In Love With A Vampire

by M. J. Stevens

  Silence hung in the air, and the sound of chirping birds could be heard outside the window, a huge lively contrast to the dark clouds of gloom that were hovering inside the kitchen.

  But the clouds soon dissipated when a ray of hope lit Maggie’s face. Maggie’s eyes shone like a warrior who had fallen and got back up on her feet again with restored strength, confidence and hope.

  “We’re not going to fix Rellie yet,” Maggie said in a low whisper, drawing Jesse’s curiosity.

  “What are you talking about?” Jesse asked tentatively.

  “We’re going to do the one thing we’re supposed to do all along,” Maggie responded in a tone of finality. “We’re going to bring back your love. We’re going to find Ken no matter what it takes. Once that’s settled, then we’ll fix Rellie.”

  Jesse was struck with speechlessness. She gaped at Maggie, her shoulders trembling, touched by the fact that Maggie would show so much care for her, putting her loved one above all the other matters. Jesse was so focused on fixing Rellie that she’d completely given her own husband less priority than he deserved, and for a moment, Jesse was racked with a guilt that stung to the core.

  Yes, it was Ken that was supposed to be her top priority now. Maybe that was why things had turned from bad to worse in the first place. Jesse had been so focused on fixing other problems beyond her control that she didn’t even think for a second that Ken mattered more than anything else. Having been a female cop for years, she’d always been so concerned with the welfare of others that she’d completely forgotten about what mattered the most: family.

  Burning with the desire to make things right again and make Ken her top priority of things to fix, Jesse squared her shoulders, looking like she was ready to take on any challenges that were thrown her way.

  “How are we going to find Ken?” Jesse asked, her voice edged with temerity.

  Maggie sat perched on the edge of her island counter, her eyes filled with mysterious shadows.

  “I’m going to perform a spell to bring your loved one to you,” Maggie said, weaving her fingers together. “It’s a simple spell, really. All you have to do is think of the person you love the most in your heart … and in this case, it is your own husband, Ken. Think about him deep in your mind, in your heart. Keep him close to you in your thoughts. Sooner or later, he’ll come back to you.” Maggie paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. Then, she shook her head with a low chuckle. “I’ve no idea why I didn’t even think about something as simple as this in the first place. All it takes is a simple spell. I guess we got so carried away with trying to revive Rellie that this idea has never even crossed our minds. This should have done instead of trying to bring Rellie back to life. But I guess we all make big mistakes, and there’s no use dwelling on spilt milk. We just have to make the best of it, find the silver lining in every situation.”

  “So all I have to do is think of Ken … and he’ll come running to me?” Jesse had a look of incredulity on her face for a brief moment, but that look vanished away when she realized that stranger things had happened. Nothing Maggie did could ever surprise her anymore.

  “But there’s one catch.” Maggie flashed Jesse a wry grin.

  Jesse sighed. She knew that it was too good to be true. With magic, there was always a catch. In the world of magic, nothing could ever happen without any sacrifice or adverse consequences. Honestly, that was the part about magic which Jesse wasn’t so keen about.

  “What is it?” Jesse said in a heavy tone, taking a cracker from a bowl on the counter and crunching it.

  “You have to lose all your hair,” Maggie answered slowly, studying Jesse’s face.

  “What? Are you kidding me? You mean I have to shave my head?”

  “I’m sorry to say this … but yes, you must lose all that hair on your head in order for the Return Spell to work.”

  “But why my hair? It doesn’t make sense at all.” Jesse knew that she sounded like a whiny girl, but losing her hair for such a spell just sounded so ludicrous that she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  “A lot of things about magic doesn’t make sense to me. Believe me, magic works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, we cannot justify the way magic works. Magic does come with a price.” Maggie paused, taking a few sips of tea as though all the explanation had made her throat dry. “Hair is a woman’s crowning glory, something that is deemed precious to her, worn on her head like a sacred part of her. In order to gain her love, she must sacrifice the most precious part of herself, which is her hair itself. Therefore, the Return Spell can truly only work when a woman sacrifices her hair. That’s part of the spell requirement … I’m sorry to say.”

