CHAPTER TEN: DEPRIVATION

After my cowardly desertion I traveled from city to city, not knowing what exactly I was looking for, but knowing that I was not finding it. I suppose I was searching for peace to my eternally struggling heart. I committed treason against my heart and soul, and now this was the consequence. The endless struggle. By medical definition, I was not depressed I told myself. I was active; I “ate” well, and continued an average, healthy, vampire routine. Though it was ignorant to say I was happy. I would unconsciously search the streets I roamed for some sign of her, not realizing I was searching until I found it. She was in the scent of the roses, caramel was a faded ode to her eyes, and every time I saw these things, my heart would sting. I generally, sought small, rural towns to settle in, rather than the nig towns where, I might run into more reminders of her, and possibly strike up another human attachment. I felt so out of my world. I wasn’t used to the surging emotions that took over me whenever I thought of her. For centuries I had had a rational, straight-forward and focused way of thought, but one woman had taken it all away, and my mind was so clouded and disorientated that it felt like my body had been taken over by a different mind. All I could do was keep my outward composure, and move on. Lessons learned memories stored. Vampire love equals danger. Vampire contact was apparently inevitable though.

I was hunting in a small town in Illinois, when the tree in front of me suddenly, uprooted itself and flew at me. Alarmed as I was, the tree was easily dodged, and I was instantly looking warily for the source.

“Ooops” Said a boyish voice from above. I looked up to see Benjamin, one of the vampires I had met while traveling in Egypt grinning down at me with huge dimples.

“Greetings to you Benjamin” I said with a smile. Benjamin grinned more and jumped neatly down. “Do you usually go uprooting tress with your mind for fun?” I asked, teasing him about his phenomenal power.

“No sir, of course not, that was just to irritate you” he said laughing his carefree laugh. The last time I had seen Benjamin was more than a century ago, so I was surprised by the playfulness of our conversation. Yet, I was glad this atmosphere was there. Benjamin’s trademark chipper disposition was exactly what I needed right now