Bleeding Heart

Petra and Beniamin’s child was by all accounts, very bright but not physically strong. He had an extraordinary visual acuity but was incredibly sensitive to light. He spoke clearly formed thoughts and sentences by his first birthday. There was no cooing or babbling, he went straight to speech. He had an affinity for plants and insects. He could name plants by their botanical names and kept samples in a scrap book. He also made careful renderings of what he saw in the garden.

She was in awe of his abilities but also very wary of him. She wondered what else her child had inherited from his father. With his early development for speech, she expected him to converse more with her but it was as if he were making speeches instead of having conversations. To the rest of the staff, he was aloof and they stayed out of his way. They whispered about him and came to fear Petra because she was “it’s” mother.

By his second birthday, Mr. Cojocaru and staff had moved to Bangor, Maine. They were told that his business required the move and that he was bringing in a family member to partner in a business venture. The household was never really sure what their boss’s business was but it was apparently very lucrative. Some of the maids did not make the move or somehow dropped out of sight. Petra seemed to be the only staff member to survive the move and was happy to have her Masestru to herself.

To Petra’s delight, Ben took quite an interest in Kert. He would watch him and observe his movements and take note of his reactions to new experiences. Ben didn’t usually engage in much conversation or any other interactions unless it was to give instructions but he approached Petra one afternoon for just that purpose.

“Mrs. Pallor, why did you choose the name, Kertner, for your son?”

“I don’t know, Maestru. It is a good name, is it not?”

“Yes, Mrs. Pallor, it is a good name but why did you choose it? Most people choose a name because it holds some significance. Kertner is a bit unusual, don’t you think?”

Petra could feel heat simmering under her skin. She somehow knew that she would name him Kertner, she had always known.

“I like Ava Gardner. I think that is why I chose that name, only it’s Kertner because it is my mother tongue, of course.”

Ben’s face changed; his gaze became more intense. “What do you observe him doing, Mrs. Pallor? From your earliest memory of him; what does he do?”

She clenched her teeth and tightened her fists. “He is very bright. He has a good vocabulary.”

He moved so suddenly towards her that he appeared to float. “He is always… in… the fucking garden, Mrs. Pallor; his earliest words, his only focus in life is… the fucking garden and those fucking bugs. He collects, Mrs. Pallor. His room is filled with plant and insect samples. Is that what a normal two-year-old child does, Mrs. Pallor?”

Petra stared numbly. It was true, Kertner gardens. “No, Maestru. I do not think it is normal but he is very bright. He may be a genius.”

“Even a savant has some outside interests. I will begin testing him. Have him ready for me at 9 am tomorrow morning.”

She wanted to question him; what kind of test? But she did not, she knew she would do as she was told.

Promptly at 9 am the next morning, Petra brought Kert to see her boss. He was waiting for them in his library with a woman she had never seen before.

“Mrs. Pallor, I’d like you to meet Dr. Francesca Le Fleur. She holds a PhD in Child Psychology. Dr. Le Fleur, this is my chief housekeeper, Mrs. Pallor; and this is her son Kertner.”

Petra nodded her head and Kert looked straight at her with his customary blank stare. Petra gazed icily at Dr. Le Fleur. Why is the Maestru having her son tested by a child psychologist?

Dr. Le Fleur looked to be about 40ish.Very smartly dressed, she wore a peach colored suit with a crisp, white blouse. Her suit looked tailored to fit her. She had on peach colored pumps that matched her suit perfectly. Her blonde hair was coifed flawlessly in an up-do. She even had peach nail polish on her perfectly manicured nails. She was pretty but a bit severe looking and wore a little too much makeup.

She looked at Petra as if she could read her thoughts. In a heavy, gravely smoker’s voice, she said, “Mrs. Pallor, you look a bit apprehensive. Mr. Cojocaru has asked me to perform some tests on your son. I just want to see what potential he has and measure his abilities. You needn’t be concerned. I’ll take the boy into the study now. This will take a few hours. You’ll be summoned when we are through with him.”

She stretched out her hand and Kert took it without hesitation. Petra bit her lip and fought back tears as she watched Kert so at ease in this woman’s company. Ben followed Dr. Fleur into the study. He turned and gave Petra that seductive smile. His lips were very red and wet and shiny. Petra wanted to follow them but she felt powerless; as if her feet were planted in the floor. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall seemed to grow louder and it was as if time stood still as the door closed shut behind them.

Dr. Le Fleur had Kert sit in a chair by the window. Kert stared out the window into the garden

as she drew his blood. She listened to his heart, thumped his chest, checked his eyes and ears and

took copious notes after each test. She had him look at ink blots; each shape represented a plant

or a bug to Kert. She hooked up wires on his chest, arms and legs and took readings. He

was made to stand on one leg in full sun then in the shadows.

