“I came over to return her guitar because she left it in our mythology classroom. All of a sudden rain started to fall and the roads were too dangerous to drive on.” She didn’t seem convinced.
“Hello William, how have you been?” Maria asked, her tone was nonchalant and that shocked Lucy. He said that he was fine.
“How come you aren’t bothered by the fact that they have been alone for the past…” She checked the clock. “…two hours?” Now she sounded mad.
“Oh because Cynthia called and said that William came to drop off her guitar but was stuck in this storm. I said that it would be alright if he stayed as long as he left as soon as the storm died down enough.”
“Well it has, so he can leave now!” Lucy now sounded irritated and that got on my nerves. I turned to look at him and he was grabbing his coat and was walking towards the door. At first he didn’t seem to see me staring at him but then he turned around and smiled.
“I hope to see you tomorrow Cynthia. Thank you for everything Cynthia, Maria… Lucia, have a good night and I apologize for being a bother.” Without letting any one of us respond, he turned back around and left, closing the door behind him. Instead of waiting for Lucy to talk to me, because I was tired and wanted to go to sleep, I walked over to my room and got ready to take a long bubble bath.
That night I had a weird dream. I was lying in my bedroom and William was walking to me from my window. He bent down and whispered “Stay away from the woods” in my ear and then he just disappeared. The minute I got down the stairs dressed and everything on Wednesday morning I saw William. He was talking to Lucy and she was saying how I loved to play guitar. Then he looked at me as I came down the stairs.
“Good morning Cynthia, how did you sleep?” he asked in the same tone he used on the first day. Then Lucy said he came to see if I wanted a ride to school.
“Sure, I’d love a ride thanks.” I tried to say without sounding overexcited. No one was fooled. When we went outside, I saw his car and was immediately awestruck. His car was a silver color, like steel, Lamborghini Reventón Roadster. It also looked like it glowed, even in a town where there is not a lot of sunlight. After we were passing the woods on our way to school I thought I saw a lion with a goat head, lion head, and snakehead tail. I am probably imagining things.
“Cynthia, have you ever heard of Apollo?” William asked seriously.
“Yes, I’ve heard about him, he’s the Greek god of music, healing, agriculture, archery, poetry, and light. Why do you ask?” I asked, curious now.
“Just out of curiosity.” When we entered the mythology class the teacher was writing an announcement on the board. It said,

Fieldtrip to the Museum of Natural History

Tomorrow All Day trip

NEED PERMISSION SLIPS!!!!
As the teacher handed out permission slips I saw a gaggle of girls shooting venomous glares in my direction. What did I ever do to them? Then I remembered that they were some of the girls who like William.





* * *

After school William was opening he passenger door for me to get in. When we were on our way to my house I thought I saw a chimera running in the woods again.





William’s perspective

When I looked towards the woods I saw a blur of yellow- orange. What!? That is a chimera. How can that be? I thought I killed it back in Athens. Then I saw another figure. A blur of pure white soaring in the sky. It was a pure white Pegasus. It flew low enough not to be seen easily but also not as to inflict harm on itself by hitting a branch. The last time I saw it was when it helped me escape a pack of hellhounds in Athens. They were gone just as they had appeared, in a flash. Beneath that, in the woods, a large black horse was galloping behind the Pegasus. A little later, we arrived at Cynthia’s house. Her aunts were shocked to see me probably because I was smiling at Cynthia. Lucy asked if I was going to the field trip. I said I was planning on going so I asked if I could give their niece another ride to school tomorrow.
“Why of course William, she’d love that,” both her aunts said in unison. That night all I could think of were the chimera and Pegasus. Why did they show up now? The chimera was supposed to be lying under a building that was built on top of it. Whereas the Pegasus fled to the forest afterwards.
“Hello William, how are you?” that voice so familiar yet I could not place it. Then the silhouette of Hector Sanchez appeared. He never came to see me at night and for that I was grateful, except for tonight.
“What do you want!?” I demanded, surprised that he was smiling at my anger.
“Well, as you know I have to feed at some point. I couldn’t think of any other person to feed off of than you.” his smile grew wider and he took a step closer to me. He looked like a panther about to pounce on his defenseless prey.
“You now it’s nothing personal but you’re the only person who knows what I am.” he came closer still and I paralyzed out of fear could do nothing to stop him. He was a monster and now he wanted something from me. Then my fear turned to pure hatred. I would not let him get what he wants without a fight. The next moment things happened so fast that by the time I got up he crossed the gap between one end of the room to where I was standing in two strides. He picked me up from the collar of my shirt and then he bent down and bit me. I felt like I would die before he would be through with me. It was so painful that it took all my efforts to stifle an ear-piercing scream that very instant. Moments later, I fell to the cold wood floor. I felt drained of all my strength.
“Get up, you won’t go to Hades tonight,” he sounded pleased that I looked so frightened by him just being in my room. He said he would have erased my memory of this. Nevertheless, he wanted to show me what would happen if I ever defied him. After he left, I could not go to sleep the rest of the night.









Cynthia’s perspective

The next morning I woke to the sound of someone knocking on the door of my room. It was not even ten to six in the morning. When I went to answer the door I expected to see one of my aunts. But instead it was William. He smiled at me when I opened the door then said that Lucy let him in. OMG, she is probably hyperventilating in her room now. Why does she like him so much? William probably knows that. He said he would wait outside my room until I was ready. I was dressed and got my supplies before it was even 6:05. When I went downstairs, I saw him making pancakes. He can actually cook, I thought that he was joking? Not many people I know can cook. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw both of my aunts sitting on the couch watching Food Network. Neither of them could cook at all. I went to see if William needed help. He said that he did not need help but thanks.
“How come you came so early, I mean I don’t want to be rude but it’s kind of early don’t you think?” I did not want to be rude but I was curious.
“Well, yesterday one of your aunts invited me to breakfast today. I said I would come only if I could cook so here I am, how many pancakes do you want?” he asked to change the subject. There is probably another reason. I do not remember my aunts inviting him so early.
“Okay, um won’t your parents be worried about you?” I would not want him to get in trouble.
“Oh, I live by myself so no, I would not get in trouble.”
“But then who would sign you permission slip to go to the museum?” I asked a little confused.
“Well one of the teachers Mr. Sanchez is my legal guardian but he said I could live by myself. To tell you the truth I like living by myself,” he said as if that cleared everything up. William looked a bit paler that usual. Perhaps he is running a fever? He also looks like he is weak. When I went to ask one of my aunts if they invited him this early, they said that they had not. That is a bit odd. When William and I left for school I decided to ask him some questions. Then I saw a red mark on his neck. It looked like an animal attacked him.
“William, what animal bit your neck?” I asked worried that he might have been infected with a disease and that is why he looks so pale.




William’s perspective

What?! She thinks an animal bit me. Well Hector is an animal.
“Well, I was attacked by a bear and It probably bit me.” she might believe that but then again she’s not gullible. She looks worried because of the bite.
“It is nothing, I did not even feel it so do not worry,” I said trying to comfort her.
“Have you ever been in my room?” she asked probably to change the subject. What, but why would she ask that!?
“No I have not, why do you ask?”
“Oh, just a dream that‘s all,”
“What sort of dream?” That made me curious.
“Well, just a dream about you climbing to my room at night,” now I was really curious.
“Anything else happen in that dream?” I asked her.
“Well, you warned me not to go into the woods and that’s it.” ”What’s in the woods that’s so dangerous?” she asked me.
“Nothing, except bears, bats, and other creatures.” Also one chimera, Pegasus and Hector of course. After that talk the car was completely silent except for the song Beautiful Eyes by Taylor Swift so low it was background music. As we were nearing the front of the school I saw the huge billboard said

School Closed
December 2nd, 3rd and 4th

Due to snow storm
What snow storm? When I looked outside the light snow was turning into a blizzard. Well, I guess I should take Cynthia home.
“Cynthia, do you want to go home?” Of course she wants to go home, why did I ask.
“Sure, I wanted to go to the museum though,” she sounded a little sad but also glad.




Cynthia’s perspective

I wanted to learn more on Greek myths. Oh well, I guess I should go back home. Before William and I went back to my house I decided to call them. When Maria answered, I told her that William was taking me home because of the storm.
“Ok, thanks for calling to tell me bye.” Then she just hung up. She seemed in a hurry to get off the phone. Oh no, I forgot to call my mom. I was about to call my mom then I saw that William was looking at me. He looked quite mad. Then I realized that he wasn’t looking at me but at my side of the car. I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at Mr. Sanchez. The teacher had a huge grin on his face and was looking directly at William. When I turned to look at William I saw that he was now looking at the windshield. Why did William seem mad at his teacher and guardian? Why did Mr. Sanchez look happy to see William so mad? This doesn’t make sense. When we entered my house it felt warm and safe. It smelled of coffee, hot chocolate and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
“William, Cynthia why are you back?” I heard the voice before I saw it belonged to my aunt Lucy.
“Maria didn’t tell you, school was closed on account of the storm.”
“Why no, she didn’t tell me.” William was getting up to leave when I asked if he wanted to stay a while till the storm died down a bit. I didn’t want him to leave until he answered my questions. Like why did he seem mad at Mr. Sanchez?
“William, why did you look mad at Mr. Sanchez today?” I didn’t want to sound rude but the words just came out before I could stop them.
“Well, he and I haven’t been getting along for a while that‘s all.” He suddenly looked a little uneasy, like he was thinking of something that frightened him. After he left, I decided to finally call my mom or at least email her. It was 5:25 p.m. so I decided to email her. When I got to my room, I turned on my laptop. After eight minutes of it loading and me writing, I reread my letter. I wrote:

Hi Mom,

How are you back in California? I’m doing fine, I made a friend. I’m getting better at guitar. I can play the songs Creep and I’m Yours. Well email me back.
I Love You, Cynthia

Then I pressed sent and after two minutes, I got an email from my mom. It said:
Hello Cynthia,

I am doing fine in California. Oh and Lucy told me about your friend William. She told me about him and how nice he is. She said that he gives you rides to school. Humph, how much do you know about him Cynthia?
That was it. She did not even sign it. The last line of the email made me think. How much do I know about William? All I know is that he lives alone, his guardian is one of his teachers, he is a guitarist and that’s about it. After a while I decided to do some research on my favorite subject. Greek gods, goddesses, and monsters. When I looked up Apollo the Greek god of music he seemed familiar somehow. That night I had another weird dream. In my dream I was inside a palace but I couldn’t find out where. I entered a room full of instruments guitars, violins, trumpets. All kinds of string instruments, brass instruments, and woodwinds. In addition, I saw armor, swords, shields, and other weapons. After that in another room, I saw crossbows, healing herbs, and what looked like a sort of dance studio and I knew where I was. Just then I heard two voices, one was shouting to the other. One seemed like an older voice than the other did. They seemed to be discussing something because both of the voices were shouting. After about ten minutes, I scarcely hear them. When I went to see if they left I was shocked by what I saw. I saw William sitting on a simple silver throne while the lord of the house sat opposite of him on a throne that looked like it was made of solid gold. They seemed to be arguing about something in Greek. Although I heard my name a few times. Then I remembered what I learned in my Greek mythology class. The instruments, dance studio, and the herbs. The person on the golden throne was Apollo with his lyre in his hand. He looked similar to William because they had the same perfect face, the same black hair, but what really stood out was that they had the same dark violet eyes. Suddenly I was in a different room. It was a bedroom with an old-fashioned dresser. A feather bed at the corner farthest from the window. Clearly it’s late because I see the sky turn a dark pink. There’s someone in the room, he’s wearing a pair of black jeans, white button-down shirt with a fermata on the front, a pair of black dress shoes, and a red denim jacket with the g-cleft on the front. I couldn’t make out his face but he looked scared of something. He looked straight at the window. As I followed his gaze I saw what he was scared of. At the window I saw a dark figure with a pale face and blood on his lips. He exposed his white teeth a grotesque smile. Just then, I heard a familiar voice call my name.
“Cynthia….Cynthia, are you ok?” then I felt a light shove and I fell.



William’s Perspective

“Cynthia, are you ok?” she looked pale and a tear ran down her cheek. Why was she crying? Did she have a bad dream? Just then, she looked up at me sadly. Her eyes were filled with tears now. Did I push her too hard? I did not mean to, but she just would not wake and she was moaning about a pale monster. Wait A PALE MONSTER….HECTOR! She was having a nightmare about that monster. But, she could not know what he was, could she? I mean I have not seen him anywhere near her at school. Then she sat up on the bed and looked at me with sad eyes.
“William, how long have you been here?” her voice was weak.
“About a half hour ago your aunts let me in, why?” she just smiled faintly at me. Why did she smile at me?
“No reason, why are you here?”
“Your aunts called because they heard you scream.” ”Also I wanted to see if you wanted do go to the Museum of Natural History?” she looked a little confused. She seems better now. Her skin color returned to normal now.
“Um, sure William but what about the storm?” she was still looking at me with sad eyes.
“The storm is gone, haven’t you noticed?” she did not even glance at the window. As if she thought that the storm was the last thing on her mind now.





***

She came down the stairs about half an hour later. She was dressed in a white blouse, pair of navy blue skinny jeans, and white tennis shoes. She seemed happy, since she looked sad in her room.
“Why is the school still closed if the storm is over?” She actually cared if she went to school or not?
“You know that even if we did go we wouldn’t go to the museum, right?” I guess it sounded like I was teasing her. I mean I wanted to go as much as she did.
“Yes, but the more school we miss the more homework the teachers give us.” She has a point, especially with our math teacher. He is the only teacher that gives us homework, but still.

Cynthia’s Perspective

Why would William want to go somewhere with me? When I got downstairs I saw my aunts at the landing. They both had worried looks on their faces. But when they saw that I had a smile on my face they just smiled. A while later William and I were in his car on our way to the museum. We weren’t talking at all, so the only sound in the car was the song Breath by Taylor Swift. When we got to the museum there was a sign and it said:

Museum closed due to storm.
Will reopen in one week.
“Sorry that we can’t go to the museum.” he said it and he seemed sad.
“That’s ok I thought that something like this might happen, what with the storm.” He really wanted to go to the museum. I decided to call my aunt Maria on her cell. When I tried to call her, I got her voicemail and it said “Hello, this is Maria. If I don’t answer it’s probably because I’m out shopping with Lucy so leave a message after the beep.” I decided not to leave a message because she is probably having so much fun that she will not check her voicemail.
Well, I guess I could go home. Then William said in a calm voice,
“Cynthia would you like to go to my house or would you like me to drive you back to you house? That is I do not want you to be alone. I would not want anything to happen to you.”
“Um, my aunts aren’t home so we could go to your house.” I couldn’t believe that my aunts weren’t home, their always home. While on the way to his house we didn’t speak at all. I noticed that he didn’t live in town, he lived at the edge of town. In a large house that looked more like a woodland cottage. It was surrounded by forest, it was a redbrick house, had two extra rooms to the sides of the house. It looked so beautiful from the outside. When we got inside, I was shocked. The living room was decorated with paintings probably from the Renaissance period, they were beautiful. There were paintings of angels, demons, purgatory, paradise and hell. He has some taste in art. There was also one picture that caught my interest. It was of a young woman or rather an angel, about fourteen, her eyes were a hazel color and her hair was a light brown, she was in the sun and the light made her hair seem to be like a golden halo. Oddly enough, she was wearing a simple white dress, it seemed to be made of silk and came down to her ankles. It seemed to date back to the middle ages.
“Um William? Do you know who painted this picture?” I asked him.
“Oh, this painting was created by a very well like and respected man that was fascinated with angels and their purity. I only know that the painter’s muse was beautiful and she inspired him to create this piece. He thought of her as his angel, she saved him from a life of loneliness and depression, in a way she was his guardian angel.” He said. His voice seemed detached, as if he was thinking of something else.
“We I think that he was biased. She does look very beautiful but how could she have saved him from a lonely life if he was a well-respected man? Should he have had many friends, why would he be lonely?” I asked him. That just does not seem possible.
“Well, just because you know people or even have friends does not mean that you feel like you actually belong there. Someone could feel as if they are out of place in this world and have a friend or two or even someone that they are close to.” His voice sounded choked up and his response seemed to fill me with a painful sadness. I wonder if he feels this way.
“Do you feel this way? Do you feel out of place?” I asked him, he turned away from me.
“In a way I sort of do, I feel out of place at school and I do not even know why. The only place that I do not is at night when I am dreaming or when I am playing piano. That is the only time that I feel as if I actually have a place in this world. I also feel the same when I talk to you, I feel good after we talk no matter what it is about, as long as I have heard your voice. Then after an hour or two I feel sad again, it is like getting drunk because it makes you feel good for a short while but then makes you hurt so much.” He turns to look at me and I see that he was frowning. He turns back to the painting and looks at it, as if it was a window to some secret world within the colors.
“Cynthia, I apologize if I have made you uncomfortable. That was the last thing that I intended to do but when I started talking I just could not stop.” He did not look at me but I could tell that he was still sad and that he was sorry.
“I know, I am glad that you are telling the truth and that you are opening up to me. I am your friend, please remember that and that you are always welcome to call me or come over to my house if you need someone to talk to, alright?” he turned back at me and he gave me a slight smile. How could he be so sad? Did something happen to him as a child or something? Either way he is my friend and I am worried about him.
“Thank you so much Cynthia. You do not know how much this really means to me.” His smile grew more but I could see that his eyes were close to tears.
“You’re welcome, would you mind telling me why you have so many paintings that seem as if they belong to museums? I am just curious because they are so beautiful.”
“My family left me this house in their will after they…died. Apparently they loved to go to museum auctions, some of these were painted by them. Others they bought and I even painted a few.”
“Oh so you are a musician, Greek mythology buff and a painter as well. I am impressed.” He just chuckled at my remark.
He took me on a tour of the house and one room was filled with violins, guitars, flutes, and clarinets. It also had different types of brass and percussion instruments. Another room had shields, swords, bows and arrows and they looked old and had markings that looked Latin or Greek. There were also some guns mounted on the walls. So this is his armory, w-o-w. The rooms were so neat. Everything was separate from everything else. The swords and shields gleamed when the light hit them. I was amazed that his house was so beautiful. He did not show me his room but he did show me his library. It was a huge room and was covered wall to wall with hundreds of books. His living room was in a medium sized room but it was very simple. It had a beige couch on one side of the room, a matching loveseat parallel to the couch, a 62” plasma flat-screen TV mounted on the wall above a fireplace and, finally, there was a huge, black grand piano at the upper right hand corner of the room. The floors were a Brazilian Cherry color. When I heard my phone ring, I saw that Maria had sent me a text message. It said:

HI Cynthia,
I saw that you called me. Um, I am shopping with Lucy so I will not be home for another six hours. So text me back when you get home so I know that you’re safe.
---your aunt Maria

It was barely what, one in the afternoon? Why would she go shopping and come back at seven? It would be dark by then. When I checked my phone I saw that it was actually nine-thirty in the morning. After I put my phone back in my pocket, I saw that William had left the room. When I left the room I saw him in the living room, a cup of coffee in one hand, looking at a picture of a Pegasus. It was of the purest white with a black star in the middle of forehead, wings extended, it was flying by the clouds. I thought that It was very beautiful. I stepped closer to the picture and as I did so my shoes squeaked. He turned around to look at me with a smile, but sad eyes like he was thinking of something sad.



William’s Perspective

I was looking at her but I was thinking of my horse “Star“. I thought that he was gone but found out that he was alive. Then I heard Cynthia say in a quiet voice,
“William, are you ok?”
“Fine, why do you ask?”

“Because you looked sad and haggard.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well so that’s probably why, but aside from that I’m fine.”
“But then why do you look so sad?” she looked a bit embarrassed because she was being straightforward. If only I could tell her. But then she would faint or scream or something. I decided not to answer her question.






***

A while later I heard Cynthia’s phone ring. When she picked it up she looked scared, and I heard her say,
“But what happened to them?” then after a long pause she said,
“Ok, I’ll be right there.” I could not look at her because it was probably sad news. When I did, I saw her shed a single tear, probably trying not to cry. I could not move, I wanted to ask her what happened but she looked ready to burst into tears at any moment. I also wanted to try to comfort her, tell her that whatever happened could be fixed, but I was not sure what had happened exactly. Then she asked if I could drive her to the hospital and I agreed. When we got there we asked the nurse at the front desk where her aunts where and she said room 321. We were walking to their room when we saw a person lying on a gurney. He had a cut that went from his right cheek down to his collarbone. He was wild-eyed, looked scared and sickly pale. He looked even paler because his neck, clothes and chest were covered in dark red blood. What monster could have done this! The rooms we passed were full with people that looked like that man, some had cuts, others were bitten, had broken arms or legs and looked sickly pale. They probably looked so pale because of blood loss. Wait blood loss, people with cuts, bites, and broken bones. This is just like what happened in Athens long ago. When we entered the room where her aunts were all I could think was, Why did he have to come here?! That monster causes havoc everywhere that he goes. They seemed to have been hurt the worst because they were so pale that they looked like living corpses, also they had cuts on their foreheads, broken arms, legs and bite marks on their necks. They were coated in dark red blood and even their hair was caked in dried blood. As if the creatures cut their foreheads first and then broke or bit their arms, legs and necks. The creatures that attacked the people here were probably after them but there were so many other people around. I heard them say that the monsters came out of the forest. They waved ivy-wreathed wands, they wore fawn-skins over what they describes as robes. They were also singing a melancholy tone in another language that seemed Latin. This is exactly like Athens, these creatures are the Maenads, and they were worshippers of the god of wine Dionysus. Nevertheless, they were peaceful creatures, why would they attack a huge group of people? I saw a nurse come to check on them so I asked,
“When will they be able to go back home?” she did not seem to want to answer but after a minute she said that they would be back in a week.





