The Day I Died

"Forget?" Nova asks nervously.

Kalen nods. "One of the amazing abilities of vampires."

It was clear that he meant it sarcastically, and Nova knew.

But before she could answer, she hears the old door of the house open. The creaking sound of the old hinges was hard not to hear. Heels echo down the dark hallway, and after a while Nova notices Faye fixing her messy bun.

"I didn't expect to spend tonight burying a high school teacher. I guess we're even with the cleaning now."

With a calm expression on her face, Faye heads over to a wooden cabinet, kneels down, and pulls out a dusty bottle of red wine. Judging by the dirt and dust lying on the bottle, it was clear that it had been sitting there for several years.

With a tired expression, she opens the bottle and pours the wine into a decorative glass that sits on a metal tray.

She takes a few sips and looks at Kalen and Nova, who stare into the fireplace without a single word.

"No one told me that hunters moved into town again. I guess we didn't have enough problems." Faye says angrily.

However, no one gives her an answer. Faye sits on the back of the armchair next to Kalen and looks at him.

"I haven't seen you in action like this in a long time, you're starting to act like me." Faye laughs, nudging him gently on the shoulder.

Kalen gets up angrily and looks at Faye. "Is this what you wanted from me all this time? To show off to you? If you're only here because you're not happy with the way I'm living, then you can just leave!"

But Faye doesn't give him any reaction, she still has a smile on her face and calmly sips her wine. It was certain that this wasn't the first time Kalen had raised his voice at her.

Nova just looks at both of them and prefers not to get involved in anything. Kalen pushes her out of the way and goes upstairs with a guilty face.

"Don't blame him. Kalen has quite the temperament when it comes to his life. After all these years, he hasn't come to terms with what he's become." Faye says, her smile fading.

Nova looks at her in surprise. At that moment, something occurred to her. "How old are you?"

Faye drinks from her glass and shakes her head in amusement and sighs. "151 years. As far as I'm concerned."

Nova's eyes widen and she scans Faye from head to toe.

She looks so young, she would guess that Faye could be a few years older than her. She knows that vampires live longer than normal humans, but hearing it from one of them is a completely different experience.

It's still hard for her to believe all of this, but she can't keep lying to herself.

"Kalen is 5 years younger than me. Even when we were people, he and I were very close. I remember the day they turned me like it was yesterday. I remember how my father tied me to my bed and left me to rot in my room for several weeks when he learned that his beloved daughter had turned into a bloodthirsty monster. One day they love you, one day they hurt you. It's almost ironic huh."

Faye's tone of voice is calm and casual, but it's clear that such memories cause her great pain.

Vampires differ from humans not only in their lifestyle and food but also in their emotions. Most vampires are separated from their human counterparts. They will completely hide it deep in them and accept their new selves, which will bury the emotions that would stop them from living a normal life as a vampire.

"That's horrible," Nova replies, looking at Faye.

"It was my choice to transform, no one else's. Just my blatant selfishness. At that time I was terrified of death, the unknown scared me and when I found out, that there is another way, I didn't think about anything. I left everything I knew behind, including Kalen."

"You said Kalen still hasn't come to terms with what he's become. What did you mean by that?" Nova asks.

Faye finishes the last drops of red wine in her glass and looks at Nova, who has her hands in her lap and is listening intently.

"What I will tell you is that our town was never safe back then, at least not for families who had property and money. Which included both Kalen and me. His father disagreed with the local council and the mayor and it didn't end up well. You should ask him about the rest though, it's not a very pleasant subject."

Faye gets up, puts the glass back on the metal tray, and slowly makes her way to the large arch that connects the hallway to the living room they're currently in.

"The first room on the left. Take it, it should still be clean," she says and walks upstairs.

Nova didn't think she would sympathize with what Faye told her, but it was impossible for her not to feel bad about all the information. She was sure she definitely didn't know everything just yet.

She kept looking into Faye's eyes and despite Faye being a vampire she could see a small glimmer of emotion in her gaze each time she mentioned her past.

Nova slowly gets up from her chair and heads upstairs to the room Faye mentioned. She slowly walks up the stairs. Every step makes a sound, she knew the stairs were old.

She turns the corner and looks down a long hallway. There are exactly 5 rooms. Faye is in one of them, the second room definitely belongs to Kalen, and the first room on the left should be hers for tonight.

Her fingertips touch the cold handle, and Nova finally opens the door.

She thought that the room would be in bad condition, dirty with one bed in the middle, but she was wrong.

There are two lamps in the corner of the room that illuminate the room. A dark red carpet is laid on the ground and the wooden walls are still in good condition. She noticed several old shelves, cupboards, a wardrobe, a bookshelf, and curtains covering the windows on the wall.

A smaller wooden table that had multiple papers and books on it with one chair to her right and a large bed that has white sheets on it.

She looks around in amazement and walks slowly into the room, heading straight for the bed that surprised her the most. She gently lays down on the bed and stares at the wooden ceiling.

What is she actually doing here, she asks herself. She should be home, safe, not here. She takes a moment to think about everything that has happened around her in the last few days.

With all the thinking Nova soon closes her eyes and falls asleep. However, several images and visions fill her mind in seconds. She has no idea if she's dreaming or not. Everything felt so alive and real to her.

She hears voices screaming, calling for help. She felt as if someone was touching her and pulling her somewhere but she didn't know where. In her head, she sees the outlines of unknown people standing around her, pointing at her and calling. All night, Nova tosses from side to side, sweaty and confused.

However, she is woken up by a knock on the wooden door. Nova flinches and gasps. She was sure she was back home and someone was knocking on her door again, but when she opens her eyes, she notices a much larger room than hers. Everything was still a little dark as the curtains blocked most of the sunlight.

She slowly calms down and gets out of bed. She heads to the door and opens it.

Across from her, she notices Faye leaning against the side wall.

"Bad night?" she asks.

Nova nods. "Sorry, I've been having trouble sleeping lately."

Faye looks at her as if she suspects something and walks boldly into the room.

"Ah, I knew that this room would still be clean. It brings back memories!" she says, spreading her arms.

Faye begins to look around the room, rummaging through the things on the smaller table while Nova notices an old framed photo sitting on one of the wooden wardrobes. It's full of dust.

She carefully picks it up.

The photograph shows a boy with short black hair wearing tall dark brown trousers, and a loose cotton white shirt with brown buttons on it. Beside him stands a beautiful tall girl with long blonde hair that reaches her elbows.

She is wearing an elegant old dark green dress. A V-shaped corset with sleeves that were fitted but wider from the elbows to the wrists. The skirt had several layers and had beautiful floral patterns on it. The girl had a decorative bow on her head, which matched the bow on her shirt that covered part of her corset.

There was another girl in the photo, she was much younger than the two, about 10 years old. Her dark hair was tied in a bun and she was wearing the same clothes as the other girl, only in a beautiful pink color.

Nova is amazed. She looks at their innocent smiles and old-fashioned clothes when she notices Faye standing behind her, also taken in by the old photo.

Nova turns and hands Faye the framed photo.

A slight smile appears on Faye's face. "The year 1860. The year I died," she whispers, running her fingers over the photo.