Bloodthirsty: Solomon Islands

Kaino

My name is Kaino, and I am a vampire. . I was born in a land that is now submerged under the sea, a land that was once connected to Australia and New Guinea by a vast plain. , and it was home to many strange and wonderful creatures, some of which are now extinct.

I was a hunter, a nomad, a wanderer. I followed the seasons and the migrations of the animals, living off the land and the sea. I was part of a tribe, a clan, a family. We had our own language, our own culture, our own rituals. We respected the spirits of the land, the sky, the water, and the ancestors. We were happy, we were free, we were alive.

But everything changed one night, when I met him. He was like me, but not like me. He looked human, but he was not human. He was pale, cold, and beautiful. He had eyes that shone like stars, and teeth that gleamed like knives. He spoke to me in a language I did not understand, but I felt his power, his allure, his hunger. He was a predator, a monster, a god.

He called himself Zygodon, and he said he was a vampire. He said he had come from a faraway land, across the ocean, where there were cities and civilizations and wars. He said he had seen the rise and fall of empires, the birth and death of religions, the glory and horror of history. He said he had traveled the world, seeking knowledge, adventure, and blood. He said he was lonely, bored, and curious.

He said he wanted me.

He bit me, and I felt a pain unlike any other. He drank my blood, and I felt a pleasure unlike any other. He gave me his blood, and I felt a change unlike any other. He made me a vampire, and I became his companion, his lover, his child.

He taught me many things, things I had never imagined. He taught me how to survive, how to hunt, how to hide. He taught me how to read, how to write, how to speak. He taught me how to dress, how to dance, how to charm. He taught me how to live, how to love, how to kill.

He showed me many places, places I had never seen. He showed me the wonders and the horrors of the world, the beauty and the ugliness of humanity. He showed me the past and the present, the old and the new. He showed me the sun and the moon, the stars and the planets. He showed me life and death, light and darkness.

He gave me everything, and he took everything.

He took me away from my home, my tribe, my family. He took me away from my land, my culture, my identity. He took me away from my humanity, my morality, my soul. He took me away from myself.

He was my maker, my master, my lover. He was my savior, my destroyer, my enemy. He was my everything, and he was my nothing.

We traveled together for centuries, until we parted ways. He said he needed to find new horizons, new challenges, new blood. He said he loved me, but he left me. He said he would come back, but he never did.

I was alone, but I survived. I adapted, I evolved, I endured. I followed the changes of the world, the shifts of the power, the trends of the society. I learned new languages, new skills, new secrets. I made new friends, new allies, new enemies. I found new homes, new pleasures, new pains.

I lived, I loved, I killed.

I am now in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. 

It is a town that is perfect for a vampire.

I have a house in the suburbs, a business in the town, a network in the underworld. I have money, power, and influence. I have everything I need, and everything I want.

Except him.

I still think of him, sometimes. I still dream of him, sometimes. I still miss him, sometimes.

But I know he is gone, forever.

He is part of my past, and I am part of the present.

He is a memory, and I am a story.

A story that I am telling you, now.