My grandfather worked as a guide at the Bran Castle, a well-known castle from Romania, near the city of Brasov. He was always a person who had a strong connection with his native lands. There are so many legends and stories about them and about the people who once lived here, and it seems that wherever you go there is something that reminds you about the past. It is always a pleasure to listen to the others’ stories, to find out more about the places you live or about what kind of people lived there. So, this is one of them. …

One day two tourists, called Simona and Simas asked my grandpa to show them the castle and the environs. It looked like they were coming from far away places, as their accent was different and their clothes seemed to confirm this. When my grandpa asked them what they are interested most to see, they told him that they had heard many things about the castle and about Dracula, the legendary count that once lived there, so they wanted to find out more about him. -Well then, follow me, said grandpa. You can be sure that there are lots of things to be seen.

So they entered the castle. It started as a long walk, there were many corridors and halls and two tourists were always asking about the way and the period the castle was built, about the paintings from the walls or about the history of our lands. My grandpa was a patient person, he was even pleased that two strangers were so interested in discovering more about the things that he loved most. After an hour they finally arrived in the main hall: -Here, my friends, is the main hall, said grandpa. This is the place where the leaders from the past were receiving their guests, they were taking political decisions or they were judging the people accused of different illegal actions.

-What about this painting? asked Simas. It represents Dracula, am I right? - Yes, you are, Vlad Tepes, also called Dracula was a count who lived 500 years ago. His name was whispered of his cruelty, of his terrible actions. It is said that all those who dared not to observe the law were killed and their corpses were not buried, they were thrown on the village lanes to serve an example for all. For this reason he was considered a tyrant and his figure was associated with the image of a vampire. Even many years upon his death, his actions seemed to still have an influence on the people. - So that was the great and the frightful Dracula! He was a monster, that`s all I can say. We are human beings, we all commit mistakes, that`s normal, but that does not mean that we must die because of them, it makes not sense.

- You`re right. But he wasn`t as bad as you think. - What do you mean? - Well, I`ll tell you a little story. It is said that one day a merchant from Venice came to Vlad Tepes and asked him to take care of his money as he was afraid he might be plundered. The count looked frowningly at him and said nothing. After a few moments, he told the merchant to let his money on the edge of whatever country road he want and if someone would dare to steal them, he will return him that sum of money at once.

The merchant was shocked, he didn`t know what to say…He knew almost nothing about these lands and about the people who were living here. He started thinking what to do and in the end he decided to do what the count had told him, hoping that he would receive his money back. After that, he went to the meeting, but he was still confused. When the other merchants told him about Vlad Tepes and about his actions, he was horrified. He realized the mistake he had done and how fool he was, as he had a large sum of money, in one word, the situation was desperate.

After two days he went to the place he had left his money and couldn`t believe his eyes: the money were still there. He was so glad as if he had won at the lottery. Then he went to the castle and started to praise the count and the people from this country, as the truth was that he hadn`t seen anything like that before. The count gave him another sum of money and asked him to tell wherever he goes the experience he had in his country.

That`s why Vlad Tepes was not only a cruel count, but also a fair one. Had you been a fair person too, you wouldn`t have had any reason to be afraid of.

The two tourists were surprised, but they didn`t tell anything. They left the main hall and went to see the rest of the castle. After a time, Simas asked: - Tell me, do you believe in vampires? I mean, you were born here so you must know many things about this place. It is just a legend, isn’t it? - I don`t know, my friend. Why do you ask? You aren`t afraid, are you? - No, I`m not. I`m asking you because I have seen that garlic on your pocket and I know that garlic keeps vampires away.

- That`s right. Well, in the past I didn`t believe in vampires, ghosts or anything like that, said grandpa while walking. But that was about four months ago. I had been working here for two weeks. I was talking with a tourist about a painting, on one of the many corridors of the castle when I saw John, a colleague of mine, running towards the entry. I stopped him and asked him what was happening. He seemed so scared that he could hardly talk. He told me that he had seen someone strange in the castle and he thought he was a vampire. I tried to calm him down, as I supposed someone was making a joke to John. That was all I told him before he left. I have never seen him again and nobody knew about any kind of joke. Maybe it is just a legend, but you never know.

Simas stopped for a moment as if he was trying to have just one more look at the castle, then put his hand on Simonas `s right shoulder. Of course, she started yelling: -That`s not funny, Simas! -Come on! You don`t believe all this stories, don`t you? -I believe that you`re really stupid. -Ok, I`m sorry. Let`s go and have a coffee. Then we`ll go to the cinema. I`ve heard that there`s a film about vampires tonight. Will you accompany me? -Very funny! I`m really scared, you know.

The tourists left the castle and continued their journey. They were still quarelling when grandpa last saw them, but he told me that they had let him a good impression, as he had had a good time around them and really felt sorry when they left.