Aris Returns

by Devin Morgan

  He spread the cloth then popped a grape into his mouth. He grinned as he plucked another one from the bunch and touched it against Sarah’s lips. She drew it in and smiled as she bit into it, anticipating the sweet flavor of warm juice teasing her tongue. But the taste was bland as if it had been picked too soon.

  He broke off a piece of the golden cheese and fed it to her. It smelled wonderful but again, as she chewed, it tasted like sawdust in her mouth. She sighed and lay down with her head in his lap. He stroked her hair softly. His demeanor was a bit odd, off somehow. Just not quite Carlos but the look in his eye as he bent to kiss her was of pure love. His breath was warm and its fragrance burned into her senses. She tasted the sweet flavor of his lips as the tip of her tongue gently pressed them open. Her hand trembled just slightly as it rested against his cool smooth cheek. She caught her breath as he kissed her throat, nuzzled her ear.

  Without knowing quite how, she found herself lying nude wrapped in his arms. He stroked her soft back then he turned her to rain gentle restrained kisses along her spine. His lips came to rest just below her waist and traced small circles in the shallow hollows on either side of her lower back. As desire awakened in her, she longed to feel his weight on her, to feel the power of his manhood. She rolled to face him.

  He stroked her neck, her bosom. His kisses grew more demanding, more intimate. Gasping for breath and drunk with lust, she yearned for more of him. His skin was smooth as carved marble and her hands traced his perfect muscles as she pressed him into her. He entered her, velvet into silk. They moved together as in a wild dance until her raging passion made her labor for breath. A deep shudder convulsed her and she floated on waves of what seemed endless bliss. He moaned deeply as he found his release then gently wrapped his arms around her, drawing her tight against him. They lay like that for minutes or hours; dreamtime is without watches or clocks.

  When, at last, he moved, he kissed her neck then nuzzled her ear. She smiled as he sat up to open the wine. He poured two glasses and the ruby liquid glistened in the late afternoon sun. It had a strange fragrance for wine. The scent of salt and rust filled her nostrils. As she lifted her glass to drink, she understood why. It wasn’t wine in the glass. It was blood. Without a second thought, she tipped the rim to her lips and drank deeply.

  Sarah was startled awake by a sharp pain on the corner of her lower lip. She had bitten it hard as she slept and the warm taste of her own blood flooded her tongue. She hurried to the bathroom to rinse her mouth and when she spit the water into her white sink, it swirled in red spirals down the drain. She wondered if she should talk to Bonnie about her nighttime adventures then decided against it. They were too intimate and carried too much meaning to share.

  #

  “Carlos was my only appointment for today and he just called. They asked him to work so he won’t be coming in. How about we close up shop?” Sarah stood in the door of her office as she spoke to Maggie.

  “Sounds great to me. Want to go to lunch?” Her assistant turned off her computer. Happily, she began gathering her belongings.

  “Thanks Maggie, I think I’ll stay here and just go over a few case histories. I really need to catch up on a couple of clients before next week. We’re super busy on Tuesday after not working on Labor Day.”

  “It gets that way after any holiday. It’s like people look for any excuse to get stressed out, don’t they?” She turned off her desk lamp. “Glad I’m not like that.” Her smile was smug as she lifted her hand to wave goodbye. “See you on Tuesday boss.”

  Sarah laughed as she crossed the office, locking the door behind her friend.

  The light outside the window was soft and golden. Sarah settled down in the recliner with the Havarro file on her lap. She began to read from the first page. So much and so little had happened. Nothing and everything. Her life was changed. Carlos was intertwined with her and so was his alter-ego. As she read page after page, story after story, she wondered where the tale would end.

