Thursday night and extremely tired, but hey, at least is not a monday, right? Besides, tonight is one of the few nights I have all to myself. Mom has her night shift at Saint Arendelle's Hospital, she is a nurse, which means she is not at home all that much, but hey, before you start judging me, I'm a teenager, it's more than normal to seek and enjoy the absence of their parents, be it for natural or unnatural forces. That sounded weird…
Anyway, with my homework done and nobody home, there is only one thing I want to do right now…
Yes, you guess it, I'm going upstairs to my room and going to watch the most delightful baby animal videos!
I love running up the stairs, skipping a few steps here and there, ignoring the family photos hanging on the wall, not even thinking for a second about touching the old wooden handrail. My heart is racing, I feel alive.
I see the door to my room, 'Keep close or else' says the the plastic sticker, which also has their own stickers on it, a rainbow, a unicorn and a heart. Yes, I might be a tomboy at times, but, I'm a sucker for cute things and pink shirts and chocolate, but, who isn't?
I bust the door open and turn the light on…
I freeze, there is someone in my room. My heart keeps beating as fast, if not faster than on my way up here. My throat is shut, no sound to speak or alert anyone else. My brain finally processes wait my eyes where fixed on, it was a woman, or, a girl?
But she was sitting on her heels on top of the my chair resting arm. It was impossible, that is not how gravity works, the chair should either break or fall.
My right left feels crippled and my right one is vibrating. Pure fear.
"Do, not scream" her voice calm and low
Scream...I should be screaming, why can't I scream?
This stranger on my room with skin pale as bone and hair as pale as the moon. I need to, i have to do something, anything…
"M-my name is Anna" no, not that don't give her your name you idiot!, "Please leave or...or I will call the police, I promise"
Failed at being tough and failed at being intimidating, my trembling voice was as the sounds a guinea pig would make in the face of danger, which is not very different than the sound they make when they want food...What is wrong with me?
"Would you at least let me tell you my name?", her voice monotone and cold, her blue eyes reflecting light, almost as if the light was coming from her irises. Those eyes looked straight into me, and fear crawled up my spine.
In panic, I grabbed the first object at hand, a deodorant, and threw it at her as hard as I could.
I opened my eyes, the chair falls, she does not.
My heart freezes. In that moment I realized what this creature of perfect features and cold eyes was, it was clear as crystal, her see thru skin, her platinum hair, the white shirt with and a black choker, those black leather boots with silver brooches.
"Vampyr" the words rushing out of my lips faster than I could think.
The creature of the night stretches her legs, slowly, descending on the tips of her toes with the grace of a trained ballerina. Her feet crossing, she does a reverence bowing her head to me.
"That is indeed one of the names of our people. My name is Elisabeta of Sweet River, pleasure to meet you, Anna"
Her voice traveling thru every single red hair of my body.
A smile draws on her lips...and there they were, fangs made for tearing the flesh of their victims, fangs to end a life, fangs to feed…
And I was there, surely the main dish of her night.
"You might be wondering what my intentions are...well, I came here tonight as part of a ritua-"
A blinding light came from the window behind her, her voice cut off by a loud mechanical sound, mother's old suv was parking at the drive way. I cover my eyes from the intense light for less than a second, and, she was no longer there.
That pale creature wasn't here. Was she ever here, am I losing my mind like uncle eight fingers!
No, this can't be right, she said something, a ritual, a ritual?
So does this means I am but a sacrifice?
Gods, why did she just...just disappeared like that!? Aren't vampires like, super polite in books?
"Anna are you home, I got some groceries on the way here, can you help me get them in?"
And of course mother is acting like nothing happened, although, that might be what I need, to act like it never happened in the first place. Haha, I get it now, that was just an hallucination from eating too much and watching too many horror movies lately, yeah that has to be it right, I am def not losing my mind.
I go downstairs, feeling a bit more confident now that I had peace with the fact that my head is at times not the brightest and that there are no such thing as vampires or ghost or zombies or…
"There you are! Are you deaf or just hate your mother!"
