by Megan Duncan
Plant life slapped against my shins as I walked down the narrow path toward the courtyard. The scent of wet soil filled my nostrils making me feel connected with the earth, with nature. Eucalyptus trees towered above the tallest of all the plant life, followed by some dwarf pine and ficus trees. I ducked between their overgrown branches as the path spilled out into the courtyard. Small, round, wrought iron tables were circled by petite chairs speckled with rust.
My attention was focused solely on the koi pond as I made my way to its edge. Large, round, river rocks formed the outer wall of the pond, and I rested my weight atop the structure. The multicolored fish splashed around in response, hoping that I was there to give them their next meal. Their mouths popped open and closed at water level; as their tails sloshed the water, swaying the lily pads that floated above them. There were four fish in the pond, and during the summer Hazel and I had named each of them but only one was my favorite. The smallest of the four was nearly all white, with only a few spots of orange and black near its head and tail. I had named him Macho. Despite his tiny size, he had no trouble wriggling his way past the larger fish that were two times his size. The largest of the four we had named Cheeto because he was completely orange, and completely fat.
“They’re hungry,” a soft voice said from behind startling me, which said a lot since no one could startle a vampire. Except maybe another vampire.
I jumped off the pond’s ledge, my mouth falling open as my eyes fell onto Autumn. She was sitting at one of the tables that were hidden under a canopy of leaves in the far corner of the courtyard. A canvas sat on a stand atop the table, surrounded by tiny bottles filled with a rainbow of colors. Her hair was knotted up into a curly bun; a skinny paintbrush poking through the curls. A smudge of bright blue paint was streaked across her cheek, and I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling at her. She was absolutely breath taking. I needed to play it calm and cool.
“You’re an artist?” I asked stupidly as I pointed at the canvas before her. So much for playing it cool.
“Yeah,” she giggled at me. “I guess you could say that, but I’m not very good.” She gave her canvas a disappointed expression. “I just can’t seem to get the colors right.”
“May I have a look?” I asked, taking long strides toward her as if magnets were pulling me.
“Sure, just promise not to laugh.” She scooted her chair away, turning the canvas toward me as I approached.
She was wrong. She was very good. Instead of the thick brush strokes of paint, her canvas was covered in a thin sheet of colors that bled together in a symphonic landscape. She was painting the courtyard, catching the orange and reds of the flagstone and the lush greens of the plants. Every shadow was meticulously shaded accentuating the few beams of moonlight that were streaming down from the glass ceiling above us.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, honestly. I’d seen many artists in my time, but none of them painted like this. Some were more modern with busy portraits and dramatic splashes of color that had no rhyme or reason, while others were purely traditional.
“Thanks,” she turned the painting back toward her, eyeing it as if she was still dissatisfied.
There was an awkward silence as I stood there, dumbly watching her. I fidgeted for a while, trying to decide how to go about apologizing. I’d never done it before. Probably because I’d never done anything I was sorry for. Well, that’s not true. I’ve done a lot of things I was sorry for, but there wasn’t anyone left alive to apologize to.
“You going to stare at me all night?” Autumn asked, dipping her brush in a cup of water and then into some dark blue paint.
“Uh…no.” I latched onto a chair, and took a seat. I still couldn’t take my eyes off her. What was wrong with me?
“You’re still staring,” she said, a hint of amusement in her voice.
“Sorry.” I finally pulled my gaze downward, forcing myself to stare at my sneakers. But then, there were her feet. She was barefoot, and her petite toes were painted a delicate pale, lavender color.
“Are you always this…” she poked her head out around the canvas, raising her eyebrows as she surveyed me, “uncomfortable?”
“I’m not uncomfortable,” I lied, bringing my gaze up to meet her stunning face. I was incredibly uncomfortable. She unnerved me.
“Could have fooled me.” She ducked her head back behind the canvas. I listened quietly to the sound of her paintbrush sweeping against the fabric as she continued her work. I had prepared an entire speech on my drive here, but now I couldn’t remember a single word of it.