  The last few months, she was torn between fear and intrigue. The possibility that there really might be such a thing as vampires terrified her. She methodically ignored the thought because, somehow, Aris had managed to captivate her. She had no fear of him. There was substance and honor in his words. He was more than a man, more than any man she had ever known. And, real or not, when he spoke through Carlos, he spoke with a deep desire for her. Could she be falling in love with him, with someone who was either a figment of Carlos’ vivid imagination who didn’t truly exist or a real being who was the lead in some bizarrely real horror story? She had no answers to any of the questions that plagued her and the questions just wouldn’t go away. The only thing she knew for sure was when she considered never again being in his presence, she felt interminably sad, empty, and alone — somehow more vulnerable than she had ever felt before. Was this what it felt like to slowly lose one’s mind, or was it the first time she truly understood how love and passion defy all logic?

  #

  A sudden gentle breeze broke the intense heat as they approached the front porch of her mother’s house. The smells of bar-b-que coming from the backyard were wonderful. Sarah was sorry Bob and Colleen couldn’t make the traditional Labor Day picnic the Hagan’s hosted every year but she was glad Carlos agreed to still be her guest. The half-way house was no place for anyone to spend a holiday.

  The late afternoon sun reflected off the few white clouds, turning them intensely pink and mauve. She always looked forward to twilight. It was sad and beautiful all at the same time. Standing on the porch, she turned to watch the sunset behind the trees. It was such a bittersweet time of day, that place that was neither light nor dark. She opened the door.

  They heard laughter coming from the back yard. Sarah took Carlos’ hand, leading him through the house, following the good smells.

  “Mom? Gran? We’re here.”

  “In the kitchen honey.”

  She felt Carlos stiffen at the sound of her mother’s voice. “What’s the matter?”

  He stopped, “I don’t know Sarah. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

  She grabbed his elbow with her free hand and pushed him forward. “Come on. It’s free food and my family is looking forward to meeting you.”

  “That isn’t the question. The question is why I am here in the first place?”

  #

  “So how did it go?”

  “What do you mean, go?” Sarah held the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she buttered her toast placing it on a blue and white saucer.

  “You know, your mother and Carlos.”

  “Good grief, Colleen. It’s not like I took a boyfriend home with me. It was Carlos.” Her frustration was plain in her voice.

  “I’m sorry hon. It’s just he’s not the normal guy you would bring home for dinner. Hang on a minute, I have to order.”

  Sarah heard her friend order into a loud speaker at a fast food restaurant, then talk to the window person as she claimed her food.

  “Sorry hon, I just hate to be on the phone and treat the people helping me like they don’t exist.” The sound of bags rustling interfered with their conversation for a moment.

  “There, I parked. Now I can have lunch with you.” More sounds of paper then a question, mumbled over a mouthful of hamburger. “So, how’d it go?”

  Giving up, Sarah answered with a sigh. “It went fine. Just fine.”

  “Yeah? I’m really glad.” Sound of a soda being sucked up a straw was another brief interruption in their conversation. “You’ve really helped him come a long way.”

  “He’s been doing it himself. It isn’t me. I just believe in him. He’s doing all the work.” She carried her plate and coffee mug to her living room, placed them on the end table and sat down. Taking the phone into her hand, she swung her legs onto the sofa, leaning back into the cushions.

  “So, what did your mother think of him?”

  “Honestly, Colleen. Give it up, please.”

  #


  CARLOS HAVARRO, transcript, session 24, September 10

  My aching soul returned to the netherworld. There I floated without form or voice, only thought. It was the same disjointed otherworldly state I occupied so many human years before yet very different. I knew I was unfettered, free to move, to study, to learn.

  Being no more than thought, I imagined the forest and I was there. This was new. This was exquisite. For the first time in my existence, I knew what complete freedom meant. I was unhampered by the bonds of time and space, a consciousness without weight and matter. I was able to travel great distances within split seconds, I could hear without ears, see without eyes. I was a silent witness to the unfolding life that surrounded me.

  I felt time pass only in the changing from dark to light and light to dark. I watched Queens and Kings play a human chess game with the people in their charge. I watched governments change and governing bodies remain the same. All was new, time and again and yet, all remained the same. How can I express this to you who are bound so tightly by the encumbrance of a physical body?

