Music dark as the blood that once ran through my veins blasts through the buds in my ears. From my spot in the ally across the street I can see her windows perfectly. 11:00 the first lights go out; humans are so predictable. On the second level, the light in a front room comes on, her bedroom. I know the layout of the brownstone like the back of my hand. Many nights I have wandered soundlessly through the rooms of the house. The curtains part slightly, she looks up and down the street. Her eyes stop right on me but she can't see me. I am as dark as the shadows. The curtains fall back into place, the light goes out. I can almost smell her scent from here.
I force myself to wait. 15 minutes, 30 minutes. 45 minutes pass and I can't stand it any longer. I have to smell her. I have to take her blood. Staying in the shadows I make my way across the street and down the short alley where I know I can enter the brownstone. Around the back is a gate to her small yard. It's never locked. It creaks slightly as I open it, just enough to slip through. Below the back steps is a window to the basement. I broke the lock the first time I visited her.
Finally, in the basement, I take out the earbuds. Everything is silent. I take off my overcoat and lay it neatly over the back of a couch. Slowly and silently, I make my way upstairs....
