Vanga's Mysterious Life Story - Part 4: Witch or Prophet

Vanga's predictive talent began to show up in the early 1940s

Meet the Knight in Dream

Lubka's health recovered slowly. To regain her health after the illness, the doctor asked Lubka to be well cared for and eat well, and advised her to drink half a liter of fresh sheep's milk daily.

To earn milk for his daughter, the father decided to herd cows for hire at a farm in Hamzali village, where milk is abundant. And Lubka's health really recovered quickly. Every day, she and Vanga went to collect water from a well located in the field, quite far from the village.

When Lubka drew water, Vanga sat on the stone next to him. Sometimes she sat silently for a long time, motionless, not paying attention to anything. She didn't hear anything and didn't react when Lubka called out: "Sister, I'm full of water, let's go!"

Once, Lubka even panicked: she had the feeling that her sister was unconscious and about to die. Silent with fear, she stood beside Vanga. And the older sister seemed to suddenly come out of her trance and said: "Don't be scared, there's nothing to be afraid of, I just talked to someone. He is a horseman, he leads his horse to drink water from the well. She told him not to blame me for not making room for him, because I couldn't see him.

The knight answered her: "I don't blame you, you can wait. And you should pull out the grass with small white flowers. It is "star grass", it can help cure many diseases.

Lubka looked around once, and only then did she notice the overgrown grass growing next to the well. Their flowers, indeed, look like stars, shining on small, leafless stalks. Until that day, Lubka did not know this grass. She had never seen grass like it anywhere else, and no one here knew the grass with the odd name "star grass". But at that time, after listening to her sister, she was even more afraid, because the two sisters were completely alone in the middle of nowhere. “Which knight is Vanga talking about? In fact, who can she talk to, even if she doesn't open her mouth?"

In that heavy 1940's everyone was susceptible to illness.

At the end of spring, the father returned to Strumitsa. Once, he fell and broke his arm. Wounds fester and infect even old wounds from torture in prison. During the summer, the sisters took care of their father. For a while, he felt better, and people began to hope that Mr. Pande would recover. Only Lubka could hear Vanga sobbing every night. She guessed that her sister knew her father was dying.

In September, Mr. Pande's health suddenly collapsed. The two sons go home to take turns taking care of their father. Grief binds them together. But chronic poverty is still knocking on the door of this house.

Early in the morning, the two brothers went to the market in the hope of finding something to do. Sometimes Vasil was employed as a servant, and Tome scrubbed sheep slaughterhouses so that in the afternoon he would be paid with a little bit of meat left over with scarred tails. But often they don't get a job, and both hands don't return home.

At that time, I had to starve. Once, the father remembered a friend and sent Tome and Lubka to borrow some money.

But the friend Christo Tudjarov to whom the brothers asked for help did not lend him any money, only saying that he would pay if they picked the cotton left over from his field.

The next day, early in the morning, the two brothers went to the fields to work hard all day. It was October, and it was very cold. The wind blew through their thin clothing into their skin, their hands turning purple from the cold.

In the afternoon, they appeared in front of Dad's "friend" with a sack full of cotton. He threw 2 levas at Tome's feet, and said that Lubka was young and didn't get paid, and slammed the door. At that time, the snow began to fall heavily on the street. The two brothers crept back home, crying with grief and anger as they walked, their tears moistening the pies they bought for their sick father with the money they earned.

In early November, Mr. Pande found it difficult to survive. He summoned his children and said, “Children, I am dying. You will stay and live until the day our land becomes Bulgaria again. Unfortunately, my father did not live to that bright day. I have one wish for you: when the Bulgarians come here, call some Bulgarian soldier to bayonize my grave, and I will understand that Bulgaria has returned! Children, become honest workers and listen to Vanga. Now she is your support!”

Vanga (right) in her youth

Father Died

On November 8, 1940, Vanga father died at the age of 65.

All day long the children stood by the casket of the father waiting for the funeral, but the priest did not come. They did not know how to bury their father, because there was not a penny in the house.

A neighbor who used to work at a Catholic church came to help. He told the priest about the plight of the orphans, and thanks to his intervention and bail, Mr. Pande was buried free of charge in the Catholic cemetery.

At the funeral, when he saw the orphaned, ragged, starving children, the priest understood how miserable they were. He showed genuine compassion: giving them some money from the church fund.

The heavy days of suffering and need began again. And only Vanga's boundless endurance, patience and strong personality can help the brothers and sisters overcome despair.

As the oldest child, Vanga faced the most difficulties, but by her example she showed the children how to be patient, not to back down from difficulties and hope for better things.

Soon after the burial of their father, the younger brothers went to find wage jobs in the villages. Vanga and Lubka lived together for a long time.

Some time later, the Bulgarian army entered the city of Strumitsa. At the father's advice, the sons invited a soldier named Boris Yanev to his father's grave. He put a bayonet in the grave and said: "Rest in peace, an honest Bulgarian."

Talent Revealed: Devil or Prophet?

In Strumitsa people often talk about the possibility of war. Worried neighbors often come to see Vanga. They chatted late into the night, breaking the silence of the street.

