February 1, 2009 - Arrived in Tuscany. House is abandoned, in ruins. After dark, I lay on the ground, between grape vines, catching snakes and rabbits. If Damon were here, what would he say?
February 2, 2009 - After sunrise, further explored the villa. Staircase is broken and floors are unsteady. A book in the library crumbled apart in my hands. A painting, of a family, is torn in half and hanging from a wall. Who are they? When did they live, and why did they leave?
February 3, 2009 - Walked to the village for supplies. As recently as fifty years ago, this village was teeming with Salvatores. Now they've all moved away - to America or the bigger cities in Italy. I don't have to worry about meeting any distant relatives or being asked if I'm Giuseppe Salvatore's great-great-grandson.
February 4, 2009 - More comfortable to lie with piles of blankets between my body and the cold marble floors.
February 5, 2009 - Hard to sleep. That's what comes from a diet of animal blood. Do I live the way I do because I care so much about people, or is it because I care so little that I see them as moving objects not worth my interest?
February 6, 2009 - Immortality is not a gift. 145 years ago, my human life was taken from me. At that time, it had seemed that the War would never end - but that war ended and countless others have begun and ended since. The taste of my father's blood, during the agony of my transition, is as fresh in my memory as it was in my mouth on that horrible day. If only I had been strong enough to resist, and had let myself die. But I was not strong enough, and now I must live like a monster, secluding myself away from humanity. And it will never end.
February 7, 2009 - Decided to repair the villa. Maybe I'm just desperate to feel that I'm being productive in some way. I'll start with the floors, and then see what I can do about the staircase.
February 8, 2009 - A hammer and a nail make a man feel alive. Most of the windows are missing their glass. For years, wind and rain have had their way with the place. Wood swells, and doors are impossible to close.
February 9, 2009 - While fixing a windowsill I missed my target and hammered a nail into the flesh above my wrist. When I pulled the nail out of my skin, crimson liquid spilled to the floor. Overcome with desire, I lost control. Could there be a more pathetic sight than a vampire, collapsed to his knees, sucking his own blood?
February 10, 2009 - Needed to leave the house. I walked to the village, and the crowds told me it was Market Day. Street vendors sold everything from chickens to vegetables to radios to brass bed frames. I bought a bottle of wine and paused near a flower stand. While breathing in the scents of roses and lilies, I heard a giggle. Looking up, I saw a girl, a young woman, framed by a rainbow of blossoms.
"You don't need to put so much thought into it. She'll just like the sentiment."
"She?" I asked.
"There must be a 'she.' Young men don't often buy flowers and wine for themselves."
Unfortunately, this man does. I bought an expensive bouquet and found a place to spend the night.
February 11, 2009 - Woke up with a headache from too much wine and too little blood. First thing I saw were wilted rose petals. I tossed them out the window to the cobblestones below.
February 12, 2009 - While walking down an alley I heard a familiar giggle. Turning, I saw no one. Then the giggle came again. "How did she like the roses?"
A window was open and a girl sat inside, gossamer curtains billowing around her.
"The roses," I said, "were thrown into the street."
"Oh," she said, and giggled again. "Oh well, too bad."
"Simona!" someone called from inside.
"Is that your name?" I asked, repeating it in my mind.
"Si," she nodded. "What's yours?"
I told her. She said, "I must go," and she disappeared.
February 13, 2009 - After dark, I looked out the window. So many people, making their ways through the world, believing that they'll go to bed each night and be safe. With no idea that real monsters lurk in the shadows.
February 14, 2009 - Awoke early this morning to the sound of church bells ringing in honor of Saint Valentine. Couples walked through the streets hand-in-hand. When I passed the alleyway, Simona stepped out, wearing a red dress.
I asked her why her flower stand wasn't open, today of all days. She said that so many people sell flowers today that she doesn't make a profit, and takes the day off. She was on her way to a party, she said, and was going alone (hint, hint).
It had been so long since I'd been to a party that...I stopped myself from telling her. But I was tired of being alone with my thoughts, so I agreed to accompany her.
We arrived at an apartment and were greeted at the door by an old woman whom Simona called Signora Balducci. When she introduced me, Signora Balducci raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Salvatore? The Salvatores?"
I didn't explain. Classical music played, and about ten people stood around and talked until early in the morning.