  Jesse blew a huge sigh, and her bangs swept upward like a raised flag. Even though she knew that it sounded ludicrous, she would do anything to have Ken back by her side again. In retrospect, losing her hair in order to gain back her true love seemed like a small price to pay. Yes, she wouldn’t mind shaving her head if it meant that Ken would come back again … to her arms.

  “OK,” Jesse said adamantly. “I’m going to do it. I’m going to do whatever it takes to bring Ken back. So where do we start?” Jesse flipped her hair, and took one last glance at it before it was completely sheared off.

  “Take a seat, please,” Maggie ordered in a gentle voice, gesturing at the high stool next to the island counter.

  Obediently, Jesse plopped down on the stool, clutching the end of her hair as though a part of her wanted to keep it, but she also knew that she had to part with it if she wanted Ken back.

  Maggie stood in front of Jesse, raising her arms high above her head as if she was about to conjure up some magic.

  “Where are the scissors?” Jesse demanded, her eyes darting around for any signs of tool that would snip her hair off.

  “There is no need for scissors,” Maggie replied, giving Jesse a slight grin. “I can use magic just to cut away your locks. Whatever gave you the idea that scissors are needed? Oh, my …. you have still a lot of things you don’t know about magic. Magic can do almost everything … well … not almost everything … but close.”

  Maggie started to mumble some incantation, waving her hands in the air, sending an invisible energy of magic rippling through the air. Jesse felt the energy envelop her, wrapping her like a blanket with sparks of electricity.

  Slowly, Jesse’s locks began to fall onto the floor, streaming down in a shower of brown tufts. Jesse closed her eyes tight as if she couldn’t bear the sight of her falling hair, as the magic worked around her scalp, scraping her hair off. Minutes later, a pile of brown hair lay at Jesse’s feet. Jesse was now completely bald. She didn’t even need to open her eyes to know that she was clean-shaven. She could feel the bareness of her scalp, and that feeling agonized her, but she strained against the regret that was threatening to crush her spirits. No, she would not regret doing this … because she was doing this for her husband. For Ken.

  Jesse opened her eyes, and flicked a glance at the sheared locks that gathered at her feet.

  Maggie waved her hands at the fallen locks, and magically, the locks rose up into the air in a spiral, in such a graceful way that Jesse thought that her hair had a life of its own. Maggie telepathically moved the hair into an empty glass jar which she had retrieved from the cabinet. Maggie clutched the jar, and edged closer toward Jesse, her eyes still trained on the jar as though it was the most precious thing in the world.

  “What are you going to do?” Jesse asked, mystified by Maggie’s next move as seconds ticked by. She stared at the remains of her sheared locks cooped up inside the glass jar, her mind set in puzzled giddiness.

  “I want you to hold onto this jar of your own hair,” Maggie said, passing the jar to Jesse. Reluctantly, Jesse retrieved it as though it was diseased. Why was she holding a jar of her own hair? It was getting weirder and weirder, and Jesse’s heart pounded in anticipation, the fear of not knowing what was going to happen next sending chills down her spine.

  “
And I will set your hair on fire,” Maggie continued. “Don’t worry … the fire will be contained inside this jar itself, and won’t spread out of it. As your hair is burning, I want you to hold tight onto the jar with your hands, and close your eyes tight, and think of your loved one as deeply as possible. Yes, think of him with all your heart and soul. Don’t let go of that thought for even one second. Once the last traces of your hair has been completely consumed by the fire, the deed will be done … and the magic will start to happen. You’ll just have to wait and see …”

  A lump went down Jesse’s throat, and she said, “You mean that Ken will waltz right back to me, just like that?”

  Maggie nodded. “Yes, that could possibly happen. But only if you did it right. If you really put all your heart and soul into thinking of him, the spell may just work.”

  Jesse exhaled as hard as she could, feeling the pressure mount on her. What if she failed? What if she didn’t think of Ken enough? Would the spell backfire? All her effort would have gone down the drain. She mustn’t let those negative thoughts get to her.