***

On December 10th, a week later when her aunts got back I stopped by to make sure that they were ok. I had visited them twice, to see how they were doing and to see if they saw anything else that they did not tell me before. On both visits, I saw Cynthia sitting on a blue plastic chair, staring at them, just staring at them, nothing more. Her eyes were sad and worried. Why would she not be worried, her aunts were almost killed by mythical beasts. She would not even talk to me when I came over to her house to try to cheer her from that depressed mood that she was in, she was quiet in that week that her aunts were in the hospital.
“We’re fine, a little scared to go outside alone at night, but fine all the same.” they said in unison.
“What did you mean when you said that they came out of the forest?” ”Did they come with someone else, or alone?” If they said that they came alone then I knew how to stop them.
“Well they were the only people-if you can call them people-that we saw come out of the forest.” Lucy looked pretty bad even though some of the cuts were healed already.





Cynthia’s Perspective

When I heard what they said and their description about their attackers I thought of one possibility. Their descriptions matched that of the Maenads. But that’s impossible, they were just Greek myths. They aren’t even supposed to exist. After William left I decided to work on some of the homework that is due tomorrow. As soon as I finished my work I heard a peculiar sound. At first it sounded faint, but then it got louder and louder. Then I recognized the song as Hypnotize. Suddenly my eyes felt heavy. I started to doze off into a deep slumber. All that I wanted to do was hear that song but I started to fall asleep. I dreamt that I was walking in a garden with William. He was smiling at me, he seemed to have grown an inch taller. Now he was a foot taller than me. I love him but he’s so perfect and all of the gossip at school. Then he walked closer to me and held my hand in his. As we walked deeper into the garden I heard a sound like a howl then a growl. A chill went down my spine.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you,” he said so confidently.
“What was that?!” I wanted to know who or what it was.
“It sounded like a wolf.” I looked at William and he had a scowl on his face. But when he looked at me he smiled. I wanted to kiss him so badly. He seems so perfect. As if reading my thought he stopped walking, turned to face me, extended his arms and embraced me. As I stood there in his arms I could only think of one thing. I wish that this was real and that he really loved me. Then he bowed his head and I felt his lips touch mine. It was a soft kiss. I put my arms around his neck. One moment later he pulled away and whispered, “I love you Cynthia” in my ear. Then he kissed my forehead. Then I heard the sound of a guitar playing. I woke up after that to find out that it was 6:30 in the morning. After I got dressed I went downstairs to find an unexpected guest with his guitar. William got up from the couch and walked up to me. He was wearing black dress shoes, black pants and a white button-down long sleeved shirt. He was smiling at me and I smiled back. I wonder what song he was playing.
“Good morning Cynthia, how did you sleep?”
“I slept well, had a weird dream but well, how about you?”
“Oh, I slept very well thank you for asking.”
“What song were you playing just now, it sounded beautiful,” I couldn’t help but ask. I love hearing people play guitar and I also love to hear new songs.
“That song was called Romance” ”It’s one of my favorite songs aside from Hypnotize.”
“I love playing Hypnotize and Eleanor Rigby, they help me relax,” I wonder what he is doing here so early.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” I was shocked a bit because we had to go to school today.
“Are you going to bring you guitar to school?” I wanted to change the subject.
“There is no school today Cynthia.”
“Why not, I mean it’s Friday,”





William’s Perspective
“Well, remember when your aunts were attacked?”
“Yes, I remember,” She looked like she did not want to though.
“Well there was another attack only worse,” it was much worse. I handed Cynthia a newspaper. The headline said:

Another Attack
Couple attacked in the woods
They were killed around morning
Caution is advised to all
“Well people are in such a panic that all of the schools are closed.”
“William do you know for how long?”
“No, probably not till the murderers are caught.” I should have ended this the first time.
“Do you want to go for a walk with me Cynthia?” I want to be with her without putting her in danger. Why does she not trust me?
“Um, I’ll have to ask my aunts first.” She does not want to be alone with me. Well she should not want to be alone with me.
“Of course, go ahead.”





***

We were driving towards my house and the woods but not these woods.
“William, why are we going to your house?”
“Well I have to tell you something.”
“Why can’t you just tell me now?”
“Because you might not believe me, that is why,” I have to tell her so that she will be more careful. When we entered my house, I had a strange feeling. Like someone was watching us. Then I heard a sound come from my room.
“Cynthia could you stay here please, I have to check something in my room.”
“Ok sure I’ll wait here.” I saw Hector appear in my room. He was grinning at me. Apparently, he went hunting already because I saw that his lips were tinged with blood. Also, his eyes were a deep red. What did he want know?
“How are you doing William?” he seemed amused at my shock.
“Why are you here in my house?” I growled at him.
“I just wanted to meet Cynthia. I heard that she was the daughter of the god of the drunk.” What, she could not be his daughter.
“You are lying, they are nothing alike”
“Oh really, well she is his daughter. Whether you like it or not William knight.” I hated it when he called me with my surname, he did it to vex me.
“Don’t you dare go anywhere near her you monster.” I wanted to kill him then and there. But if I even tried I would die a quick and painful death. Then if I died, he would kill Cynthia.
Why are you interested in Cynthia? She doesn’t even know what you are.” He was closer to me now. I could see the pupils of his eyes aside from the room being really dark.
“I have my reasons, the point is that I want her dead and no one, not even you will be able to stop me,” he tackled me and I felt a pair of fangs pierce my skin. After that, I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was lying in bed, I saw Cynthia sitting in a chair beside me. She looked sad when she looked at me.
“Why do you look sad Cynthia?” I was afraid to ask but I had to.
“Are you ok? I heard a crash come from your room and came to see you passed out on the floor. What happened, I heard another voice in the room with you?” I was relieved to know that she did not know that the monster was in the house.

“Well, I was talking to Hector and my phone was on speaker,” I did not want to lie to her. Then again, I am not lying entirely; I am just not telling her everything that happened.
“That still wouldn’t explain the crash William.” I would have to tell her. She should know, I could at least warn her about Hector.
“Do you remember what I told you about coming here because I wanted to tell something?”
“Yes, what does that have to do with this?” I would not know how to tell her. I have never told anyone else before.
“Well it has to do with me and you.” How could I tell her without her freaking out?
“What are you talking about William?” I do not want her to think that I am lying. I also do not want her to be mad at me because I care about her.



Cynthia’s Perspective

What does he have to hide from me?
“It’s about our fathers Cynthia.
“Have you ever met your father?” I didn’t want to ask but I just had to know.
“Only once, and that was a long time ago. How about you?
“I’ve never seen my father.”
“That doesn’t surprise me, they rarely see their children.” What did he mean by that?
“William, what were you going to tell me?”
“Well, first I just want to tell you Ti amo. Ho sempre e lo amerò sempre Cynthia.” I could not believe that he just said that. I also could not believe that I understood what he said. I did not know what to say, I wanted to tell him that I felt the same way. However, I just didn‘t know if I felt that way after all I had met him a few days ago.
“Um, why did you say that we had to talk about our fathers?” I said because I didn’t like the awkward silence that was sure to follow.
“Well, have you had any weird dreams at all?”
“Yes, about three weird dreams. I told you about one of them.”
“Yes, I remember you telling me about one dream. Well it was true, I was trying to warn you.”
“Could you tell me everything because you haven’t told me anything.”
“Well, I just want to tell you that I’m the son of the god Apollo.”
“I’m going to need proof.”
“Well, I have a kind of mark but I don’t know if it will help.” he started to pull the collar of his shirt down and I saw a sort of mark. It was in the shape of a lyre and said Apollo in Greek at the bottom. It looked as if he was branded.
“Who made that mark on you? Did it hurt?” Who would do such a thing!
“Relax, my dad did it and it didn’t hurt a bit.” I was horrified.
“Why would he do something like that?! It’s mental!”



William’s Perspective

She seems mad at my father. I saw her then at a vase of flowers and saw that the flowers were wilting. What? Could Hector have been telling the truth?
“Cynthia, he gave me a choice and I let him. So it is my fault.”
“Why would you agree to it!” This wasn’t a question, it was an accusation.
“Are you going to get mad at me or let me finish. I know how I can prove to you that my father is Apollo.” I was starting to get frustrated.
“Ok, fine,” was all that she said. She said it in an irritated tone. I saw my piano and knew how to prove to her that I was telling her the truth. I wanted to play a song to show her. I picked a song and just snapped my fingers. The piano started playing Beethoven’s 5th. Her expression was a mixture of confusion and some other emotion.
“But that could a piano that plays itself, like those that you see in old western movies.” My expression was amused because she thought of that and a little irritated. I snapped my fingers one more time and a violin that was propped on one of the walls and it suddenly started playing the violin part to Beethoven’s 5th. I looked at her and saw that her eyes were half-closed and she was smiling. For a second I was tempted to kiss her. However, I thought that it was a bad idea. After the song was over, I saw her open her eyes and was surprised at what I saw in them. I saw a dawning of understanding. She was smiling at me. I was elated to see that she was not mad at me anymore.
“Wait, but if that was real then could everything else be real too?”
“Do you not believe me?”
“William I don’t know what to believe. This just seems so weird.”
“It takes time to get used to the idea.”
“Did you want to tell me anything else?”
“Yes I wanted to tell you about what attacked your aunts. But first could you tell me what you dreamt the day that we went to the museum?”
“Well, first I was inside Apollo’s palace. I saw you two having a conversation.” That part was real.
“Anything else?”
“Well, then I saw you in your room but you looked scared. Then I saw that there was someone else in the room. When I saw it smiling at me I was horrified.” That was also real and terrifying.
“Why did you want to know?”
“Well, I know that monster and he will try to kill you.”
“What, explain from the beginning please.” Oh why from the beginning? Well I would have to tell her at one point.
“He was someone that I know. He went for a walk one night and I did not see him till a week after.”
“What happened to him?”
“Well I do not know what exactly but something bad happened. When he came home he looked haggard. When I asked what happened to him all he did was yell at me that he was fine.”
“What do you think happened to him?”
“Well, he could have been attacked and knocked unconscious. But I found out later on that he was bitten.”
“What animal bit him? Could it have been a bear?”
“No, he was bitten by two monsters, two very dangerous monsters.”
“Wait, what kind of monsters? Mythical monsters.”
“Yes, he was bitten by a werewolf and a vampire at the same time.”
“So he’s a half-wolf half-vampire?”
“I know that it sounds weird but that is what happened.”
“Why do you say that he would try to kill me?”


Cynthia’s Perspective
“He does not like you very much. Actually he hates you” What have I ever done to him?
“I’ve never even met him.”
“Yes you have. That monster is my guardian.” Oh no, why him? I didn’t want to know more.
“There is one more thing. You are…”
“Stop !!! I don’t want to hear any more.” I shouted interrupting him.
“You wanted to know everything and there is more.” He didn’t shout but I could tell that he was angry. He was looking at something, his eyes were wide. When I followed his gaze all that I saw was a flower vase.
“What are you looking at?” I asked.
“Oh, just at the flowers.”
“Why, they’re just flowers”
“Well because of how they react.“ he said.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You would know what I was talking about if you would have let me finish explaining everything to you.” He said in a calm voice.
“Sorry, now could you tell me what you meant about the flowers?”
“You are the offspring of Dionysus.”
“What, how could I be a daughter of a god?” That’s impossible. Then again how could I explain what happened with William and the piano.
“I do not know, but I wish I did. This does not make sense. Wait do you remember when you were little?”
“Of course why wouldn’t I?”
“I just wanted to see if you were half god or human instead of goddess.”
“How could I be a goddess? I mean I’m human.”


William’s Perspective
“Well I am a god.” I saw her jaw drop in surprise.
“How could you be a god, you look so human.”
“I was born from my dad’s grief and his music.”
“Why was he sad? Did a loved one die.”
“A very close and dear friend of his died.”
“I’m so sorry about that.” She did seem sad at his death.
“That happened centuries ago. So do not worry about it.”
“If that happened so long ago then how old are you.”
“I am about a little more than two millennia old. My dad made me immortal when I turned eighteen years old.” It has been so long since I talked to anyone about that.
“How long ago was Hector a monster. I mean when did he get bitten?”
“He got bitten on my eighteenth birthday. It was on my actual birthday when I was made immortal.”
“When was that? Because I think that I remember seeing someone that looked a lot like him.”

“What? But my 18th birthday was on 111 B.C. How could you have seen him? This is just impossible, I thought that you said you were human?” This makes no sense at all!!!
“I am a human but I had a dream about him, or at least I think it was him.” What!?!? She did know about him but she didn’t know that he was a monster.
“Could you tell me what happened in the dream?”
“I told you about the dream remember?”
“Yeah I remember, I thought that you had another dream.”
“No, um how come you only saw your dad once and yet he turned you into an immortal?”
“I only saw him on my 18th birthday, but I constantly had dreams about a youth of my age. He would tell me to always be honest, kind, and to do no wrong.”
“Well, I’ve never had dreams of my dad, I don’t even know what he looks like.” When I looked at the flowers I saw them droop down sadly. I felt sad for her, she never knew her dad whereas I saw mine, once but still.
“I’m sorry but at least you know who your dad is right?”
“Right, that’s better than not knowing at all.” When I looked again the flowers looked a bit better.
“Well, um I guess I should take you home now. So your aunts don’t worry.”
“Um yeah I guess you should ok.” Was it my imagination or did I detect a bit of disappointment in her voice. No that’s impossible. When we were driving to her house I saw that it was barely 11:25. Then I saw her staring at me from the corner of her eye.
“Wow, time went by fast didn’t it?” We hadn’t talked at all since leaving my house.
“Um yeah I guess so, to tell you the truth I wasn’t really keeping track of the time, I had other things on my mind.” I couldn’t help but laugh aloud, then I saw her blush a crimson color.


Cynthia’s Perspective

When we arrived at my house, Lucy opened the door for me. She seemed to be in a good mood.
“William would you like to stay for breakfast?” she said with a smile.
“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”
“It’s no bother at all.” I didn’t want him to leave me yet. Then he agreed to join us. After breakfast William and I were having a conversation-or discussion-about guitars.
“Acoustic guitars are better than electric guitars William!”
“No, they take up to much space. Electric guitars aren’t as bulky.”
“You don’t need amps for acoustic guitars.”
“STOP IT!!! Both of you, who cares which guitar is better!!!”
“We were just having a conversation Lucy!” We almost screamed at her. She looked shocked at our response.
“Would you like to see some pictures of Cynthia when she was younger William?” What!?!? She would not do that. I would be so embarrassed.
“Um, only if Cynthia let’s me.” Lucy was speechless, she probably thought that he would say yes, so she’s dumbfounded.
“Well I guess I wouldn’t mind,” I guess he would not laugh, unlike any other person. Lucy went up to her room and was back in a flash.





William’s Perspective

I do not think that I would have expected what happened next. When I saw the picture, I was in complete shock. The young girl in the photo looked like an angel, her face was pale but her cheeks were a damasked color, she had curly golden brown hair. WHAT?!?! This is impossible, she looks just like…..Oh My God. WHY!?!? She was wearing a white dress and looked about thirteen or fourteen years old. I saw Cynthia and her aunts staring at me with confused stares. Before I could stop myself, I said something dumb like,
“You look like an angel in the picture.” Now they just looked surprised at my comment.
“Well, I guess she looked pretty cute.” Lucy said it in a bored tone. When I looked at Cynthia, again suddenly my brain was filled with memories of my past, both the pleasant and the unpleasant. I didn’t want to remember but then again I wanted to. I didn’t want to hope that there was a connection but I couldn’t help it, I wanted to believe so badly that this wasn‘t a coincidence. In an instant I was back at my home in Venice Italy. The room I was in was an armory. No, No, No!!!!! I was in a black silk robe, it was two in the morning I think, and I couldn’t sleep. I decided to see what kind of weapons my brother had. Hector had bronze, gold, silver, and wooden shields. He also had bronze and silver swords, bows, and arrows. He always kept his armory under lock and key. But I couldn’t help but see the wonderful weapons that he had stored here. When I first entered this room I was amazed at the golden walls that gleamed with the faintest rays of sunlight or moonlight. Then I heard my brother’s voice echo from some other part of the house. I decided that it would be a bad idea to stay and be caught by Hector. It was the day before my 18th birthday and I felt as if something wonderful would happen. Since I lived with my brothers and my foster parents I wasn’t allowed to be outside of my house. So my only companions were my shelves of books and my acoustic guitar. I never felt loved by my foster parents or my brothers, when I’m near any of them I feel as If I’m not wanted. Anyway, I immediately went up to my room so as to not get caught. I’ve been lucky so far because Hector usually polishes his armor and weapons at this time. As I crept past my younger brother’s room I heard him talking in his sleep. He said something about an angel. After I got to my room I couldn’t get to sleep again, I had so many other things on my mind, like a letter I got yesterday night. It said,
Dear Mr. Knight,
I would just like to congratulate you on you 18 years of life. Not many people like you make it this far in life. Anyway I hope you have a wonderful birthday.
Buon Compleanno
Sincerely,
Your padre

This was a weird letter because as far as I knew I didn’t have a father. When I tried to go back to sleep I kept seeing a beautiful maiden, she was looking into my eyes and smiling. Yet I didn’t even know her, and yet I felt like I did somehow. This wouldn’t be the first time that I had dreams about her. I remember that one night, the first night when I was about to fall asleep I heard a voice calling my name and when I fell asleep I heard that same voice but I also saw that it belonged to a beautiful maiden about my age. I thought that she was the most beautiful maiden in the entire world. After that night, I would have dreams about her constantly, even when I wasn’t even trying. They would always start out the same way. I would be in a beautiful garden full of flowers; I would always have my guitar in hand and when I started to play I would hear her voice, that angelic voice that I could only hear in my dreams. I would then put down my guitar and try to find out where she was. In every dream I found her near a calm stream, she was either reading or playing on a guitar and always smiling at me as if she was waiting for me. The place seems to be a garden hidden in the mountains because I could see the tops of mountain in the distance, surrounding this place. She always wore a long white silk dress and white sandals. She looked exactly like a goddess in my opinion; she had hazel eyes, light brown almost golden brown hair and pale white skin. When she smiled I felt like I was in heaven, I felt so happy that I was in complete rapture. When I see her smile at me I felt my heart burst with joy. I have never felt like this before, no other maiden has ever made me feel so happy. But this was just a dream, and sooner or later it would have to end as all dreams should. I would always walk up to her and say hello but she would never say more that hello, aside from that first dream when she said my name. But I was hopeful that she would say more than a hello, so I said,
“Hello, I see that you’re playing guitar.” All she did was nod and started to play a g chord.
“What song are you playing?” She seemed to be too engrossed in the song that she was trying to play. Therefore, I decided to turn around and play under the laurel tree by the stream. Then I stopped in my tracks because I heard a song. It said,

