Pain

well.....don't know, was for a contest

Loving a feeling thats brings both joy and pain to my heart.

Joy from being with you, being filled with an emotion so deep and tender,

that no other feeling can compare.

Pain from knowing that I'm so in love,

that I'm more vulnerable than I've ever been

UNKNOWN

 

 

      The sky was a solid black mass, its aggressive form roiling like boiling water. A soft drizzle fell from the heavens, drenching everything it touched. Krypt sat in the crook of a tree, his face pointed towards the back window of a two story ranch style house. The rain didn’t bother him, even as it dripped into his eyes and plastered his hair against his forehead. He twitched every now and again, dislodging the droplets and consequently allowing more to form. But it didn’t matter. The girl in the room did.

 

      Sarah glanced at her clock. The green numbers flashed eleven o’ one, its flickering light briefly illuminating her face in the darkness. It was raining again. She liked the rain, but only when a window separated her from it. The sound of it lightly tapping the window usually relaxed her. Tonight was different. She could feel the unbalance of the elements, hear the whispers of the spirits. Something unnatural was out there.

 

      Krypt sensed she was restless, could see how fast the artery pumped in the smooth column of her throat. Her agitation slightly ruffled his calm composure. He didn’t want her to feel threatened by his presence, the occurrence of his thought having been confirmed when she nervously looked out her window multiple times this night. It could quite possibly have been the rain but he was leaning more towards his first assumption.

 

      The rain slithered down the window, the tiny rivers absorbing stray drips along its uncharted course. What light was visible speared through the darkness, shadows dancing out of its grasp as it sliced across the floor. Sarah watched as it faded than reappeared, the cloud that had blocked the sliver of moon having shifted in the dark sky. There was a tree outside her window, its branches almost touched the window frame. When she was younger, she used to sneak out at night using her light weight as an advantage in walking across the branch. That was when she was wild, using her bleak emotions as her identity and defining who she was by the clothes she wore. She broke away from the ‘trouble’ group when an elderly woman spat at Sarah’s feet and mumbled, what she thought to be, a derogatory phrase in another language. After that she’d changed everything about her. The ripped, torn and black clothes had been thrown out, the black of her hair dyed to its original copper hue. Her usual black eyes were wiped off and left natural. She had trashed everything that reminded her of her old identity. It wasn’t who she was anymore.

 

      Krypt watched as blood flooded the girls’ face, moisture welling up in her eyes. He felt his throat tighten and he swallowed uncomfortably. It was common knowledge among her peers she had just broken up with her boyfriend. From what he could gather, they’d been dating for a year when he had decided to end it, having found another girl that was closed to the military base he was stationed at. That had happened only a couple days ago. His heart, or what he assumed was his heart, ached for her. She was having an emotional breakdown, slowly drowning in her depression.

      He twitched again, dislodging the droplets and shifted into a crouch. His clothes were drenched, sticking to his skin and straining against his muscles. The girl slowly closed her eyes, tears pouring from beneath her lids, her face scrunching up with hurt. Even from outside he could hear her sobs, forced silent so her parents wouldn’t hear. The raw pain and hurt echoed in them. Her chest expanded and contracted jerkily; her dire efforts to mute her sadness slowly failing.

      Krypt missed seeing this human girl smile, missed seeing how her happiness made her glow. Her existence was meant to be a happy one.

 

      Sarah forced her throat closed, trying, almost in vain, to extinguish her sobs. But the pain she felt clouded everything else, its haze blanketing and suffocating her every aspect of life. What was the point in living if her soul wouldn’t let him go? She’d been able to get through the day without having a complete breakdown. She hoped the emotional hurt would end soon; hunger clawed at her insides. She hadn’t been able to eat for the past thirteen hours; her stomach would just send everything back up. The loss of a couple pounds in the last half day was devastating to her body and she was starting to really feel its affect.

