01

Eleven o'clock at night, a light mist was falling, and it was very cold. Angel was exhausted and sought to rest.

"What a sleep!" he yawned, covering himself with the blanket.

Every night, Angel gazed at the stars through the window. He had been doing it for a long time and loved admiring them.

Now, with his eyes closed, his breathing was no longer as heavy as before, his muscles were relaxed, and his heart wasn't beating so fast.

Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass woke him up. Angel got up disoriented, looking around and seeing nothing. He thought it could have been a bird, but it was strange for a bird to fly at this time of night. Unable to see in the darkness, he reached out for the bedside lamp.

With the light on, Angel surveyed the illuminated room, searching for the reason behind the broken window glass.

"Turn off that light!" the creature pleaded as Angel tried to open his eyes.

Staring intently, motionless and speechless, Angel was petrified at what he saw inside his room.

"How is this possible?"

"Turn off the light! Whoever you are, just turn off that light, now!"

Without hesitation, Angel complied with the creature's request and unplugged the lamp.

"You... you're a vampire?" Angel asked, trembling with fear on the bed.

"Did you figure that out?" the vampire replied, slumped on the floor of the room.

On one side, Angel remained on the bed, frightened, unable to take his eyes off the vampire. On the other side, the vampire lay beaten on the floor of the room, speaking with difficulty and struggling to breathe. His sharp nose made it difficult for oxygen to pass, and his long black garments merged with the darkness, revealing only his pale skin.

"Blood! I need blood, or I will die!"

"Blood?"

"Do you think I'm speaking Greek?"

"It's just not possible! Blood isn't sold in the supermarkets of my world. Maybe in yours. So go back there!"

"Do you think I didn't want to go back? I didn't want to come to this filthy world, with so much blinding light."

"If you don't like it, you can go back the way you came..."

"I can't go back to my world..."

"Why not?"

"It's a long story. I want to know if you're going to help me survive or not! Come on, get off that bed, bring me a human, someone of your kind. In my situation, I don't mind drinking your bitter blood."

"Get out of here! I'm not a killer or anything like that, I've never killed anyone."

"When you're between life and death, you become the vilest of sinners to quench your thirst."

"Besides being a vampire, you're crazy... I'll see what I can get at the hospital where my mother used to work, I mean, worked."

Angel left the room without going near the fallen vampire by the bed and went straight to the hospital.

"Angel, it's good to see you here," the nurse said.

Angel felt uncomfortable in her presence, but she was a close friend of his mother.

"How are you, Angel?"

"I... I'm moving forward..."

"It must be very difficult for you... take care."

The nurse hugged Angel for the second time and said goodbye with a kiss on the cheek. Angel spotted an empty room without any nurses and entered it, searching for blood bags. He found some in a huge freezer, put them in his blouse pocket, hiding them well, and left the room, crossing the hallway and encountering the security guard.

"Are you lost, kid?"

"No, I'm already leaving! I feel better now."

The security guard stepped aside, making way for the boy to return home.

Upon arriving home, Angel quickly climbed the stairs to his room and threw some blood bags under the bed, then sat down.

"I can't believe it! You did it!"

"Wasn't that what you wanted? Blood?" Angel replied disdainfully.

"You said you never killed anyone. So how did you get all that blood?"

"Don't be stupid, I didn't need to kill anyone. I stole this blood from the hospital."

"I see that I'm turning you into a bad person..."

"Whatever..."

"Is this blood from the same hospital where your deceased mother used to work?"

For a moment, Angel thought the vampire had the power to read his mind.

"What kind of vampire are you?"

"The kind that can read! I saw the photo of you and your mother wearing that ugly blue outfit on the table near the lamp."

Angel looked at the photo on the table, near the lamp, gripping it tightly.

"Why aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid of what, exactly?"

"Of me, perhaps? I've never seen a human confront a vampire like you're doing right now... never."

"Fear? I don't even know what that is..."

"I think I know the reason... But that's not my problem... enough talking, give me the blood already."

Angel walked toward the bedroom door, still holding the photo.

"You could've had the power to read my mind. Who knows, it might have helped me understand myself better, like a psychologist or something. I can't take it anymore... I can't organize the mess inside my mind."

"Even if I had superpowers, I wouldn't help you..."

"Don't say anything else. I know nothing good can come from a vampire who feeds on people, who sucks human blood..."

With those words, Angel left the room without going near the fallen vampire by the bed. He walked toward his solitary journey, carrying the photo of his mother, while the hungry vampire awaited in the shadows, longing for his next sip of blood.