“Whenever I see you I just want to be with you, hold you
I can’t think of living without you
I can’t get you out of my mind
When I see you my heart beats in overtime
When I’m with you I can’t help but smile”
Oh my goodness, I heard that song before. She was singing the song that I wrote, or at least started. When I turned around I saw that she was looking at me and she said good-bye. I didn’t want to wake up yet, but then the scene changed and it was pitch black. Then I heard my name being called in a sweet voice, it had a musical sound to it. I recognized it instantly as the voice of my angle and then I felt a pair of hands shake my body hard. When I finally awoke my foster father kept yelling at me in a harsh voice why I was still asleep and why I was so lazy and a good for nothing. Oh how I abhor you, I am none of the things that you accuse me of. Anyway when I was dressed in my best attire I went out to the courtyard to find a letter that said,
Dear William,
Boun Compeanno, I hope that you have a good time. I will see you at the time of the party.
Sincerely,
Claire Goodwin
XOXOXO
Oh no I thought that she understood that I had no feelings for her, oh well. Aside from the note everything was normal, they never celebrated my birthdays. Oh well, I can spend this time to play some guitar or read a book or two. Or I could visit a very good friend of mine that I haven’t seen in a long time.
“Hey William where are you?” It was my brother Aaron; he always knew where I was. I didn’t want to talk to anyone so I exited through the back door and headed toward the horse stables. The stable was as big as a barn, but not as malodorous. We had a total of five of the best pure-bred horses in Italy. At the far corner of the stable was my horse, a stallion of the darkest black with a white star on the middle of his forehead. I raised him since he was a colt. He was a very peculiar young colt because he always did what he was told, he stayed when he was told to stay, and he was also very docile. Well, he listened to me at least. When I was sixteen I was going to ride him for the first time, and he would have allowed me to. When Aaron tried to ride him he bucked and kicked and threw Aaron off of the saddle. When Hector tried to ride him, he bucked and kicked the same as before and threw Hector off of the saddle. They were both angry because they couldn’t ride that horse. They called it a beast that shouldn’t see the light of day because they said, “It can’t be trained to be ridden and it bucks every time we get near it!”
“Well maybe I could learn to ride him,” I said in a sure voice.
“Why would he let you ride him William?!” Hector said in an irritated tone. So the next morning at the crack of dawn I went out to the stables. When I entered the stables I let him out and he started to run out to the one-hundred acres of fenced land behind the property. I started to get the leather obsidian saddle and the other gear until just then I heard him whine. I dropped all of the things in the ground and I ran outside to find a madwoman wearing fawn skins over robes and had attacked my horse.
“What the heck are you doing to my horse!” all I heard was a snarl from her and then she ran away to the north towards the mountains. I ran to my horse to find that the monster had cut his side and blood was gushing out of the wound. In a minute I found some plants that could help stop the bleeding and got him an apple from a nearby tree. About half an hour later, he started to stand up and walked a bit, but I had to help him because he was staggering and he had a limp, he probably sprained a leg. When we got back it was an hour later. My brothers were waiting on the porch to see if I was alive but when they saw me they looked cross.
“What the heck happened to the horse!!!” I was at a loss at how to explain how that lunatic attacked my horse and I knew that they would think me mental. My heart was pounding because they had murderous looks on their faces, I knew as well as they did what would happen to my foster father if this horse was injured. This horse cost a lot of money when it grew more, and now thanks to me it had almost gotten killed. I am such an idiot; it will never let me ride it now. Darn it. Hector and Aaron ran to me and told me that I was an idiot for hurting our foster father’s most prized horse. I tried to explain but just then, our foster dad came outside to see three boys quarrelling and a purebred horse with a huge gash on its side. He turned a pale color as if he saw a ghost then a deep red color as if he was about to explode. He called Aaron to see if he knew what happened. When he said that he didn’t he walked up to me and said,
“William, what have you done to my horse!!!!” It wasn’t a question it was an accusation. He always assumes that everything bad that happens is my fault. He never seemed to care about me at all. As he looked at the horse I was infuriated because he cared more about his horse, and his other foster kids. He spent so little time with me that I practically raised myself. I wanted to shout at him that I could have been hurt but he would not care. At that very moment I felt a hand on my deltoid and saw the looks of awed terror on the faces of my brothers and him. When I turned around, I had to shield my eyes from the bright light that seemed to be radiating from a single person. I saw this person come closer to the ground because he seemed to have come up from the sky. He looked at least twenty-four years old, about six feet tall, he had tanned skin, not too tan though just the right shade of light brown. He smiled at me and I felt bliss, I am serious, my anger seemed to have washed away from my body when he smiled at me and what replaced it was a feeling of complete serenity. He seemed quite muscular and very striking but did not seem arrogant about it. I knew that he must be divinity.
“Hello, my son how are you?” he was looking right at me but I had no clue why he was. I could not be his son; I was told that my parents died in a horse stable fire. He seemed to have guessed that I did not have a clue about what he was talking about so he cleared his throat and said,
“Why didn’t you tell him who his father was Victor? I thought that I was very specific in telling you that when they were older that you would tell all of them who their father was!!” he said the last few words in a harsher, irritated tone. When he calmed down a bit he looked straight at me with sad eyes, my eyes, his eyes were the same exact shade of violet that scared the heck out of my brothers every time they saw me, even though they tried to hide it. He said that he was the god Apollo and that he came to talk to his sons. When I looked at my dad he said that it would be a good idea. What the heck!!! I always thought that I was different from most of the other boys but not this different. How can I be his son, the son of a god? He led us back to the house and when our foster mother saw Apollo she became very pallid then fainted a moment later, but not before we heard a low gasp escape her lips. When we came to the living room, we were told to sit and listen to him.
“Listen, I want to tell you that I will pick one of you to be like me, a god and the others angels to assist the humans.” What?! When I looked at Hector and Aaron they didn’t look scared at all or shocked for that matter.
“Oh we know that, so which one of the two of us will you pick to be a god?” Hector was the one to speak and he said two of us, he probably did not include me.
“Well it’s obvious that I should pick the one with the purest of heart and the most honest of the three of you. So I pick…….William to be a god.” When he said my name I was dumbfounded. I thought that he would’ve picked Hector because he was the oldest. When I looked at my older and younger siblings they were also dumbfounded.
“What?! How could you pick him??!! He seemed really miffed, probably because he thought that he was going to be the one Apollo picked as the god. I was about to deny that I wasn’t fit to be a god but then Apollo gave me a box, a large rectangular box.
What could be inside it? The box looked big enough to hold a guitar, but only big enough and thin enough for a Spanish guitar, nothing thicker than that.
“I hope that you like it, knowing your interest you might like this.” Apollo said with a huge grin on his face. W-O-W!! How could he have possibly known? Inside the box was a Spanish guitar and it had a stream, a laurel tree, and mountains like in my dream. It was exactly like in my dream.
“Wow, how did you know?” his lips went up in a slight smile.
“Whatever do you mean?” he could not fool me. Even though he said it in a confused way, he knew what I was referring to.
“Well, the design looks very familiar. How did you know that I would love it?”
“Well I have been watching you and a friend of mine to watch over your dreams.” Did he mean Morpheus? The titan lord of dreams?
“Oh, thank you father.” He smiled more when I acknowledged him as my father. It will take some time to get used to my father being a god.
“You’re very welcome my son. Um…I have had a problem before with one of my other sons. So because he wanted to prove that he was my son he died.” He looked very grim as he said this. However, as I looked at my brothers and foster father they seemed unaffected by this.
“I’m so sorry for his loss.”
“Thank you. I would like to give you a reminder so that you never forget who you are.” What does he mean by that? All I did was nod my head and I instantly felt a stinging in my neck. It did not hurt but still, it felt odd. When it was over, I pulled down the collar of my white shirt to find a sort of mark on my neck where the stinging was. When I looked up to my dad he was gone, everyone was gone. However, there was a note on the table right in front of me, it said:
Dear son,
I would like you to get some rest tonight and tomorrow we will visit an old friend of mine. Te deseo dulces suenos hijo. Espero que estes listo a las ocho de la mañana.
Buenas Noches hijo, te quiero mucho.
He wrote it in English and Spanish. It is good that I am fluent in quite a few languages. Then the weirdest thing started to happen. As I walked up the stairs to my room, I grew very tired, my legs felt as heavy as lead, my eyelids felt very heavy and I collapsed on my bed. As I left consciousness, my dreams started the same as before, they started with my going to the stream by the garden. Only it felt different in a way, I looked all over the garden but I could not find my angel anywhere. She was not by the laurel tree, or by the stream. Where could she be?! I have to find her; she has to be around here somewhere. I was frantic with worry for my angel. Even if she was just a figment of my imagination, I would feel better if I had her with me. I felt so alone during the day in reality and I could only find comfort at night in my dreams. I could not sleep for the rest of the night, I felt sad and elated at the same time for different reasons. As dawn arrived I started to finally drift into a deep sleep. But alas, even though I slept instead of having a beautiful dream I had a horrific nightmare. In my nightmare, I was walking in a garden with a girl that resembled my angel so much so that the only difference is that her hair color is a shade darker. She was smiling at me and holding my hand. It was the same garden that I see whenever I close my eyes. Only I felt different, in a way better because I had her back. But there was also something else that I couldn’t place. When I looked at her she just smiled as if there was nothing amiss.
“William, are you alright?” oh my goodness, this girl’s voice sounds exactly like my angel’s. But then again it could just be a figment of my imagination. I could be imagining all of this to cope with being told a lot of impossibilities.
“I’m fine, why do you ask?” she just looked sadly at me.
“I ask because I worry about you” this has to be a dream, no matter how realistic it appears to me. This girl cannot be real, I know I’m dreaming. As we were walking farther into the garden I heard a growl then a howl. I felt a shiver run down my spine. Just now I realized that I didn’t even know this girl’s name, normally I was very formal when meeting someone for the first time. But strangely I felt like I knew her already.
“Excuse me but would you mind telling me your name?”
“Why, you don’t recognize an old friend?” What? I did not remember meeting her, ever.
“Um no, I do not remember meeting you. should I?”
“Well I guess because we haven’t seen each other for years. Anyway my name is Cynthia Simmons.” Why does that name sound so familiar? I remember someone with that name but I cannot remember whom. Just then, the dream changed because even though we were still in the garden, Hector was there and he was whispering something into Cynthia’s ear and she was laughing. I suddenly felt so angry with my brother, but why would I feel this way? I did not even know her, or at least I do not believe that I did. Nevertheless, I still felt enraged at what I was witnessing, now Hector was holding her in his arms and she placed her head on his shoulder. When he looked up, he threw a smug grin my way. But this only caused me to get angry, what enraged me was that he kissed her in front of me and then he pressed his lips to the base of her throat. At first, I did not know what he was doing, but after a moment I saw the color being drained out of her cheeks, she also looked to be in pain. I would have done something but my feet would not listen when I ordered them to move. Then before my very eyes, I saw Hector throw her fifty feet in the direction of the laurel tree. As I locked on to his face I was horrified by the animal I saw instead of the cultured and sophisticated person that I knew was my brother deep, deep inside. He ginned at me and his lips and teeth were stained with the dark red liquid that filled every living being. His eyes resembled the color of the very essence that gave us life and was smeared on his face. Right now I wished that I could hurt him for hurting that girl, Cynthia Simmons. I finally was able to move and I sprinted to my brother, prepared to beat him to death. Nevertheless, he just threw me aside with the back of his hand right next to Cynthia. When I saw the mark that he made on her throat my previous anger was just the spark that lit the flame when I saw the way he killed her, her right cheek had long marks as if made by long clawed hands all the way to where he bit her at the base of her throat. Her eyes were open and expressionless, her lips parted slightly and all the color was drained from her face so it gave her the appearance of a bleached dead girl. As I was getting up my brother came running at such speeds that all I saw was a blur as he picked me up and, with his fangs exposed in a grotesque smile, pierced my neck and almost drained me of blood. I felt my life being sucked from my body and after feeling as if nothing. Not even hell could match this torture that I was being put through he let me go. As I looked up to see him smiling a bloody smile at me the whole scene turned pitch black and I started to open my eyes to see that it was morning and that my brothers were at the foot of my bed and staring at me as if I belonged in an insane asylum.
“Why were you screaming!” Both of them asked at the same time.
“I was not.” I retorted.
“Yes, you kept saying ‘Do not hurt her you monster!’ like an insane person.” after I did not answer they left me to get dressed. After I was dressed, I put my cross that I kept stored in a drawer, around my neck. I would not want him to hurt me. As I came down stairs I saw that my father was ready and waiting for me.
“Where are we going exactly?” he looked at me and smiled.
“We are going to visit an old friend of ours.”
“An old friend of ours?”
“Precisely William.” After a few miles of walking down a dirt road, I saw the canopy for a house up ahead. It was white and laced with roses, tulips, narcissus, hyacinths, violets and delphiniums. It was sunny, which of course was not normal now, it was barely the beginning of October. Although you could see children playing, adults and young adults going for walks or having tea outside, enjoying the sunlight. As my father and I walked closer to the house I could see two figures sitting on a porch swing big enough for about three people. The first person that I saw was a man, about the age of my father, maybe a bit older. The second person that I saw was…. It cannot be, how could it? The second person was a young woman, she had beautiful hazel eyes, light brown hair, she was slender and resembled the angel that occupied my every though, night and day. Yet I could not see how that would be possible. As we grew closer I got a good look at the girl. She had very fair skin, without a single flaw in sight. When she saw us approach, she smiled, she seemed happy to see us. I wonder who she is. I do not remember ever meeting her. The man next to her, most likely her father, looked at my father and smiled slightly but scowled when he looked at me. Why would he not like me? I have not even introduced myself yet. After about a minute we were at the house steps. The house was painted pure white, it had two stories and one of the rooms had a balcony. The house was wrapped with vines and different types of flowers. My father looked at the man and shook his hand, without a word. Then he did the same with the girl.
“Hello, my name is William Knight. It is a pleasure to meet you sir.” I spoke to the man, yet he did not answer. I said the same to the girl.
“It is a pleasure to see you again William.”
“Have we met before?”
“Of course, although you might not remember because we have not seen each other for a while.” She glanced at her father.
“Is your name Cynthia Simmons?”
“Yes it is.” She smiled at me and I smiled back.
“Excuse me, but I believe that it would be best if I talked to your father inside, right William?”
“I guess that it could not be a bad idea.” I did not keep my eyes off Cynthia, for I thought that I was still dreaming. After my father and her father left there was just silence.
“Um, might I ask why you are staring at me William?”
“Oh, I am deeply sorry if I bothered you. It is just that I cannot help but feel as if I have known you my entire life.” As soon as that last sentence escaped my lips, I regretted it. What if she felt uncomfortable because I said that? I should have been more careful with what I said. I turned my head to look at a tall white rose bush.
“It is alright, how have you been the past few years?”
“I have been well thank you. How have you been?”
“I have been well these past few years.”
“How long has it been since we met?”
“We met about fourteen years ago, but my father and I have been away for the past five years.”
“Oh, now I feel bad for forgetting that I ever met you. I am so very sorry.”
“You apologize too much. It would have surprised me if you did not forget.” What she said surprised me.
“Where did you go?”
“My father and I went to Spain. I saw the different styles of artwork and loved it all.”
“Really, I have seen some portraits from Spain and I thought that they were wonderful. What were your favorite paintings?”
“I loved the paintings with angels coming down from heaven.”
“I saw one and it looked splendid. It looked very detailed and made me feel so happy.” We have some things in common.
“Do you have any favorite books?”
“Well, one of my favorite books is the Iliad.”
“Which one of Homer’s stories do you prefer? I love the story about Pygmalion and Galatea. Another would have to be the one about Cupid and Psyche. It was a very touching story. It said that love could conquer all, no matter what the obstacle. Whether it was jealous sisters, envious goddesses or death. ”
“Those two are some of my favorite stories, also the one were the maiden and the youth were madly in love with the other but it was forbidden…”
“So they escaped one night to finally be together. Until one thought that, the other was dead and they both ended up dead. But in the end not even then death could separate them.” We were sitting on the porch swing, side by side. I could not help but look into her eyes.
“We have a lot in common. No wonder we were such good friends.”
“I wonder why your father seemed mad at me.”
“I do not know.” For a time it was quiet. I was just content that I met someone that I could talk to without being afraid that I would say something wrong. The more time that I spent with her, the more I believed that she was my angel.
“Have you ever met my older brother?”
“Unfortunately, I have.” She scowled. Then I heard the front door open.
“Excuse me, how are you two doing?” my father asked from inside the house.
“We are fine. We were just talking about artwork and stories that we liked.”
“Really, well William loves to read.”
“I know, he seemed to be the type that, if he could, I bet he would spend all day with his nose in a book. I wish that I could have time to read.” She said the last part in a very soft whisper. I felt sad for her, she seemed to enjoy books as much as I did but she seemed to be always busy.
“You are welcome to come over to my father’s house whenever you wish. He has an enormous library and you could read to your heart’s content.”
“Thank you, but I would be far too busy to go over to your house. I am sorry.”
“No apology is necessary, if you do not have time to come to my father’s house, then I could come over and lend you some books.”
“She has no time to read right now William. She will be too busy.” I heard Cynthia's father say. He had a very light footstep because no one heard him come near the door.
“But she likes to read. Will you forbid her from doing something that she enjoys doing?” I asked him.
“She will be too busy to read.” He repeated.
“Brother, do you not think that you are being a bit unfair?” My father is this man’s brother. That means that he is a god too.
“No I do not.” With that, he retreated inside and so did my father.
“I apologize for how my father acted. I would love to read, but he does not believe that women should know things like that.” She said in her sweet angel voice. I felt so happy when I saw her smile at me.
“There is no need to apologize. He did not seem to like me to begin with.”
“It was still rude of him.” Then she looked down at her hands.
“Well, I do not think that he should forbid you from reading. Reading is a great way to learn about places besides this country.”
“I agree with you. But, there is just no use in arguing with my father.”
“Credi nell’amore a prima vista?” I was shocked because I asked her. Then I saw her cheeks grow a deep pink as she blushed.
“Si che faccio” That made me smile.
“Io credo che tu sei mia luce senza fine” Why did I say that? Then I looked at the rose bush, it seemed to move on its own. It is probably the light wind. It seemed to open more.
“Are you alright William?” I looked back at her.
“Of course, why do you ask?”
“Well, you seemed to be daydreaming.”
“No, I was just looking at the roses. They are beautiful, do you not think so?”
“I do, I am glad that you like them. How come you turned your head as soon as you made that comment?” she spoke in a curious, yet calm voice.
“Well, I did not know how you would react to such boldness, and, to be frank I felt embarrassed because I have never been so straight-forward with anyone before.”
“Really, well I have been prone to blurt things out from time to time.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Did you mean it?” she looked me in the eyes and I could not help but say what was on my mind at the time.
“Yes, I meant it. I do not know why, but I feel as if I can talk to you and not feel as if I will regret it later on.”
“I feel the same. Would you mind if I tell you something that I have never told anyone else?”
“You can tell me anything and I will not tell another soul, I swear.”
“Thank you. Well, while I was in Spain I did not feel as happy as I made my father believe. At times I cried at night while he was asleep.”
“Why, did someone hurt you? Did someone try to hurt you? What happened, where?” my mind raced. All that I could think was when I find out who hurt her….what would I do? Hurt them, or do nothing?
“No one hurt me, I was fine physically. I do not know where, all I know is that my heart hurt so much and I kept having dreams. I wrote them all down.” I could hear and feel the sadness in her voice and I longed to comfort her.
“What kinds of dreams?”
“It would be better if you read them.” For the first time since I was with her I saw that beside her was a journal, it was a black leather journal but it had her initials engraved on the top of the cover. She handed it to me and told me to start reading from the second to last page in the book.

I cannot believe that I had that dream again. It was the same as always, I was in a clearing, enclosed with mountains on all sides, by a stream and I was alone at first. Then, like always, I was greeted by a mysterious stranger. He was the same as always, beautiful and gallant. He always greeted me and he always had a guitar in hand. I had always seen him by a stream or a laurel tree. His eye color changed constantly, first they were silver, and then gold, after that they were brown, later green. Therefore, I never knew whom he could really be, which kept my mind guessing most of the day. Even though I did not know what color his eyes were, I did know that he was lean yet had some muscle, an ashen complexion and had curly midnight black hair. He never stayed more than a few minutes, or so it seemed to me and in the morning I always woke up with red, puffy eyes. I always saw him staring at me from afar and wondered. Who is he? I do not remember ever seeing someone like him in my life. He hardly ever came close to me, and only said hello and good-bye. Then I read the last page. It said,

