Heart of the Vampire

I couldn't see, and I couldn't breath.

My lungs screaming for air. But when I opened my mouth all I inhaled was more pain. I reached out for something to touch but there was nothing. My body felt heavy, the way it does in a dream.

I'm underwater. The realization rushed into my mind. I kicked and threw my arms about, propelling myself upward. Just when I thought my lungs would explode I broke the surface and sucked in a mouthful of sweet, sweet air.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around my chest and lifted me onto hard, grassy ground.

"It's alright, Damien" said a soothing, motherly voice. "Just relax."

"I can't see," I managed to say between coughing and choking.

The hands stroked my face. "Your sight will return. It's a common happening when someone passes into the afterlife."

Afterlife.

I was dead. I had cheated on Lilly, and she had found me at the club with Abigail. After a fight, I thought I had convinced her that I was wrong and only wanted her. I hugged her, and that's when she stabbed me.

Blurred colors were slowly coming into my view. I could see some bright yellow, and a bunch of green. I heard movement, and felt my shirt being unbuttoned. Whoever my caretaker was, she was undressing me.

"I need to dry you off," she said. Off came my pants. I felt a warm towel being patted all over my body.

Minutes pass, and I lay still as the woman dried me. Slowly my eyesight returned. At first all I could make out was misty forms. Then slowly they became more detailed until my vision had completely returned.

I was laying by a pool of water in a forest. The ancient trees grew widely apart, yet there branches were long and intertwined together into a leafy canopy that almost completely blocked out the night sky. From the branches hung lanterns, illuminating the forest in soft light.

My caretaker finished drying me, and pulled a wool blanket over my body. "There," she said. "Can you sit up?"

I was surprised to find that she was a vampire, like myself. She was small framed with a beautiful heart shaped face that was cloaked by dark hair, and a pair of black, kindly eyes.

I sat up slowly, realizing how sore my body was. And then I asked, "How am I dead, yet have a body?"

The caretaker smiled and said, as if it was her hundredth time, "Everyone keeps there body when they die. It simply gets transported from the old world into this one."

So everything, my body, my clothes, they came from the old world with us when we die. I looked down at my hand, at the gold band on my finger. Lilly had given it to me. The thought of her brought sadness. How could I have hurt her the way I did? How could I have been so stupid?

I nodded and looked around. "I never pictured it like this?"

"This is not all of it?" The Caretaker said. "This is just the rebirthing groves. There is much more to the afterlife. When you have rested more, you will see it."

I wasn‘t that interested.

"Please tell me," I said, my voice more urgent. "Is there a way I can...get back to the other side? I need to see someone. Tell them something."

"I'm afraid not," said the caretaker. "Once you cross over there is no way back. You should have taken care of your business before you passed on. It's cruel, but it's how the design works."

"No, there must be a way," I said. "When I was alive, I had encountered ghost several times. They found a way back."

"They were human when they died. Vampire spirits are different. They can't return." The caretakers eyes suddenly lost there kindness, and she looked a way from me, focusing on the distant trees. I could hear noises coming from the distance, no doubt other vampires being rebirthed into the afterlife.

"Your hiding something," I said.

She returned her gaze to me, then bent closer and whispered. "I could get in trouble if it told you this, but there is a way."

"Tell me now," I said, more threatening than I meant it to be.

She looked around, obviously nervous. "There is a legend that the rebirthing maids know. It is said that if a vampire can throw his heart back into a rebirthing womb-" she looked over at the pool beside us, then back to me. "-they would be able to step into it, and it would take them back to the world of the living. But that is only a myth because-"

"Because a vampire's heart dries up and withers away when they are sired," I finished.

She nodded. "I am sorry," she said. "Really I am."

I gave her a weak smile, then looked over at the pool. The Maker is a goddamned bastard, I thought. Only a cruel divinity would create your heart's desire, yet make it impossible for you to reach. **** him. But my anger was only armor for my sadness.

A single tear fell down my cheek.

I looked at the ring once more, and traced the band with my thumb. It was all I had left of Lilly. At that moment that the ring became something more for me. It was not just a reminder of her, but, to me at least, it was a piece of her. I would keep it close to me forever, as close as if it were my....

I ripped the ring off my finger, and threw it in the pool.

"What are you doing?" gasped the maid.

"Shh." I snapped, and watched the water closely.

The ripples created by the ring spanned out to the edge of the pool, then died away. The water returned to the calm tranquility it had been before. So much for that plan. I had put so much hope into that, and it had been snatched away a second later. I was left even more heartbroken than before.

But it all changed when the water began to glow.

Like a liquid sun, it radiated a golden light stronger than any of the lanterns. It's blaze was blinding, and I covered my eyes as I let out a joyous yell.

"Quiet," said the caretaker, yet she was laughing too. "What are you waiting for, jump in. Go take care of your business."

I stood and put on my cloths, which were still wet, but it didn't matter. Then I turned and hugged the maid. "Thank you," I said.

"I hope you get what you're looking for, going back there. Personally I think I'd want to stay in heaven.

"That‘ what I‘m doing," I said, looking into the pool. I imagined Lilly's face. "That's why I'm going back to it."

I, the love struck vampire, the creature of the night, stepped into the sun...

...and landed on a noisy city sidewalk.

I stumbled and fell to the ground. The sounds of traffic, crowds-life, all came rushing into my ears. I had never thought I would welcome it back, but I did.

I got to my feet and looked at the sky. It was just after nightfall. Plenty of time to get to Lilly's. I rushed down the street, and ducked into an alley. Then, out of the eyeshot of humans, I rose into the air and flew across the starry sky.

Excitement grew inside me as I drew closer to my heart.

Keyword: Heart of the Vampire-A Sequel to Broken Oath

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Comments (1)

Posted by chaabuk 2008-08-01 07:43:03 Fantastic Wow. When he was tow-timing his wife, what else did he expect. Lily did fine to stab him to death. At least she extracted her revenge. And he wants to retun. Seems pretty exciting. What next! + Report this comment

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