“I’ll take these samples to my laboratory. I will contact as soon as I have the results.”

“And what are your thoughts at present?”

“I don’t want to give you any false hopes, Ben. I would prefer to wait until I have something

more… conclusive for you.”

Ben grabbed her face and squeezed her mouth as if to kiss her. “You will let me know as soon

as you have the results, won’t you doctor.”

She struggled to speak, “Yes, yes of course Ben.”

He pulled her closer and kissed her. Then he pulled her tighter to him and slid his lips down her neck. Dr. Le Fleur flinched, and he lingered at her neck. He licked her and started to bite into her. Dr. Le Fleur let out a gasp. He held his mouth there for what seemed an eternity to Dr. Le Fleur, then he suddenly released her. She grabbed her neck and felt a warm, slime running down her neck. She looked at her hand and saw saliva and traces of blood.

“Until next week then, Cesca.”

“Yes, Ben, yes.”

She gathered her equipment and left Ben with Kert. Kert sat watching, vacantly.

Dr. Fleur met with Ben in his study the following week as ordered. “Ben, he has your genetic

coding.”

“Excellent! That is news worth waiting for!”

“That’s only part of the results. There is evidence of multiple genetic contributors.”

“What does that mean?”

“With your… ingestion of plasma from so many different vict…, uh, donors, your genetic code has been completely altered. It benefits you but not so much for the boy.”

“In what way?”

“For you, the genes have become incorporated, coalesced with your blood cells and are making you stronger and more resilient in sunlight. You must be one of the few nocturnal beings to have achieved this level of success, I don’t know if there are others. As for the boy, he carries 50% of the mother’s genetic makeup, your coding is apparently at odds with hers, weakening him.”

“Can you correct him; can you make him like me?”

“I can try extracting his blood and injecting it back into his body after I’ve attempted to manipulate the cells.”

“Then we have much to do, don’t we doctor.”

So, began the interminable testing and transfusions for Kert. He was a willing subject in the beginning. He liked Dr. Le Fleur, she was the first female besides his mother that he found attractive. He would sit upright in his chair when she rolled up his sleeve to stick him. He was agreeably rewarded with Tootsie Pops. Kert soon pointed out the painful blue marks on his arms, leaving Dr. Le Fleur to resort to other areas of his body to do her handy work.

Petra did her best to hide her fears and growing revulsion for Dr. Francesca Le Fleur. She stood by and watched her son growing paler and weaker with each visit from the doctor. The doctor’s appeal waned for him as well as the desire to be rewarded with candy. He took to hiding when he knew she was coming but Petra did not want to gain the mistrust… or the wrath of her Maestru, so she chased him down with the help of the other staff members to present him to the doctor. Kert started calling the doctor, “the witch doctor”, as did the staff.

Ben expressed his displeasure with Dr. Le Fleur. “I expected some results by now, doctor. You’ve had seven months and the boy is no stronger now than the day you started these experiments. Why is that, doctor?”

“Ben, these are uncharted waters. I’m doing the best I can, I can’t get the mutations to take. What little success I’ve had has affected the boy adversely.”

“What kind of success?”

“Well, his visual acuity for example, it’s very keen already but the enhancements I’ve tried to make have made him even more light sensitive. I’ve had to prescribe dark sunglasses for him. He’s increasingly irritable and nauseated which in turn has left me unable to enhance his immune system. I’ve tested him for psychic abilities and he does have them but he’s become so withdrawn that he refuses to cooperate with the testing; now, I think he’s pretending not to have them. He’s also developed food allergies. And his moods, Ben, he’s gone to some very dark places where I can’t seem to reach him.”

“Then you must stop, Francesca. He doesn’t have it, he doesn’t have it. My first surviving male child and he’s a failure; my failure. Not once have I spawned a female child… but it’s not for my lack of trying so I may never know if the fair sex holds the key to my dynasty. Why is that, doctor? Perhaps I should impregnate you, or are you too old for that? I’ve had no luck with the others. This last batch of wenches must have been sterile. No pregnancies, not even a male child! From now on, I want you to screen all females coming into this house!”

“Ben??!! What are you saying? I can’t just give your whores… I mean, your employees a physical exam! I’d need their consent! And what am I to say to them?”

“You’ll think of something. Tell them you’re their employer’s physician and they’ll need a complete physical examination.”

“But a gynecological examination? Employers don’t require that.”

“Tell them… it’s on the house with my compliments.”