  Jesse took the jar of hair from Maggie, her hands slightly trembling from the anticipation that rippled through her.

  Maggie waved her hand at the jar, and instantly, fire blazed inside, licking through the hair as though it were fuel.

  Jesse gasped as she stared at her burning hair, her heart pounding so hard against her chest that she felt like she could keel at any moment.

  “Close your eyes,” Maggie whispered sharply, and Jesse did as she was told. “Now I want you to give your full, undivided attention on Ken. Focus on him with every fiber of your being. Think of him only and no one else. Let his face consume your mind, and let your heart reach out to him. Yes, focus on him. Focus …” Maggie’s voice segued into a tone that sounded like an eerie chant.

  Jesse willed her mind to conjure up images of Ken. Ken stuck to her mind like second skin, and she held onto him as if he were her last lifeline.

  Jesse felt as though her own was on fire as she continued focusing on Ken, not even letting him go from her thoughts for even one second. Jesse guessed that the burning sensation she was feeling must be magically connected to the fire that was consuming the hair inside the jar she was holding. She felt smoldering heat ripple across her body as the intensity of her thoughts increased, and it overwhelmed her to the point that she almost collapsed but she kept persevering, training her mind on none other than Ken, her own husband. She let Ken filled her heart and mind, just like Maggie and instructed. Nothing else was going to take over Ken’s place in her mind, but Ken alone. Jesse’s shoulders suddenly quaked, as the blaring sensation overwhelmed her, making her feel as though her heart would burst at any moment.

  All of a sudden, Jesse let out a loud sickening scream as though her heart had been pierced by something razor sharp. The pain was so unbearable that Jesse thought that she had died. But when she opened her eyes, the pain instantly vanished, leaving her drenched in sweat due to the combination and fear and fiery heat that had consumed her.

  She was still clutching the jar, and she let out a gasp when she realized that it was completely empty. The fire had mysteriously vanished, leaving not a single trace of hair behind. The fire must have burned her all of her locks away, not even leaving a hint of ash.

  Shaken by the overwhelming feeling she had experienced, Jesse involuntarily trembled and accidentally dropped the empty jar. It plunged and shattered on the floor with a crash.

  “No!” Jesse cried, another rush of fear rippled through her, causing her stomach to churn. She wondered if she had rendered the spell ineffective by accidentally causing the jar to fall and break. It would be a wasted effort if that was the case, and Jesse would be utterly devastated.

  “What have I done?” Jesse howled, her heart palpitating in ways she could have never experienced before. It was as though part of her heart had been consumed, eaten away by the feverish fear and panic that were whirling within her like a storm.

  As if reading her mind, Maggie instinctively put a hand on Jesse’s shoulder, trying to calm her down. “Don’t you worry a thing, Jesse. The deed is done. Breaking the jar won’t affect the spell in any way. Once all your locks had been completely burned away, the spell would take immediate effect. As long as you did like what I’ve told you, the spell would work perfectly fine. Did you put all your heart and mind in focusing on Ken … and Ken alone?”

  Jesse nodded her head, her head throbbing with an inexplicable headache as if drums were pounding within her skull. She hoped with all her heart that the spell would work, and Ken would appear to her at any moment. She’d done everything Maggie had instructed, and what could possibly go wrong? It was Ken whom she thought about all the time. She held Ken dearly in her heart, and there was no one else other than Ken who was the prime love of her of life.

  “If the spell works, then all will go well” Maggie said calmly, helping Jesse to take a seat on the nearest stool as Jesse looked a bit shaken up, as if all her energy had been drained. But there was a glow of satisfaction on her sweat-beaded face, as if she’d accomplished something great. Jesse was confident that Ken would emerge, and she was anticipating for that very moment.

  Jesse sat on the stool, silent as a ghost. She stared out of the window, as if she were hoping to catch a glimpse of Ken outside, running back into her arms.

  “How long does it take for the spell to work?” Jesse finally asked, as if the mere silence was literally killing her inside. She just couldn’t wait for Ken to appear as soon as possible.

