How a Vampire Fall in Love - A Sequel to Remember Me

Dear Diary

February 14th, XXXX.

Today is my birthday. After celebrating too many birthdays, I lost count of which one it was or how old I was turning.

I have been walking this Earth for much too long, witnessing and overhearing things that were forbidden. Being a vampire with heightened senses, I gradually learned selective hearing for my own sake. You do not want to know what goes on in these neighborhoods at night. Even the thought of them made me nauseous.

I am sitting alone in a coffee shop down State street. The weather forecaster predicted some snow today, but it doesn't look like there will be any. It's Valentine's Day, a meaningless holiday since I do not celebrate. I do not know what love is or experienced it before. "Love" is just another word in the dictionary to me. But to humans, it's a word full of affection that they often use to express feelings for each other.

"Sir, it's almost closing time," the voice of the barista interrupted his train of thought. J looked around to find out he was the only one left.

"I apologize. I did not realize it was already this late." Time indeed seems to stop when one is immortal. The only way he could tell the date was from the human calendar.

"It's alright, sir, have a good night." The barista is already accustomed to this customer's behaviors and is no longer bothered by them. The man would come here at least once a week. And routinely take a seat at that exact spot, facing the streets, until closing. The reason why the barista had such a big impression of him is because of his appearance and demeanor. No beauty standards could define this man's attractive figure. He carried the aura of royalty with the mysterious gaze that made him stand out even in a room full of beauty. Anyone who passed by him would turn around for a double-take. The local girls often stop by the cafe, all decked up in their best outfits, hoping to earn a glance from the man, but failing to do so as he does not even bat an eyelash at them. All he ever does is sit and observe pedestrians on the other side of the window, occasionally picking up a pen to scribble in his journal. The barista assumed he was a writer of some sort. Tonight though, his expression was hollowed, green veins popping under his pale skin. He seemed tired.

As soon as J stepped outside, a gush of wind slammed against his body. This sort of thing would have sent him into a shivering mess if he were human. But all he felt was a breeze of cool air. So he pulled up the scarf wrapped around his neck and headed for the flat. On his way there, he encountered several couples walking in the opposite direction, hands in hands—the street lights reflecting off their cheerful faces. They huddled and leaned onto each other for warmth, battling the bitter cold air. Some even gave him pitiful looks as they strolled by.

Most of the stores were no longer open since it was almost midnight, J's favorite time of the day when everything resolved to tranquility and the air no longer filled with human scents. He pulled down his scarf to take in the stillness of the night.

Suddenly, a flash of light caused J to raise his hands, shielding himself from the brightness. After his eyes quickly adjusted, J turned his head towards the source. To his surprise, the lights were coming from a small shop that he had never seen occupying this street before. The sign hung above his head illustrates a picture of an eye. A fortune-teller?

Curious, J pushed gently on the door. An overwhelming scent of lotus flower engulfed him. In front of him sat a lady, her hands crushing something inside a mortar. She did not look up immediately or seem alert by his entrance, which indicated that she had been expecting him.

Finally, the lady glanced at J, "welcome," her eyes were cloudy and unfocused. "Have a seat," she gestured to the chair across from her.

J warily sat down as the blind lady continued pouring the crushed content from the mortar into small cylindrical tubes the size of his pinky.

"I've been waiting for you," she said.

"How do you know me?"

"Oh child, we have had our eyes on you all along."

We? J frowned, "who are you?" He asked.

"What I know is more important than who I am."

"Then what do you know?"

"I know that these will help you," the lady put a handful of the tubes, now filled with colorful powder, onto the table. "These are called Dream Powder. Before going to bed, mix one of these tubes with warm water, and you will have a much easier time falling asleep."

J arched his eyebrows, "how do you know I have been having trouble sleeping?"

"I told you, we are watching."

That's not creepy at all. J thought to himself.

"It's time for me to go now," the lady stood up and dusted her sleeves. She started heading for the door. "Oh, an important note. Do not take more than one each night." With that, she was gone. And the store disappeared along with her. In just a blink of an eye, J found himself standing in front of his flat.

What the hell was that? J sat down on the bed, twisting the little tube between his slender fingers. The tubes were the only evidence that allowed him to believe his previous encounter was not only a hallucination.

So these are supposed to make me sleep better? Not really falling for it, but J still followed the instructions and mixed the pink powder from the tube with lukewarm water. He swirled the cup slightly with his hand, watching the water slowly turn pink. What is there to lose? I'm immortal anyway. He let out a sigh and downed the drink. J started falling in and out of consciousness, and within seconds, he was fast asleep.

In his dream, he felt something cold pressed against his temple. Amidst the sluggish, his eyes bolted open as his body sensed danger. Staring back at him was a pair of bright brown eyes.

"Move, and you die," he was held at gunpoint.

(To be continued)