CHAPTER 33
As Nana paused for a moment and took a sip of water from her cup, Lucy found herself bursting with impatience.
"There's something I don't understand, Nana," she said. "Why didn't you fully turn into a vampire when Dracula bit you? Why did you only gain the fangs, but still retained your reflection in the mirror?"
"Ah, I was waiting for you to ask," her grandmother replied with a smile as she set her cup down. "Frankly, I spent several years afterwards trying to figure that out, until I came to a possible conclusion."
Lucy leaned forward eagerly. "What was that?"
Nana sat up a little straighter. "I concluded that I had grown fangs because part of me (even now I'm ashamed to say it) was already starting to submit to Dracula's power and will. The rest of my spirit (for the time, the majority) was still strong, still resisting him and his lies." She laughed a little at Lucy's puzzlement. "I sound like what you would nowadays refer to as a 'pompous ass', don't I?"
Lucy smiled weakly but still looked confused. Her grandmother provided her with an explanation. "Take the Garden of Eden, for instance. After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they lost some of their faith and trust in God and probably felt the inclination to do evil things. It was a little similar in my own case after the Count bit me. You know how complex our human dichotomy of good and evil is."
Lucy nodded. "So, because
you had small doubts, you gained fangs. But you were able to retain
your reflection because you still had faith in God and the
truth?"
Her grandmother nodded in acquiescence.
"So what happened next?" Lucy asked eagerly.