(Note to the reader: the lines indicate change of first-person view)
Part 5
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“Inmate or Patient, what am I? I need out of here!” I yelled as loud as I can, hoping in vain.
“Hey, you in there. Shutup unless you want to be medicated again.” A nearby person said.
“Who are you? Guard?” I asked, knowing that if he were one, I’d already be dragged out, doped up, and sent to another room.
“I’m in the next cell, bub. So, you’ve seen vampires, huh?” He taunted me.
“Yeah, he killed my sister, and I will stake him if I ever see him again.” I replied resolvingly.
“So, you think stakes kill them? How much do you know about them?” He asked, testing my knowledge.
“I really don’t know much… except what I’ve seen in movies and stuff… and how my sister died drained of blood, that’s all I need to know.” I wondered how I would escape from these confines, and track this murderous fiend.
“Well, then, I should tell you… I am a vampire. I have been for over 300 years, and when I was caught feeding off of a cop, they stuck me here for the criminally insane. They imprisoned me as a mere mortal, and I will avenge myself upon your puny and feeble race.” With that, he laughed hysterically. “By the way, I am a pathological liar.” I had so readily believed him, and now I felt like a gullible child.
“Very funny. Don’t believe me. But when they seduce you and go for an extra-long hickey, don’t come bleeding to me. I warned you.” As I went back to lie down in the opposing corner, wishing for a blanket, I tried to calculate how long I have been in here. I had to assume that I was being kept on a 24-hour schedule, and received 2 meals a day. I was brought in on a Saturday night, but I had been transferred a few times since then. I have no idea how long I have been here. Or how much longer that they will make me stay.
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Time has passed. Yet I still remember Maggie. Trina hasn’t forgotten about her, either. Whenever we pass each other, she won’t look toward me at all. As much as she had tried to avoid me, we still saw each other when Maggie was being earthed. Eager for help and comfort, I instigated the conversation.
“Good day, Trina.” I opened, offering my hand. She immediately turned her back to me.
“Go away.” As she turned, I saw her holding a dozen yellow roses. She went up to the casket, and placed the roses on the ground, where the stone would be. She leaned over, gently kissing her friend one last time, and backed away. “You’ve done enough damage. Be lucky I haven’t reported you.”
“Thank you for that much.” I replied, placing my white rose on top of the casket, holding back my tears for her. I realized that she probably wouldn’t have reported me in anyways, since nobody would believe it.
That was enough for her to look directly at me. “This better not ever happen again.” A tear rolled down her cheek, and she looked a little vulnerable for the first time ever.
“Where are your two men at?” I asked, hoping to change the subject. She took a few steps back, and looked around, as if searching for them. As she quickly glanced, I had taken a glimpse at her. Trina was quite beautiful, even conservatively dressed in black, with her left eye’s mascara smeared from her escaped tear.
As she looked down, she politely chuckled. “They both ran off… with each other. Go figure.” I walked up next to her, offering to console her newest loss within my arms. She let me hug her, and released her grief whole-heartedly. “I don’t like being alone. It truly scares me.” She confided.
“Me, too. Let us help each other. I need a tutor, Trina. Would you be my sires?” I asked, hoping to help her.
She looked at me startled, but she didn’t let go of me. “Sure. I would like that.” She finally let go, and we sat by each other as the funeral service began. “Why only the one white rose?”
“Why 12 yellow roses, Trina? It felt appropriate.” With that, Trina put her arm around me, and we sat there in silence, respecting the passage of a life.
Rest in peace, Maggie.