“She used to volunteer at my church,” Autumn said, suddenly.
“Who?”
“Hazel. That’s how I know her.”
“Oh.” I opened my mouth to speak again, but it was too dry. I licked my lips, and swallowed hard before gathering up all my courage that had apparently tried to leave my body. “Listen, I’m really sorr…”
“It’s okay,” she said, interrupting me. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”
“I shouldn’t have either.” I was the guilty party here. I didn’t want her thinking she needed to apologize.
“No, I understand where you were coming from. I’m glad that she had someone like you looking after her. There are definitely people out there who try to take advantage of situations like hers...” Her voice trailed off, as if she had wanted to say more.
“Did you know her a long time?” I asked.
“Since I was thirteen. She used to volunteer at my church a lot, and when my parents were gone, or busy, she would look after me.” I smiled, remembering Hazel telling me how much she had wanted a child. “A few years ago, my parents and I moved away and I hadn’t seen her until…”
“Until the funeral,” I finished for her.
“I saw the obituary in the paper, and I had to come. I had to say goodbye.”
“If I had known, I would have called you,” I said, suddenly feeling even worse about how I’d treated her. I hadn’t given her the benefit of the doubt. I always thought the worst of people before getting to know the truth.
She didn’t speak again for a long while, just continued working on her painting, and I was happy to just sit there with her. My mind wandered through a thousand different thoughts. I knew I shouldn’t be sitting here with her, but I couldn’t tear myself away. What was I doing? Was I just clinging to her because she had been close to Hazel and I missed my friend terribly, or was there something more?
“It was you in my room that night; wasn’t it?”
“I’m sorry?” I knew exactly what she’d said, but I pretended I hadn’t heard her. I couldn’t tell her the truth, could I? Something told me she’d know I was lying, but admitting I was hovering over her bed seething with rage wouldn’t go over too smoothly.
She dropped her paintbrush into the cup of water, sloshing it around to clean it off before sitting back against her chair. She was far enough back now that we could see each other clearly. Her eyes searched my face; the shadow of a smile lingering on her small lips.
“Yep, it was you.”
“I…I…” I stammered, surprised by her accusation.
“Calm down, William. You’re acting like I just accused you of murder,” she said, as a small laugh escaped her. If she’d known the truth of her words, she wouldn’t be laughing. I had entertained the idea of killing her that night, but something stopped me.
“I was just making my rounds,” I finally said, regaining my composure.
She gave me a smirk; giving me the feeling she didn’t believe me. I’d always thought I was a good liar, but around Autumn I wasn’t so sure.
“Where did you move to?” I asked my curiosity overflowing.
“New York,” she answered, settling into her chair as she pulled the paintbrush out of her bun, letting her curly locks cascade down her shoulders. I blinked hard to keep from staring. “I hated it there,” she admitted.
“I never liked it there much either,” I confessed.
“It smells like piss and the people are rude,” I blurted out without even thinking. Damn my lack of a verbal filter.
“Oh, you lived there, too?” she giggled.
“Yeah, for a few years but…it just wasn’t for me.” I wasn’t lying, but I wasn’t telling the truth either. It hadn’t been for me because the vampire population in New York was ridiculously high.
“Me neither. I’m more of a Paris kind of girl,” she declared, laughing at herself.
“Have you been?” I loved everything about that city. The sights, the smells, the people, the culture and even the history.
“I wish! I’ve always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.” Her eyes took on a dreamy look, as she fantasized about her dream vacation.
“Why don’t you go? What’s stopping you?”
“Life,” she said flatly, all the dreaminess gone from her voice. At that, she lifted a bag from the ground by her feet and began dropping the little bottles of paint inside. A twinge of panic twisted my heart. Had I said something wrong?
“I’m an excellent tour guide. I could tell you all the best places to visit.”
She regarded me for a long moment, before dropping her brushes into the bag and pouring her cup of multi-colored water into a nearby bush.
