Author: Domagoj Habazin, Srednja škola Zlatar, Zlatar
Jonathan woke up in the darkness, disoriented and confused. He was tied to a chair and barely able to move. The air around him was thin but he could make out a distinct smell, that of wine. The smell of wine was all around him, filling his nose as he breathed in. The disorientation soon passed but Jonathan was still confused as to why he was, as he assumed, in a wine cellar.
He struggled to free himself but it was to no use, he simply could not break out of the bindings. Suddenly, he realized that he could reach the back pocket of his jeans and pull out that old Swiss army knife his grandfather had given him for his eighteenth birthday. He took the knife and started cutting the rope.
After several long minutes, Jonathan managed to break free. He immediately rushed to the exit but the door was locked, and he was unable to open it. No other exits were to be found but then he remembered that he still had his cell phone.
He quickly took his phone from the front pocket of his jeans and dialled 911. After a few moments, he remembered that he was no longer in the United States and that 911 could not help him in any way. He fell down to the ground, swearing and punching. He knew he should have remembered the emergency service number for Croatia but he had not. Hours flew by and nobody came.
Then, he started recalling the past events that had lead him to where he is now.
He remembered that he had booked a flight to Croatia months ago and was looking forward to seeing the country. He remembered that once he got here, he had stayed in a hotel in Dubrovnik where he visited the city and bought too many souvenirs.
After Dubrovnik, he visited Hvar and Vis as he wanted to see all the beautiful beaches there and enjoy in some of the local festivals. When he arrived to Split, he visited the Diocletian’s palace and was amazed to see it in person for the first time. A friend of his had recommended seeing it and he was glad he did.
His next stop was Velebit. He made a whole plan to go hiking there and enjoy the beautiful views. His plan was to hike during the day and sleep in a tent. What he could most notably recall about his hike was that he had cut the palm of his hand on a rock.
As he remembered the cut, he immediately looked at his hand only to see it stitched up completely. He could not recall seeing a doctor any time after the hike but he was certainly glad that his injury had been treated.
The last thing he was able to recall was that he went to a hotel in Marija Bistrica in order to visit the church there. After a visit to the church, he had met some locals who took him somewhere he could not quite remember. The only thing he could remember about that last day was the Feast of St. Martin, which the locals called Martinje. It was mostly about drinking wine and slaughtering pigs, eating them and having a good time with your friends.
What had happened? His mind was blank.
He started screaming in terror. There was nothing else to do.
The second the first scream left his lungs, the door opened and a man entered the cellar. The man tried to calm Jonathan down so that he could explain what exactly had happened and how Jonathan had ended up in the wine cellar.
After Jonathan calmed down, the man introduced himself as Štef. ‘If we were back in the States, we’d call him Steven.’ ,he thought.
He told Jonathan that they had met while he was looking at the church. The man had then invited Jonathan to experience some real culture and they took off. They went to what Jonathan simply called a cabin and Steven introduced Jonathan to his friends, who immediately offered him something to drink.
After a night of heavy drinking, the man explained, Jonathan made a bet. He lost. The punishment for losing the bet was spending the night in the wine cellar, tied up to a chair.
After hearing this, Jonathan simply could not utter a single word.
He could not believe his luck.
Steven offered him a shot of rakija. He remembered it being delicious. Jonathan gladly accepted. Steven offered Jonathan to join him again tonight and Jonathan simply could not say no.
In other words, what Jonathan experienced was Martinje going out of control.
It was Zagorje as the locals knew it.