      Reaching over she grabbed her phone, hoping the ‘New Message’ icon was flashing. But it wasn’t and Sarah felt her spirit drop at getting her hopes up. Flipping it open she quickly scrolled down to her ‘Sent’ messages. She brought up the last one she’d sent, ‘WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?’, nearly twenty-four hours ago. He hadn’t given a reason why he went behind Sarah’s back with another girl and, to make matters worse, she had had to find out the hard way.

      “I hope she breaks your heart,” she snapped, throwing her phone across the room. It made her feel fractionally better to hear it snap into pieces upon contact with her dresser. “The army’s made you emotionless, you cold-hearted b*****d.”

 

      Krypt watched as the girls’ wrist snapped forward, launching her phone into her dresser and landing in pieces on the floor. He heard the comment she said, more snarled, before she turned onto her side.

      The sadness of the breakdown was over, now being replaced with anger. He recalled his first love and how he had felt when she had become indifferent about him. That was long ago, so very long ago. He had had three centuries to think about it, having come to peace with it thirty years after the fact. But it had been thirty years too late. She hadn’t lived to see her twenty-first birthday.

      Slowly, he stood up from his crouch. For a human the rain would have made it impossible to walk along the branch, let alone stand. It was different for Krypt. The tables had been turned in his favour, allowing him to go through his existence without the petty misfortune’s human’s did. Walking across the branch, he stepped lightly onto the window frame, shifting his weight to prevent it from creaking. The girl continued to sleep, unhindered from her emotions. Slowly, he applied force to the window and lifted it up, slipping into the dark room and quickly closing it before the noise of the rain woke her. Staying still he absorbed everything in her room.

      The smell of fresh paint, undetectable to the human nose, lingered in the room interlaced with a jasmine and cherry blossom perfume. Krypt liked the smell and he closed his eyes as he inhaled the sweet fragrance. Opening his eyes he continued to look around the room. Paintings and drawings covered the walls, all done by the girl. His gaze landed on one painting, acrylic he assumed, that hung by the closet doors. It was a piece of loose canvas, ripped into the haphazard shape of a rectangle. Splotches of colour dotted the material, fanned out like dandelions in warm and cool hues. In the top left hand corner was a grey and black fluff, a shock of yellow feathered out from the centre. He liked it the best.

      Turning he walked to the girls back, the covers tangled about her legs. He could see the thick band of muscle lining her spine and Krypt remembered she played lacrosse. He watched as she breathed deeply, her breathe a steady rhythm in the dark. She was pretty, in his opinion, which he knew was seen by most of the male population at her school. Her hair was a dark chestnut, past her shoulders and had a natural wave to it. At the moment, it was tangled about her face, framing it with a rare unconscious elegance. He hadn’t seen her eyes in the sunlight; he couldn’t due to the handicap of his kind, but he had seen them in the lamplight. They were the exact same shade as warmed butterscotch. Gently, he took a strand of her hair and let it slide through his fingers. Exactly like silk.

      Krypt was a Vampyre, The Prince of Darkness. He shouldn’t have this emotional attachment to a fragile, petty human girl, he knew that. But he did and it worried him. He had to break his ties with this female and leave her to live her own life without his interference. The willpower to do so was failing him. He could only try to avoid her, but could he? He didn’t think so.

Reviews

[Charles D. Moorer]

Nicely done, a vampire with an emotional attachment to a human being. This is an interesting take on what appears to be what is leading up to unrequited love, perhaps, or somethng worse. There are some sentences that could be rewritten for greater fluency and effect, but overall the work is clean. Ranch houses are generally one story. I have never seen a two-story ranch. Also is he the Prince of Darkness or a prince of darkness, just saying...

[A LaDy NaMeD D]

This was wonderful! Especially because you brought something understandable. Like her being upset from a breakup, and masterfully intertwined it with the supernatural. I loved your use of description, it wasn't too much, but it wasn't too little, a nice happy medium. At first the third paragraph threw me off. I didn't understand it's place in the story, but after reading it a second time i see it's purpose. This was a good read.