"Mo-mom, I'm so sorry I didn't hear you-"
"Oh, don't even try to sell yourself innocent, you know the suv engine has been the loudest on this side of Arendelle…" She was mad, her voice fueled by the nuisance of having to carry six plastic bags full of groceries while your teenage daughter is on that facebook thing on her phone or something, "now, get down here and help me!"
'Well excuse me, mother, I was fighting the forces of the night, by myself, in my room and armed with a roll on deodorant, you are welcome'
I would never say that out loud, but, oh dear gods, I sure wanted to.
This could have been a not unusual thursday's mother-daughter conflict, but, none of us could stay mad after the korean fried chicken mom had bought on on her way home. Who could?
We started chatting about the little things our day had, from my boring day at school to her boring long day at the hospital, obviously, I left the part when a pale figure in a deep v cleavage was in my room. Although, there was a tiny part of me that wanted to tell her about it, lucky me, the rest of me didn't wanted to stay locked in a mental asylum for the rest of my life.
A knocking came from the front door as we were washing our supper dishes.
A strange feeling crept on my back.
"I'm coming!, You do the rest sweetie, I will see who's at the door"
A voice in my head was yelling, 'Do not let her in', but all I did was nodding while my mother walked away from me.
"Anna, come here, quickly!"
Fight or run…
Fight it is, my body tenses, a knife in hand, ready to defend my life I go fast, yet cautious to the front door.
"On guard, demon!"
The metal blade on my hand pointing at the front door.
"Here help me carry this basket the- put down that spoon and help me", she was confused, but unharmed.
My mother was right, in a hurry I had grabbed the first thing I could reach, again, and ended up with the least lethal one in the kitchen.
"What is that? Who sent it mom?"
"Well, I guess it's a gift from our new neighbors, remember the house at the end of the street, the old house you used to call a Castle, well it finally got sold"
"Wait someone actually paid for the creepy ed scissorhands house?"
'Oh, of course she did. What creature of the shadows wouldn't love a creepy castle '
The basket contained cheese that looked like it was made out of wood; two bottles of wine, one clear and one rose colored one; two huge chocolate bars; a very small can of fish eggs; an air sealed bag with small dried fish; and a bag of spicy beef jerky, a weird addition to a otherwise fancy gift basket.
A letter was also included:
A week from now, our house will have a baptism. You are cordially invited
Batpism? Is that a vampyr thing? but the house is not inhabitable, "Oh, can they really remodel the old creepy house in a week, uh our new neighbors I mean"
"Well, number one, they have to be loaded to buy a house like that one and, number two...there have been contractors working on it for a month or so"
Lying to her own daughter.
"No-uh"
"Oh, dear, I wish I was your age again. Going thru life thinking of nothing but shoes and boys, letting your hormones guide you to your doom"
"Ugh"
Sometimes I wish I was an orphan. I swear to the gods, is almost as if she knew exactly what precise tone and rhythm to cast her devilish poisonous words, not to kill, but just a slow burning dead by annoyance.
With everything from the gifted basket and every item from mom's grocery list, mother left for her night shift, not before leaving the usual warnings and tasks.
"No boys, no coffee, and remember to leave me a bowl of fruit salad in the fridge, you know how hungry night shifts get me", a kiss on the cheek and she left into the night.
Now I'm alone.
For the next 7 hours, 6 if I'm lucky enough. Maybe, I can stay awake for enough time to- no, I have school tomorrow, and mom will get met to class no matter what, and I don't think the vampire excuse will work.
I have no other option but to remain cautious, close every window, door, closet and cabinet, and pray the gods for a sunrise.
I distracted myself watching short funny clips on my phone and eating a chunk of one of the humongous chocolate bars in the living room. But even ion batteries die at some point, and it was twelve minutes to midnight already. I had to go back upstairs to my room and sleep and recharge my energy as well.
I took step by step, not skipping, not running, looking at the reflection on every portrait's glass as I advance further up.
The door to my room still open, the light, still on.
My room is safe, the only stranger, a white piece of paper on my bed.