  I left England; I visited distant lands. Understanding all language made knowledge easily accessible to me. I studied humans as a species. I learned things all men share regardless of where they live or how they live or what they worship. Yes, Sarah, there are many common denominators in all people. The same emotions are felt by all. There are needs that are universal. I found as I traveled that there are more similarities than there are differences in the human race. And I found ignorance in every culture; ignorance and intolerance. Sadly, those have not changed through the centuries.

  I found all men have courage and determination. All beings have a need for companionship. These things remain true regardless of time or place. And I found that I too have need of companionship, I too have need of love.

  The past brings us to this moment. I am here with you because I willed it. For centuries I lived isolated from all creation and I thrived. I studied. I traveled. I was free. And even though I found some sort of other worldly peace, I began to crave communication, real discourse. I craved relating to a human, speaking with a human voice to answer human questions. I craved touch. I felt neither the thirst nor the hunger as I was without a vampire body to nourish. It was a yearning deeper than either of those two. A desire for companionship that was greater even than the desire to possess a human body, a longing connected to the essence of every being, animal, man or vampire.

  I searched all the great documents to find answers to questions of the soul. Does it end? Where does it go? Was there an end to my Elizabeth or did her spirit somehow continue. Through my search, I came to believe there is no end. The substance of a person is captured time and again in one embodiment after another. One life after another. One century after another.

  So I sought my beloved. Time and again I thought I found my Elizabeth. Then I would discern that I was mistaken. My search was never ending. At long last, I found you. For months I hovered near you, bodiless, without a voice to speak. I determined to find a way to communicate, to declare myself. My essence cannot invade a living human though in my resolution I tried and failed many times. So, I waited, praying to find a way to make myself known.

  Your work with the human mind, the conscious and the subconscious, intrigued me. I believed it could be an avenue to express my presence. I tried innumerable times to reach you through your hypnotic patients but I was unable to find a way to control their thoughts. Then came Carlos. His conscious mind slept so deeply, his subconscious so confused by his past use of opiates, it was with ease I utilized his voice for my words. I was able to introduce you to my world.

  In the beginning, I was tormented that you would fear me and I know you did. But, after a time, as you began to understand me, I could feel you reach out to me, to anticipate our time together. I no longer felt adrift and without companionship. Alone and without hope. I had you.

  And it is through you Sarah, that my need is fulfilled. You see, my beloved, you are my Elizabeth reborn. Alive here and now. You are my companion, my chosen companion for all eternity. And with that thought as the last of our meeting, I leave you. Farewell, Sarah.”

  #

  “I said I don’t feel like discussing the session. I just don’t see any reason to hash over the vamp’s story again. Besides, what’s the crap about you being some dead broad from the sixteenth century?”

  “I don’t know what he meant about Elizabeth, but it appears the story has ended, Carlos. We are now here in present time. Where else can it go?”

  “I don’t want to think about it.” He stood. “I’m finished for the day.”

  “We may be finished with Aris but we have a lot more to learn about you.” She moved to his side. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the elevator.

  CHAPTER 36

  The evening breeze coming from the open patio door was still warm but it carried the fragrance of autumn. Sarah curled in the corner of her sofa comfortable in her pajamas. The sun was setting earlier each day and stars were already visible in the twilight sky.

  Her unread book lay by her side as she stared at the surrounding buildings. Her mind was full of the same questions and some very powerful new ones. What if Aris never returned to a session? Whatever could he mean, she was “his Elizabeth?” What would happen to her relationship with Carlos?

  She had no answers to the puzzles. Standing, she crossed the room to step onto the patio. Leaning on the rail, she searched out the brightest star. Smiling, she repeated the old poem, “Star bright, star light.” Still, she wasn’t sure just what it was she should wish.