This dream would be my last. I felt a pain in my chest, as if my heart were being ripped out of my chest. I did not see that young man until I walked towards the stream. He was smiling at me and I smiled back.
“Are you alright Cynthia?” the youth asked in a sweet voice, yet he seemed worried.
“I am fine. Why do you look sad?” he seemed to be sad about something. For a moment, he did not answer.
“I have enjoyed my time with you. I hope that you will remember me. good-bye.” Before I could even move, he was fading away. This is just a dream, I am dreaming. This is not real. No matter how much I told myself, I still felt as if I were losing a part of myself. As I saw him fading away I felt an ache in my chest that I could not explain, it hurt so much that I cried and screamed because I felt as if I was being ripped apart while I was still alive. Then the whole scene faded and I woke up to a dreary morning.
“Wow, did you always dream about that boy?” I asked, and I thought that I imagined hearing a note of jealousy because she dreamt constantly about a boy whom she says that she does not remember.
“Yes, I do not know why, but I did.”
“It is weird because I have had similar dreams, except it was a girl. She was so beautiful that you would mistake her for an angel.”
“Does anyone remind you of that angel, because the boy reminds me of a good friend of mine?” I guess being back home might have triggered her memory of that young man.
“Well, yes but no I will not tell you although I would like to. It would be too embarrassing.”
“Please? Please tell me William.” She asked, I wanted to tell her, so badly. But, what if she were to laugh at me?
“How about I tell you later?”
“Do you promise?” she looked at me, her eyes looking into mine expectantly.
“Why of course, I am nothing if not a man of my word.”
“Alright then, what else do you want to talk about?”
“Do you play an instrument? Because I remember that you know how to play the piano.”
“You taught me how to play the piano because as soon as you played a simple song I fell in love with it. I even begged you to teach me how to play.” She seemed to be in a good mood so far. I even remembered that I did, although that is the only thing that I remember.
“After so long we have managed to have a conversation without having a loss of words, or awkward silences. We are in agreement when it comes to music.” I said.
“We agree on a lot more than music.” She said.
“Yes we do. Speaking of music, have you been practicing the piano?” She is very talented when it comes to piano.
“Well, I’ve practiced what you taught me, but when I asked my father if I could have a tutor he barked at me, saying that I was not allowed to play anymore. When I asked why, he just said that he was repulsed by the sound of that thing, as he called it.” now I felt bad for her, when I first told her that I would teach her she was euphoric. Now her father did not allow her to learn any more, let alone play using what knowledge she already possessed.
“Well, if your dad won’t get you a tutor then you’ll just have to settle for me.”
“Do you really mean it!?” she sounded extremely excited but also a little worried. She seemed to be worried about how her dad would react.
“Yes, I mean it. You need to learn, you have the drive and the passion to be a great pianist. All you need is a tutor to teach you all of the basics.” when I finished I saw her look happy yet confused.
“I thought that you already taught me all of the basic notes and rhythms?” I just smiled at her.
“I only taught you some things, the chords and notes that are used the most. But I know more, I’d love to teach you all that I know so that when you leave your father you can learn more on your own.” as I gazed at her, I saw that her former worries were washed away and all that was left was joy and a burning desire to learn.
“Thank you so much William! But what if my father objects to you teaching me?” her happiness left her as fast as they had come when she asked if her father would allow it.
“Well, let us go ask him right now. But on the chance that he does not allow it I will still teach you whenever I get the chance.”
“Thank you again William. Music is the only way I know I can express myself.” She grabbed my hand and started to get up when she came to an abrupt stop and let go of my hand.
“I’m sorry about that. I should not have done that.”
“It’s quite alright. You were just very excited and you acted on an impulse. There’s no need to apologize.”
“Still, it won’t happen again.” It was probably the excitement. As we entered the house she was very careful not to come anywhere near me, which was probably a good thing because her father would not be happy if he saw her close to me. Her father was sitting on a chair that looked as if it was made of plants, there were vines mixed with tulips, roses, violets, and other such plants. I saw my dad standing by the piano and when he saw us, he smiled. Since we were right behind Cynthia’s father, he turned around and I felt anger and confusion coming from him like waves.
“Cynthia, do you need anything?” he sounded kind, but if you listened closely enough you could hear a bit of irritation in his voice.
“Well, I was wondering if….”
“If what? I have other matters to attend to.” The irritation was clearer in his voice now.
“Excuse me, but she would like to know if you could hire a piano tutor for her. I have heard her play before. I think that it is worth it. She should learn because she will stick to it and it is something that she loves.” Now I probably said it on an impulse or because I did not like the way he spoke to his daughter a moment ago. However, I was glad that I did.
“You are not excused and she will not have a tutor. She should be learning to cook, sew and to tend the house!” What! Why would he deny his only daughter the chance to do something that made her happy? She deserved that much since when I met her she told me her father forbid her to play, or be around other children. He only let me play with her because he was friends with my father.
“Well, I could tutor her if you won’t mind. “
“You will do no such thing William Knight! “
“Now brother be reasonable. Would it really be such a bad thing to have him tutor your daughter?”
“Yes, people would find him coming here frequently and they’ll think that my daughter and your son are courting. Also it will take up all of her time and might affect the outcome of the tournament for her hand.” I cannot believe this. He would actually force her to marry a stranger. Then again that’s how most people believed that it should be. They probably didn’t care about love at all, only about wealth. That is mainly what people thought about anyway, that just repulsed me.
“What tournament for my hand father!” when I saw her face she looked very mad and repulsed at the idea of it.
“You are almost fifteen and you should find a suitable husband so I’ve invited only the most eligible men to vie for your hand.”
“Well I won’t be a part of it! I’d rather be a penniless peasant, so no man would want me rather than be forced into marring a stranger!”
“You will marry the winner and that’s final. If you don’t then you can live on the streets for all I care!” Her father does not seem to comprehend that Cynthia does not like the domestic life of a girl that has to work her whole life hoping to leave when she got older, only to find out that she will be forced into a marriage to a complete stranger.
“This is none of my business and I hope that you do not mind my saying, but do you not think that it would be a bad idea to force her into a marriage so young?” I said as politely as I could without showing how angry I was. I did not want my only friend to be taken away from me again. In addition, I was starting to loath this man more than my foster father and Hector combined.
“Well this is none of your business so get out of my sight if you are going to side with my ignorant daughter.” Now that crossed the line and I walked the few feet that stood between me and Cynthia’s father and said,
“I will not leave until you take back what you said about her having to be forced to marry. Promise her that she will marry only of her own accord!”
“Now you listen boy, my daughter will do as I say and you cannot say or do anything about it!” he growled at me yet I did not flinch in the slightest. I felt the desire to punch him in the face, to make him feel the pain that I felt right now at having to hear her anger and sadness at what this man said. Nevertheless, I held my emotions that had to do with violence in a steel vault never to be opened.
“Well I guess we will just have to see about that now, will we not sir.”
“Yes we will. Now I hope that you get out of my sight right now before I throw you out so that I can talk some sense into my intractable child.” Now I could not hold back the desire to hit him, and I did not want to. The vault door swung open, the anger was released, and I hit him in the face with as much force as I could congregate and watched him fall to the ground with a loud thud, out cold and with a shocked look plastered on his face. As I looked around me, my anger faded and turned into guilt. Not because I felt sorry for hitting him but because I didn’t want to be on bad terms with Cynthia or Apollo. They both looked at me with a shocked expression.
“I’m sorry if I angered either of you but he was getting on my last nerve. I know what I did was wrong so again I apologize.” What I didn’t expect was their responses to my apology.
“That wasn’t a good thing to do but he was getting on my nerves too.”
“Even though he is older than you he didn’t have the right to shoot his mouth off like that.” I felt a lot better, or at least I did till he got up a few moments later and, with his fist he hit me so hard that I fell to the ground and somehow hit my head on the piano keys and lost consciousness.
“William! William!.…..get up! Please get up!” I heard Cynthia’s voice and opened my eyes to see that I was back at her aunts’ house. Apparently I was lying on Cynthia’s bed in her room. She was sitting on a chair by the bed staring at me. I stared back but my vision seemed blurred. I tried not to think about what I just remembered, it seemed so weird but in a way I was right. I realized that I had never been in her room before. As I looked around I saw that her room had a small balcony overlooking a small clearing that, when the moon was out, would become aglow with the moon’s beams of silver light. By the door to the balcony there stood a plain white grand piano, the walls were painted a color more like silver rather than white. Her walls were covered with posters of Greek gods and goddesses. Her dresser was made out of oak wood and looked as if it was spray painted white. She had a desk that had her laptop, printer, a few CDs and a few DVDs, it was a plain and simple room. No stereo, no TV and no closet filled overcapacity with clothes. This simple room fit her because she was a simple person, she didn’t need an extravagant room. Then, just to look at something besides Cynthia, because I didn’t want to remember more I looked at her bookshelf. I saw books like MOONLIGHT, Mythology, ROMEO AND JULIET, TWILIGHT, NEW MOON, ECLIPSE, BREAKING DAWN, SHIVER, COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL, DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, all of the books of the VAMPIRE DIARIES, Dear john, THE SHORT second LIFE OF BREE TANNER, Look for me by moonlight, MACBETH, PRIDE AND PREJIDUCE, .WITHERING HEIGHTS, GONE WITH THE WIND, the entire house of night series, all seven Harry Potter books and at least eight GOOSEBUMPS books . She also had more books that had to do with mystery, murder, horror, romance and betrayal. She seemed to fancy books with monsters, betrayal and romance, I should make a note of that. We seem to have different interests in book genres, but we have some similar tastes. I think I have a book that she would love to read. It was a good book even if it wasn’t what I preferred when it came to themes. She followed my gaze but didn’t say anything at all. Then I saw a lustrous white teddy bear that had a faint golden glow and a heart shaped amethyst in its center, it reminded me of something that I wanted so badly to remember but couldn’t for some strange reason. Then, as quick as a flash I remembered. I gave her this bear, ever since we met I felt a connection between us and we became close friends. I gave it to her on her first birthday, the day she said her first word, my name. But I didn’t want to go into a flashback again, at least not again today. I always feel so weird afterwards that I try to push them back. Instead I wanted to learn how long it had been, how I had acted while in that dreamlike state and what her aunts thought of me now.

Cynthia’s Perspective
“What happened? How long have I been unconscious?” he looked very sad all of a sudden.
“You where unconscious for about ten hours, you passed out as soon as you looked at me. Are you all right? What happened that made you pass out?”
“Oh I just remembered something that I wanted but didn’t want to remember. Does that make sense?”
“Well, yeah it does. Do you need anything William?”
“No thank you Cynthia.” it must have been something unpleasant to have him raving about an angel. He said, NO. Don’t take my angel away from me you monster! Maybe he was talking about Hector. But if so then who was this angel? Now he looked a bit better, but not entirely like himself. He seemed to be thinking about something, and not liking what he was remembering, he was shaking so much that I thought that he was having a convulsion. I saw that he was looking above my head and when I turned we were completely alone, my aunts were probably talking amongst themselves, wondering what happened to him or something.
“Why did you faint when you saw me?” I couldn’t help but ask because the words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“I was just shocked because I wasn’t kidding when I said that you looked like an angel.” he smiled but I could tell that he wasn’t feeling so good and that it was forced. I was flattered that he called me an angel but I didn’t believe him because every time I looked in the mirror I looked ordinary.
“Still, that doesn’t seem like a good enough explanation.” now he looked very serious, like he was going to tell me something about his past and I was glad that my aunts left already.
“Well, to tell you the truth you didn’t remind me of an angel, you are my angel.” Ok, what! You lost me there. You have to be joking. I can’t believe that I was an angel. Wait, he said my angel. It reminded me of what he was raving about earlier, NO. Don’t take my angel away from me you monster! Maybe he was having a dream about hector and me.
“Have we ever met before?”
“Yes, we met the day that you were born in 125 B.C.”
“You lost me again, so technically I’m what? 2,135 years old?” he seemed to smile again and it wasn’t forced, or it didn’t look like it was.
“Yes, now we are the same age, but technically I’m four years older than you.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, maybe because it seemed impossible.
“Wait, so if I’m that old then how come I remember when I was young? And wouldn’t I be immortal?”
“Your dad could have erased some of your memory and as for the immortality well, the gods gave it to you and they can take it back just as easily.” What he said made some sense but I was still skeptical.
“If you do not believe me then it is too bad because I would’ve hoped I could trust you. Now I regret telling you anything if you don’t trust me.” what? I wanted to trust him but I needed proof.
“Where is the bear that you got for your first birthday?” How did he know that I was given a bear?
“It’s right beside you, leaning on the wall.” he smiled a bit, you’d barely notice it. He looked at the bear for a moment and then grabbed it gingerly with his hand. I saw a gleam in his eyes and was surprised because he seemed to know that the bear had a hollow spot in the middle of its belly and that it could only be opened from the back but you needed a key.
“May I?” he was looking at me and I just nodded.
“Wait, you need a key.” he ignored my statement. I thought that he was going to pick the lock but then I saw him reach inside his shirt to take something on a chain out and it was a key. It was in the shape of a heart and matched the lock perfectly. He turned it and opened the little door. I saw what he took out but I couldn’t believe that it was a piece of folded parchment. He handed it to me and as I unfolded it I was amazed at how anxious I felt to open it. The paper felt smooth and warm beneath my fingers. After I opened it I was amazed. It read,
Dear Cynthia,
Boun Cumplaenos. I hope that you read this and not your father, he doesn’t like me, for that I have no idea. Well I hope that we can be friends. I write this letter in case I don’t see you again because I heard that you and your father would be traveling and I wanted you to read a poem I wrote,
YOU ARE…..
You are so beautiful.
That, everyone can comprehend.
You are so kind.
You show everyone a kind hand.
You are so smart.
I am very impressed even if I don’t show it.
I can’t believe how fast you’ve grown in a year.
I hope that for the rest of my life I can have you near.
You bring me joy in a way even I cannot comprehend.
I wish you the best the world has to offer because you will see everything through to its end.
I hope that you liked it, I wrote it in a bit of a hurry but I meant every word. You were always kindhearted to everyone, you spoke Italian fluently and you are surefooted when you walk. You seem much older than anyone would think and I am so proud of you. I hope that you have a fun time traveling with your dad. Tell me all about it, but only if you want to.
With love,
William Knight
Should I really believe him? Well this letter did explain a bit of what he was saying.
“Now do you believe me?”
“Sort of. But how come I never got this before now?”
“Well, I was going to give you the key because I thought that I wouldn’t see you again. But then I heard that someone convinced you father to think otherwise. I grew very fond of you.” He seemed a little embarrassed because he just told me how much he cares, even though I knew he cared I don’t think that it was comfortable for him expressing his feelings to anyone.
“Well, I guess that I believe you.”
“You can’t guess you have to be certain.” his tone became more serious.
“I’m certain that I believe you William!” I knew that I shouldn’t have shouted at him but my brain was on full meltdown, I could barely process what he already told me. I wanted him to smile again, that would help me relax since my mind was fried, it would mean that he wasn‘t mad with me anymore.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you.” I should have remembered that being this open to a person must be hard for him.
“It’s fine, I should’ve known that you wouldn’t be able to handle all of this at once.” As soon as he smiled I felt all of my problems melt into oblivion.
“Well, I do believe you, and I want you to tell me more. It might help me because I can’t remember anything that you are telling me, but I trust you.” He got up in a sitting position and, with us only being about two feet apart he leaned closer to me and stroked my cheek.
“Not right now. It’s late.” As I looked out the bedroom window I saw that it was dark, although it looked like midnight it couldn’t be later than eight.


“Cynthia, someone’s here to see you.” William said in a low, serious voice.
“How do you know? I didn’t hear the doorbell ring.”
“I will tell you tomorrow Kay. Now could you go get the door because your aunts are already asleep, or I will get it because I have an idea about who it is.” How did he know if my aunts were asleep or not?
“No it’s ok. I‘ll get it, you just lie down.” I heard him sigh in exasperation.
“Fine, but to be clear if it is someone that you think could do harm to you or your family do not let him in.” He emphasized the word him, and after all that he told me I knew who he meant.
William’s Perspective


























I did not like that he came to her house. No one in this house except myself knew how dangerous he truly was, Cynthia had an idea but was not fully aware of his powers. I heard her open the door and gasp. Then I heard the person on the other side of the door say,
“Hello, I heard that William was here. May I talk to him please?” Hector said this in a calm manner. He could always get what he wanted, even when he was not a monster. Cynthia’s aunts were waking now and went downstairs immediately. When they see who is there they would probably allow him to come in, relax and maybe stay for dinner, still he was a monster and I will not allow him to come anywhere near Cynthia. Her aunts did as I had expected. They invited him in and he was now talking to them-flattering them actually-about their beautiful house, the furniture, they were eating all of this up.
“William, Hector is here. How do we get rid of him?” Cynthia came upstairs so quietly that I could not hear her footsteps.
“What do you mean by we?”
“I mean I’m going to help get him out of my house!”

“He’s my problem not yours.” I would not let her get hurt because of me.
“But what if he hurts one of my aunts!”
“He won’t, he only wants to scare me. He will exact his revenge when I am alone with him. This is what he does. He makes the people in the house feel comfortable with him, then after a while he takes revenge on the person who trifles with him and the others are none the wiser. He makes them think that the person he got rid of died of a fire, car accident, disease or something.” she looked horrified when I told her, then she looked a little mad.
“F-I-N-E!!! But please try not to get hurt or push him too far please. I wouldn’t want him to hurt you.”
“I will be fine.” as I got up, I walked right next to Cynthia. She did not seem to be as optimistic about my promise that my brother would not hurt her aunts as I had thought. I was at the base of the stairs when I was given a bear hug by my “Legal Guardian”.
“I’m so glad that I found you William! I thought that I‘d have to send out a search party.” he smiled at me but I could see the malice in his eyes.
“Well as you can see I’m fine. Now why don’t we go and stop disturbing these nice people.”
“Why don’t you both stay for dinner?” Lucy asked and smiled at my brother.
“Well, I guess that it wouldn’t be too bad. If it’s not too much trouble?” he seemed to be enjoying all of the attention he was getting from these unsuspecting women. They didn’t know how dangerous he was, but they would soon enough if they spent enough time with him. But, I hope for their sake that Cynthia told them to stay away from him and they listened.
“It’s no trouble at all.”




***
After she sat down hector started asking Lucy about how Cynthia was doing in school.
“Well, after the last report card I was shocked.”
“Why? Did she fail any of her classes?” he was only mildly curious about her grades, although he would have probably wanted to know how attentive she was.
“No, the exact opposite. She got straight A+s’ in all of her classes in scholarship and citizenship.”
“Well, that’s great, so did William. Does he spend a lot of time with Cynthia?” He wanted to know how much I trusted her probably.
“Yes, he asks to drive her to and from school and they have all of the same classes.”
“How about outside of school?”
“Well, they do talk a bit and they also practice guitar after school.”
“Oh, well that’s good. William hasn’t been, well…..getting along with anyone at school at all and I was starting to get worried.” He said this in a relieved yet silky voice that made them stare at him as if hypnotized. He just smiled, satisfied at how easy this would be.
“Well, they seem to get along quite well.” Lucy looked at me with a glare but I didn’t know why. Then again she probably thought that I liked her niece.
“Well, that’s good. I wouldn’t be surprised if William developed a crush on Cynthia.” he chuckled at the thought and that made me resent him.
“Why do you say that?” this time Maria asked. She did not look mad or confused, just taken aback by his comment.
“She’s the only friend he has. Hard to believe with so many girls in school crushing on him, and they have things in common like music, the same classes, grades. They love some of the same books, movies, and I believe poetry.”
“What do you mean with all of the girls in school crushing on him?” I was not shocked to hear that Cynthia had actually asked a question. She was sitting right beside me so I saw that she did not want to seem suspicious with my brother here.
“Haven’t you noticed that none of the girls talk to him at all in school?”
“No I haven’t. I didn’t think that any girls really liked him because he was always alone at school.”
“Well, would you confront a total stranger?”
“Well no, but not a lot of girls are shy about talking to boys, or flirting for that matter so I just thought that no one wanted to be around him. Sorry for saying that William, I didn’t mean to offend you.” She did feel very sorry. It would be hard not to forgive her even if I just met her.
“It’s quite alright, you didn’t mean it. There wasn’t another way to explain so don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks. “
“You’re welcome. By the way I didn’t really like to be around people who care more about their appearance than anything else. So that‘s why you don‘t see me hang around with anyone at school except you.”
“Hmm, ok I thought that everyone just dislikes the new student and anyone that befriends the new kid.”
“What? Not everyone dislikes you.”
“Apparently you haven’t seen how every girl in all of my classes just glares at me as if I was an outsider. Which I kind of am but not that much, at least I don’t think.” She honestly cared what they thought. I just had to laugh at that. She just looked at me, puzzled.
“Part of that’s my fault. Maybe I should take some interest in other girls if it makes you feel better, it might stop girls from glaring at you.” I put my foot in my mouth again. She seems so serious, didn’t she ever joke around?
“I was kidding, I‘d never go anywhere near those girls. They aren’t my type, too self-conscious, and stuck up. Just out of curiosity have you ever not gotten along with someone?”
“No, I’ve always been friends with everyone I meet, as long as I spent some time to get to know them, a couple of weeks at the least.” That doesn’t make much sense.
“Well, how come when we first met you actually spoke to me?”
“Well, you seemed really nice and I didn’t know anyone else.”
“You met Michael. Didn’t he seem nice also?” I tried successfully to stifle a smile.
“He was flirting with me. Who flirts with someone that’s three years younger than they are?” She sounded exasperated and scowled at that memory.
“Well he really seemed to like you. He was really disappointed that you didn‘t feel the same way he did.” I remembered the time and I just couldn’t help but smile.
“That’s not funny.”
“You didn’t see how he looked in his office when he saw you.” I said in an amused tone.
“I don’t care. He was three years older than me!” I was four years older than her.
“Yo soy quatro aňos mas grande que tu.”
“That’s different. You’re my friend, he wanted to be more than friends and I didn‘t even know him.”
“You have a point there. Although you talked to me and I was a stranger also.” She was starting to look miffed at my rebuffs.
“You were my own age. It didn’t feel weird talking to someone my own age.”
“That contradicted what you just said about not being able to talk to someone until you got to know that person.”
“May I be excused? I lost my appetite.” She pushed her plate away and started to walk away. I got out of my chair and grabbed her arm but not forcefully. I didn’t want her to think that I was mad at her or anything.
“Listen, I’m so sorry if I was acting a bit…..”
“Annoying?!” she was annoyed at me.
“Yeah, I did seem very annoying sorry.”
“It’s fine. You did have a point though, I have no idea why I acted the way I did.”
“Thanks. By the way I heard your stomach growl. So you have to eat so that you won‘t get fatigue. ” She rolled her eyes at me but this time she smiled and sat back down. She picked up her spoon and started eating her soup without another word. After a long moment she looked at me with a confused expression. I rolled my eyes and started eating.
“Excuse me?” Hector sounded annoyed.
“Yes?” Cynthia and I said that in the same obedient tone at the exact same time.
“Are you sure that you’re just friends?” we both looked at each other and said “yes” seriously at the same time.
“Well, it just seemed that you were so into that talk that you didn’t notice that you were holding hands while you were talking.” We looked at our hands and instantly scooted away from each other, clearly embarrassed.
“Really? Well that was unexpected.’
“Yeah that was unexpected. Why do you think?”
“I honestly have no idea.” I didn’t have an idea how it happened, although we were talking so much that maybe we leaned closer to each other without noticing. Cynthia’s aunts were looking at us with ‘You are too young to date’ looks, I respected them for that. They cared if Cynthia was old enough for a boyfriend or not, that’s responsible. After dinner Cynthia and I talked a little bit about what colleges we wanted to go to after high school. Although it was a short discussion because we both wanted to go to the same school. After another hour of talking about bands that we thought were awesome like Cobra Starship, Muse, Paramore, Three days grace, Green Day, Linkin Park, All Time Low, Taking Back Sunday and singers like Katy Perry, and Carrie Cobalt we talked about poems and stories that we enjoyed reading. Like Annabel Lee, The Raven, To Helen, The Tell-Tale Heart, Dracula, Romeo and Juliet and Frankenstein.
“William, it would be a good idea to go now!” Hector shouted even though it wasn’t necessary. Instead of answering I just walked to the door and was about to go through when I remembered that I had to say good night to Cynthia. When I turned around she was only a few feet away from me. I looked at her, smiled and said,
“Buenas noches. Te deseo dulces suenos.”
“Egualmente. Que tengas dulces suenos” She smiled back at me and went upstairs to her room. After I said good night to her aunts I walked all the way to my car.
“What was all that?” Hector looked at me and for once smiled. I didn’t want to feel good that he smiled at me but he seemed to be in a good mood and it seemed like he wanted to talk.
“You like her don’t you William.” he knew that I did and I made no effort in hiding it.
“Well, why don’t you go out with her?” Was he serious? I knew that I should hate him right now but I didn’t sense any hostility in him so I went along with it.
“Well because I don’t think that her aunts would want me to be more than a friend to Cynthia. Although they do allow us time to talk alone.”
“Well, that’s a start. You could ask her out in front of her aunts and they couldn’t say no to you going out with her.” I turned around to see that Cynthia was watching us from her window and she did not look happy. Making sure that he did not notice I smiled at her to say that I was ok.





