Chapter 2: Goodbye, For Now

"What do you mean by that Harper?"

"I mean that this man I hit knew about vampires. The thing I drank from the guy at the restaurant made me this way. He did this to me and I didn't know how to undo it or prevent it. But the man I hit simply said 'I hate to throw this on you, I know you're probably freaked out, but if you don't drink human blood by the end the of the day then you'll die!' Obviously I was losing my mind. I mean, of course none of this could possibly be real, right? Out of all the people in Seattle that one man had to walk into the restaurant I go to almost everyday, turn me into a vampire, and then, of the 50 other normal people at that same place, I hit the guy with the vampire story. But I knew if I just got it over with then this whole nightmare would be over so I asked the guy I hit to take me to find human blood. His name is Michael and he's also a vampire. He took me to a different room in my hotel and looked deeply into a woman's eyes and said 'Don't be afraid. We aren't going to hurt you I promise! Just hold still and don't make a sound!' He sounded so calm about all of this, and much nicer than the other guy. He bit into the woman's neck and grabbed my hand. Michael pulled me to the woman and said to drink the blood draining down this lady's neck. I didn't want to, it was wrong, but I couldn't help it. I walked over and tilted my head, my lips meeting with her neck. After a couple drinks I pulled away and thought that I'd wake up and this would all be history, but I was wrong. And now all I could think about was that woman's blood. I felt a sharp pain in my gums, I knew this was the moment. I ran into the bathroom and looked in the mirror at myself. I saw fangs and bloodshot red eyes with the urge to purge."

*DING...DING...DING*

I felt like I was just in a trance. Well, I was. My therapist looked at me, shocked and scared.

"Harper, are you feeling okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, its just that you told me a story about vampires and now I'm just sort of concerned. I get cases like this a lot, hallucinations and mental illnesses. I think we should get you checked into an asylum."

"What are you talking about Emma?

"Well Harper, you told me a very disturbing story about you becoming a vampire. I just can't say I believe you and I think you're ill!"

"I'm not ill!"

"Then prove it to me."

"Alright. You asked for it. But you don't get to retaliate!"

I took a deep breath and thought about the five years I've spent controlling myself. After that I opened my eyes and my mouth, revealing my red eyes and pointed fangs. My therapist, Emma, was scared so I tried soothing her.

"Emma, you don't need to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you, you've been such a friend to me and I hope that relationship still continues. You clearly know from my story that I had no say in the matter whether or not I became this beast, but I choose to be good and control it! Please don't hate me."

"I don't really know what to say to that Harper. Over the past year that I've had you in therapy you seemed perfectly fine and calm throughout it all. I can't help but trust that you are telling me the truth!"

"I wouldn't lie to you!"

"Okay Harper, I believe you, but I do have one question..."

"Alright, shoot!"

"Well, I'm awfully curious about this Michael. Is he still around or did he take off somewhere. It would be lovely if he was still in Seattle. In your story he seemed very nice to be around!"

"Uh- Well, actually...Michael got into a situation with the wrong kind of vampires and they uhm- They killed him!"

"Oh my! I'm so sorry Harper. I can't imagine what that must've been like for you!"

"It's alright Emma, that was a few years ago, I've gotten plenty better since then. And I've decided that I possibly want to start my travels again!"

"Really? I thought you were done with that life. You pretty much wouldn't shut up about settling down with a nice man!"

"Yeah, well I guess I had a change of heart. After Michael's death I couldn't help but think about what would've happened if I had kept traveling instead of staying in Seattle for too long! Plus I made a promise to Michael when died. I told him that when I finish grieving I would travel the world instead of just the country so he could see it with me, watching over my shoulder! I need to honor that promise so he can feel joy even in death."

"That's beautiful Harper. I'm proud of you. I've seen you mature so much over this past year, and I'll be sad when you're gone, but I hope you come back every now and then to visit me!"

"How could I ever forget about you Emma! I'll visit all the time and tell you about my adventures. Maybe even take you on one some day!"

We laughed and said our goodbyes, but we know we'll meet again someday. I hopped in a cab and back to my hotel. There I packed all my things and got on a plane to Tokyo. I'm definitely gonna miss Seattle, but I'll visit again soon!