Ten years of being alone taught him to find entertainment in solely his thoughts and the nature surrounding him. He liked to dwell in his countless thoughts whenever he got tired of reading the same books over and over again. He must've been an avid reader. That family of his, waiting on the outside of this cage, sent him new books periodically along with one sentence notes, mostly asking for his well-being, and telling him about the things he liked about the particular novel that came with it. The last time they came, along with his small supply of blood, was almost a year ago. His thoughts were to run empty, had Piya not come to fill them. She was all he could think about right now.
Twirling the stem of a fallen leaf between his fingers, the pit in his heart began to gather depth. For the crime he committed, he couldn't understand why his memory was wiped with it. What did memory have to do with punishment? A vampire didn't drink human blood out of grievance or retribution, only out of instinct. Memories could be wiped, but instinct could not. It didn't make sense. There was still a piece he was missing in this puzzle.
Why does my heart fill with pain when seeing you? What is our story?
He tried to dig into the recesses of his mind for any sort of memory of her. But it was locked away by some artificial barriers. Forcing his way in hurt his head. A lost cause. Crickets chirped their songs and the creatures of the night began to lurk nearby. One owl perched itself on the branch above him and hooted. He remained unbothered by them, instead bothered by her mystery.
A stormy wind blew past his face. The owl flew off, and he was left alone again.
Your time with her wears thin.....
He opened his eyes, and looked around. The path from her grave, and to his cabin, began to dot itself with one or two freshly bloomed spider lilies. A premonition.
"Who said that?"
When the time comes, what choice will you make?
This voice didn't sound normal, or from around here. But he felt compelled to listen to it. He stood up, and began to search the area. As the first letter stated, no human could enter this area. It was blocked off and hidden from them, and no supernatural beings would be allowed to visit him. The sentence was not yet complete, to his knowledge. This voice echoed in his mind, belonging to something he couldn't see. What did it mean, a choice?
He waited a minute or so more, but nothing else was said. It was almost dawn, and with that came the natural exhaustion a vampire faced in the sun. At least he wouldn't burn to a crisp. Piya wouldn't like that. He departed for the cabin in a hurry, only waiting for the next evening at which she would return.
Abhay felt a burning sensation on the back of his neck and down his spine, at first thinking it belonged to the wrath of the sun. But his daylight ring remained intact. Upon returning to the cabin, he undressed his top in the bathroom and stared at his skin through the mirror. Some marks were there, on his upper back, following the curves of his spine. A column of three moons in different phases. One full, one half, and one new.
Moons? These weren't there before.
He only had the tattoo of the bat on his right shoulder blade. When did he get these other ones?
What could they mean?
The calendar on his wall also listed the phases of the moon. Taking a closer look, he realized that the next full moon was in two weeks from now. Perhaps something was to happen then, but what. He then searched his bookshelf for something that could have some information. But just like his patience, there wasn't much to show for it.
There wasn't much he could do with so little information. For now, he pushed it to the back of his mind, and as the sun began to set, went for his daily hunt. Sloppy drinking as usual. None of these animals could hold still, even with his strength.
Another shower, and more blood went down the drain. Boredom also had the unfortunate side effect of driving bloodthirst. And Piya wasn't there yet. He even left the door open for her, as she felt uncomfortable phasing through the walls uninvited. He exited the bathroom with a towel draped around his shoulders and tied around his waist, only to find a mug floating in the air. It immediately settled on the table, then the chair started to move, facing away from him. She was here, and she was getting flustered out of her boredom. Abhay knew this would happen. For once, he managed to break out in a chuckle. Once he put on some clothes, she left the objects alone and returned to her usual form. Her eyes gleamed with a twinkle.
"Are you alright?" He asked. "Sorry, I must've startled you."
Out of habit, he waited for a verbal reply. He wondered what her voice sounded like. All he wanted was to hear another voice in the room. She nodded, and joined him on the sofa. He lit the fireplace ablaze, and sat quietly, eyes closed. Her chill snuck up on him. She lay her head in his lap, keeping his hand pressed tight between hers. He watched over her. His dead heart ached, but also swelled with some sort of joy whenever she came to visit him. She was beautiful. Long, raven tresses, eyes as dark as the night, and a smile that could brighten the life of another. Call it love at first sight. If only she weren't a walking spirit.
Still, we are connected.
His thirst was yet to be abated. All he could hunt today were smaller animals. He held and tore open a blood bag with his fangs, drinking it straight from the bag with incredible neatness. Not a stain on his face. This stuff couldn't go to waste; he got so little of it. He looked towards Piya for a second, then turned away from her sight. He shouldn't have to care about showing his true nature before her, but it still felt wrong. The ache returned, but the blood tasted so good.
He swiped a thumb across his lips and licked it clean, then turned to face her. She had her knees to her chest, sitting on the floor, eyes gazing into the fire, and hair draped around her shoulders in soft waves. He joined her on the floor, sitting side by side. She peeked up at him, and smiled again.
He felt his lips curl up, same as her. The twinkle in her eyes, like stars in a night sky, rejuvenated him. She, too, looked much happier.
"It's boring here, isn't it?" He said. She shook her head. Pointing straight to her heart, she then pointed to his. Then, very sweetly, made a heart with her hands. She wanted to tell him that she found much enjoyment in spending time with him, be it even in complete silence. Hopefully he understood her gesture.
"Did we....share something?" He asked, voice hesitant. "Here?" He pointed at his heart. She didn't like this question, and went back to ignoring him.
"Okay, I'm sorry." He held his ears, which she found cute. Her hair moved back from her shoulders with her giggles, exposing the ugly wound. He stared at it woefully, feeling another strange emotion in his heart. She stopped giggling, wondering what was wrong.
"Who did this to you?" He asked, unable to tear his eyes away from it. She stared into his eyes briefly, and shook her head. She was hiding something, he could tell. "Was it someone like me?"
If it was, he wondered if that vampire was also punished like him. To hurt such a sweet girl, one that he may have loved before his own imprisonment, was unacceptable. Even his own actions were unacceptable. If only that human would meet him so that he could apologize. Of course, an apology wouldn't be enough. It was a crime too great for an apology.
Piya gathered her hair to cover the wound again and hid herself from his sight by possessing one of the books on his bookshelf. That said book floated around in the air in fell swoops like a bird, before he reached up to catch it. Vampires were still faster than many other creatures. Ghosts were no exception. Abhay sighed. She wouldn't come out of it.
"Please come out. I won't ask again."
It took a minute for her to agree. She popped out from the object and landed gracefully on the floor, running back to the warmth of the fireplace. Abhay was about to place the book back on the shelf, until he noticed a tear in the inside cover. Something was poking out from the seam. A thick paper that seemed to be a photo. Away from her eyes, he undid the entire seam, and pulled out the photo.
It was Piya, when she was alive, dated around eleven years back. He was there too, standing behind her with an arm around her waist. They way they looked at each other indicated nothing more than a deeper affection. On the back, a small heart and an "I love you, Abhay" was written.
Chapter 2 - Three Moons
Start from the beginning