February 15, 2009 - As the sun set, I heard a knock on my door. I opened it to find Simona, standing on my doorstep, dressed to go out. It seems that she and her friends have these parties every night. I told her I was tired, and just wanted to watch TV and go to sleep. I didn't tell her that I needed blood. She seemed very disappointed. As she left, I heard her cell phone ring.
An hour later, I walked to a butcher's shop for a raw steak. I stood in the shadows and sucked it dry.
February 16, 2009 - Simona came to my room again tonight, and again she asked me to the party at Signora Balducci's. I asked her why it was so important that I go with her. She instantly became outrageously flirtatious and told me she'd be so disappointed if she had to go alone. So I went.
All of the same people were there: no more, no fewer. Opera played, and a bearded man named Tomasso seemed to be the center of attention. He suddenly became very interested in me, asking me my name and where I was from. I told him that though my family's heritage was Tuscan, I was born in America. He wanted to know where in America. "A small town in Virginia," I said, "that you've never heard of."
"And what year were you born?" he asked.
I paused. "1992."
People don't usually have to pause before stating their birth date. But people don't usually inquire about it five minutes after meeting someone. Tomasso de Luca. A strange man.
February 17, 2009 - At the party tonight, I saw Tomasso go into another room, so I stood at the wall between me and him to listen. He chatted to someone about pasta and restaurants, and then, just as Simona interrupted me, I thought he said "vampire." I honestly don't know if I really heard it or if my mind created the illusion.
February 18, 2009 - Now, I have no doubt. Tomasso de Luca, whoever he is and whatever he may do, knows about vampires and talks about us with his friends. While I listened to him tonight, I had to fight the urge to pin him against the wall and ask him what he knows and how he knows it. I had to pretend that I didn't hear a thing.
February 19, 2009 - When Simona arrived at my hotel room tonight, I refused to go with her. I also told her that she should stay away from those people. They're all so much older...why does she socialize with them? And why every night?
"They're fun," she said. "Intellectuals. People my age are boring."
"Tomasso," I said. "There's something about him I don't like. He seems...dishonest."
"Dishonest!" she laughed. "We're all dishonest! Are you showing your true self, Stefan?"
No, but I have a good reason not to.
February 20, 2009 - In the early morning hours, I lurked like a monster outside of Signora Balducci's apartment. When I saw Simona leave I hid in the shadows. Shortly thereafter, Tomasso emerged. I followed him home.
February 21, 2009 - Around noon, I walked to the house where Tomasso lives. Two hours later, I saw him leave, locking the front door behind him. I followed, keeping as great a distance as possible. As we walked, the streets grew more empty. We finally came to his destination - a cemetery.
He opened the gate and walked in. I let a few minutes pass before I climbed the fence. When I landed on the other side, my feet made a noise on the pavement. Tomasso had disappeared behind the statues and sarcophagi. I ran in his direction, and came upon him entering a small wooden chapel through a narrow door. Peeking in a window, I noticed that the chapel had skylights and was being used as a greenhouse. On tables inside grew pots of vervain.
I ran through the cemetery and over the fence.
February 22, 2009 - Early this morning, I knocked on Simona's door. Her mother answered, and told me she was in the village, setting up her flower stand. I rushed around the corner and found her near the church. When she saw me, she looked surprised.
"You can't go back there tonight," I said.
She laughed. "Why?"
"Tomasso de Luca. He's involved in something bad."
"Something bad?" she repeated, laughing. "Oh no, something bad!"
"I'm serious," I said. "You have to stay away from him."
"Why?" she asked. "Is he a criminal or something?"
"No," I said. "It's something I can't tell you about."
Anger flashed onto her face. "Well, if you can't give me a reason to stay away from him, I'm not going to."
What could I tell her? Could I tell her about vampires? And would she believe me if I did?
February 23, 2009 - I accompanied Simona to tonight's party. Shortly after I walked in the door and saw Tomasso, I said in a fairly loud voice, "I saw the strangest person last night, in the middle of the night."
Knowing that I had everyone's attention, I continued my story. "His face looked so weird...pale, and the veins around his eyes were dark and bulging out of his skin. His eyes were darker than any I've ever seen, and his teeth were strange too. They almost looked sharp."
Tomasso listened keenly. Signora Balducci asked, "What was he doing?"
"Standing in the street," I said. "Nothing else."
