If you are Christian, then reincarnation is not something you hear everyday or believe in. After everything that had happened in past few months, I still don't think I have processed everything properly. Some religions, to name a few, that believe in reincarnation are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. And while it is not bluntly said in the Bible, Jesus was a reincarnation of God in the flesh.
When people told me that I was an old soul, I took it as if I were more mature than others my age, but now I know that it's because I am an old soul. It is confounding and daunting- am I two people or am I still one whole? What life am I suppose to lead? Why did it happen? Am I a supernatural being or am I still human?
Even before I met him again in this life, I had little glimpses of visions of what I now know are memories. Painful, beautiful, pivotal memories. It was like if I have been under amnesia all my life and I just remembered it all and I can't decide whether or not I was better off not knowing or knowing everything. Everything.
The beginning of everything, of these revelations leading to the big one, started when I walked into the Carmilla Hotel.
Dallas finally caught onto the spring weather, right on time for the Spring Festival for our church. It was an event for the kids, an event I have always helped organized because I was part of the children's ministry. My parents, both pastors of a location of the Fellowship of the Sun, were trying to drill in the idea that ministry was my calling. Sure, the kids are fun and I am looking forward to motherhood when I'm older, but I have always responded with, "I'll pray on it and hope to Jesus." And up until now, I don't think Jesus wants me to become a pastor.
The sun was setting and I knew what that meant. Vampires were awakening. I personally have met only two vampires; a talented artist who had a gallery show at the Dallas Museum of Art, and another who lives five blocks from my street. Growing up with the Fellowship, I think that instead of instilling hate in me towards vampire, they instilled fear. A fear that I am trying to overcome because due to what I want in life, I'm going places where vampires are quite common.
Before stepping out of my car, I breathed in and remembered that they won't hurt me because they have to reason to.
"I'm just as likely to get assaulted by a human as a vampire." I repeated aloud in my car before turning off the engine, grabbing my bag, and exiting the car.
My parents have no idea of where I am, I even turned my off completely so they wouldn't see, but even with that, I felt like they were watching me enter the elegant building.
The gasp of my mother, my father's mumbling prayer in tongues, my heart pounding.
I tried to calm my rapid heart beat for fear of it being too loud in a hotel of vampires.
The receptionist to me seemed human enough and I didn't want to think whether or not she was a vampire. By looking around, spying on the dark atmosphere, I felt like I looked out of place. My light pink sundress and denim jacket was not something you would see among sultry women here.
"Welcome to the Carmilla Hotel. Do you have a reservation?" The receptionist asked me with a flashing smile.
"No m'am, I'm here to see someone. She's a guest here with her family, her name is Zoe Dawson." I managed to say calmly.
As she typed in the information, I looked around the lobby of the hotel. I noticed the material of the floors, the chandeliers, the bar, the elevators, and the modern stairs. The staircase was being descended by a group of three men and a woman, all well dressed except the one that looked like your typical conservative ranch land owner miles outside the city. There was one that looked younger than all of them, yet he walked in front of them like a leader would. He had such a beautiful yet melancholy face, like a Greek god marble statue in the flesh. And then he looked at me and in that moment it felt like a thousand things happened at once.
First things first, my heart dropped. Not a drop of dread but a drop of a connection. In that small second in which his eyes met mine, I saw and felt him closer.
In fact he was but he didn't look the way I just saw him. Instead, his hair was longer, he had a faint smile, and we were in a completely different place where everything was brighter, the music was lively. The murmurs of the people around us were of a language I have never heard in my life, and in his eyes, I could see my reflection- my hair was down and I wore what appeared to be a coronet of gold leaves. His cold hands held mine and he lightly kissed them, and I felt myself melt in it. As his lips left my hands, the music faded, the lights dimmed, and the only eyes looking at me were that of the receptionist.
"The Dawsons are checked in, I'll call Miss Zoe to inform her you are here. Can I take your name?" The lady got back to me.
Brushing it aside and remembering why I came here, I answered, "Delaney Sawyer."
I looked back to where he was, and he was gone. Gone about his business just I should be doing.
"Miss Dawson said you can head up to her suite. It is floor ten, room 110B." She said as she smiled one last time.
