gsmarling

[gsmarling]

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” Advika leaned forward to press another kiss on her boyfriend’s lips. Sam smiled lightly and pulled her closer to him from where she was standing in the doorway.

“Does that mean you don’t have to go?” She looked at her watch and sighed.

“No, no I do. I’m working at the library tonight, so I’ll be home late.” She gently pulled away from his embrace and stepped into the hallway of their apartment building. He planted one last kiss on her forehead and grinned.

“I’ll see you when you get home. Love you.” He leaned against the doorway and waved. She tossed a bright smile over her shoulder as she made her way to the stairs.

“Love you too!”

The evening air was cold and Advika wrapped her coat around herself tightly as she approached the library where she worked after school. It was finals week and she was already feeling exhausted from her classes, and dreading the hours of studying in her future. But for now she got to enjoy the warm and quiet of the library. She dropped her coat and purse in the small employee break room, then began her work. She set about organizing books, reshelving volumes that had been left on tables, and cataloguing titles. She milled up and down the rows, quietly answering the questions of the many students who were frantically studying. Soon the minutes bled into hours and before she knew it, it was time to head home. Yawning, she pulled on her coat and swung her messenger bag over her shoulder. The weight of her schoolbooks reminded her of the mountains of homework that her professors had assigned, and she yawned again. She opened the door to the library and the cold air hit her like a train, the icy wind causing her black hair to whip around her. She shivered and tried to shrink into her coat. In the time she’d been working it had snowed, and the ground was a hazardous mix of ice and snow that had been walked and driven over to the point that it was dirty slush. She sighed, it was going to be a long walk to the subway.

Advika climbed the stairs from the subway station, and once again shivered. It was fully dark out by this point, so she let muscle memory guide her along the path to her apartment building. Something hit the top of her head and melted into her hair. It had started to snow. She muttered a few curses under her breath and ducked her head against the wind, hurrying her steps. She arrived at her apartment covered in a light dusting of snow. She fished her keys out of her bag, stepped into the slightly warmer building and began climbing the stairs. As she approached her floor, an uneasy chill that had nothing to do with the weather came over her. She tried to shake it off and started down the hallway. She stopped dead when she saw the blood. Small droplets were scattered in a haphazard line towards the door of her apartment. That uneasy chill deepened and she cautiously approached the door. It was ajar, the doorframe around the lock broken and splintered. She eased the door open, and carefully made her way into the apartment. A sob tore from her as she surveyed the room. Sam lay on his back in the kitchen, a pool of blood surrounding him. Her sob turned into a scream as she fell to her knees and cradled his head in her arms. The room began to spin and she was only dimly aware of her surroundings, her half screams half sobs sounding as if they came from miles away. He was her world, and he lay dead in her arms. Anger, grief, and despair crashed over her in a disorienting wave of emotions. She screamed until her throat was hoarse, and after that she just sat, rocking back and forth, still holding Sam’s body. She lost all track of time, it could’ve been hours or minutes, until another silhouette darkened the doorway. Advika looked up, meeting pure-black eyes, as a thin, skeletal hand reached out and took her by her throat. She gasped for air, one hand scrambling in vain at the fingers around her throat, the other desperately searching through her bag for anything to defend herself. She grasped the small pocket knife that was attached to her keychain and drove it into the side of the figure holding her. The fingers around her throat tightened in surprise, and her attacker let out a chuckle. A harsh, dark sound that seemed to claw its way from his throat. The figure lifted her up and pushed her against the wall, giving her a clearer view of the man, no, the creature, that still had its long nails digging into her neck. It was pale and thin, with malice filled black eyes staring at her from a gaunt face. And it was covered in blood. Sam’s blood. Advika’s blood ran cold as the figure leaned in closer. A flash of movement, pain, and the world went dark.

Cold hands were touching her face. Advika jerked awake and immediately batted the hands away. Her vision was blurry and there was a horrible shooting pain in her neck. Gingerly she raised herself into a sitting position from where she had crumpled on the floor.

“Take it easy.” A cool voice sounded from somewhere in front of her. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but ended up having a coughing fit instead. She tasted metal, and when she wiped her mouth the back of her hand came back smeared with red. She coughed again, spitting blood into the tiled kitchen floor. Her vision slowly focused, and she located the person who had spoken. A woman dressed in all white, at least what used to be all white, it was now splattered with red, was leaning against the kitchen counter. She was tall and lithe, her platinum blonde hair pulled up into a bun. She wore a mask that covered the bottom half of her face, and round tinted glasses. The strangest thing about her appearance, though, was the sharpened wooden dagger she was twirling through her hands. Like everything else in the room, it was stained a dark crimson.

“Who are you?” Advika rasped. The figure stopped twirling the dagger and looked down at Advika.

“I’m Talitha.”

“What are you doing in my kitchen?”

“Until about five minutes ago, I was killing him.” Talitha reached out a foot and nudged the corpse laying on the floor. Advika choked and lunged towards it.

