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1st prize Winner of the #RomanticRain #WattPadAfterDark Contest.
Alejandro is a complicated being. He loves and hates what he is, a vampire who's lived too long a life. That doesn't mean he doesn't know how to have fun in the rain...
Entry...
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Madrid, Spain, 16 June 1700
Light footsteps echoed on the wet, cobblestone road.
The sound of the sparse but thick raindrops falling on the cerise colored rooftops was all that could be heard in the still of the night.
His swarthy, predatory eyes scanned ahead, as far as he could see looking for something ... for someone.
He was hungry, yes. But it was more than that. It was about companionship. His life had been lacking in that department since his last protégé, Narcisse, was stabbed in the heart by his victim.
Amateur, he thought and shook his head in disdain.
His breathless lungs had no wind as he practiced an airless sigh. He'd perfected it long ago. It was a gift he was greatly proud of. One of the many, his maker, had bestowed upon him.
The rain thickened. As it grew heavier Alejandro closed his eyes and lifted his face towards the midnight sky allowing it to caress his face. The coolness of its touch relaxed him making him forget he had no pulse. Its chilly licks felt like the temperature of his body, his stare, or the touch of his fingertips on a warm human body.
Hungry, he brushed his lips with his tongue, and with a steady, even stride he took a turn under an old, white, stone bridge lost in thought.
Iris observed with dread as the somber clouds formed in the distance. She could hear the rumble of thunder and she knew if she didn't hurry she would be caught fleeing in the middle of the storm.
She despised the rain. It reminded her of hardships, death, and poverty.
It'd been raining the day they were evicted from their modest home in Madrid a few years back and it rained the day her mother passed away from pestilence a few months ago. Unfortunately, it also rained tonight, the night before she married for convenience—her father's ...
With no umbrella to shield her from the freezing drops and wanting to avoid the storm, she impatiently rushed her younger sibling.
- ¡Sara, avanza! she whispered loud enough for her to hear.
-¡Ya! she hushed back annoyed at Iris for rushing her and handed her beloved sister a deep, burgundy satchel with all of her belongings, which were few.
"I will miss and remember you forever," Iris said before she kissed her forehead and gave her a tight squeeze.
"Te quiero."
Sara's tear-stained face and her final I love you was enough for Iris to carry for a lifetime before she blended into the night.
Before Iris's body collided with his, quick, steady hands reached and grab her by the shoulders. Desperate eyes in sunken sockets reflected fright and contrasted vividly against her pale skin. Dark, soaked strands of hair clung to her hollowed cheeks as her crimson lips opened in surprise.