"Thank you." I said politely as I walked towards the elevators, which worked differently than most elevators I have used. Each elevator had a touch screen square with numbers on them with a direction that signalized where they were going. Each time I turned around, the numbers changed and I began to think that I should take the stairs. But it was ten floors up and the hotel is massive.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you but could you help me? This is my first time here and I'm trying to get to the tenth floor." I asked an employee that was near.
"Sure, no worries." He walked over to me and began to how the elevators worked and that I had to choose the floor number on the touch screen on which ever was available. Not so complicated but the display was alarming to me. I couldn't help but daze off about what happened a few minutes ago.
"Thank you so much." I told him.
"No problem. I am obligated to inform you of tonight's special at the bar, all beverages are fifty percent off and the first drink is free for first time guest." He told me as the elevator light's blinked.
"Oh I'm underage, and I'm just visiting a friend." I told him as I blushed a little.
"All drinks, that including non-alcoholic drinks. Water is always free." He said as the door opened and he said goodbye. Before he could leave I caught a glimpse of his name tag, Barry.
Alone in the elevator, I breathed out as I felt myself going up, and it a couple seconds, the doors opened again to the tenth floor. Wanting to leave, I rushed out and began looking for Zoe's room number and as soon as I found it, I knocked on the door.
When the door opened, I saw my brunette friend in her comfortable pajamas, with her hair in a scrunchie, carrying her Anthropologie mug with a Z engraved on it. I could also hear Sabrina The Teenage Witch playing because I recognized Salem's voice and crying.
"Delaney! Wow, you definitely have balls of steel coming here all by yourself." She greeted me as she let me walk into her suite. It was a very nice room with a very nice bed and a nice size flat screen.
"Tell me again why your parents resorted here?" I asked as I sat down and relaxed.
"Again, every other hotel was booked except this one. And it's actually not that expensive. The cable and on demand TV makes it bearable, and the food. We are leaving in two days because that's when we can move into our house." She told me as she paused the show to grab what I came here for.
Zoe reached into her suitcase in which she pulled out an envelope addressed to me, handwritten. She gave it to me and we opened it together.
As soon as I read the congratulations, I screamed. I continued reading and I felt pure joy- I had been accepted to spend the five weeks in Italy at a university studying art, history, and architecture. It was an honors program from New York University abroad and I have been accepted and given financial aid.
"Congrats Delaney! I'm so happy for you, now I don't want to ruin it for you, but how are you going to tell your parents?" Zoe asked.
"I'll tell them somehow, nothing can ruin this Zoe, I'm going to Italy!" I proclaimed in joy and we both celebrated by popping some quick apple cider. I knew I had to leave by 7:30, so when 7:25 came around, I told her I had to go.
It felt like it was much faster getting out than getting in as I left as fast and as calmly as I could. I thanked the receptionist and went straight to my car, stuffing my letter in my bag. I turned on the radio and turned my phone back on to see that I had a few messages from my mom and Adam.
Adam is coming to dinner at 7, please go to Costco and buy spinach and feta cheese. That was sent almost an hour ago, followed by others. Where are you? What is taking so long? Are you okay?
Adam on the other hand blew up my found and called five times and texted frantically. I called my mom first, to relieve her from worrying.
"Hey mom-" Then my blessed birth giver cut me off.
"Where were you? Why weren't you answering your phone?"
"I was dropping off something for Pastor Ashley and I had to go run an errand for school too. My phone died and I had to go charge it inside a Starbucks to let you know. I'm sorry if I worried you." I lied a bit. The part about Ashley was true, but the latter was partly a lie.
"Are you on your way home?" She asked a bit more calmly.
"Yes, I'm about to enter the freeway." I lied again since I was sitting in my car without movie, still outside the hotel.
"We'll talk later. Drive safely. Adam is still here, we already ate dinner."
"Okay, no worries. See you in a bit." I said as I hung up.
As I drove home, I thought about the vision I had in the lobby. Moments like that scare me and I feel helpless because I can't go do anything about it. If I go for a reading or call a psychic, I feel guilty and blasphemous and I can't help it. In moments like these, all I can do is google it but that barely gives me any satisfying answers.
But that look, gave me an instantaneous feeling I have never felt and it was something I wanted to feel again. That man was probably a vampire, but what happened meant something, and hopefully, I'm not going insane.