Vampire Gifts

The Beginning

    "Ughhhhh..." I moaned as I rolled over in bed. Light shined brightly in my eyes. It was too bright outside to be morning- this wasn't the pleasant, warm light of a beginning morning, this was the bright light you see when you walk outside on a summer afternoon and think Oh God, why? I sat up, shielding my tired eyes with my right hand, and looked at the clock. It was 11:45. "Oh my God! Clara!" Panic instantly woke up my tired mind. I shoved my blankets off, ran out of my room, and ran right into Clara's bedroom. "Clara! Clara, honey, you have to get up! I woke up really late today!" I went to her bed and flung the sheets over, revealing an empty bed. "Clara?" I looked around her room but there was no sight of her. Confused and worried, I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen and instead of finding my daughter, I found a note. It was sitting on the counter, Ronnie's clear handwriting facing up.

     Dear Rose,

     You looked so peaceful sleeping, I just couldn't wake you up. I got Clara to school and made her  lunch. Don't worry about picking her up either, I get off early from work. Take the day off. Love you forever. See you tonight.

    Always Yours,

    Ronnie

    I smiled. Ronnie was always so cheesy. He couldn't just write a note that said Got Clara to school, I'll pick her up too, like a normal person would. He wasn't normal, he was forever romantic and just couldn't miss an opportunity to be mushy. It was actually one of the reasons I loved him. 

    What to do, what to do? I had too much free time on my hands, something quite unusual, and I just couldn't figure out what to do. I finally decided to read a book after a few minutes of contemplating. I walked into the living room furnished with leather couches and a flat-screen TV and stood in front of the bookshelf. Scanning the large selection of books, I took Interview With the Vampire by Daniel Malloy off the shelf. I had tried to read the book before, but I just couldn't find the time.

    I curled up on the sofa with the book, the leather feeling cold at first, then comfortable after about five minutes, and started to read.

    I feel completely into the book. Minutes, hours, days, it didn't matter how much time passed, I just read. By the end of the day, I had finished the whole book. I normally read fast, but this was unusual. I never read a novel in one day.

    When I set the book aside and looked around, I realized I had not gotten up to eat or even take my eyes off the page even once. I was completely absorbed in the words. The story of Louis was the best story I had ever read so far. I of course regarded it as fiction, but something seemed real about this story. The details were too great, the characters too defined. Nevertheless, I put the book out of my mind for a while and noticed that I had gotten a text message. I picked my phone off my side table and looked at the time. 5:13. Shouldn't Ronnie and Clara be home by now?

    My question was answered in a text.

    I picked Clara up as promised, but I was called back to work so I just took her with me. She will forever remind me of you, she is walking around as curious as ever, introducing herself to the people working in the cubicles and making everyone fall in love with her. It is the cutest thing ever. We will be staying later than usually today though, but it's Friday anyway so it's not like Clara needs to go to sleep early. Don't worry about a thing. Love you forever. See you tonight.

    I smiled a little at his text too. All of the longest texts I have ever gotten have been from him. I always said he was wasting letters by writing the words completely. He said he couldn't waste enough letters on me.

    Now I  really didn't know what to do. So I grabbed a light jacket, my keys, and my phone and headed out the door for another walk through the forest.

    What was waiting for me there, either the best thing to ever happen in my life, or the worst.

    Is the glass half empty or half full?