“What’s a world traveled guy like you doing in a tiny town like Denton?”
“I just needed a change of scenery.” I sat up straighter, trying to hide how nervous she made me. I felt exposed, like she could see everything I was hiding, like one wrong move and she’d know everything about me.
“Now, that, I can understand. I would have liked to have had better reasons to leave New York, but I’m happy to be away from there all the same.” She sat back down, resting the bag on the ground beside her.
“I’m sure you’ll miss it after a while. Everyone gets homesick eventually.”
“Not me.” She began twisting her hair around her fingers, her knees bouncing up and down. Something told me she was uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was going.
“I’m sure your parents will miss you,” I said, getting the feeling she was running away from something.
She expelled a breath of disbelief. “I doubt they even know I left,” she replied, lifting up her bag and hefting it over her shoulder. Leaning over the table she grabbed her painting, and turned on her heel to leave. After only two steps she stumbled, and without even thinking I flashed to her side, grasping her in my arms.
Her eyes grew twice their size as shock ignited her face, but she didn’t say a word, and she didn’t pull from my grasp. I stood there, holding her body against mine, the rapid pulse of her veins vibrating through my fingers to every inch of my body. A hunger was growing inside me, not to bite her, but…to kiss her. She was so small beside me, so innocent and fragile and I wanted her to be mine.
“Let me carry those for you,” I said, flustered, hoping by changing the subject I could hide the fact that I’d moved to her side faster than humanly possible. I was such an idiot! That was twice now that she’d seen me do things she shouldn’t have seen.
Her head nodded slightly, so I lifted her bag and placed the strap on my shoulder while tucking the painting under my arm. Her lips parted as a breath of relief escaped her. I might have been stronger than any human, but I could easily tell that her bag shouldn’t have been too heavy for her to carry.
“Are you okay?” I was surprised by the concern in my voice.
“Yeah, I think I’m just tired.” She sighed again, and the smell of her fruity lip gloss filled my senses. Her arm was still latched around mine, and her eyes settled on her own fingers that were grasping my forearm. I loved how it felt, how soft and warm her flesh was against mine. Bringing her beautiful eyes back to me, she looked up, squeezing her fingers tighter around me. “Would you walk me back to my room?”
“Of course!” I said, more than eager to spend as many moments with her as I could. We made our way back slowly, and more than once she squeezed tighter onto my arm relying on my strength to aide her walk down the hall. What had made her so tired?
We made small talk along the way, she shared more of her love of art and I told her how Hazel had introduced me to music. I even dared mention how her ringtone had surprised me the first night I saw her. She laughed heartily, saying she’d thought I looked like a deer caught in headlights that night.
“It’s a remix of Vivaldi,” she said, with a yawn.
“I’ve never heard anything like it.”
“Not many people have,” she giggled, leaning against me as her laughter overtook her. I wanted to wrap my arm around her, pulling her even closer toward me but I didn’t. “I’m weird like that.”
“I guess I’m weird too then, ’cause I liked it,” I said with the biggest smile I ever remembered having.
When we made it to her door, we just stood there; staring at it like opening it meant having to jump off a cliff without a parachute.
“Maryann told me you’re leaving soon,” Autumn said, still staring at her door.
I completely forgot I was leaving. I ran my fingers through my hair, and for the first time, I didn’t want to leave. “Yeah, I guess I felt another change of scenery was in order.” I tried to play it cool, but I didn’t feel cool at all.
Autumn pulled away from me, latching onto the door handle and pushing it open. She stepped into the room, signaling me to set her things on the floor by the door. I placed her bag and painting on the floor, a sudden sadness wrenching at my heart. Was this going to be the last time I ever saw her?
I stepped back out into the hallway, sticking my hands awkwardly in my pockets. I fought the urge to look at her, not wanting to reveal the truth. The truth of how badly I wanted her. She had a power over me, and no matter how much I tried to be strong, something inside forced me to lift my gaze.