***

The next morning I woke up to find that I was wearing the clothes that I wore last night, I did not remember changing. Maybe I was so tired that I fell right to sleep as soon as I got home. Then I remembered that yesterday hector came to Cynthia’s house but why did he smile at me then talk about if I liked Cynthia? When my fingers touched the side of my neck I felt two tiny marks that made me shiver. Oh My God, I’m such an idiot!! He tricked me into telling him that I loved Cynthia, now he could hurt her if he wanted to. I would probably think clearer when I was in clean clothes. After I thought about that I decided to take a nice cold shower. Half an hour later I heard a knock on my door. As soon as I opened it I saw that it was Cynthia, she was dressed in a dark violet button-down shirt, jeans so dark blue they looked black, and a pair of black converse. She had her hair down and her eyes sparkled. I stood at the doorway in awe but then remembered that I was just standing there.
“I am sorry. Good morning Cynthia.” as she came in I could feel how afraid she was, I was prepared to explain everything to her but as soon as she sat down I went mute and just sat down opposite to her on the sofa by the door while she sat down on the loveseat that matched the floor boards across from me.
“Did you need anything?” I asked although I knew that it might have something to do with last night.
“Well, my aunt Lucy kept bugging me because she kind of likes hector.”
“That’s all? You came here to ask me if hector would like to go out with Lucy.” This is not what I expected. Then why is she worried?
“No, well I also wanted to ask why you were with hector last night. I thought that you didn’t like him at all.”
“Well he started talking to me and I didn’t sense any hostility in him so I played along.”
“Well, as long as he didn’t hurt you. Oh, and I didn‘t thank you for that poem.” I was glad that she liked it.
“You are welcome. I am glad that you liked it.”
“How did you know that the bear had a little door and how come you had the key?”
“Well, I had some friends of mine make it for you. They were artisan. I also had a jeweler find that amethyst and make it into a heart, he had an amazing hand and I was hoping that you would like it.” as I said this her jaw dropped and I couldn’t help but smile. Oh well, I guess she forgot how old we are.
“I am going to need a while to get used to this. All right.” she sounded amazed and a bit shaken up by what I said.
“That’s fine, I should have given you a few days to process most of this. Take as long as you want.”
“Well, I understand most of what you’re telling me but I need some time to get used to you talking about your age and how your life was then.”
“Oh, ok. Like I said take your time. If you want I won’t talk about my past with you.” she had her head down so I couldn’t read her expression.
“No, I want to hear about you and your life before you met me.”
“Well, it was quite boring to say the least.”
“You know what I mean. I want to hear about your childhood. By the way you told me yesterday that you would tell me today how you knew that someone was at the door when no one knocked or rang the doorbell.”
“I did, didn’t I? I heard the person coming, well I sensed him coming. It’s very easy for me to sense if people are coming or if people are in a bad or good mood. Although I have no idea how it works.” she didn’t seem confused at all.
“Well, that explains things. Anyway, I can’t begin to fathom why my aunt wanted to go out with hector,”
“Well, I think that hector likes her because he has dated other women before but he never looked at any one of them with love in his eyes. He usually bites them after the first date.” then I heard Cynthia’s phone ring and I wondered if she told her aunts that she was coming here. How did she get here anyway? When she looked at me her face was red, whether from embarrassment or anger. After she hung up she said,
“Well, I guess we’ll see if he loves her. Lucy called to tell me that he just called and asked her out to dinner tonight,” Well, if that’s the case then we could follow them and see if he hurts her.
“Well, I guess we could follow them. Or……” I felt weird asking this but it would be a good cover because if we were caught we would get in trouble. Whereas if we went with them then we could see what they do without getting in trouble.
“Or what?” she asked, probably guessing at why I was acting so…not like myself.
“Well, if we follow them then we could get caught, but if we went with them then they couldn’t say anything.” I could feel my skin grow hot and that made me feel more embarrassed.
“You mean like go on a double-date with them?”
She did not sound angry or surprised for that matter.
“Well yes, if hector refused then it meant that he was up to something. If he was then we would still follow them.”

Cynthia’s perspective






























I don’t know why but I just couldn’t see myself with him on a date. Even if it was a fake date, I would seem out of place with him.
“Ok, I guess it couldn’t hurt to pretend to go out once. Just to make sure that nothing happens to Lucy.” I looked as serious as possible but inside, I felt elated. It wasn’t a real date but he acted as if he was about to turn into a tomato because he got so red when he suggested the fake date.
“Yes, once. So was there any other reason you came?”
“No, unless you count seeing if you were alright counts”
“Yes it does. Although I do not get how you got here. You can only get here by car or it’s a two hour walk.”
“Well I got here-this will sound weird but I got here-by horse.” he looked at me with a surprised expression. But why did he look so surprised?
“Is the horse outside?” he asked with an uneasy look on his face.
“Well I led him here but he ran away probably to one of the stable stalls. I hope that you don’t mind.”
“What did the horse look like?”
“Well, he was an obsidian black horse with a pure white star on his forehead. Why do you ask? Was that your horse?”
“Yes, a long time ago. But I thought that he left long ago.”
“Well he’s at the stables right by your house.”
“Ok, would you like to go see him?” I would like to see the horse again and I would like to see William’s reaction to him. As we walked out of the house I felt a pain in my chest. Much like the first time that I met William. Maybe being with him is what triggers these pains, but only occasionally. No, I’ve been friends with him for quite some time and this has only happened three times so far, so that can’t be it. I’ve never seen William look so anxious about anything, not even when the teachers gave us tests that were worth ¾ of our grade, which was often. As we walked I noticed that the stables were on the far side of the house’s land. The stables were on the edge of the woods. By the time that we got there we already passed about twenty yards into the forest. The woods seemed pleasant because the birds were singing and there were no clouds in the sky. The sun was out and it made the whole forest glow like in a dream. Instead of the trees looking like dark shadows waiting for the sun to hid behind clouds to come to life, because they were shaped like an average person’s outline. They still looked like outlines but not as sinister when exposed to the sun’s luminous light. I felt safe here, mainly because the sun was out and I knew that no one that was in here would hurt me.

“You really think that you’re safe? These trees are actually people that he killed, but instead of dying they just turned to trees.” William said, his voice was distant, like his mind was not here at the moment.
“Why did they turn into trees?”
“Because he is the son of a god and has to respect nature. By killing innocent people he disrespected it and the people that he killed turned into trees.” His voice was full of hate.
“How come he killed those people?” I asked but I felt like I already knew the answer.
“Well I guess that you don’t know that my brother likes to hang around here. But at least he only comes here at night.”
“Does the sun kill him?” I just saw his lips go up in a smile and then laugh, but not as if he was mocking me for asking that. He seemed to be laughing because I sounded serious.
“No! He can’t be killed by sunlight.”



William’s Perspective
“Then what happens when he’s in the sunlight? Does he burn, sparkle or what?”
“Hah, have you been reading the Twilight saga or Vampire Diaries?” I wish he did sparkle. It would make him at least a little bit less dangerous.
“Yes six times, but I still want to know what happens when he’s in the sunlight. How does the lycanthropes thing fit into all of this?” She seemed to be aggravated. I knew a bit about what he was but not much, just how dangerous he was.
“Well, in the sun he turns into a wolf, but also during a full moon. I know that it seems weird but I can explain that.”
“Ok, but can you explain after we see that horse?” I just nodded. When I looked up we were at the stables, I wasn’t paying any attention to anything else but Cynthia. As we entered the stables, I was shocked to see that Cynthia was right. I walked all the way over to my horse in a rush. I was amazed that he didn’t seem scared. He looked so beautiful, his coat looked as clean as if someone brushed him daily like I used to. His mane looked as if it was made of black silk, he looked like the picture of health. As I looked at him he looked at Cynthia.
“He’s beautiful. What’s his name.” As she said this he whined and pointed to a white star that was painted on the door of his stall.
“His name’s Star?”
“Yes, he is a friend of mine.” I said.
“Exactly how old is he?”
“He’s exactly 2,123 years old. I raised him since he was a colt.”
“How did he survive for over two millennia?” Cynthia asked, in disbelief.
“Maybe he was made immortal.” I felt his eyes watching us and when I looked in his direction he was out of his stall and was standing behind Cynthia.
“Um, he’s right behind you.” all she did was turn around and pet him. I saw Star look as if he was smiling. He likes Cynthia. Then I thought that it would be a good idea to go for a ride. I had another horse.
“Cynthia, would you like to accompany me for a ride? You could ride Star, I have another horse.”
“Um, ok.” I walked to the stall next to his and opened the door. A beautiful reddish brown mare, with a mane so red it looked like fire, came out the next second.
“This is Ember, because of her irascibility. I’ll be riding her and you can ride him. He’s quite tame, although I would be careful if I were you. On occasion he can get over excited. He loves to go for rides.” I gave her his saddle and the other gear. He didn’t move an inch while she saddled him. As soon as we mounted our horses we walked them to the back of the stables and went outside. When Star let Cynthia mount him I was surprised, then I again he was a good judge of character. He probably thought that she would not push him over his limits, as my brothers would have done. We rode at a very slow pace deeper into the woods for about a quarter of a mile; we did not want to tire the horses out too quickly.
“So, what happens to hector when he’s in the sun? Why does he turn into a wolf?”
“Well, he told me one time, when he was angry at me for asking so many questions. That he was turned exactly at daybreak. Although you could still see the moon, but the sun was up.”
“Ok, but how come he doesn’t turn into a wolf when he comes to work at school?”
“Well, on the days that he does come to work the sun is hidden behind the clouds. He can only turn in daylight if the sun is completely out and its rays hit him.” This gets confusing at first.
“Well, the sun was out when he went to school.”
“The sun’s rays have to hit him, if he stays in the shadows he will not turn into a wolf.”
“But have you seen him as a wolf?”
“Yes, I was attacked by him as a wolf.”
“How badly were you hurt? What did he look like?”
“I was not hurt that badly, just a scratch. He still had the same dark blue eyes, but the pupils were more like slits and the whites of his eyes turned a sickly yellow color. His fur was the same as his hair, a dirty blond color. Its fur was coarse and had a soft outer layer.”
“So that’s why you looked so pale and haggard. But how come you didn’t turn into a wolf?”
“Well, he can turn someone if he’s in wolf form, only why would he want to turn me into a wolf?”
“True, but what if he bit you as a vampire? Wouldn’t that make you into a vampire?”
“No, well yes. He has to bite you a few times for his saliva to enter your bloodstream and start turning you and then kills you. He could turn you into a wolf if he scratched you while he is a wolf but aside from that you do not have anything to worry about.”
“How many times did he bite you?” More than I would like to remember.
“Oh, I’d have to say about two times at the most.” Yeah, the most recently. Let’s not forget the other times he bit me in the past two millennia.
“Well, would that be enough to turn you? I mean how many times does he have to bite you?”
“I guess quite a few times. Why do you ask Cynthia?”
“Well if he bit you more than once then you could be turning into a vampire.”
“I would know if I was turning into a vampire. Do not worry about me.” I have been hungry and regular food would only make it worse.
“But what if at night he snuck into your house and bit you without your knowledge? Wouldn’t that mean that you could be turning into a vampire?”
“I would have known if he came into my room at night. I am a very light sleeper.”
“Well, just in case is there something that could protect you?” she seemed worried.
“Well, some books and movies have some truth in them. Fire does works, so does a stake to the heart, crosses do work for old vampires, and before you ask, vervain does not work but mugwort gives vampires bad dreams, very bad dreams.”
“Ok, well are you wearing a cross?”
“Yes, but he wouldn’t come here, it’s too bright and open for him. He doesn’t like to turn into a wolf.”
“How come?” she looked at me, probably trying to see if I was transitioning into an evil monster whose only desire was to kill and feed on innocent people.
“I have no idea.” By now we were in the center of a clearing, it was ringed with different types of flowers and about two miles from the center on each side. We dismounted the horses and made sure to tie them to a tree branch so they didn’t run away. We walked for a bit, talked mostly. We talked about how it is possible for a person to be turned into both a vampire and lycanthrope. I was surprised that her aunts did not call.
“Did you tell your aunts that you were coming to see me?”
“Well, no. but……”
“Then it would be a good idea to call them and tell them that you have been with me for the entire morning and not to worry because I’ll drive you back as soon as we get to my house.”
“They know. They saw the horse too and thought that you might know who it belonged to. So don’t worry.”
“Ok, if they know then at what time did they say that you had to be back?”
“I honestly have no idea, but I’ll call them.”
“NO, I’ll call them, plus I want to ask Lucy if we could tag along on her date.” I hope that he isn’t there. When I called Lucy I told her that Cynthia was here with me. She said that she already knew and that she could be back at around two, because she was going shopping with her sister to buy a dress for tonight. She isn’t very responsible. Although I would make sure that Cynthia was ok Lucy could have sounded more serious. I heard a bit of annoyance in her voice.
“Your aunt isn’t very responsible is she?”
“Well, she seems to be in a very good mood. She seemed infatuated with Hector last night. I know that it’s dangerous for her to be with him at all, but she seems very happy. Maybe you’re right, maybe he won’t kill her. She hasn’t been on a date in, well she never has been asked out before. By the way what time did she say that I had to come back?”
“She said that you could come back at two, so we have six hours to talk since it is nine in the morning. I did not ask her about the date because she sounded a tad annoyed by my call.”
“Like I said she wants to be perfect for when hector comes tonight. Although I do not know what she sees in him, he seems like a pain to be around if he is in a bad mood. Also a bit scary, even when he smiles at you.”
“Well, he is a monster, although even as a human he was naturally scary.” I said with a laugh.
“I bet that not all people would be scary, even if you are a monster you still have a conscious right?”
“You read way too many vampire books. Maybe you should try something without monsters falling in love with mortals.”
“Well, if he didn’t have a conscious he would have slaughtered all of us. I’m not defending him but he would have.”
“He is a monster but that does not mean that he is an imbecile. He does not want to kill you; he only wants to kill me. Well, he does not want to kill you right now or else he would have done that already.”
“Why? I mean if he had a chance to kill you before couldn’t he have killed you then?”
“Well, he wanted to be the one Apollo picked to be the god but instead I was and he has hated me ever since. As for the killing at the first chance he got part, well he could have. But he wanted me to die emotionally before he killed me, and now he can.”
“But why, didn’t everything important in your life slip away from your grasp after the first ten decades of your immortal life? Because by that time wouldn’t everyone important to you have died.”
“Well I thought so but as it turns out I was wrong. I suppose that I forgot to tell you that there was only one person that was ever important to me. But I would have thought that you figured that out already.” Why did she not piece two and two together? How could I explain more clearly without declaring myself?
“But your father is immortal. “
“I wasn’t talking about my father. After all that I’ve told you who would be the one person that would hurt me to lose?” She looked at me with a puzzled expression like she still had a hard time processing what I’d just said. Then her quizzical expression morphed to understanding. I smiled at her because she didn’t seem fearful of me at all. The gods have done some bad things, forced people to be with them and she knew it. She doesn’t seem to care, although I guess she thinks that I wouldn’t do that and in truth I wouldn’t.
“Why?” her tone implied that she was still very skeptical. But are my reasons not as clear as day?
“Like I said, I grew very fond of you. As the years went by I spent more and more time with you. Until you and your father moved away for a while but I felt connected to you. After a few years you came back and I knew how I felt, but I didn’t know how you felt. Although you gave me a pretty good idea.”
“What stopped you from asking, I mean if you felt that way?”
“Well, your dad had a contest that neither of us liked and there was no way to escape it. Well there was one but it would involve leaving our families.”
“What was the contest about?” her tone was curious but also a little mad.
“Well, your father thought that you were old enough to get married so he arranged a contest for your hand. Hey could we talk about something else please?” I did not want to talk about it anymore. I didn’t want to talk about how I’d almost lost her.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“I don’t know. What books do you like to read?”
“Well I like vampire books, or any book with monsters. How about you?”
“I love mysteries and horror books. What is it about vampire books or monster/romance books in general that you find so appealing?”
“Well, it just seems wrong to me that the monster was always portrayed as evil and unmerciful and after meeting your brother I hope that there are good monsters. Like what happened with Frankenstein, he was said to be an evil and unmerciful monster but he was just misunderstood.”
“I see what you mean. But why do you like books where the monster falls in love with a human? I don’t get why a human would ever fall for someone that they know could kill them so easily.”
“Well, because the monster tries so hard to be good so that they seem worthy to be with the human despite the bloodlust. Also because the human feels the same and doesn’t care if the person they love is a monster. Why do you like mystery and horror books?”
“I like horror books because I can’t picture a beautiful girl even noticing a monster, let alone fall in love with him, and because it just seems right for the monster to always be miserable and an outcast.”
“That’s what happens when you spend all of your time with your monster of an older brother. Now why do you like mystery books?”
“Hah, yeah I guess you’re right. Well I like those books because they leave you guessing until the end. I‘ve never actually read a vampire book, I guess I could give them a try.”
“You‘d like them, once you read the first one you get hooked. There are a lot of great authors, some are very descriptive and the books are addicting. I’ll let you borrow one of them if you want.”
“Thanks. If you go online, there are a lot of websites for those books.”
“I know, one of my friends told me about one website and I joined when she did.”
“Why am I not surprised. You had so many of those books in your room.” I was not making fun of her. I was just surprised that she really loved those kinds of books. Most people that are really into those books talk about them constantly. At least most of the people that I have met that are into something so much talk about them constantly. Then again, Cynthia is not like most people.
“Have you seen the last three movies in the twilight series?” I asked.
“Yeah, they were good movies. Can’t wait for Breaking Dawn to come out in July.”
“What team are you on?”
“Neither. What’s so funny?” she caught me trying not to laugh out loud.
“Nothing. So you’re neutral when it comes to vampires and werewolves.” I was laughing a bit now.
“Yeah, do you want to talk about anything else like what are some of your favorite songs?”
“Ok, I like Live Like We’re Dying, Ignorance, The only exception, Creep, Misery Business, Nice Guys Finish Last, The World Has Its Shine but I would drop it on a dime, and Hot Mess. Brick By Boring Brick, Thinking Of You, Breakeven, Good Girls Go Bad, Gives You Hell, Love Like Woe, Remembering Sunday and The Scientist. How about you?
“Halo, Waking Up In Vegas, Ignorance, The only exception, Hot mess, The World has Its Shine but I would drop it on a dime, Brick By Boring Brick, Angel Of Mine, The World Has Turned And Left Me Here, Nice Guys Finish Last, Good Girls Go Bad, Mr. Brightside, Remembering Sunday, Gives You Hell, Love Like Woe, The Scientist and Breakeven.”
“We like some of the same songs.”
“Yeah we do. Hey William what do you do in your spare time?”
“I’m actually writing a book, how about you?” She did not want to answer at first but after a moment she said,
“We have that in common as well. What’s yours about?”
“I’m writing about the life of a boy living in 129 B.C. It is kind of an autobiography but much more exciting, how about yours?”
“Mine’s about a boy who gets attacked by a monster but instead of dying he just gets turned into that monster.”
“What! He doesn’t fall in love?” I teased her.
“Not yet, so far he thinks that falling in love would be a waste of time and that it’s not in his nature to even think of someone as a friend.”
“Well I have got to read that book when you get it published.”
“You’ll be the first. As soon as I finish it.”
“You would not want to read mine, too much pain and depression.”
“What happens?” she seemed curious.
“He falls in love but the girl’s father despises him so they plan to run away together. Nevertheless, the girl’s father finds out and forbids him from seeing her ever again. If you want we could go back to my house and you can read what I‘ve written of my book so far.”
“Um sure. How long have we been here anyway?” When I looked at my watch, it said it was five minutes to noon.
“I would have to say about three hours and fifty-five minutes.” She wanted to go home so I got up and walked over to the horses. It took up about twenty minutes to get back to the stables and feed them. Once we were finished with that, we walked back to the house. While we walked, we talked more about our books and how we wanted them to end.
“How long have you been writing your book?” I asked.
“I’d have to say about a few months, about the time that we met. How about you?” She blushed because she noticed that her words could have a double meaning.
“I’ve been writing mine for the past couple of years, adding to what I’ve experienced.”
“Who are your main characters?”
“Derek Capone and Jennifer Rockefeller.”
“Those are odd names don’t you think?”
“Like your names are any better.” I said in a teasing voice.
“Olive Vanderbilt and Laurence Vasquez. Does your book have a bad guy?”
“His name’s Lucifer Mendez. Your names are a lot better than mine.” By now we were back at my house, I went straight to my room to get my laptop. After a minute I came downstairs to show her what I’ve written so far.







