VANDA

On page 141 of Vamps and the City, Darcy interviews each of the five harem ladies. The interviews were later edited into the reality show. Vanda’s interview was scheduled to appear on the fourth show, the night she judged the men in the hot tub (page 268).

Darcy: Hey, Vanda, tell us about yourself.

Vanda: Sure. My name is Vanda Barkowski. I was born in 1917 in a village in Poland just south of Krakow. Times were tough. I came from a large family, and there was never enough food. My father’s answer to that was to marry off all his daughters the minute we turned fifteen. I resisted. I wasn’t interested in any of the men from the village. I wanted a more exciting life than that.

I guess I got what I wished for. In 1935, my mother died, and since I was the oldest unmarried daughter, I became a mother to my younger brothers and sisters. In 1939, the Germans invaded, and the Russians did, too. They sliced up our country like a loaf of bread.

When the German tanks moved toward our village, the men prepared a resistance. My father and brothers joined them. My father urged me to escape with my two younger sisters. I packed some food, and we fled south to the Carpathian Mountains. I’d been there before, and I knew there were some caves where we could hide. I...never saw my father or brothers again.

The trip was very hard on my thirteen-year-old sister. By the time I found a shallow cave, Frieda could barely walk. I used the last of our water and food to try to strengthen her. My fifteen-year-old sister, Marta, went off in search of water and didn’t return. I wanted to search for her, but I was afraid if I left my youngest sister, she would die. Finally, though, I had to leave. We needed water. As I traveled, I searched for Marta, but couldn’t find her. I did find a stream, so I filled our water bags. I was headed back to our cave when night fell.

When Marta stepped from the shadows, I was so happy to see her. I ran toward her. But she just stood there, so pale, with an odd look on her face. I asked her what was wrong.

She swooshed toward me so fast, I didn’t realize what was happening. She knocked me down and sank her fangs into my neck. I was barely conscious when she carried me--she was suddenly very strong--to a deep cave and introduced me to the vampire who had transformed her. Sigismund. He transformed me that night.

The next evening, I was still reeling in shock from what had happened. But I rushed back to my little sister to see how she was. She had died. All alone.

Marta was madly in love with Sigismund, but I didn’t share in those feelings. I always blamed him and Marta for Frieda’s death. And then, there was the hunger that plagued me every night. I soon found a good purpose for it, though. I fed off Nazis and left many of them to die in southern Poland.

After the war, I decided to leave. Too many bad memories. Besides, Sigismund and Marta were very happy together, and I felt like a third wheel. I journeyed to Paris and found more of our kind there. Eventually, I came to America. My life had been difficult up to that point, so I joined the harem here, thinking it would be wonderful to just relax and have someone take care of me for a while.

Now, I’m going to be on a television show, and I’m real excited about that. When I think back on my life, I realize I was a lot tougher than I ever thought. So now, I’m not so sure I actually need a master. I guess I’ll find out.