They all looked at one another. Tomasso cleared his throat, and then he changed the subject.
February 24, 2009 - This morning I awoke to a knock on the door. Half-asleep, I stumbled out of bed. When I opened the door, wearing only pants, I saw Simona standing in the hall.
She walked right past me and flicked on the light.
"Do you want something?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "I want you..." She pulled open the curtains. "To come to the party tonight."
I shielded my eyes from the sun.
"What's the matter?" she asked. "It's only sunlight."
I stepped into a dark corner of the room and pulled on a shirt. "It's too early for sunlight."
She studied me, her eyes moving up and down my body. They paused on my hand.
"Is that a ring?" she asked.
"Yes, obviously."
"It looks old."
"It's kind of an heirloom."
I pulled open the door. "I want nothing to do with Tomasso," I said. "Or Signora Balducci, or anyone else. I highly recommend that you stay away from them. But if you don't, I can't see you."
"I'm sorry you feel that way," she said, and left.
February 25, 2009 - Yesterday I believed I would never see Simona again. But this morning I felt myself irresistibly drawn to her house, unable to leave her without telling her what I know.
I stood in her doorway and knocked. I waited, and knocked again. Finally, she opened the door.
"Can I come in?" I asked.
"Why?" she said, immediately defensive.
"I need to talk to you." I looked up and down the alley. "It's important."
"'Don't go to those parties anymore.' That's all you have to tell me, isn't it?"
"No," I said, "I'm going to tell you why."
She gestured for me to come inside and closed the door behind me.
"Well, what is it?" she said, sitting down. "What could it be?"
"Tomasso," I said. "He appears to be some sort of...vampire hunter."
Her expression didn't change. "What does that have to do with me?"
I walked across the room and back. "I think some of your other friends are too," I said, "and that's not something you want to be involved in."
Her cell phone rang, and she opened it. "Si," she said. "Si." And then she hung up.
"Who was that?"
"No one."
"I have a place," I told her. "I'm staying in a villa outside of town. You could come stay for a while. Just to get away..."
"Is it private?" she asked.
"It's surrounded by hundreds of acres of grapes. There's not another house in sight."
"All right, I'll go."
February 26, 2009 - I rented a car, and Simona and I left early in the morning. Her mother's going to mind her flower stand while she's away. I asked her what she told her about where she was going, and she muttered, "Oh, I just said I'd be back soon." She asked me for directions to the villa, to give to her mother, in case of emergency.
As we drove, she played with her phone until she lost the signal. Then she looked out the window. She fiddled with the radio and found only static. She looked out the window again. "Wow," she said. "Grapes."
Two hours later, we were at the house. "It's falling apart," Simona said.
"Yeah." I opened my door. "I forgot to mention that."
We carried our luggage inside. The parlor, the kitchen, and one bedroom are live-in-able. Simona can have the bedroom, of course.
"Where are you going to sleep?" she asked.
"Outside," I said. "It's warm enough."
We picked eggplants and zucchinis, and fried them for dinner.
February 27, 2009 - I woke up this morning, near the stream, to find Simona sitting beside me. She held my arm in her lap, and pulled at my ring. The sun was in the sky, and so I immediately snatched my hand away.
"I was just looking at it," she giggled, as I sat up. "Don't act like I'm a jewel thief."
"You startled me." My head pounded from lack of blood.
"I made you a cup of tea." She handed me a glass of warm liquid.
I held the cup in my hand and looked out to the horizon. "We could stay here forever," I said. "If you want."
"Aren't you going to drink?"
"Of course."
I put the glass to my lips and swallowed. It burned its way down my throat, and I immediately choked, spitting out what I could. "What's in it?" I gasped. "Did you put -"
"Vervain?" she laughed. "Maybe a little."
Just then, I heard a loud rumbling in the distance. I turned my head and saw three cars on the road, driving towards the house.
Simona rose to her feet. "I know what you are!" she shouted. "I've always known!"
The cars stopped feet from where I lay. Tomasso de Luca emerged from a driver's seat, holding a wooden stake in one hand.
February 28, 2009 - I'm in the bedroom, in the dark, with nothing but a dim flashlight to write by. After they dragged me inside, they boarded the windows and nailed closed the door. I hear Tomasso congratulating Simona. She was the bait, and I've been caught.