***

By the time that she was done reading half an hour past. Well it was a hundred pages. She smiled but it didn’t look like she was smiling because the book was good, she was looking at me, her eyes were looking into mine and keeping them there. Then why would she smile.
“That was a very good book and I feel the same way.” I was sitting next to her and I must have looked at a loss as to what she said. In truth I was, I hadn’t written a thing about my feelings, had I? She seemed to have guessed why I looked so confused.
“You didn’t realize that by the way you made the characters speak and think that you told the reader that Derek fell madly in love with Jenny, did you?”
“Well no. I just wrote how I would have felt if I fell in love with someone.”
“But you said that it was an autobiography.”
“It is. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t make alterations. Like I said it’s like my life only a bit different.” I smiled although she didn’t seem convinced. I wanted her to know how I felt.
“What’s your favorite part so far?”
“So far I like it when they’re together. They just seem so right for one another, like they were made from the same mold but were cut in half and were only whole when they were together. ‘As I looked at her I couldn’t help but wish that we could be together until the end of time. I feel so good when we’re together that I don’t care that maybe by chance her father would be walking by and literally kill me on sight if he saw us together like this, her head on my shoulder and our fingers intertwined, gazing at the night sky. This feels so perfect, like we were the only people in the world. I’d heard her say. This is one of my favorite places to go to be alone since it‘s very peaceful. No one knows about it. Not even my father, you’re the only person that I would ever want to share this experience with. She smile up at me and very slowly, as if she didn’t know if I would be mad or surprised, and she kissed me oh so very lightly on the cheek. I could only think that I could never live without her or I’d die.’ I love that excerpt because it brings images that I didn’t even know I had.”
“I like it too.” I smiled but she was looked at me as if she had something else on her mind.
“But for a different reason, right?” She always could see right through me very easily.
“You could say that I guess.” She considered it for a second then just smiled as if she knew what I was referring to.
“Well, like I said I liked it and I feel the same way.”
“Just out of curiosity what did you think that I felt when I wrote it?”
“Well, based on the phrasing I would guess that you didn’t just write it from out of the blue. How long did it take you to write this paragraph?”
“No no, you didn’t answer my question.”
“Fine, I guess that you must have been remembering about the days that you used to spend with…..?”
“You still haven’t guessed it? What is so hard to figure out?”
“It’s not that I haven’t figured it out so much as I just can’t wrap my mind around the idea of it. Does that make sense?”
“Well, not to me. But why does it make sense to you?”
“Well, you don’t still think that I’m the same girl right? I mean what if I was just someone that looked a lot like her, an accident?”
“But you aren’t and I can prove it. Besides, there are no such things as accidents. What images did you see when you read the paragraph? You said that it made you see images.”
“In one of them a girl was taking a moonlit walk with someone, a guy although I can’t remember every single detail. Only that he was glowing, his teeth flashed in the moonlight when he smiled at me. He looked a lot like you except he seemed to be wearing a suit that you would only wear in the late 17oo’s or early 1800’s but it seemed to be a long time before that. I also remember that when they were back at a house that I never saw before, but seemed familiar, they kissed. I thought that it was my imagination but I could never picture a house so beautiful. I also would never be able to imagine how it felt when they kissed.” I noticed that she still didn’t believe much of what I was telling her because she said they instead of we.
“How come you believe that I am a 2,139 year old god and yet you don’t think that I could ever have feelings for you?” I said in an intrigued voice. How could she believe that? It makes no sense at all to me.
“Because I can’t see you with someone like me. I mean do you know what all of the girls at school say when they see you with me!”
“They say that I could do better than a straight A+ AP student.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.” She seemed a bit sad that they thought of her as a loser.
“Ok, so I might have added the better that an A+ AP student part. But it was better than what they called you, and they’re wrong.”
“How come you decided to write a book in the first place?” I thought that she might have wanted to change the subject so I didn’t press her for a detailed explanation about what she thought was wrong with her being with me.
“Well I wanted to be able to show people what some of my life was like. The first hundred pages all happened but I only changed the names. How about you?”
“How about me what?”
“How come you’re writing you book?”
“Oh, well I read a lot and I was always very creative, or at least that’s what I was told, and I thought that it would be a good idea to write a fiction book.”
“That is great. Do you like writing?”
“Yes, by that time I had written thirty pages and I just couldn’t stop until I finished. When I start something I plan to keep going till its end.”
“It’s good to make a habit of it, never leave things incomplete.”
“Yeah. How many pages are you planning to write?”
“Another hundred and fifty would be good. Because I still have a lot to talk about. How about you?”
“I want mine to be at least two hundred pages long. I’ve written ninety pages so far but I can’t think of anything.”
“Well it would be a good idea to take a walk for a while or read what you’ve written so far and try to figure out what the character would say or do next.” She just nodded, and then we realized that we were sitting a bit too close to one another so I reluctantly scooted away from her a considerable amount. We kept looking at the wall for a while until I saw that it was ten past one in the afternoon.
“You should get home now. There is a dirt path that leads to your house from here.”
“Yeah I found that out. Can we ride back to my house? There’s a stable a few yards away from the house.”
“I don’t see why not. Sure if you want”
“So it’s settled then.” As we walked to the stables I couldn’t stop thinking that she might not have the same feeling for me as I did for her. She did have a point, what if I made a mistake and told her all of my secrets and she wasn’t the one? I thought about that and immediately banished the thought to the back of my mind. She remembered the night that we kissed, the night before that wretched tournament. Without realizing it, a piece of paper fell out of my pocket and as Cynthia bent down to pick it up I remembered what it was. When she gave it to me she asked what it was because it looked old, like I had it for centuries. I told her that it was an old piece of paper and that I wrote something that I wouldn’t want anyone else to see.
“What is it?”
“It’s a song but it’s not finished yet. I’ll show you when it’s finished.” We kept on walking after that. She didn’t ask about the song again.













































***

As we rode to her house I saw the sun rise to its apex for the day. When we got to her house it was five minutes to two, right on time. After we fed and took the horses to their stables, I asked Cynthia why they had a horse stable and no horses. She answered by saying that her aunts weren’t very fond of horses but she didn’t know why they kept the stable if it was going to be empty. When we entered her house there was no sound, I didn’t even see her aunts’ car out front. Maybe they were still shopping? I sat down on the couch while she went to her room. Then she came down with her laptop and sat next to me. We waited a bit while her laptop loaded and she could open her book’s file.
“Sorry that my laptop’s so slow.”
“It’s ok.” After almost an hour, I read those ninety pages and was struck speechless. She seemed to think that I didn’t like it but I assured her that I loved it.
“How come your aunts aren’t here yet? They should have been here by now.”
“I have no idea. Although I should have told you that she sometimes takes an hour to get here from when she says that she’ll be here because she loses track of time because she has so much fun shopping.”
“She really loves to shop. What do you love to do, what makes you so engrossed that you lose track of time?” She didn’t seem to know how to answer my question. But then after a while she looked like she was going to answer.
“I thought that you’d have figured it out by now.”
“What?”
“I told you that I sometimes lose track of time when we talk. It seems like a few minutes but it’s really an hour.” Well that was unexpected.
“Really? I thought that that was just me.”
“Well, talking to you and…”
“Reading right?”
“Yeah reading too. How’d you know?”
“You always loved to read.”
“Well, I guess you’re right.” We talked a bit more about our likes and dislikes. Then I noticed that there was a red Brazilian cherry wood color grand piano in the living room, right next to the sliding glass door that led to a small patio at the side of the house.
“How long have you had that piano?”
“I’ve had it for as long as I could remember. I don’t know when my aunts bought it but when I first saw it I was amazed. It looked so beautiful and when I was much younger I decided to play a bit and when my tiny fingers first stroked the piano’s keys and sound came out I was entranced, I stroked more keys gently and a soft but high or soft and low sound came out. I pressed some keys in unison and then individual keys until I was playing a song that I don’t remember ever learning. I heard the song before and found out it was Beethoven’s fifth but I could never find out how I played that song with few mistakes. Then I remembered that the room was different from this room, and the weird thing is that I saw a little boy a bit older than me that looked exactly like you do now right next to me and praising me on my good work.” How could she remember that far into the past? She didn’t think that we met before yet she remembered that. After she was done I just looked at her puzzled.
“Wow, how come you don’t remember some things but you remember this? Could you play a song for me please?”
“I don’t know how I remembered that and I’d love to play a song. What song would you like to hear?”
“Any song would be fine, I just want to hear you play again please.” We walked over to the piano and I sat next to her by the piano. She let her fingers hover on the main keys and then faced me.
“I have to warn you that I’m a bit out of practice.”
“That’s ok. I don’t expect you to be perfect, just try your best ok.” She took a deep breath and then started playing. As I saw the keys move I had to remember that she was a great pianist because whenever I heard people play I held my breath to stop correcting them. Because most of them bragged that they were very experienced and exemplary pianists but when it came time to play they were mediocre. I couldn’t-well I could-believe that she made no mistakes when she played “Ode To Joy” by Beethoven, she did not even have the music in front of her, she was playing by memory. Then in the midst of the song her aunts came in and Lucy was surprised that I was here.
“Hello, how was your shopping trip?” I said in a happy tone. But I was more than happy, I was so elated because I could hear Cynthia play piano that it was hard to control my joy. It was so long since I heard her play that I felt tears begin to form around the rims of my eyes.
“It was good. I found a dress for tonight that would look lovely. Cynthia could you take this bag to my room?” She looked at Cynthia and then Cynthia took the bag and went up to her aunt’s room.
“William how did you get here? We didn’t see your car in the driveway.”
“Well because Cynthia and I rode our horses here, they are at the stable resting. Why do you ask?”
“Because I have to know. What did you mean by our horses? Cynthia doesn’t have a horse.”
“Yes, I was planning to give her Star since he seems very fond of her.”
“What? No, she wouldn’t be able to take care of him.” she said in an irritated and slightly angry tone.
“Well, if she doesn’t have a lot of time to spend with him I could come over and care for him and she could still ride him. He has all of his vaccinations. Either way if she wants she can keep him!”
“What’s going on? William, why are you shouting?” Cynthia came down stairs in sort of a rush. In a second she was at my side, looking up at me in a worried way.
“Your aunt and I were just having a discussion about whether you should keep Star or not, and as it seems she doesn’t want you to keep him because she doesn’t think that you could take care of him but I disagree with her. What are your thoughts on the matter Cynthia?”
“Well, if I could I would keep Star but I can’t because I wouldn’t be able to care for him.”
“I could help you take care of him if you want. I don’t mind.”
“Thanks, can I think about it?”
“Of course. Take all the time that you need.” I heard the song Tick Tock by Kesha and I knew that it was my phone. When I opened it I saw a text, it said,
William,
As you know I plan to take Lucy to dinner tonight at seven and I would like you to come also, kind of like a double date. If you don’t mind.
Text me back.
--- Hector
“Who was that?” Cynthia asked although she seemed to have an idea.
“It was Hector. He wants me to tag along on his date. I hope that you don’t mind Lucy.”
“Who are you planning to take?”
“Well, I was about to ask Cynthia if she wanted to go, if that’s alright with both of you?” Maria seemed to be the only one to hear me out of the two.
“That sounds like a good idea. Do you want to go Cynthia?”
“I guess that it would be a good idea.”
“If you don’t want to go then its ok, I wouldn’t want you to go somewhere or do something if you don‘t want to. I’ll just tell my brother that I don’t feel like going and that’s that.” I told her.
“It’s not that I don’t want to go but why me?”
“Well, because the date is in a few hours.” I said in a sarcastic tone. She only frowned at me but didn’t say a thing.
“I asked you because you are my best friend and it would be very awkward if I asked another girl. To be honest I wouldn’t be able to stand one minute of conversation with any of those stuck up girls from school.” I made a gagging noise and stuck my finger almost inside my mouth. I saw her stifle a smile that just made me chuckle.
“If you put it that way then I guess I’d go with you. But I’ll need some time to think about it.” she was definitely amused and was just playing around.
“Ok. But you only have five hours.” I smiled, even when Lucy looked at me in a funny way and I laughed under my breath.
“Ok, I’ll tell you in an hour.”
“Cynthia, why do you keep beating around the bush?” Lucy tried to conceal her irritation but I could still hear it ringing in her voice.
“We were just playing around. I’m going ok.” Cynthia said it in a calm voice.
“Well ok then. Would you like to watch a movie while we wait till we have to go?” She looked at all of us and I didn’t know how to respond. I heard Maria and Cynthia say that it would be a good idea so I agreed but I also text my brother back.
“Well ,what movie do you want to watch? How about Dear John or bride wars?”
“Dear john would be a good movie.” we all agreed on it and I put the movie on. Cynthia and her aunts sat on the couch and I sat on a chair. When we were to the part where john goes back to the army after meeting savannah I was close to tears. When we were at the part when he meets savannah’s parents Lucy was upstairs so it was just Maria, Cynthia and me watching the movie. I read the book and I cried when she told john that she fell in love with someone else and then told him that she married someone else. She seemed perfect for John and he might have given everything for her. I do not remember moving but the next minute I was sitting a few inches away from Cynthia and her aunt on the couch. About an hour passed and by the time that the movie was over Cynthia and I were in tears, this is the first time that I have ever let her see me cry and I felt embarrassed. By now, it was almost five thirty. Lucy came down the stairs and told Cynthia to come upstairs with her.
“Maria, am I dressed appropriately for a date?” she looked at me and nodded. I was wearing a pair of black pants, black dress shoes, and a white button down shirt, a black tie and a black blazer.
“Well, you look very nice. Make sure that Cynthia comes home alright.”
“Her safety is my number one priority. She will be home safe and sound with me. I would never let anyone hurt her.” I said this in a calm voice but also as if I swore with my life to keep her niece safe as long as she was with me and in a way I was.

“Very well then.”
“At what time should she be back? I could bring her home if Hector and Lucy plan to be out a bit longer.”
“She’ll be back when Lucy comes back home.” Maria said.
“Ok that sounds good. I just want to tell you that I will be on my best behavior and Lucy will be watching us with Hector.”
“Thank you for promising to be on your best behavior when you’re with her.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Now could you ask Lucy to hurry up and get ready because she’s taking forever.”
“Of course. Why do you think that she wanted Cynthia to come up stairs?”
“She probably wants her to change into something nice and get ready.” I looked at her and I must have looked confused because she frowned a bit.
“I think that she looked nice.”
“Well maybe if she was going to the movies. But not if she was going to a restaurant.” As soon as she finished the sentence I heard a thud coming from Cynthia’s room, as if someone or something fell. I almost ran to see what fell when I thought what she would think if I entered her room and she wasn’t decent, how embarrassed I would be and how angry her aunts would be because of my actions. Anyway, it did not seem like a sound loud enough that someone fell, probably a bottle of hairspray or something. I was probably being paranoid. Cynthia was probably getting ready to come down stairs as we speak. I was right because in the next minute I saw her coming downstairs slowly, as if she was afraid that she might trip because even though she was wearing flats she looked a little tired. Maybe we should not be going at all. She looks tired and what if she falls asleep and hector does something, attacks someone? I will not take any chances. She is not going. Her eyes were red from crying because of the movie. I tried not to look at the dress because I might start to stare at her. She turned to me and smiled. I concentrated on her face, the eye shadow, mascara, the red lipstick that looked like smeared blood because of her pale skin and that dark red shade of the lipstick.
“Lucy I hope that you do not mind my saying this but…I think that Cynthia looks better without makeup.” I looked at Cynthia and then pictured her without all of that makeup. She looked beautiful without makeup. Now she just looks weird to me because I am not used to her putting all of that stuff on her face. It reminds me of how most the girls at my school look.
“Well I like it. How about you Maria?”
“I agree with William. She looks better without makeup.” Lucy turned to Cynthia and tried to see if I was right. She just frowned and asked if she liked to wear the makeup.
“No, I don’t like it at all. It just doesn’t seem right for me, I feel….”
“Uncomfortable. Is that how you feel?” they all turned to me. Why am I so impulsive?
“Yes I feel uncomfortable.”
“You do not seem to need makeup; you look very beautiful without it.” As soon as I said that I regretted it because I was blushing and they could tell I was. Cynthia smiled, Lucy looked well, scary because she just kept a straight face, no emotions at all and Maria looked at me as if she understood why I blushed and she was ok with the comment that I made. I looked at Cynthia’s dress and was amazed at how she looked. It was a simple deep dark violet, like the color of my irises. The material looked as if it were silk. I did not know if it was strapless or not because she had a violet shawl on and she looked perfect for a night out to a fancy restaurant. I looked away quickly because I might have stared at her and I was embarrassed enough because of the comment I made. Lucy looked at me and told Cynthia to go upstairs and she would help her take the makeup off her face. As soon as they went back upstairs, I heard a knock on the door. I offered to get the door but as soon as I opened it, I regretted it. Hector was on the other side wearing a black tux and a bright smile on his monstrous face. At least to me he was a monster worse than the worst of them in the underworld.
“Bounasera. May I come in?” he entered after Maria let him in and sat down on the chair that I sat in no more than an hour ago.
“William, did you ask anyone to join us?”
“I asked Cynthia. Is that a problem?”
“No, not at all.” he sounded quite pleased that I asked her. He was probably going to try to hurt her but I could not just tell her that she should not go. But if I told her that he could hurt her she might understand, right? Cynthia and Lucy came back down and I was planning to tell her. But when she smiled at me sweetly I felt as if I would melt. Because my determination for telling her melted in an instant, she looked as if she was happy and was looking forward to a good time. Hector would not dare hurt her in a crowded restaurant. Even if he tried I would do everything in my power to stop him.
“Hector. What restaurant are we going to?” I asked to make sure that we were going to be eating in a crowded restaurant.
“I’ve made reservations at the Oxo Tower restaurant at seven.”
“The restaurant on Barge Street? On the south bank overlooking the river Thames?”
“Yes, is there a problem?” That is a very good restaurant; it might be crowded by the time we get there,
“No, not at all.” as hector looked at Lucy he complemented her on how beautiful she looked in her strapless dark red silk dress.
“Are you all ready to go?” all of us said yes and walked over to his sleek black Buick lacrosse. I sat at the back with Cynthia while hector drove with Lucy sitting next to him. Hector turned the radio on and the song MakeDamnSure by Taking Back Sunday started playing. This song was good because it matched my mood. I was determined to protect Cynthia from any evil that wanted to do her harm but I might have to protect her from my brother too. We were getting nearer to Barge St. and I was starting to feel worse than I already felt because I knew that the closer we got to the restaurant the closer we got to the end of this date and possibly closer to.......THE END. I feel so bad for dragging Cynthia into all of this. Even if he doesn’t plan to hurt us I shouldn’t have agreed to go in the first place, let alone bring Cynthia. If he did plan to hurt us I should have asked some girl that didn’t matter to me at all. Then again I would be a monster like my brother, maybe worse if he did plan to attack us and that girl died because I asked her to go out with me. But if he did not attack us then I would not be able to bear the idea of not being able to face Cynthia because she would never forgive me for betraying her with someone else. I heard the song come to a close and a new song start, Hot Mess by Cobra Starship. This was a good song, although I preferred The World Has It’s Shine But I Would Drop It On A Dime. Hector drove at around seventy miles an hour which seemed a bit strange because he usually drove at a hundred and eighty miles an hour. Well, the point is that we would get there before seven so that we weren’t late. By the time that we got there it was five minutes till seven, the time hector made the reservation for. Hector opened the door for all of us to enter. We took the steps to the eighth floor and he was talking to the person at the desk concerning our reservations. After a minute the concierge led us to a table for four on the large balcony like structure overlooking the river Thames. The view from here looked marvelous, I was starting to hope that he would only want to be rid of me and leave them alone.