  #

  Bonnie took her friend by the arm and led her off the sidewalk into the vestibule of a bistro that wasn’t standing room only. “Let’s have lunch, okay?”

  “Sounds good to me.” Sarah was tired and not just a little bit hungry. The smells of the restaurant made her stomach growl. She was glad they didn’t have to wait for a table.

  The two women listened respectfully to the specials then turned to the menus. They chose their lunches, ordered, then settled back to chat.

  “Colleen is acting a little remote lately. Have you noticed anything strange about her?” Bonnie questioned, sipping her wine as she waited for her friend to answer.

  “I can’t say I have. What do you mean, Bon?”

  “I don’t know exactly. She just seems different. I know she’s happy with Bob but there seems to be something on her mind that she doesn’t want to talk about.”

  The waiter placed their lunches on the table then filled their water glasses.

  “But maybe I’m just imagining things. Everybody is so busy lately, it’s hard to find time to really sit down and talk. Maybe that’s what I’m feeling, just no quality time with her.”

  “I know. This is the first opportunity we’ve had to get together and she couldn’t make it. I’m sorry she isn’t here now. It’s been so long since we’ve had any girl time.”

  “So, let’s not waste this.” She took a bite of her pasta, chewed, then spoke. “So, anything happening in your love life?”

  “Not a thing,” Sarah shook her head. “Not a damned thing.”

  “Except in my dreams,” she thought.

  #

  CARLOS HAVARRO, session 25, October 1

  #

  “Wonder why the vamp didn’t show today. This is the first time since he came on the scene that he didn’t show.”

  “I honestly don’t know, Carlos. I can’t figure it out.”

  “Maybe the story is finished.”

  “Yes, maybe the story is over.” She sat silently, staring out the window.

  #

  CARLOS HAVARRO, session 26, October 8

  #

  “No more vamp, huh?”

  “It appears that’s the case, Carlos.”

  “Okay, let’s go get some coffee. I think we’re finished here.” He stood and moved toward his jacket draped on the chair by the door.

  “Don’t you want to have a session any
way, Aris or not?”

  “Sarah, the vamp has nothing to do with me. He never did. It was just some sort of crazy story from somewhere in my subconscious mind. That’s what you said, right? I’m calmer now. I have you in my life and that is the best thing that’s happened to me so far. I have a job. I’m off drugs and booze. It seems my life is on track for the first time and I don’t see any reason to keep doing this client/therapist thing any longer.

  “You said as long as I was your client, we couldn’t go any further in our personal life. Well, I am telling you I am no longer your client. I am now just Carlos Havarro, your friend and admirer. So, what do you say, want to go for some coffee?”

  Sarah decided not to argue with him. She sighed, “Alright, let’s go.” She would let him win the battle but the war was far from over. She felt she might never meet with Aris again but she knew that Carlos still had the need for the regularity of his sessions with her. She was determined not to let him struggle with his new life without the help of therapy. She put thoughts of Aris from her mind, ignoring the empty feeling she had in her chest as she locked the door behind her.

  #

  The drive back to the city was uneventful. Sunday evening was a quiet time for traffic. Sarah was happy and content. She had a wonderful day with her family and looked forward to the party Colleen and her husband were having later in the evening. She finally noticed the changes to her friend Bonnie mentioned at lunch. From the way her best friend had been looking and acting, Sarah thought there might be a happy announcement this evening. She hoped it was so.

  As she drove, her mind drifted to the story of Anne Boleyn and King Henry. Sarah had never been interested in history except in relationship to her work involving past life regressions, but now, it all had a new meaning. She wondered about Aris. What had he looked like? Was he tall? Was he handsome? To be chosen by Alexander, he must have been beautiful. And why was her mind full of him even after his disappearance? It seemed she thought of him most of the time. Her other clients had become only cases to fill the spaces between her conversations with him. Now, he was no more. There were times when she wasn’t able to differentiate between he and Carlos, when she melded them into one being, one person, one human.