Parallel World

Chapter 16

Vampires and humans are a poor match - that was one of our unwritten rules. It was also the rule that got broken most often. There were no punishments in our world, no judges and no jury. There was no-one hitting a gavel shouting "So, you were in a relationship with a human? That will be five thousand dollars, shame on you!" No-one monitored whether vampires observed the rules. The rules themselves had evolved over hundreds if not thousands of years and were based on experience. They were all aimed at keeping our world hidden from humans and keeping us out of trouble. It was up to the individual whether or not to follow them. The only punishment we had in the vampire world was living with the consequences of one's actions. And that was often harder than any punishment we could have come up with...

One of the best examples of how vampires and humans did not belong together was the story about Reiner and Leida. No-one knew who had written it down and published it, no-one knew when exactly the events had taken place. We only knew that the story was first published in the 1960s and copies spread like a wildfire. I had seldom met a vampire who hadn't read or at least heard about it. The doomed romance of Reiner and Leida was our world's story of Romeo and Juliet.

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Another night had landed over Hamburg. A silhouette was visible on one of the bridges over the Elbe. It belonged to a young girl. She looked at the dimly lit city in the far and reflection of the moon in the dark waters. Although she was standing still, it was evident that she was waiting for someone.

She heard quiet steps in the distance and saw someone approaching the bridge. It was a young man. He was as beautiful as a sculpture and well dressed, however, he left a strange impression. It seemed as if he were carrying a dark secret.

Upon hearing the familiar steps, the girl turned around and smiled. She looked at the man and even the most superficial observer could see that it was the look of a woman in love. The man touched the girl's hands and kissed them. They didn't say a word to each other, they didn't need words to communicate. They held hands and went for a stroll around the city.

The girl's name was Leida and she was 17. She came from a poor family, lost her parents early and grew up with her aunt's family. Although they never said anything, Leida thought they saw her as a burden as they had five children of their own. Because of that Leida tried to be as helpful as she could since early days, did more chores than anyone else and started looking for work as soon as she could. Aged 15, she became a maid. At first she worked for an elderly spinster, later she found a job with a large family.

Leida had just come out of the bakery and was hurrying back to the house. It was a chilly autumn day and she did not want the cakes to go cold. Leida loved her employers. Although they were very wealthy, they were friendly and treated her very well.

Leida did not notice that a passer by had stopped upon seeing her and was observing her. He almost wanted to stop the girl and speak to her but changed his mind. He decided to follow her instead.

Once he found out where she worked, the young man paid a surprise visit. The owners of the house were not too surprised as they had met him before. His name was Reiner and little was known about him. He was 27 years old, wealthy but a very private man who sometimes socialised and attended a few receptions every now and then but never invited anyone to his own house.

Reiner had hoped that Leida would be serving tea and refreshments. His hopes came true. He looked at her, unable to take his eyes off. Reiner was mesmerised by everything: her looks, the way she moved, her joy of life. Leida was not used to such attention, however, it did not make her feel uncomfortable.