  “It depends,” Maggie answered in a solemn voice. “Sometimes it could take a few moments … but sometimes it could take days. I can’t say for sure. As long as you did what I told you, nothing could go wrong.”

  Jesse’s face fell when she heard the word days. She couldn’t possibly wait for days. Days seemed like eternity to her. She was so eager for the moment when Ken would appear on her doorstep, and if she had to wait another day, it would devastate her.

  “Don’t sit there moping, Jesse,” Maggie said, pouring herself another cup of tea. “Just carry on with your everyday routine … like normal. He will surely appear to you, no matter what. The spell works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, the person whom you have called to return wouldn’t just literally appear at your door. You may encounter him outside while you are at work, or doing your grocery. He can appear anytime, anywhere. So I suggest that just carry on with your normal routine, and let Ken appear to you when the time is right. Can you do that?”

  Jesse sighed, and slowly nodded her head as if it had been weighed with tons of brick.

  “I’ll try,” she responded dejectedly, her heart still pounding in anticipation for Ken to appear. She slid off the stool and padded over to the window, gazing outside, her eyes searching for any familiar signs that could pass off as her husband. But there was none at all.

  “Do you want a cup of tea?” Maggie offered.

  “Sure, I could use one,” Jesse said in a dry voice, suddenly realizing that she was thirsty. Pondering on Ken too much had made her feel so detached from herself that she didn’t even realize that her throat was gripped by thirst.

  Maggie waved at the cabinet, and a cup and saucer sailed right out of it, and landed at the island counter in front of her. Maggie just stared at the teapot, as if she were mentally talking to it. The teapot tilted forward, and hot tea poured into the cup.

  Maggie handed the cup to Jesse, who grabbed it and drank it in one gulp as though she hadn’t been drinking for days.

  “I think I need a good shower,” Jesse admitted, her body drenched in sweat from the intense spell she’d experienced earlier on. She never wanted to go through anything like that ever again.

  “Sure,” Maggie said, gesturing at the stairs. “You can use my bathroom upstairs. Make yourself as comfortable as possible. Are you hungry?”

  “A bit,” Jesse croaked, her stomach rumbling at the mere thought of food. In fact, she was more than hungry. She felt
like she could eat a whole cow at that moment. Going through the spell had taken a toll on her body, making her hungrier than usual.

  “I’ll cook a meal for you,” Maggie said gently, putting a smile on her face. “Now run along and take a shower. You look like you’ve just run a three-mile marathon.”

  Jesse knew that Maggie meant for it to be a joke, but she was too exhausted to even laugh. She got up from her seat and headed upstairs to the bathroom, ready to soak herself in a long shower.

  She turned on the shower tap and let the cold water run, and tried to push the thoughts of the day away. She wanted her mind to be completely blank, but it seemed that the more she tried to push the thoughts away, the more threatening they became, clawing into the crevices of her mind and reminding her of all the ordeal she’d gone through. She just wanted to forget everything, and clear away the thoughts once and for all.

  The strong pellets of shower pounded against her body like bullets, and she liked the cold sensation that rippled through her body. She adjusted the volume knob and the shower pellets became faster, stronger, splashing against her with a jarring intensity which almost made her stumble and fall … but she continued standing there, battered by the raging drips of water. It made her feel somewhat refreshed and better, as if the water was washing away all her pain, all her worries, all the pent-up frustration that had been cooped up inside. For that moment of time, she felt detached from all the cares of the world. She could only hear the sound of the gushing water which pounded mercilessly against her body, and the rush of the cold sensation which surged through her, almost numbing her to the spot. She wanted to remain in that kind of state for as long as time would allow, for she was not too keen to return to the cruel world which was waiting like vultures, ready to consume her with more pain that she could bear.

  All of a sudden, she heard a thundering noise which sent shockwaves through her body, startling her and almost making her slip and fall onto the cold mosaic tiles of the bathroom. The sound was so sickeningly loud that it rippled through her body, jarring her bones and senses.