Cynthia’s Perspective

This place seems perfect for a first date. But I can’t get sucked up into forgetting why we’re here. We have to make sure that Lucy doesn’t get hurt. A waiter came over to our table and asked us what we wanted to drink. Lucy and Hector each ordered a glass of red wine and William and I ordered raspberry ice tea. None of us talked at all until the waiter came back to our table with our drinks. I looked at the other three to see hector smiling, William looking at me and Lucy looking serious. I turned my head to look at the river Thames because the silence was making me uncomfortable.
“Mi scusi, ma…” I heard William speak in my direction.
“Mi spiace, che cosa?”
“Mi spiace.”
“Perché?” He just looked at his brother, who seemed to be whispering something to Lucy.
“Non Importa. Mi e` indefferente,”
“Mille grazie!”
“What are you saying?” Lucy was just staring at us.
“We were just talking about how nice it is tonight.”
“What language were you speaking?” she seemed skeptical.
“Italian, didn’t my mom tell you that I could speak a little Italian?”
“No, she didn’t tell me. She also didn’t tell me that you could speak fluent Spanish either.”
“Well, I guess that I should have told you.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It doesn’t matter?” I thought that she would ask more questions but she just looked at her drink. By now another waiter came over to see if we were ready to order. Hector ordered the king scallops, curried parsnips and apple rass el hanout caramel, it sounded like a weird name. Lucy ordered the poached hen eggs, truffle potato blinis, artichokes and wild mushrooms. William and I both ordered the butternut squash and pumpkin lasagna because it seemed good. After a while the sun was starting to set over the river Thames and I loved the reddish orange glow that bathed the river and the balcony. I looked over at William to see that his face looked flushed due to the setting sun. He looked back at me and his smile dazzled me because his teeth looked as if they were glowing in the light of the setting sun. His insipid face looked more handsome than ever in the evening light. This isn’t a real date. I have to make sure that he doesn’t hurt my aunt. Her safety is my number one priority right now and I won’t blow my cover just because this place seems romantic and the sun is setting, or that I wish that this was a real date. Because It’s Not! I won’t let this place get to me. It would be too dangerous if I let myself get carried away, with hector so close to Lucy. I don’t even know what he’s entirely he’s capable of.
“Cynthia what would you like for dessert?” the sound of William’s voice pulled me out of my train of thought. He probably saw that I wasn’t listening at first so he repeated the question. I looked at the menu and decided to order the chocolate mousse, gingerbread and pear sorbet. William ordered the same, hector ordered the banana and caramel mousse and Lucy ordered a caramelized passion fruit tart with white chocolate and another glass of wine. As soon as the waiter left William asked if I was alright. I assured him that I was fine. I wanted to talk to him about his brother but I knew that I couldn’t because he was watching us right now. After about half an hour hector asked for the check and I saw that the bill was 160 pounds. He paid the bill in cash even though William insisted on paying half of the bill. About five minutes later we were in his car, on our way back to my house.
“What time is it?”
“It’s almost eight at night.” William said in a bored tone.
“Would any of you mind if we do something else? It seems too early to go back home.”
“Io non lo so.” William and I said simultaneously.
“How about you Lucy?”
“Well, I guess that it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Did you have anything in mind?”
“Yes, William do you remember that when we came here we went to the natural history museum?”
“Yeah, so you want to go to the museum?”
“Well, it’s not even eight yet and it doesn’t close till eleven thirty. So why not?” he looked over at Lucy-he could because the light was red-but when she didn’t answer he just frowned.
“I don’t like to go to museums, everything is dead and it just seems boring.” She doesn’t know that he is dead. I wouldn’t have minded if we went home right now, the longer we were with him the higher the risk that he would kill her and William.

Hector’s Perspective

Why don’t they trust me? Well it’s normal that William shouldn’t trust me but what about Lucy and his girlfriend? Then again he probably told her that I’m an evil monster, which I am. I should have guessed that he would have told her what I am, but not everything. He wouldn’t want to give her the impression that he could ever be related to a heartless monster with an absolute zero chance of salvation. Because even a monster has some chance of salvation, a slim chance, but still a chance of finding peace.



William’s Perspective

He decided to go back to Cynthia’s house and in a few minutes we were there. He parked the car at the curb and opened the door for Lucy and Cynthia. After a few minutes of Lucy finding the spare key, she “lost” her key. She had to use the one that her sister kept under the door mat. I thought that Cynthia had her house key with her? We opened the door and entered except for my brother who was bound by the basic vampire rules. Well, with some changes because he was part wolf, he would have to be invited in every time that he wanted to come inside a house. I looked at Cynthia to see her trying to force herself not to smile because he knew that she would never let him come into this house ever again. But then Lucy invited him in and we grimaced. Apparently Maria wasn’t here because I saw a note on the table next to the TV that said that she went out to the city library to get a book that she really wanted to read. Oh great, she left us here alone with a mass murderer. Well I guess that it would be fitting that I die at the hands of my brother, as I supposed it would have happened eventually. But instead of trying to kill any of us, I caught him doing something that I thought seemed out of character for him. He was kissing Lucy, he never kissed any of the other girls that he dated or courted over the centuries so this came as a shock to me.
“Um…Lucy?” they stopped kissing but she was still trapped in his embrace so she could only turn her head a fraction of an inch to look at Cynthia and ask what she wanted.
“Well, um……” She looks like she’s about to choke and needs help.
“Excuse me, but…how come he’s kissing you? You don’t even know him that well!”
“Well, I…..” that was all she said. Then I heard him say that he wanted to kiss her and that he was feeling a little tipsy even though he only had one glass of red wine whereas Lucy had two.
“But I promise to be on my best behavior from now on.” He let go of her and sat down on the chair that he sat on when he first came in a little more than an hour ago.
“Si?” He was referring to him sitting in a chair.
“SoIo suppongo di si.”
“Um…could you please speak English? I don’t follow you.”
“Ovviamente, I mean of course.” I corrected myself because she could not understand me.
“William, do you want to borrow that book?” Cynthia asked.
“Si, per favore. I mean yes please.” Cynthia looked at me and then went upstairs to her room.
“What book?” Lucy asked.
“Oh I asked if I could borrow a book. To see if I’d like it.”
“What book?” she asked again.
“Oh a book about monsters. Why?”
“I didn’t think that you would like those kinds of books. The movies were good though.” Lucy said.
“Well, I like horror books so I thought that I’d give them a chance.” By now Cynthia came back down the stairs with two copies of the same book.
“How many times have you read this book?”
“Six, but I was wondering if you wanted to have a race to see who can finish it first.”
“Sure, but you would beat me. I bet that you could read this book in less than a day.”
“What?” She said as if she could not believe that.
“Well, you read this book six times. Also if a person really likes certain book genres they finish the books faster than if they didn’t,” she just looked at me with her eyes narrowed but she smiled a bit. Her smile was infectious. When she smiled, you just could not help but smile yourself.
“How long does it take you to read a horror book?”
“I think a little less than a few hours.” I told her.
“How many pages does your average horror book contain?”
“I would like to say about three hundred pages, how about you?” I asked.
“Two days or less, depending on how much free time I have. The average number of pages would have to be more or less six hundred pages.”
“W-O-W! Six hundred, how long did it take you to read this book?” I pointed to the book in her hands.
“A bit more than a day.”
“What is the longest time that you have ever spent reading a book and how many pages did it have?”
“Um….five months and it had 959 pages.” She looked really embarrassed.
“What book was it?” I asked.
“It was ‘Gone with the Wind’.”
“That was a very good book. Although I’m not surprised that it took you so long to read, it is a big book.”
“How about you?”
“Um….”
“Come on, I told you.”
“Ok, it was Gone with the Wind.”
“How long did it take you to finish it?”
“Five and a half months.”
“That’s not so bad. Like you said it was a big book.” She said in a sweet voice, it matched the smile that she gave me.
“I know, but I wasn’t used to taking so long to read a book.”
“So, do you want to race or not?”
“Ovviamente! Sarebbe molto bello!”
“Si.”
“Do you want to start now or tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m going to start now. To tell you the truth I think that I might like this book.”
“Someone does die in the end.”
“Even if I did like it I bet that you would still finish before me because you practically know it by memory.”
“Only one way to find out.” And with that being said we both opened the books to the first page and started reading. After I don’t know how long but I finally finished the entire book. I looked over at my watch to see that it was ten at night.
“Cynthia, what page are you on?”
“I just finished, how about you?”
“I just finished too. It’s only been two hours.”
“W-O-W, you are a fast reader. What was your favorite part?”
“When the monster practically killed himself just to save the woman that he loved.”
“Really? I thought that you would like the part where she almost stakes him in the heart.”
“Well, that part too. What was your favorite part?”
“When the girl stabbed the evil vampire in the heart with a stake and he turned into a pile of dust.”
“You were right.” I said, smiling at her.
“About what?”
“I loved that book.” She smiled back.
“Who won?” she asked. I just remembered that we were having a competition.
“I don’t know. But when I asked if you were done I had just finished the book.”
“I guess that it was a tie.” She said.
“I guess so. Have you seen Hector or Lucy?” I asked because I had not seen them around the room and it was quiet.
“No, I guess that they went for a walk.”
“Oh No!” we both knew what might happen if they were alone. We ran to the door and went outside to see if we could find them. I saw two pairs of footprints from the dirt path that led to my house.
“They are going to my house. We will need our horses to get to them.” We ran all the way to the stable and got Star and Ember ready to go to my house.




***

By the time that we got there fifteen minutes had passed. We entered the house to find it empty. The horses ran back to their stalls the instant that we dismounted. We walked all around the house, checked every room and even called Lucy’s name. When we could not find her, we sat down on the loveseat in the living room. Then Cynthia broke out in tears right next to me. I tried to comfort her, told her that Lucy was probably back home worried about her. After that didn’t work I just held her and let her cry on my shoulder and kept telling her that her aunt was alright.
“Well, look who we have here?” I heard Lucy’s annoying and accusing voice from the front door and Cynthia, with a tear-stained face, looked at her aunt with relief.
“Lucy where were you?” Cynthia asked, sounding very concerned.
“Hector and I were just out for a walk.” Lucy said, in her normal, annoying voice. my brother was beside her, just staring at me.
“Why did you not tell us? We were worried sick!” I asked hector, I knew that I sounded very anger and ticked off but I did not care.
“Oh I could tell!” He just loves to annoy me.
“What is that supposed to mean!” I practically screamed at him. He actually accused me of trying to take advantage of a friend.
“I do not know?” When he smiled it crept me out a little bit.
“Yes you do!”
“Shouldn’t you be taking her home right now?” He asked.
“I would like to say the same about her!” I looked at Lucy and my anger grew because I did not feel any good vibes coming from her, just annoyance.
“William Knight get her home right now!!” Hector yelled at me. I did not want to be anywhere near him any longer but I asked Cynthia if she wanted to go home right now or wait for her aunt. Either way I was not going to leave her alone with her aunt and my demon of a brother. She wanted to go home right now. So we got the horses back out and rode back to her house, Lucy could take my car to get back home. When I opened the door for Cynthia I saw her aunt, with her hands covering her face, crying on the sofa.
“What happened? I came back and I couldn’t find you.” Maria ran to Cynthia in tears and hugged her.
“I am so sorry, we could not find her aunt and we saw footprints leading to the dirt road that led to my house so we followed them. When we got there, we did not find anyone. But then, Lucy and my brother came through the front door and told us that they just went for a walk and told me to take Cynthia back home. So it is my fault that you did not find us, I did not even think to leave a note.” I explained to Maria. She looked at me with understanding.
“It’s not your fault. Didn’t they tell you where they were going?” she asked.
“I do not remember them telling me. But then again I was not paying attention because I was reading a book.” I replied.
“Well, when are they going to be back?” She asked, worried about her sister.
“They did not say. Hector just yelled at me saying that I should take Cynthia home.” Suddenly, the door swung open.
“They said that they were worried about me but I found them cuddling.” Lucy was saying behind us. Her voice reminded me that I still had to protect her. No matter how much of an annoyance she was to me at the moment.
“She was crying because she thought that something happened to you. I was trying to comfort her!” I said, trying to defend her niece from Lucy’s anger.
“What would happen to me, I was with hector.” The mention of his name made me want to tell all of them what could happen if any of them were with him, and what I’d do to him if he hurt any one of them.
“You would be surprised!” I retorted, my voice sounding as cold as ice.
“Lucy! Why didn’t you tell them that you were going for a walk with him!” her sister said in a very angry tone.
“Well, they seemed very busy reading and I think that I’m old enough that I don’t have to tell anyone where I’m going!” I lost all, if any, respect that I had for her because she was acting like a spoiled brat.
“You could have told us, or written a letter!” Cynthia was trying to sound angry but couldn’t manage it because she still had tears in her eyes. I walked over to her, told her that her aunt was safe and she had nothing to worry about and very gentle wiped a tear from her cheek with my hand.
“Do you see what I’m telling you? They are together.” I wanted to yell at Lucy, to tell her that the man she was infatuated with
“W-w-we a-are n-not!” Cynthia stammered, she seemed so sad and that just made me grow angrier than I already was.
“Well then why did he…” Lucy started to say, but I did not let her finish.
“Could you just be quiet! You are making her cry! If you want I will leave but just leave her alone!” My vehemence was showing in the way I said those last few words. She was getting on my last nerve and I was not going to take it anymore, I did not want Maria to think badly of Cynthia just because Lucy saw me holding her niece and thought the wrong thing.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you to respect your elders?”
“Yes, but you are acting more like a spoiled brat rather that an adult! Oh and Maria I would just like to ask that you remind your sister that it is bad to kiss a person that’s practically a total stranger after the first date. Also, I hope that she isn’t accustomed to drinking two glasses of red wine on a first date.” and with that I bowed and wished Cynthia good night as I did with Maria, turned around and left-well stomped out of-the house. I looked over my shoulder once to see Cynthia running to her room in tears, Lucy glaring at me, and Maria looking at me as if I had thrown a bucket of ice water on her. I feel so bad! Not because I made Lucy angry but because I made Cynthia cry! Lucy just got on my last nerve tonight. I took Ember out of the stable and Star followed close behind. As soon as I got home, I feed them and went back to my room. I could not stop thinking about her ever since I left her house. I just wanted to be with her right now, try to stop her from crying. I would give anything to see her smile at me one more time. It felt like the world was at peace when she smiled. Like there was no such thing as war, violence, hatred, anger or even death and everyone coexisted in perfect harmony. I know that if I show her how I feel then somehow, in some way hector will find out just how much I care and do everything in his power to take her away from me permanently. I should not think about it. I started to drift into a sort of dreamlike state. I do not remember falling asleep, but then how could anything that happened next be real? I was dressed in a light brown, almost tan, tuxedo that reminded me of the attire that I wore when I was younger as casual clothing. It was a sunny morning inside a beautiful house that seemed all too familiar to be a dream that I made up on my own. I was waiting at the bottom of a flight of stairs for someone, although I did not know whom. Then I saw a beautiful young woman come down the stairs wearing a simple long white dress that came up to her ankles. She was wearing a pair of sandals that matched her dress. Her light brown hair was in a ponytail and she was smiling. Her hazel eyes sparkled with an emotion that I did not quite understand. Then she looked over my head to another figure behind me.
“Will you take care of her?” I heard the voice of her father behind me. He seemed to have been in a better mood than the last time that we talked.
“Ovviamente.” I looked over at Cynthia.
“Come stai?” I asked her.
“Sto molto bene, grazie.” She replied.
“Um…where are we going? Because I was surprised by your letter because I thought that your dad was still mad at me.”
“Well, I convinced him to see reason to what you said and I was wondering if you wanted to go for a morning walk, please.”
“It would be my pleasure.” I smiled at her and I saw her cheeks grow a lovely light cherry compared to her fair skin. After a moment, she descended the stairs and got a hold of my left arm. Her touch was very light, as if she wasn’t sure that it was right or wrong to come near me but I just looked down at her and my smile grew a bit bigger. Her dad just said not to bring her back too late. When we were finally away from her father’s house, I asked her how she manager to convince her dad to forgive me. She just said that her dad felt guilty about hitting me. After about ten minutes, I asked her where we were going because we drifted away from the city and ended up near the ocean.
“Well, I was wondering if we could go to a clearing that is on the other side of town. It’s just a few yards away from the beach.”
“How come? I mean there’s a clearing by your house.”
“Yes but my dad could send one of his servants to spy on us.”
“But then why walk all the way to the clearing when we could just talk at the beach, or talk at my house with my father (not my foster father or my brothers) watching us. He would not tell anyone something that we would not want him to.”
“I know but his servants might.”
“What is so secret that we cannot even tell my father?” she just looked at me and I let it go.
“Very well, I will wait until we are at the clearing.”
“Thank you William.” We got to the clearing in another matter of minutes. It was a bit small but very sunny and had different types of flowers growing around the perimeter that should not have been because they were not indigenous to the area. They looked even more beautiful because the sun reflected off them, making them look like multi colored diamonds. NOW THE NEXT PART I KNOW THAT I MADE UP. I could not help but stare at the flowers but when I looked over at Cynthia I could not find her.
“Cynthia, where are you?” Where are you? I do not want to lose you again. I cannot handle it.
“Over here William!” when I heard her voice I felt my heart jump. When I looked at where she was I saw that she had somehow managed to walk all the way to the center where the sun shone the brightest without making a sound. Even though it was a few yards away I ran, wanting to close as much distance between us as possible. In an instant I was at her side.
“How did you get here so fast?” I asked her. She just said,
“Well, I’m a fast walker.”
“What did you want to tell me that you did not want us to be overheard?”
“Ti amo!” Did I hear right or did she just tell me that….?
“Why wouldn’t you want to tell me that back home?” I asked, curious and overjoyed. My heart was pounding out of my chest.
“Because then someone might hear and tell my father.”
“So? I would hate to be disrespectful but why do you care what he thinks?”
“I do not. But a lot of people do and your dad and mine are brothers.”

“But they are not blood brothers. They are not the sons of the same woman.”

“I know but our families are the only people that know that. So could you promise me to keep it a secret, please William?”
“Of course, I would do anything you would ask.” I could not deny this angelic creature anything that she wanted. Not when she looked so…so beseeching.
“Then do not tell anyone, not even your father.” I just nodded, not knowing how else to respond.
“Mille grazie!” for the first time since we set out for this place she smiled at me. I smiled back at her and very lightly pressed my lips to her forehead.
“Ti amo.” I whispered. I felt her arms around my waist and I placed my hands on either sides of her face. Then I had the strangest feeling, as if someone was watching us. I felt my body go rigid.
“What’s wrong William?” she was looking up at me with wide, worried eyes.
“I feel like we are being watched.” When I told her, she immediately let go of me. I walked a few feet away from her. I heard a twig snap a few yards away but then a little bear cub came out of the thicket where I heard the twig snap. It came closer to us and laid down right next to Cynthia, who I saw was now sitting cross-legged on the floor. The cub has its head on her lap.
“Careful Cynthia, it could bite you!”
“Shh! She would not do such a thing. Come, sit next to me.” I did as she said and sat next to her on the floor, cross-legged. She was petting the creature that was next to her.
“I do not think that you should be petting a wild beast, dear.” she just looked at me.
“Do not be a naysayer William.” Then she smiled at me and lightly kissed me on the cheek. I know that I should have told her that it was a bad idea to be with someone without her father’s permission or his knowledge but at the moment my mind was a complete blank. I could not believe that this was happening, mainly because it was not.

