill in the street that overlooked the row from the east. The wind rushed over his ears through his nearly-illegal length brown hair. An enjoyable sense of loss of control, that is what the entire day thus far had been for him... his eyes closed. Shakily, he found the courage to release the handles of the bicycle as well, putting his arms out freely like the wingspan of a bird-- that's that he felt like now, a little bird let out of a cage, no, an eagle diving from the edge of some Transylvanian castle and gliding with ease into the sky.

Gradually, the ground began to level off. Konstantin didn't notice, too caught up in the rushing wind and his own grandiose thoughts, until, that is, his bicycle collided with the street curb and the boy was sent sprawling to the street, the metal bicycle falling atop him almost immediately.

The wind knocked out of him from his fall, the Kelemen boy coughed, pulling himself and the bicycle from the stone by sitting up, gradually. His eyes re-opened, only for his cheeks to then turn color as he realized the number of people staring at him in shock. One of the people he recognized at once.

Karola stood just outside the food store, giggling. "Brother," she called out, "You're funny."

He grumbled internally, pushing the bicycle off of his body and painfully coming to a stand. Another glance up, and his grandfather and mother were rushing out of the store, several bags in their hands.

"Stupid boy!" Árpád yelled, making even more of a scene. Konstantin cringed.

His mother, Cili, gave a quieting gesture to Árpád, brushing her son's clothing off. "Are you alright, dear? You should watch where you're going."

Konstantin stepped away from her, resisting the urge to swat her away. "Mother, I'm fine. I can take care of myself..."

"Obviously not," Árpád cut in, shaking a can of sliced apples in his direction. "Cili, you baby that boy too much."

Karola piped in. "Mother says he needs it, Grandfather."

Meanwhile, Konstantin watched this in a more than bored manner. This was what happened day in and day out, or at least every time he had something to do or say-- everyone would take off on some tangent before he could get more than a word in. Arguing was what the Kelemens specialized in, he always thought, and yet again it was proving true. On most days, and in most circumstances he would sigh and leave, letting whatever was on his mind simply pass, but today was an exception. Clearing his throat, he drew his family's attention to himself.

"What is it, Konstantin?" Árpád snapped. "Stupid boy, can't you see I am trying to talk?"

"This is important! There's a riot happening at the University!"

Everyone froze, even those who were merely passing by slowed in their paths to listen.

"The meeting was today... the Communist Youth. I must have missed what started it... I fell asleep but when I woke up the ÁPV was walking out and the rest of us were starting to riot. Someone threw something... I don't remember much but when I got outside it was starting out there too, on the campus. Gizi was out there, she told me... to go and tell my family... because it was getting bigger..."

"It's a revolution..." Árpád softly interrupted, a strange hopeful twinkle in his hazel eyes. The people listening looked at him almost entranced, until, one by one, they left for their own homes and the Kelemens were almost alone on the sidewalk.

"God..." Cili whispered. "I've got to call my sister." Cili's unmarried younger sister, Natália, lived right across the street from the University campus.

"What's going to happen? What do we do?" Karola chimed in. Konstantin leaned over, starting to pick up his bike from its odd place on the street curb, his eyes imploring his mother and grandfather to answer the difficult question for him.

"We wait, Karola," Cili began.

But Árpád had other ideas, almost speaking over his daughter-in-law. "We fight."

The blonde woman shook her head. "No, Árpád, we won't..."

"I'll fight," came Konstantin's meek voice, hands fumbling on his bike handles. "I mean, well, I will try..."

His mother was now madly protesting, but Árpád held her off and gave his grandson a wink of encouragement.

"I'll fight too..." came another voice. Running in their direction were Zsigmond Vörös and Annuska, Gabi's fiance, their eyes just as wild, and their clothes dirty as though they'd already seen some battle.

"What in God's name happened to you two?" Cili nearly screeched at them. "What have you been doing?"

Annuska's hands were on her knees as she leaned forward to pant, black hair falling into her face a little. Her tall older brother looked equally tired, but was patting her on the back and continually offering her sips from a glass bottle of what they all hoped was water.

"We were out shopping," she began, turning her nose up at the bottle for at least the third time. "When a bunch of ÁPV kids ran by us. Someone was throwing rocks at them, a bunch of yelling people calling out things like 'For Hungary!' and 'Out, Russian pigs!' Before we knew it, there was gunfire..."

"Thank God I had my handgun on me," Zsigmond continued for his sister, who was having trouble with her breathing again. "So we slowly worked our way down the street until we were out of the battle... but it's spreading all over the city faster than the plague. It might get here soon..." He took a large sip from the bottle.

Out of the store at that moment came none other than Gabi and his father Íllés, who had been busy with something upstairs but had come down when a glance out the window revealed the panicked conversation the rest of the family was having to them. Their expressions became similar after everything was explained once more, and Gabi was now sitting on the step of the shop with Annuska in his arms, continuously checking over her thin form for wounds.

Íllés promptly told the family that he had also made the decision to fight, and though he tried to discourage Árpád, the aged man made the same choice. Cili went inside to call Natália, and came out looking very pale and begging Íllés to retrieve her sister and bring her somewhere safe.

Meanwhile, all Konstantin could really think about was the strange mix of fear and happiness inside of him... happiness that they might succeed, and happiness that this was his chance to really prove himself to his family. Íllés was bringing out a set of old hand-pistols that he had planned to sell and was loading them, talking about the promise they had heard from the Americans several weeks ago-- anyone that opposed the Russians would receive as much aid as the superpower nation could supply. This gave them another boost of confidence. As soon as the Americans heard what was going on over here, they would be so happy to see such bravery and resistance that they would gladly help the Hungarians out, for it was plain that the Hungarians may be able to drive out a small occupation force, but they were no match for the whole Red Army.

Annuska was adamant about getting to fight, though Gabi was desperately trying to convince her to stay with Cili and Karola, but in the end, naturally, she got her way with her fiancée and was given a spare pistol and a box of ammunition. Zsigmond and Gabi took her aside, giving her as speedy of a shooting lesson as they could, while Íllés paced back and forth until he thought of a plan at long last.

They would, he was saying as he pulled a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket and started writing it out, go around the University in a wide circle, as a group, to retrieve Cili's sister from her apartment. Then take the long way back around, avoiding the fights as much as possible, until they got her back to the Row. After that, well, he said he didn't at the moment know but wanted them to go as a group again into the center of the rioting and help as much as they could... at which point he was sure they'd get separated so he set up a rendezvous point at the small grocer's shop at the beginning of the row.

Afraid that Annuska might befall a horrid fate if caught alone in the midst of all this chaos, being female, they put her in one of Íllés' long coats, which was so big on her it covered her hands to the fingertips and dragged the ground, and Cili put the girl's long black hair up and into a hat. From a distance, squinting, surely no one would think she was a woman.

"If you happen upon an unattended weapon, pick it up," Árpád advised them all. "I gave out all the ammunition I had but it isn't much and you will probably run out if we end up in a firefight."

Finally, with guns in their coat pockets and trying to wear inconspicuous looks upon their faces, the six of them set out, ready to confront whatever came their way.