I couldn't help but smile when I looked at them. I had achieved everything I had always dreamed of. I had a family. There I was, surrounded by my children and grandchildren and I even had a bunch of great-grandchildren. There was a time when I thought I could never have any children and be celebrating Christmas with them. Still although I was happy I couldn't stop thinking of him. He should have been here with us. He was the reason I got all this.
"Children, Grandma wants to tell you a story" My oldest daughter Melanie tried to draw the children's attention from the new toys they had just gotten.
"Are you going to tell that scary vampire story again?" My 4-year-old nephew asked. He really loved everything supernatural and scary.
"She tells the same story every year..." Her sister Sandra said. She was a teenager and wanted to rebel against everything. She tried to look uninterested but I knew she wanted to hear my story. They all did. Although they thought I had made up the vampire thing they wanted to believe that my story was true. "Can't I just go out with my friends?" Sandra asked although she knew her mother wouldn't let her go. She was just like me when I was at her age...
"It's Christmas Sandra. You'll spend it with us, with your family" her mother said "And besides you're too young to go out this late"
"Oh come on, it's Mystic Falls nothing bad ever happens here!" Sandra shouted angrily.
When they all had gathered in the living room and were sitting on the floor, I began my story:
"It all happened about 70 years ago when I was a 17-year-old girl. I had just lost my parents in a car accident and I was miserable. I don't know what I'd have done if I hadn't met them. The Salvatore brothers."
"Stefan and Damon" My 8-year-old niece interrupted my story.
"Yes Stefan and Damon. You still remember when I told about them last Christmas? Stefan was the one I fell in love first. He was there when I needed support. He was the nicest man I had ever met. He was a true gentleman and he was always there when I needed him. Stefan had a brother... " I swallowed hard "Damon. Damon was... he was very different from Stefan. He had a really bad reputation. Everyone thought he was evil. But he wasn't. He would kill me if he heard me saying this but he was a really sensitive guy. And he cared. A lot. Sometimes too much. I was happy with Stefan for a long time. I never stopped loving him but at some point I noticed that I loved him like a sister loves her brother. The worts part was that I was in love with his brother."
"Grandma you said this was going to be a vampire story!" My nephew said angrily looking frustrated.
"It is. You see, Stefan and Damon weren't normal men. They were vampires. Real blood sucking monsters. And eventually I became one too. I was miserable again. I didn't want to drink blood and kill people."
"Did you grandma? Did you kill someone?"
"Unfortunately. I had no choice. I regret it every day." I close my eyes and try not to thing about those people whose lives I had taken. " If it wasn't for Damon, I probably hadn't survived as a vampire. He made me feel like a human again. And I made him feel like a human. Something he hadn't felt for over 150 years. I was so in love. So when Stefan found a cure that could have made me human again, I didn't want it anymore. I wanted to be with Damon forever. And later we found out that in order to turn me human Damon would have had to punch a sword into his heart because it was his blood that turned me into vampire. That was when I knew I wasn't going to be human ever again."
"But you are a human" I heard a small voice on my left side. It's my youngest great-grandchild.
"I am Lisa. Let me finish the story" I said and pat her head." We were really happy for many years. He even proposed so that we could be together for eternity. I was so looking forward to see his face when he saw my wedding dress. But he never saw it." I tried to look away so that the kids wouldn't see the tears in my eyes. I was almost crying because I was about to tell them the saddest and the most beautiful part of the story.
"One day everything changed. I was bitten by a werewolf. If a vampire was bitten by a werewolf they usually died. Only way to survive was drink Klaus' the original vampire's blood. But he was nowhere to be found. He had left the town for a long time ago with my friend Caroline. Damon tried to search him without any luck. We were running out of hope." I closed my eyes again. The memory was so painful but still so beautiful.
"I remember the last night we were together. I had horrible pains and we both knew I wasn't going to survive till the morning. I told him I was scared but I was happy because soon I'd see my parents. He took my hand and said that I shouldn't be scared. We'd leave this world together. That's when I noticed that we wasn't wearing his daylight ring. The ring that allowed him to walk in a daylight without getting burned. I was really angry at him but he said he had had a long life and he was ready to die. Then he told me to shut my eyes and sleep. We would see in Heaven. Or in Hell he joked. I shut my eyes and I fell asleep."
Tears were running down my cheeks. I couldn't help it.
"In the morning I woke up feeling much better. I was alone and I knew immediately what had happened. I was still alive but Damon wasn't. He had saved me by killing himself. He knew that the werewolf poison wasn't lethal to humans so he had turned me into human. There was a letter next to me on his side of the bed. It said:
Dear Elena
I have lived for 170 years. For a long time I was looking for love. Then you came and gave it to me. I got everything I ever wished for when I met you. Elena, I'm ready to die. But you are not. You haven't seen anything yet. You're still so young. Elena, it makes me so happy that I can give you the life you have always wanted. Even thought we didn't get an eternity together, I will always love you
Damon"
"He sacrificed his life so that you could live?" Sandra had tears in her eyes and I nodded.
"What happened to Stefan?"
"He couldn't live without his brother. Stefan and Damon weren't always on the same page but they always loved each other. Stefan had no family left after Damon died. So he took a wooden stake and.. well you know the rest."
"It's time to go to bed. Kids, say good night to grandma"
My son helped me to my room and I went to bed too. " Thank you. Before you live can you give me that old photo album that is on the table?"
The album was full of pictures of Stefan and me. Caroline used to take pictures of everything. It took same time before I found the picture I was looking for. It was a picture of me and Stefan opening Christmas presents. On the background there was the man I loved so much. His blue eyes still took my breath away. It was really sad that it was my only picture of him. But I didn't need pictures to remember him. I knew he was there right beside me. He had always been. "We will meet soon my love"
Sorry I'm not native in English as you probably noticed;(... But I hope somebody likes my story. This is how I imagine the show will end. I don't think Elena will end up with one of the brothers. Althought I wish it's Damon she chooses. Delena forever :)
