Lost and Found

It's What You Need to Do

 As it turned out I had good reason for the uncomfortable feeling in my gut. Peter and Charlotte became reoccurring 'guests', disappearing for short periods of time before reappearing, each time making themselves more and more acquainted with the area. I tried ignoring their presence, putting distance between us when they 'visited', but they refused to be ignored. They even went as far as bribery to get my attention, often disappearing and coming back with a human for a meal in between the traveling parties that were becoming fewer and fewer. Peter had taken upon himself to inform me that most humans now traveled by means of what was called the transcontinental railroad and a newer invention called an automobile.

Despite the distance I tried to keep between us the couple was far from quiet and I could hear everything they said with perfect clarity. Peter would bring back newspapers from their excursions back to the human populace and he'd often discuss the events with Charlotte, this events sometimes caused them to reminiscence of other events, usually of something during their human life times. I believed this to be an attempt by the couple to tell me about themselves while also reacquainting me with the human world that I had fled from so long ago. Though it was likely an attempt to make me warm to their presence, it only served to bring about an anger that I hadn't felt since leaving my human life behind.

They only achieved one of their goals as I unwillingly learned many things about the couple. Though both were still relatively young, Charlotte's knowledge of more recent events made it apparent that she was younger than Peter, by both human and vampire standards, and remained naive to many of the evils of the world. Peter was a much more subdued character, he spoke much more seriously and seemed to understand my continued distance while Charlotte seemed put off by my behavior. I wished that Peter would share her feelings, if he did they would stop returning here from their hunting trips.

It occurred to me once while they were away on one of their trips to hunt that I could run, if they wanted the territory leaving would make it easy for them to overtake it and I would once again have my solace. As much as I desire the return to my solitude, I didn't want to run. This forest had become mine and I didn't want to give it up to them. If the duo wanted the territory they would just have to kill me. But if the two had just been looking for companionship, someone who knew vampiric life outside of the one they had escaped from, what would prevent them from following me? Ultimately, I chose to stay and put up with their continued presence.

With each return and lack of aggression I gave into the knowledge that they didn't want the territory, they merely wanted to be around someone of their own kind that knew the peace that they desired. I could grudgingly respect that though I wished that they had found someone else to assume the role. Despite their desire I refused to actively take the role and instead 'lead' by example while slowly and grudgingly allowing them closer and answering some of their questions.

They still liked talking about past world events in the absence of anything else to talk about given my self isolation. The conversations were often interjected with questions about my human life, all of which were met with a swift dismissal of the topic. Charlotte was far more insistent than Peter and from some of the glances I had caught I assumed that Peter partially understood my refusal to talk without me having to spell it out for him. When it became obvious that I didn't want to talk about any topic regarding my humanity Charlotte started bringing up specific human events and gauging my reactions, searching for anything that may sound familiar to me in an attempt to narrow down when I had been human. I carefully remained neutral to the questions much to her chagrin and Peter's amusement.

Over time I started providing little snippets in exchange for peace and quiet, though the snippets seemed to annoy her more since they were never more than inane details that didn't help her figure out the bigger picture. Peter and Charlotte were too accustomed to humanity's entertainment, becoming bored without something to do in the wilderness. Peter and Charlotte had brought back many newspapers and books from their trips to towns and cities for prey when Charlotte could no longer wait for the next traveling party, groups that Peter referred to as hobos and transitients. Charlotte would sometimes hum or sing along to songs that sounded foreign to what had been played while I was human and sometimes her hands would move like she was playing an invisible instrument.