“Sam-” She came up short when she realized that it wasn’t Sam’s body that Talitha was gesturing towards, but the creature that had attacked her earlier. Its mouth was frozen open in a snarl, and Advika saw that its canines were sharp and pointed. Her mind started to spin, refusing to believe what she was seeing. The edges of her vision got dark again and she reached out to find something to steady herself. Talitha stepped forward, took her hand, and hauled her to her feet, pulling Advika’s arm over her shoulder. Panic continued to course through Advika as she unsteadily leaned against Talitha, who regarded her quietly.

“We need to talk.”

Advika shakily wrapped her hands around a cup of steaming tea that sat on the table in front of her. Talitha leaned back in her chair across the table, quietly noting Advika’s every move. It took all of Advika’s willpower to not glance over to where both Sam and the creature’s bodies had been covered with a sheet. Instead, she forced herself to meet Talitha’s unwavering gaze. Talitha raised her eyebrows.

“Do you have questions?”

“Of course I do. Starting with why we haven’t called the police. I have two dead—,” Advika choked on the word, “I have two dead bodies in my kitchen.” Talitha shook her head sharply.

“No police. No family. No friends. No one can know. Do you understand me?”

“No! I really don’t, and I would appreciate it if you would actually explain this.” Advika gestured frantically at the room. Talitha sighed, removing her glasses. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. When she opened her eyes to meet Advika’s gaze, her eyes were solid obsidian.

“You’re a vampire.”

“I don’t even know how to respond to that.” Advika laughed mirthlessly. Talitha said nothing, she just reached up and removed the mask that covered her nose and mouth, and bared her teeth. Revealing the sharp canines in the front of her mouth.

“You have them too.” Advika sharply became aware of the pain in her neck, and in her mouth. She recalled the blood that had been smeared across the creature’s mouth. Her mind started to connect the dots, despite the fact that those dots were impossible. Cautiously, she ran her tongue over her teeth. And was met with fangs.

After another crisis that was triggered by Advika’s discovery of fangs, and a lot of frantic questioning that was met with calm answers from Talitha, Advika cautiously accepted Talitha’s claim. She was a vampire. And she had questions.

“Blood. Do we…” she hesitated, “drink it? From...humans?” She once again had to make an effort to not look at Sam’s body.

“Yes. Since your heart can no longer pump blood through your system you need to drink it as a sort of supplement. But not human blood. We get our supply from butchers mostly.”

“So if you, we, don’t drink human blood, then why did this happen.” Advika jerked her head in the direction of her kitchen.

“Human blood is like a drug. Vampires get addicted, to the point where it drives them insane.”

“Then it’s possible to live...normally? As a vampire?” Talitha hmmed her agreement.

“There’s an entire underground community. An aboveground one too. You can have a normal job, you can have a family.” Talitha’s eyes shuttered briefly. “If you can accept that you’ll outlive them.”

“What about the lore? Sunlight, crosses, garlic, wooden stakes?”

“Sunlight is a myth, made up for the movies. Think of garlic like an allergy. Crosses have centuries of wards and magic attached, those have the capacity to hurt you. Wooden stakes will kill just about anyone, but magic clings to symbolism, and magic kills us.” Talitha flipped her wooden dagger in her hands a couple times, then slid it into one of the many pockets on her jacket.

“Why?” Advika didn’t expand her question but Talitha understood.

“I hunt them. Vampires who get addicted to human blood and start attacking them, I hunt them.” Advika didn’t respond, she simply stood and walked to where Sam’s body lay on the floor. She dropped to the ground, kneeling beside him she lifted the sheet off of his face. She gently closed his eyes, then reached for the thin chain that hung around his neck. Unclasping it, she regarded the small gold cross hanging on the chain. Taking a steadying breath, she clasped it around her own neck, tucking the pendant under her shirt. The second the cross came in contact with her skin, it burned. She bit back the pain and stood up. Talitha stared at her, a look of mild surprise on her face. Advika turned around and met Talitha’s black obsidian eyes with a pair of her own.

“Teach me.”

Advika opened her eyes, the remnants of the memory still curling around the edges of her mind. That had been years ago, and she’d spent the time since traveling with Talitha training, becoming strong. And hunting. Her phone buzzed from where it sat on the café table in front of her. A text from Talitha read: Two alleys down. Get there now. Advika rose from her seat, and started down the road, melting into the shadows created by the setting sun. When she reached the entry of the second alley, she heard a scream. She drew a carved wooden dagger from her belt and turned into the alley.

“Hello there.” Her greeting was directed towards the man in front of her who was slowly approaching a young girl curled in the corner. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interfere. I’m trying to have a meal.” He gestured lazily to the girl behind him.

“I’m afraid I can’t let that happen.” She reached up and removed the veil that covered her mouth, and smiled, canines glinting in the dying evening light.

“Well I’m afraid that you can’t do anything about it.” He reached a gloved hand into his coat pocket and withdrew an ornate cross and held it aloft. Her smile turned feral, her eyes glittering cold and black. She pulled down the collar of her shirt, revealing the cross that hung around her neck, and the scarred skin that lay beneath. A reminder of all she had lost.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” Advika angled her dagger and lunged.

[gsmarling]

I found a box in the attic

What wonders does it hold?

are they fantastic?

