My neighbour is a vampire

He is old

My neighbour, Pranit, walked closer to me. A devilish smile on his lips. His black cloak flowed with the soft wind of the forest just like the first night I saw him. I struggle to stand back on my feet. The fall from earlier resulted in a twisted ankle.

" You thought I wouldn't notice how you spy on me almost every day? " He said as he took another step towards me. My deep breathing didn't help in calming my heart.

"You thought I gave you sweets and chocolates because I want to befriend you? " I crawl backward without moving my gaze from the predator before me.

" I feed you sweets so that your blood become sweet enough for me to feed on. " He confessed, towering over me. I could see the red moon behind him. It was so red as if it was soaked in blood.

" Now your blood is perfect to my taste. " He licked his lips and crouched down to be on the same level as me.

Our face was just an inch away. My body was freezed in fear. I just closed my eyes and accepted my faith.

I couldn't hear anything besides my racing heart and shaking breath. He moved closer to my neck. Instead of biting on my neck, he spoke into my ears.

" Too lazy to cook breakfast? Now make your breakfast healthy with our new range of oat meals. Strawberry, almond, veggies. You name it, we have it. Fill your tummy every morning with just ₹20.……… "

I opened my eyes and stared at the celling of my living room. My breathing was fast just like in the dream. I was laying on the sofa. Still holding the tv remote. The woman in the advertisement was eating oats like it's the best thing she ever had.

I sat up and turned off the tv. What a weird dream, I thought. Wiping the sweat on my forehead with the back of my hand. I looked at the clock. 5 AM. It was waaaay too early before I wake up. I could go back to sleep but the fear of dreaming the same nightmare again didn't let me. Forget it. I'll surf the internet. Maybe I'll find some clues like last time.

As soon as I started searching I found a news article that caught my eyes.

10 people lost in history, you wish you would've met.

I clicked to read the article and I thank God I did  because on the 4th number I saw a black and white photo of a group of swimmers, wearing shorts, sitting near a pool. Now before you judge me for staring at men in shorts let me tell you what I found. I found a carbon copy of my neighbour in that picture. Yes, pranit!! This was in the year - 1920.

Although the thought did cross my mind that maybe the person in the photo is not pranit but his great grandfather. Or just some dude that looks like him. I really thought that but…. look at his muscles, his abs, that jawline, those eyes, those…. Forget it. The bottom line is that I can't confuse these traits with anyone else. He has to be Pranit.

I read the article for further knowledge. The article was about a man sitting 2nd to the right. He was an Indian soldier who, after his retirement, made a group of young men to spy over the british officers and gather any vital information. This vital information is carefully and secretly sent to the Indian National Congress to help them in taking decisions in the interest of Indians.

If the person in the photo really is my neighbour then he should be more than 127 years old this year. Which means I have found myself another clue.

Now the question is how am I going to find the proof. I can't just show him this image and ask if it's him. He will deny it on the spot. I have to think of a way to find some solid proof.

I was thinking of a way while staring at my neighbour in the photo when I saw a mark on his left thigh. The mark looked like a birthmark. If i have to explain it in words then I say it looked like a waning crescent moon.