She was leaning against the door frame, watching me. Dark circles had formed under her striking green eyes, and her coloring had grown pale. Was she sick? Maybe being out in the cold had given her the flu.
“Don’t go,” her voice was a whisper, but I heard the longing in each word. The same longing that I had felt since the moment our eyes first met. She looked at me expectantly; her eyes brightening with emotion, the emerald hue making them glow like jewels catching sunlight.
I did the only thing I could do. The only thing that felt right to me in that very moment. I scooped her into my arms, holding her close to me as if some invisible force were threatening to take her away. She squeezed back, burying her head in my chest and I never wanted to let her go.
~
7
Beauty And The Beast
The weeks that followed were the best of my entire existence. I spent every moment I could with Autumn; watching her paint and talking, always talking. We shared every detail about ourselves, although I knew there was something she was hiding. There was something I was hiding too. I spent many nights lying awake in bed, wondering if I should tell her the truth. I couldn’t, of course, but a tiny voice inside me kept begging me to. It kept telling me that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t scream in horror; that she wouldn’t look at me with disgust and call me a monster.
Ours was the tale of beauty and the beast.
The more I learned about her the more I realized I was now embracing my immortality. Instead of searching to find if my existence held any meaning; I was content with everything as it was. I could spend an eternity watching the way her lips twitched when she was painting; her concentration entirely focused on her work, the way her face lit up when she laughed, and even the smell of her hair that I caught faint wisps of when we would walk together. Her laugh was magical; tinkling in the air like a musical instrument. It was hearty, coming deep from within her soul, flying out of her with no restraint. I wanted to be the one to make her laugh every day. I had lived many lifetimes, but I had never felt lonely until now. Our friendship was only beginning, but I couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. I refused to admit to m
yself that that day would come to pass.
It had been more than three weeks since she had asked me to stay, and she still hadn’t told me why she did. I was too afraid to ask. It didn’t really matter to me why she wanted me here, I was simply happy that she did, which was utterly out of character for me. No, I was a bitter, old vampire who had long ago seen the world for what it was, yet, here I was, absolutely enthralled with this beautiful creature. If history revealed anything of the secrets for the future, then she and I should be enemies.
Light versus dark; good versus evil.
We were anything but.
As the days had gone by, I spent my lunch breaks with Autumn in the atrium. We talked about art, music, life and even love. But today I had a different conversation planned. Today was Valentine’s Day, and I wanted to take her out to dinner. I just hoped she would say yes.
Red and pink streamers, hearts and cupid cut-outs decorated the walls of Shady Willows. As I walked past the reception desk on my way into work, the smell of chocolate filled the air around me and I smiled. In the past, everyone brought in countless baked goods, but until today I had never enjoyed their heavenly scent. I was a new man; a new vampire with a spring in my step that I’d never had before.
“Happy Valentine’s,” I said, merrily, as I stepped into the break room. There were a couple of friendly replies and a few eye rolls. Even Amy, who had once been my annoying shadow, now seemed disgusted with everything I said. It didn’t bother me any; it was actually a tiny bit amusing. Everyone had a million questions when I first revealed that I would be staying, but I deflected them as best I could. Of course, it didn’t take long for people to put the pieces together. We had evolved into the building’s very own soap opera; everyone enjoyed good gossip and apparently Autumn and I were their targets. Someone had even filed a complaint against me for my…relationship with Autumn. We didn’t have quite that status yet, but I could see how they would think so. Kenneth, the manager, called me into his office, giving me a stern warning that I had better keep things professional in the work place, but he also admitted that there wasn’t much he could do because Autumn wasn’t technically a patient of Shady Willows, which still perplexed me. How was it that they were allowing her to stay in Hazel’s room? Every time I broached the subject, Autumn evaded. Not wanting to force her into telling me, I backed off. She would open up to me when she was ready, and when that day came I would be there. I had forever to wait for her, and I’d give her all the time she needed.