A watch made of gold,

an inch in diameter

Did it perhaps, belong to a time traveller?

Or was it simply a way to avoid being a white rabbit

A flag, colors so faded it’s impossible to know

For whom it flew. For revolution or serenity?

For country or community?

Seashells sprinkled with sand

Souvenirs of adventures across lands

A knit sweater, possibly a trace

Of a lost lover’s embrace

Photos of old friends,

Smiles on their faces and arms entwined

I found a box in the attic,

and its wonders are those of a life before mine

[gsmarling]

Nostalgia

A short story:

On the outside of the building, the name Holly Shepherd was listed under residents. Up the stairs, third door on the left. The apartment had the potential to be cheery, but a sort of sorrow clung to the rooms, and, despite the traffic and bustling city right outside the window, silence hung in the air, as though neither talk nor laughter had filled the walls in long time. Holly herself was seated in her dim kitchen; her face looked drawn and tired, dark circles noticeably apparent under her eyes. A mug of steaming tea and a new-looking but well thumbed photo album sat on the table in front of her. As she leaned over the book, her hair fell forward listlessly, the dark curls framing her face. She opened the album and flipped through the pages, studying the photos, her eyes haunted by the ghosts of memories. It was strange, how things that took place so far in the past still felt so vivid, so heart-wrenchingly familiar. These events didn’t feel like memories, that was the issue, she’d decided. They felt like they had happened yesterday, like maybe things could still be that way. At least, it felt like things could still be that way, if she ignored all of the changes that had occurred over the last eight years. She opened their photo album, and riffled through the pages until she found a picture of a lake, bathed in golden sunlight, with her and her best friend hugging each other in the foreground. She closed her eyes and let herself remember the events of that evening.

Tilting her head up to the sky, she felt the cool spring breeze drift through the warm air. Opening her eyes, she took in her surroundings; the lake, the park, her family eating and laughing on picnic blankets behind her, and the buttery, hazy light that seemed to wrap around it all. Hands covered her eyes, and a singsong voice cried out:

“Guess who?”

“Paige!” She spun around. Paige’s hair just brushed her shoulders, choppy bangs half covering her eyes (she had cut them herself one night, which had angered her grandmother to no end). She wore jean shorts and a sweater that was practically threadbare in places. Holly grinned and, taking Paige’s hand, led her over to the rest of the people crowding on the picnic blankets.

Making their way through the small group, they filled paper plates with food, then settled at the bank of the lake. They talked about everything and nothing at all. They just sat, shoulder to shoulder, and shared easy smiles, happy in each other’s company.

When the food was gone, Paige ran into the water and splashed the other girl. Holly laughed, pulled the hood of her jacket over her head to shield her hair from the barrage of water, and waded into the lake until the water brushed against the hem of her shorts.

They began to shiver in the water, and made their way back to shore. Almost immediately they were surrounded by a small hoard of Holly’s cousins, who insisted on playing tag. The older girls smiled in fondness and began to chase the younger kids, who shrieked in joy. Holly ran with long strides, her hair bouncing around her shoulders. She shouted and laughed right along with her cousins, and the setting sun lit her face, making it look as though she was glowing.

Eventually it was time for a rest, and the two girls stood side by side, catching their breath, when Paige’s grandma strode over and smiled warmly at them. Her eyes then fell on Paige’s sweater, with a small frown of disapproval.

“Paige you wear this too much,” she tugged at the hem of the fabric. “It is getting shabby. We need to buy you a new one.” Paige groaned.

“Abuelita, I’ve told you before, this has too many memories for me to throw it out.” Her grandmother rolled her eyes.

“Memories live in your head, not your clothes mija.” She rapped gently on the top of Paige’s head. Paige knit her brow stubbornly.

“I don’t need a replacement, I like this one.” Her grandmother threw her hands up in exasperation, muttered a few things under her breath, then walked away, chuckling. Holly glanced at Paige curiously, and wondered if she herself would ever be so attached to anything, just for the sake of memories.

Holly caught sight of her uncle and excitedly bounded over to him. He saw her coming and scooped her into a hug the moment she ran up to him.

“My god you’re energetic.” He said. “How does your mother keep up with you?”

“She doesn’t.” Holly beamed, resulting in a booming laugh from her uncle.

“You know, I’ve never seen you go a day without a smile on your face.”

“They say life’s short, but I personally think it’s a far too long time to go without smiling.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” He tousled her hair. “You’re a good kid Holly.” She smiled and took a little bow.

Running back to Paige, Holly caught her from behind in a hug. Paige started, and then laughed, turning to face her. The sunset still lit up the sky, and Holly turned in a small circle and took in everything around her, the lake, turned golden by the sunset, the shouts and laughs of her cousins, floating into the evening sky, her best friend, a radiant smile on her face, all of it blurring together, and one word came to Holly’s mind: perfect. Behind them a camera shutter clicked.

The photo album snapped shut. She lifted her the mug off the table, and her tears mingled with her tea, making it taste vaguely of salt. Those memories were long gone, no matter how close and familiar they felt.

After all, all good things must come to an end.

(This is a first draft! Comments/constructive criticism are welcome)