Darien

“Would you like to come in?” she asked.

He was already inside before she could ask twice. “Thank you,” he said, even as he stood there waiting for an invitation still to sit. She motioned for him to and he gingerly sat on the edge of the seat. He could hear the relaxed way her heart was beating so he knew there was a change in her. She stood and leaned against the counter, still not daring to get close to him; a bit too silly now that he had seen her naked and she had leaned against those arms many times, tasted those lips, lay next to him while she slept. She bit her lip as she reminisced and only escaped her reverie when she saw the way he was looking at her. She cleared her throat.

“There must have been a reason for your coming here. What is it?” she asked.

“I could not go on any longer not seeing you or being with you. I had to come and at least make you understand who I am and that I would never hurt you. In light of recent circumstances, I would rather have you close to me.”

“Why? What happened recently?”

“I was walking in the streets one night when I witnessed the death of a young woman at the hands of a rogue vampire.”

Rose covered her mouth with her hands. “What?” she asked. “Now do you see why I am afraid of being with you?”

“You don’t need to be. We aren’t all the same.”

“What do you mean you aren’t the same? From what I have read or seen in the movies, and I really thought that was the only place you existed, you have always feasted on humans.”

“That may have been the vampires of old before they learned to control their urges. As it is, there are three kinds of us in existence. There are the rogues who choose to remain as originals and feast on humans. Then there are the nomads as we call them who feed on animals and then there are the others like me who choose to lead sophisticated lives. We get registered and get regular supplies of blood. We are given badges so that we can procure them if searched.”

Rose tried to digest all he had said. “So there are others in this town making a menace that could implicate the registered vampires?” she asked. The word tasted funny in her mouth and she could hardly believe she had fallen for one. “Well, what if they steal your badges, or they get lost? What then?” she asked.

“Then they could frame us. That is why I try to keep mine in a safe place at all times. But this concerns me greatly and after seeing that, I would rather have you close to me, just in case.”

“How old are you if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Over three thousand years old,” he said.

“Wow. And do you remember your life before this? What did you do?”

“I remember bits and pieces of it. I remember being a business proprietor and being attacked one night when I was heading home. For days after that I wandered alone, lost and not understanding what was happening to me. I met a fellow vampire who taught me the ways and I relaxed into the person that I had become. After years of bloodshed I decided that I didn’t want to live like I did. I learnt music, medicine, law, literature, philosophy and a host of other things. I had the time to learn all of these things, but as time changed I realized technology was the leading business sector, so I dabbled with it for a little bit. For the past ten years I have studied everything I needed to know, and with the money I already had, I was able to stay with the current pace as Jobs and Gates.”

“I can hardly believe what you are saying to me,” Rose finally said. She walked over now and sat beside him on the sofa. “That must have been a lonely life, not having many friends, not having any lover, no one to share or to talk with,” she said, beginning to sound sad.

“That is why when I was taken by you, I didn’t take it lightly. It has never happened to me before and I was petrified by it. That is why I went for days following you, getting to understand what it was about you that had me drawn to you so. I know it must have appeared weird to have some stranger following you all the time, but I honestly could not help myself. I had to be close to you at all times, and just that gave me some calm in my spirit. Being with you afterward seemed to soothe my sorrows. I need you Rose, much more than even I understand.”