Among the various voices that clearly heard Vanga's voice, she often told in detail about her dream, in which she saw imminent events. Vanga confidently predicted that war would break out in a year. And to protect the city from destruction, she said, it was necessary to offer sacrifices to the altar of the church of the Fifteen Martyrs.

Neighbors thought that Vanga was simply spreading rumors to confuse everyone. There might be someone who believes her, too, but can they change anything in the tragic events that are approaching?

The year 1940 passed in such anxiety and skepticism. And in early 1941, once at night, Lubka saw her sister so frightened that she could not help but tremble. Vanga asked:

- Lubka, did you see a horseman who just got out of here?

- Which horse rider? – asked the sister. - Do you know what time it is? Maybe you were dreaming.

- I don't know, maybe I was dreaming, but it was a very strange dream. Let me tell you…

… He was tall, with chestnut hair and holy-looking. Like an ancient warrior, he wore armor that glittered in the moonlight. The horse whipped its white tail to its sides and tapped its hooves on the ground. Stopping at our gate, he dismounted and entered the room. The aura emanating from him made the room as bright as day. He turned to her and said: “Soon, everything in the world will turn upside down and many people will lose track of them. I will sit here and talk about the living and the dead. Do not be afraid. I will be with you, will help you forecast for everyone!”

Vanga's worries turned to Lubka, and until morning she did not sleep.

Just as Vanga had foretold a year before, on April 6, 1941, German troops overran the Yugoslav border.

Upon receiving the news, the people of Strumitsa left their homes and, not daring to risk their lives, fled into the woods, into cellars or storehouses.

Only Vanga and Lubka remained in their house.

Vanga in hẻr Youth

Early in the morning, the roar of a heavy car engine broke the quiet morning atmosphere. Even the glass doors were shaken by the tremors of the ground. At noon, the sisters heard strange voices in a foreign language and the clattering of heels. These uninvited guests scour the houses in search of food. In the houses left behind by the people, they catch all the cattle, chickens, ducks, eggs...

Although the sisters were prepared to wait for their "visit", they were terrified when the door suddenly opened and on the doorstep appeared a German soldier. He looked at the poor house and understood that there was nothing to be gained here, so he hurriedly left.

A few days later, the neighbors returned. They were somewhat relieved to see that their houses were unharmed, apart from the captured livestock, all intact. Many people came to Vanga's house to ask about the situation of the two sisters.

Those who arrived early, standing opposite the door, did not dare to enter. Those who arrived later stood gathered outside in the courtyard.

There was an unusual change taking place with Vanga. After a few hours she changed so much that no one noticed.

This is the image of her present in front of the neighbors: “Vanga sat in the corner of the small room, under an altar lamp, and spoke in a loud, strong, decisive voice. She was very thin and appeared excited. The wide, faded, patched long dress did not cover the tension of her body. Her blind eyes looked like two holes, but her face completely changed, becoming so excited that it seemed to shine. And she kept talking. From her mouth came a voice that stated the exact places and events, the names of the men who were drafted into the army, those who would return alive, and those who were in misfortune… This phenomenon went on for days, and she generally didn't sleep for most of the year. Seeing Vanga's appearance, everyone wanted to kneel before her. The men she said would return, had returned at the forecasted time.

Rumors of Vanga's miraculous talent spread rapidly throughout the city, and crowds of people flocked to meet her, filling the courtyard.

At that moment, their neighbor's wife, Milana Partenova, was sitting in the yard, suddenly sobbing. She had not heard from her husband for a long time and assumed that her four children had become orphans.

Vanga looked at her and said: "Don't cry, hurry home to prepare dinner, because your grandfather Milan will return this afternoon, wearing only shorts. I see him. He is currently hiding in a ditch not far from the city.”

The neighbor thought that Vanga wanted to comfort and encourage her, but she was still hopeful and rushed home. She cooks dinner, prepares her husband's clothes, and waits. However, around midnight, tired of waiting and worrying, she fell asleep.

But a soft knock on the window woke her up and she looked out into the yard. There, her grandfather Milan was standing, wearing only shorts, indeed. She was so surprised that she almost fainted.

And Mr. Milan also froze, unable to understand how the wife knew he would return. He escaped from prison and hid everywhere, until he got home. He said again and again: “No one can know this, I myself do not know whether to decide to go home. Fear of ambush."

There was one more prediction of Vanga that made everyone believe that what she said would come true.

Cristo Pyrchanov's mother and fiancée Pavlina are also worried about his fate. From the very beginning of the war, Vanga told the neighbor that her son was still alive, but he was far from returning. Pavlina did not believe such an idle prediction, so she married someone else.

A year later, when Cristo, healthy and well, crossed the market and returned home, the first person he met was his ex-girlfriend. So surprised, she almost fainted. The children rushed to tell Cristo's mother that her son had returned.

Rumors of Vanga's prophetic talents quickly spread throughout the city and neighboring villages causing not only debates but also pilgrimages to Vanga's house. Everyone wants to know something about the fate of their loved ones. Vanga did not refuse anyone. And some time later, her prophecies came true.

To be continued