Christmas 2024
Standing in the cold night air outside an all-night diner in the tiny, out-of-the-way town of Norwich, New York, Gabriel feels the light snow starting to come down. Unsure why he's here, he lets instincts and intuition guide him in the search for his only love. Approximately 16 years after her passing, Gabriel has always found her, sensing that now is the right time. However, he's clueless about where to find her, and a nagging worry lingers: was the last time their final meeting? All he knows is that something has pulled him here, all the way from Louisiana.
Rose Grace Rossi, we're going to be late! Can you hear me?"
Her grandmother's voice echoes from downstairs, urging her to hurry. Rose is typically punctual and hates making her grandma yell. Tonight has been oddly disorienting, like time has slipped away or slowed.
"I'm coming, Grandma," Rose replies as she sits on her bed, pulling on winter tights beneath her dark green velvet dress. Rose takes too long pinning her hair back, but her grandma insists she looks lovely when her hair isn't in her eyes. Although she'd rather wear jeans and a soft sweater, it being Christmas means donning this dress.
She glances at herself in the mirror and says,
"For a big girl, I guess you look pretty." She wants to be thin like the other girls at her Catholic school, but Rose carries about 20 lbs more weight than most girls her height, even though most of it settles in her breasts, hips, and thighs, giving her a soft, curvy silhouette.
In a rush, she grabs her Bible and gloves and runs downstairs. Her grandmother, a typical Italian grandma with white hair and a kind smile, awaits on the sofa. Despite arthritis slowing her down a bit, especially in her hips and knees, at 75, she's still spry. Her grandpa passed away before Rose was born, so since her parents died, it's always been just her and her grandmother, Gia Rossi.
"I swear, child, you're going to make us late to midnight mass; it's snowing now, and I want to drive carefully in case there is ice on the road.
"I know, Grandma, I'm sorry."
She kisses my forehead and mumbles something in Italian.
"Ok, bambino, let's get a hop in our step, partiamo." With that, we put our coats on and headed to the car.
Gabriel hears church bells coming from down the street. He hasn't stepped into a church since marrying Ava, and a handful of other times, she insisted. A smile crosses his face thinking about one of those times, and he absentmindedly heads for the church; but why are bells ringing this late at night?
Then it dawns on him that those bells ringing for midnight mass must be Christmas Eve. With this realization, he notices the garland and lights strung over each street lamp and storefronts showcasing their season's finest. As long as he has been alive, he's seen so much change, but some things stay the same, and this seasonal tradition hasn't changed very much.
There is a misconception that vampires can't enter holy ground, but like most myths, it isn't true. We can enter churches and graveyards, but not a church's cemetery that has been sanctified. We have no issues with the sun, and we certainly don't sparkle. We can eat food, but blood is preferred because it's the only thing that provides nutrients. Honestly, I don't miss digestion, but we still have to urinate, fortunately, just less often than humans.
Our senses are heightened; I can hear a hummingbird's wings 100 feet away if I choose. My eyesight is like an owl's, even more defined, seeing just as clearly in the dark as in daylight. I'm able to control the emotions of others and mostly have them calm down when tension, fear, sadness, and allowing them to find comfort. However, the sense that has caused me the most distress and put me in some vicarious situations is the sense of smell.
Scent has been my greatest distracter; not all blood, but specific human blood is intoxicating to me. The unpredictable flow of blood is one of the reasons I have chosen to be a physician several times throughout the years and have held various enlisted military positions on the front lines. Over the years, I've been able to control these urges by desensitizing myself.
As I enter the church, I pause and dip my fingers into the holy water and make the sign of the cross, and then I take a seat towards the back of the church. The acolyte is greeting everyone just arriving, and soft music begins to play to signal mass will start soon.
The priest comes to the altar and begins the Liturgy of the Eucharist. There isn't much difference between this mass and the few others he has attended. He's not sure why he's even there, but now wedged between several people, not wanting to cause a commotion, he decides to leave at the Eucharistic Prayer while everyone participates in the taking of the body and the blood.
Rose and her grandmother arrive just in time and take their seats at the front on the third row; they have sat here every Sunday and Holy day since she was born. She supposed even before because her mother and father sat here once with her grandmother. Rose slips from her coat and lays it over the pew.
The church is warm now, and she will soon rise for the Cannon. As the rows rise and the first row begins the ceremony, the second and third line up to wait their turn. Her grandmother rises from kneeling, and she takes her spot.
Gabriel moves through the crowd as the most indescribable smell enters his body. This smell is heavenly but intoxicating enough to make the Angels willing to fall from heaven. His eyes lock on to the scent, and he sees her. She's on her menstrual cycle, and the blood is fresh. He finally found his Angel in a church of all places. He feels deliriously intoxicated, and he can't help but laugh a small laugh. He's confident people around him think he's mad, but far from it, he is genuinely whole again and hopeful. He quickly rejoins the line and makes his way to the altar. As he finishes his sacred human tradition, he stands and turns to the third row and locks eyes with her.
Rose sits silently and watches the people pass, but suddenly, she feels a wave of emotion wash over her. She looks at her grandmother, who listening to the priest with great enthusiasm.
She looks up and sees a young man who's maybe 18 or 19. He is very tall, perfectly built, and well-dressed. He has long black hair, which is tied into a neat ponytail wrapped with a dark green leather band that matches his clothes. His face looks like one of the images you conjure when you think of a Greek God. His jawline is well-defined, and his skin is simply flawless but slightly pale. He has a million-dollar smile that makes a slight devilish smirk. Rose has to remember to breathe and reel herself back to reality.
No one who looks the way he does would want anything to do with her, but then she meets his eyes, and he's staring into her soul; it's as if he is willing her to look at him. His eyes melt her from the inside out; they are jade green and seem almost to glow. The look he's giving her makes her entire body tingle in the most intense and unknown way. She can't explain what's happening to her, but she never wants it to end.
She's feeling overwhelmed and begins to fear a panic attack, but then a sudden sensation of calmness floods her whole body. Rose looks at the gorgeous guy, and he winks at her as he moves back to his seat. She scolds herself for not wearing the glasses she's supposed to because her eyes are malfunctioning because, for a moment, she thought he winked at her.