How do you do? I am Princess Valentina, named after my namesake St. Valentine. Yes, I was once a mortal like you. My life only stretched a baker's dozen of years: 14, to be exact. I was born on the 14th. of February in the early 1920s. And like St. Valentine herself, I am a martyr. I was put to death on my fourteenth birthday on the 14th. of February in the mid-1930s. I've been been heaven for 7 decades now. How did I get into this?
Well, I am Jewish. Yes, I was among the 6 million Jews who were murdered in the tragic Holocaust that occured in the 12 years that Hitler ruled over Germany with an iron hand. When my parents were taken away to a concentration cam that shall remain nameless, I was taken in by a Catholic family. They forced me to renounce my Jewish beliefs and become a Roman Catholic. The reason they made me do this is that because they wanted to spare me from the Nazis and their harsh barbarism against the Jews.
Did my Jewish parents name me Valentina? Of course, they did. They didn't do it for religious reasons; they just liked the name. The childhood I spent in my native Germany was a happy one-that is, until the Nazis got a hold of the country. Stripping the government of power, abolishing freedoms, and angrily taking their wrath out on the Jews.
Well, I was once a young ballet student in a small town in Germany that shall remain nameless. As I was practicing in class one day, a group of women walked into our little ballet school. A group of young women of Aryan descent.
One of them said, "Which one of you are Jews?"
"No one," the teacher, a former ballet dancer himself, said.
"Don't lie," the second woman said.
"I'm not lying," the ballet teacher shouted. "No one here is Jewish."
"You're a fuckin' liar," the third one said. And producing a gun, he shot the teacher dead. The 10 girls ran out the door, but several Nazi officers started chasing down the girls and killing them. I managed to escape from that death trap. I was still dressed in my tutu when 3 young girls appeared. I know their names, but won't tell them to you just yet.
"Well, here's a young Jewish girl," one of them said.
"I'm a Catholic!" I protested.
"That's a cop out!" the second one said. "You're still a Jew!"
"So what?" I replied. "Jesus was a Jew and many of his believe in him, whether we convert to the Catholic religion or not!"
"Shut up, you bitch!" the third one said. I took to my heels, but the 3 girls ran me down on a side street! They tied me up, gagged me and poured gasoline over me before setting me aflame! It was awful to go through such a horrid death.
I stood before God's Judgment seat and stood as my life was reviewed. Fortunately, since I died in the state of grace and repentance, I was safe from eternal punishment, but I had to pass through the fires of Purgatory for 4 decades. I felt I was like being Moses and the children of Israel being punished for the worship of the Golden Calf. Although I'd converted to Christianity, I needed to endure torture for sins that I'd committed as a child. I shan't go into those.
When I finally came out of Purgatory sometime in the 1970s, I entered Heaven and received my Martyr's crown. And I saw all my relatives who'd been gassed in the concentration camps. And they were surprised to see me enter Heaven. My parents were overjoyed to see me....
I was so happy that I saw them, but I was so crushed that they and I had endured so much suffering.
I'm sorry to tell you all of this, but even though this whole thing happened nearly 8 decades ago, the memory of that day is seared into my mind and heart forever. As I've flown over the skies of the world, I've sought them in search of vengeance. I have vowed to make them pay for what they did to me....so called Christians who were brainwashed into doing evil.
In this early 21st. century, I see this cycle being repeated with people of my natal faith, and that of my adopted faith, being imprisoned, bullied or slain. I cannot stop all of this, but I have to make my presence known. And I've found them...my 3 assassins are living here on Boston's South Shore in a town that will remain nameless.
To be continued...