Cynthia’s Perspective

I can’t believe that Lucy acted the way she did. I should have told her that hector could have killed her, but instead I just kept my mouth shut. How would she react if I told her? I remembered how I reacted when William told me that he was a god. I couldn’t stop thinking about how William looked when he saw me cry. He actually looked worried about me. He even yelled at Lucy for giving me a hard time. I couldn’t help but remember the way he looked at me when he asked me to go on the fake date. He seemed very embarrassed. I thought that it was because he never dated before. But now I think that it was for another reason. I know that he said certain things that I wish were real. I wish that he meant every single thing that he said, although I don’t think that it could be true. I know that I shouldn’t be a pessimist but every time that he tells me-or tries to-I just can’t think that he’s telling the truth. I tried to fall asleep but to no avail. Nevertheless, I must have drifted to sleep because I had a wonderful dream. I was in a beautiful clearing that was rimmed with different types of flowers. I was wearing a white dress that came down to my ankles, and matching sandals. William was right next to me and he was wearing a light brown, almost tan tuxedo that looked like the attire that a rich gentleman would think was casual. We were sitting cross-legged on the floor, with a cute bear cub right next to me.
“I don’t think that you should be petting a wild beast, dear.” I just stared at him.
“Don’t be a naysayer William.” Then I smiled at him and lightly kissed him on the cheek. I know that it was wrong to act like this when we weren’t actually together. I also heard him say that he loved me and he held me in his arms. I don’t know how much time passed but the moon was already out and it shone very brightly. As I looked at William I saw that his pale skin was glowing, and when he smiled his teeth glowed so brightly that it was practically blinding. Then the dream shifted to a pitch black scene. All I heard were voices.
“You can’t have her! I won’t let you compete!” I heard an adult shout at the top of his lungs.
“Well, is it not her choice whether I fight for her or not?” I recognized the second voice as William’s. What are they talking about?
“No, I am the one to decide who should compete.”
“Well, I will find a way. You just wait and see!” then I heard my alarm clock ring, waking me from my weird dream. As soon as I showered and got dressed, I went down stairs.
“Boungiorno!”
“What? I thought that I asked if you could speak English, since I don’t understand Italian.”
“I’m sorry. I just said good morning.” I said in a bland tone.
“Are you going to apologize for your behavior last night Cynthia?” Lucy asked. She was sitting on the table eating a bowl of cereal and Maria was sitting parallel to her, reading the newspaper.
“Should I Lucy? I don’t remember doing anything wrong.” I said simply.
“William yelled at me, and you were crying your eyes out.”
“I was crying because I thought that Hector did something to you. I don’t trust him at all! It wasn’t my fault that William yelled at you, he doesn’t trust Hector either.”
“Well I do. I still think that William is in love with you, I mean he yelled at me just because I was proving my point.” Then I heard Maria put down the paper and look at Lucy.
“Well, if your point was to show him that you were a spoiled brat then you succeeded.” I heard Maria say from the other side of the room. Lucy just went quiet and the next moment I heard my phone ring. But I didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me. How did you sleep? Is your aunt giving you trouble?” as soon as I recognized the voice my spirits lifted.
“No, everything’s fine, I’m fine. How about you?” I asked.
“I am fine, thank you for asking. I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me to the music store on 91 Brick Lane.”
“Rough Trade East?” I asked and looked at my aunts for a brief second.
“Yes.”
“I’ll ask my aunts. Can I call you back?”
“I don’t know, can you?” he sounded amused.
“Ha, Ha, Ha, I know that I have to work on my grammar.”
“You may call me back or text me if you want Cynthia.”
“A Presto.”
“Arrivederci.” Then I heard the phone cut off.
“Who was that Cynthia?” Lucy asked in a suspicious tone. She sounded as if she had a very good idea.
“Oh, that was William. He asked if I wanted to go to the Rough Trade East music store with him.”
“What did you tell him?” Maria asked, her tone was neutral.
“I told him that I would ask you. So may I go please?”
“Well, I guess that it would be a good idea if you spent some time outside of this house. Also, I trust William. I know that he didn’t do anything to hurt you, in the two hours that you were alone in this house, or the half hour that you were in his house.” Maria sounded like she meant it.
“How do you know that he didn’t do anything to hurt her!” Lucy asked her sister.
“Well, Cynthia did look very worried about you. Also, William looked very worried about Cynthia! Oh and I think that you should be the one who apologizes.”
“Why should I?” Lucy asked.
“Because you were the one who was making Cynthia cry, and William was only trying to protect her from your anger and make her feel better.”
“It’s ok she doesn’t have to apologize Maria.” I said, I did not want to start a dispute over who was to blame and who was not.
“Yes she does. William was right about her being irresponsible. Oh and Lucy, I need to talk to you about that kiss you had with hector.”
“He kissed me! Remember Cynthia.” Lucy said, trying to sound like the victim.
“I don’t remember anything that happened between you two.” And with that I went up to my room. I decided to call him instead of texting him.
“Hello Cynthia! What did your aunts say?”
“Well, Lucy wasn’t as excited about it as Maria was.” I tried to sound happy, but I doubt that he bought it.
“Are you ok? You don’t sound all too happy.” I thought so.
“I’m fine. How about you?”
“I am fine, so I guess I will see you soon.”
“Yeah I guess. See you soon.”
“See you soon.” I hope that Lucy doesn’t act the way that she did last night, although she didn’t seem to be in a good mood this morning. I hope that he won’t mention anything about hector. How did he get my number in the first place? I called him back and asked him how he got my number.
“Well, I asked your aunt Maria last night. Just in case something happened when you are with me today and you leave your phone at home again.”
“She already knew that you were going to ask?” Ok, that was unexpected.
“Of course, you forgot that I was born in a time when it was customary to have the parent’s permission to spend time with someone?”
“No, but....”
“I wouldn’t want to be impolite, so I asked your aunt before I asked you.” he said as if that cleared everything up.
“But what if they said yes and I said no?” I asked.
“Well, I wouldn’t force you to go anywhere with me if you didn’t want to. Forcing someone’s company on another is very bad manners.” His tone was serious.
“I know.”
“I guess that I’ll see you in half an hour, or at what time should I pick you up?” he asked.
“Half an hour will be fine thanks.” I replied.
“Are you sure? It’s barely ten thirty in the morning.”
“Of course, half an hour is plenty of time for me to get ready.”
“Very well, I will see you in half an hour. Good bye.” He said.
“See you soon.” After I hung up I looked at myself in the full length mirror on my bathroom door. I wanted to make sure that I looked ok. I was wearing a dark violet V-neck blouse that matched the color of his irises exactly and a pair of dark blue jeans. I also had a pair of tennis shoes that matched the color of my jeans on. I look ok right? As I looked at myself, I just couldn’t stop thinking about what William would think. He always complements me and I can tell that he is sincere but I just cannot help but feel out of place when I am with him. Not like I don’t feel comfortable or safe when I’m with him. Because we get along rather well and he always makes sure that I am safe, but I just do not think that I should be with him in the first place. He seems to think that I’m just being overdramatic about it but I just can’t picture someone like him even looking at someone like me. Much less hang out with someone so run of the mill. As soon as I went downstairs I told my aunts that William would be over in less than half an hour. When I finally heard a soft rap on my door exactly half an hour had passed since I talked to him. When I opened the door I wasn’t surprised to see that William was wearing a black leather jacket, dark blue button-down shirt, black pants and black dress shoes, in this light the material, except for the jacket, seemed to shine as if it was silk. He also had a bouquet of two dozen dark red roses in one hand.

“Sei bellissima Cynthia.” He handed me the roses with a bow and smiled.
“Thank you, come in William. You look very handsome.” As he entered the house I put the roses on a bud vase filled with water.
“Thank you Cynthia. Are you ready to go?”
“Almost, just let me get my wallet from my room.”
“That is alright, I will pay for everything.”
“That just doesn’t seem right.”
“I invited you. Therefore I will pay for everything that you want.”
“But it just doesn’t seem right for you to spend your money on me. If I can’t pay for something I will wait until I have enough money to buy it.”
“Think of it as a gift then.” Instead of saying anything else I just sighed and went upstairs to get my wallet. It just doesn’t seem right for anyone to buy things for me, even when I have the money to buy it myself. I won’t accept anything from him if I can’t pay him back in full. It just doesn’t seem right and I don’t like it, I always feel bad when Maria buys me something. Even though I tell her that I will pay for it, or that I’ll wait till I get enough money. I got my wallet and went back downstairs to find William sitting down on the sofa. He had his nose in another monster book. Apparently I left it lying on the table near the sofa the last time that I read it. He looked up at me and just froze with a stunned look on his face as if he was caught red handed doing something wrong.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have asked before I…”
“It’s fine. Have you finished the one before it?”
“In two hours, I went to the store this morning at eight and bought it.”
“Wow, eight in the morning?”
“It’s official. I am now a monster/romance fanatic!” I couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s not funny. I actually cried when the goof vampire died at the hands of the coven of monster hunters.” He said, his tone sounded sincere but he was probably just playing around.
“You are a fanatic. Well at least you love to read.”
“Yeah, what other books do you recommend?”
“I don’t know. But I will look up some books that you might like.”
“Oh no!” I heard my aunt Lucy say atop the stairs.
“What’s wrong Lucy?”
“She turned you into a monster book fanatic!”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked her, sounding a bit wound up. She didn’t seem to be able to answer so he got up and opened the door for me. Then, in a hard voice he said,
“She will not be out long.” He closed the door behind me and we walked to his car.
“I’m so sorry for how I acted but I didn’t sense any good feelings from her when she saw me.” he was now holding the door open for me.
“It’s ok. She wasn’t in a good mood to begin with.” As soon as he got into the driver’s seat he looked at me.
“Sei il mi angelo.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing, it was nothing at all.” He smiled as if he was laughing at something at my expense.
“So, how was your morning, apart from reading new moon?” He was staring at the windshield.
“Well, sadly I awoke from a wonderful dream. So I’d have to say that it wasn’t that good.” Well, it looks like we both didn’t want to wake up this morning. I couldn’t help but beam at him.
“What happened in your dream?” he didn’t answer for a while. We were passing streets and quaint little shops.
“Well, I was in a very beautiful clearing lined with different types of flowers. I was with someone, a girl….” He just cut off mid-sentence.
“Was this girl wearing a simple white dress that came up to her ankles and matching sandals?” I just saw his eyebrows go up in surprise.
“How did you know?”
“Apparently we had the same dream last night.” we were at the music shop now. But to our displeasure the store was closed. William apologized for the store being closed. Although I told him that it was ok, how could he have known that it would be closed? I walked back to the car but then I saw a tiny flat object taped to the passenger window of the side of the car. It looked exactly like the piece of parchment that William had dropped when we were at his house. It was folded up but on the front it said,
Dear Cynthia,
Don’t open until you get to my house.
With love
William
Although I still couldn’t see how he could have taped this to the car without leaving my sight, even for a second. I don’t think that it would be a good idea to open it.
“Where are we going now that we saw that the store is closed?”
“We are not going anywhere. I am taking you home.”
“But, I don’t want to leave you yet.” I said in a whisper so low that I doubt he even heard me. But he just looked at me and smiled.
“If that’s the case then Miss. Simmons, I don’t believe that your aunts would mind if I accompanied you on a stroll.” He said with an old fashioned tone of voice.
“I was actually hoping that you would say that.”
“Is that so, May I ask why?”
“Because I want to visit Star.”
“I don’t remember mentioning anything about a stroll in the woods.”
“But it would be safe. Hector wouldn’t dare come near us in the daylight, you said so yourself.”
“I do not believe that it would be a good idea for you to go into those woods, daylight or not. I would not want to put you at risk!”
“Please William. I want to talk about your brother.”
“Only if you don’t run into the woods by yourself, my brother could attack you. Also….”
“Ok, that sounds fair, although he probably won’t be there.” Why does he worry so much?
“I was going to add that I should call your aunts and tell them that there has been a change of plans.”
“Do they have to know?”
“Yes, in case something happens to you.” He has a point there. I know when I’m beat.
“Well, I guess that you’re right. What exactly are you going to tell them?”
“That the music store was closed and that I thought that it would be a good idea to go for a saunter in the park, why?”
“I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t mention your brother at all. In case Lucy is in the room.”
“Um, ok.” So he dialed Maria’s cell number and told my aunts the change in plans. They didn’t seem mad, they even said that it would be a good idea.
“They are probably at the mall right now.” I said after he hung up and we were on our way to his house.
“That would elucidate how they were all right with the idea. Do you really want to visit Star?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason at all.” It took us fifteen minutes to get to his house. He seemed to be in a good mood, for someone who was besides going into a forest knowing that there was a probability that he might find a monster waiting. We walked for about three minutes before we got to the stables, we were having a race and I won.
“I thought that you were supposed to be fast.” I said just to tease him.
“I let you win. I could outrun you very easily.” He said, although he was breathing heavily.
“Are you sure that you are alright?”
“I’m fine.” We walked into the stables and I saw that Star was out of his stall and waiting for us, while Ember was in hers. After a few minutes William and I walked all the way to the clearing that we were in a few days ago. I couldn’t help but be surprised to see that everything about this place reminded me of my dream.
“Now I know why this place seemed familiar.”
“Are you finally accepting the fact that we’ve met before?”
“I guess so, because even though I dreamt about this place before it could have just been an average dream.”
“Wait, what do you mean before? I thought that you just dreamt it last night. Did you dream about this place before?” he sounded surprised.
“Well yes. Right after I met you, that day in the coffee shop. Although I thought that I was just dreaming about it because a clearing full of flowers would be a beautiful place and I thought that I had a crush on you.” Why did I have to say CRUSH! I saw one corner of his mouth go up in a half-smile.
“You had a crush on me?” I just scowled at him. He walked over to me, closing the small gap between us and said,
“Sei il mio angelo.” I still didn’t know what that meant.
“Could you please tell me what that means?”
“I thought that you knew. I told you that before. Nothing sounded familiar?” I thought about what he said and tried to see if anything made sense. Well I know that Angelo means angel in Italian. But before I got the chance to think about the rest he just asked what I wanted to talk about.
“I want to talk about your brother. Why did he act the way he did?”
“Well, he seems to fancy Lucia. That could be one reason. Or maybe he just wants to play around with her emotions before he decides to be rid of her. Sorry about the last comment, I didn’t mean it the way it came out.” He did seem sorry.
“How come he acts like that? I thought that you and your brother were raised the same way.”
“Well not really. My foster dad raised my two other brothers to be gentlemen but Hector didn’t really care about anything, unless it got him whatever he wanted. He wasn’t like me or my younger brother Aaron.”
“How come you didn’t tell me about your other brother?”
“Because you didn’t ask me if I had any other siblings, also because I haven’t spoken to him in centuries.”
“Why not, I mean he is immortal too right?”
“Yes he is, but he is an angel, and we never spent much time bonding at all as children.”
“You said that your foster father raised Hector and Aaron.” Then William practically raised himself.
“That is correct. He wasn’t very fond of me at all.”
“Did he ever treat you with kindness?”
“No, he cared more about my brothers or his horses. But I made sure to act like how my foster mother taught me. She was kinder than her husband and taught me to be kind, honest and to treat women with respect and to always value their opinions.”
“A woman’s opinion wasn’t counted in a lot of things, like voting, debates, or anything else.”
“There were some men who cared about what women had to say, but some of them did not have the courage to say so out loud.”
“I’m guessing that you were one of the few who did.” He just nodded and chuckled.
“Well I’m glad that you thought that way. Because even though the Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal, we were all created equal.”
“I cannot believe that it was only a little over eighty years since people realized that. I wonder how things would be different if people knew that people were all equal, whether a different race or gender from the very beginning.”
“There would be fewer wars, the Klu Klux Klan would probably never have existed, there wouldn’t have been a civil war in 1864, and the triangle factory fire wouldn’t have happened because better unions would have existed.”
“That is if everyone accepted the belief that everyone was created equal, not if they knew that everyone was created equal.” He said in a matted-of-fact tone. We were walking deeper into the woods, past the clearing. He was only a foot away from me.
“How come you brought a bouquet of flowers to my house this morning? No one else that I’ve ever known would do that if they were going to hang out with a friend.”
“Well, you are my best friend. I just wanted to apologize for what I said and for how I acted.”
“What exactly did you do that deserved an apology?”
“I yelled at your aunt, and you cried.”
“She was the one that should have apologized. You were only worried about me, although I was just crying, no big deal.”
“But I was part of the reason that you were crying. The more I got mad at Lucy the more she yelled and you wouldn’t stop crying.”
“I cried because she was with your brother and because she actually thought that I would lie about my feeling towards you.” He just looked very poignant for a moment. Then he walked a few feet away from me and stared into the darkness of the trees.
“Are you alright William? Did I say something that upset you?” I said in a concerned tone.
“I’m fine, I was just thinking about why I got so mad at your aunt being with my brother.”
“I thought because he could hurt her.”
“That is part of the reason, but…”
“What?” I walked closer to him.
“It’s nothing important. What else do you want to know about hector?” his smile seemed forced. Like when he was in my room, the day that he fainted.
“Well I wanted to show you something that I found on the windshield of your car.”
“What is it?” I opened the small piece of paper that I found and showed it to him. It said,
Dear Cynthia,
I hope that you are safe from my evil brother. He has been here for a while and wishes to do you harm. But you will need his help if you wish to find your father. He was supposed to have won you, all of those centuries ago. He was your father’s favorite, a wonderful young man and a wealthy suitor. He knows your father very well and can help. I know that you have many questions and I will answer all of them. But first I just want to tell you that you would have always had a special place in my heart, whether you were mine or not.
Love
William Knight
“Who do you think wrote this? You probably didn’t because it isn’t in your handwriting.” He just looked at me as if he was made of stone, hard and cold.
“I do not think, I know who wrote this.” But instead of telling me he just turned around and walked a few feet away from me.
“I think that it was Hector. How come it said that he was supposed to have won me?” he froze as soon as I asked him. Then he turned around and walked over to me until there were only a few inches between us. He was right in front of me, towering over me and his eyes were intense and they seemed to grow darker, almost to a black color.
“Do you remember when I told you about how your dad had a contest for your hand?”
“Yes, but that’s all that you told me.”
“Well, I left out one part.”
“What part and how does hector fit into all of this?” he sighed and said in a calm voice,
“Hector was interested in you, he wanted to court you but you would not have that. You thought that he was a good for nothing monster.” That made him smile.
“What’s so funny?”
“Well, it’s just that he was supposedly an eligible bachelor and you didn’t like him. Yet you spent most of your time with his loser of a brother.” He stopped smiling and looked serious again.
“You are not a loser, and he is a monster.”
“You have a point there. Anyway he entered the contest and your father was very happy about it.”
“And, what happened?”
“You were against having a gaggle of men fighting for you as if you were a trophy. But your dad didn’t share in your opinion.”
“How come people thought that arranged marriages and contests for a girl’s hand were good ideas?”
“They probably thought that they would choose people that would make their daughters happy, and also because of wealth and social status. I agreed with you.”
“It’s always either about the wealth or a family‘s social standing in the community. It rarely has anything to do with love.”
“Yes it is. My brother entered and you were mad when you found out.”
“I’m surprised that you were against it.” He just looked at me in a way that made my blood run cold.
“I would not force someone to be with me if they did not want to be with me! Forcing someone would be disrespectful and a form of slavery!” I couldn’t move because I had my back to a tree. He looked at me then his face softened a bit.
“I am so sorry if I acted in a way that scared you. I was just caught off guard at that remark.”
“It’s fine. I wasn’t thinking when I said it.” When I looked into his eyes I saw that he was really upset with himself, I could see the self-hatred in his deep dark violet eyes and that made me want to hug him and tell him just how sorry I was.
“I should not have gotten so angry. I mean I just got so mad at my brother because he sought to take you away from me.” his eyes were still sad but he tried to smile.
“That was then but this is now.” I closed the small gap between us and melted into his strong arms.


William’s Perspective


I want to tell her, but I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable with me. I just got her back and I don’t want to lose her again. If I would have ever let my brother have his way and take her away from me forever my heart would have stopped in that very instant. Then again, if I don’t tell her and she finds out by some other source then I would still lose her.
“Cynthia, I have something to tell you.” She just looked up at me. I was still holding her when she said in a curious voice,
“What is it William?”
“I just want to tell you the whole story when I told you about that wretched contest.”
“Um ok, what happened?”
“Well, to start, I just want to tell you that I entered the contest. But…”
“You entered the very contest that you thought was so horrible!” she said this in a disgusted voice. She let go of me and walked a few feet away from me. What have I done!
“Could you please let me explain?”
“You don’t have to! I can’t believe that I…I’m such an idiot.” She just stormed off, deeper into the woods. I followed her until we were at the heart of the forest.
“Cynthia please! Just let me explain!” she seemed not to hear me and kept on walking until I lost sight of her. I tried to keep up but I still couldn’t find her.
“Cynthia! Cynthia where are you!?” I kept calling her name till I heard a low moan come from a few yards away from this spot. I ran at full sprint until I saw that she was lying on the dirt floor crying. The closer that I got the more I could see that something tried to rip her throat out. Her blouse was entirely covered in blood and so was most of her face.
“What happened Cynthia? Who did this to you?”
“Your brother came from out of the thicket and grabbed me from my sides. He tried to bite me. I fought back but he was very strong and he was starting to tighten his grip and was crushing my rib cage. In an instant he did bite me and just left me here. He was laughing while I cried.”
“I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t told you more about the contest until we were at your house you would not have gotten hurt.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I overreacted, I didn’t even let you finish what you were going to say.” I was kneeling next to her and just staring, he could have killed her.
“Do you think that you can stand up?”
“I think that I can.” When she tried to stand, she almost fell to the ground on her back, but I caught her before she could.
“Oh no, I’m covered in blood. How will I explain this to my aunts?”
“Here, this might help.” I gave her my jacket to try to cover most of the blood stains.
“We need to get you to a doctor and fast!”
“I’m fine, he didn’t take a lot of blood.” I saw that she was holding a key in her hand.
“What’s that?”
“Hector dropped it by my feet. He said that I might need it soon.” Instead of saying anything else I just helped her get to my car. It took us an hour to get to my car but Cynthia didn’t complain about the pain. I can sense that she is in pain. She needs to go to the hospital NOW!
“I’m going to take you to the hospital alright.”
“But I feel fine!”
“I’d like to have a doctor make sure that you will be fine, if you don’t mind.”
“Well I do mind. I just lost some blood!”
“I still want to make sure that you will be alright!” I know that I should have kept my cool but I just wanted to make sure that she was alright, but she was making this difficult. We arrived at the hospital in a matter of minutes and I took her to the ER. I waited right next to her until a doctor told me to take her to room 322.
“Oh and you might need to be with her until her nurse comes in.”
“Of course doctor, whatever you say.” I took her to her room and helped her get on the plastic cot at the right corner of the room.
“Thanks, although I don’t think that this is necessary.”
“Well, I just want to make sure that you are alive and well.” She smiled at me.
“Well, I am definitely alive.”
“Yes, but I want to know if you are well.” Then I heard the door creak open and a female nurse come in.
“Excuse me. I’m here to see Cynthia Simmons.”
“She is over here.”
“Well I heard that you were attacked by an animal.”
“Yes she was.”
“I’m sorry I forgot to introduce myself, my name in Leslie Saguaro.”
“Hello, my name is William Knight. It’s nice to meet you.” I shook her hand and then I turned to look at Cynthia. She looked at Cynthia and smiled.
“Hello Leslie, how have you been?”
“I’ve been fine Cynthia. The doctor will be here in a few minutes but I have to take some blood samples and check your pulse.”
“Ok, that’s fine.” She didn’t sound so confident.
“You don’t like needles?”
“Not that much, although I don’t faint when I see blood.”
“If you did then William would have had to carry you.” We all laughed at the thought. It only took a few minutes for the nurse to take a few vials of blood and her pulse.
“I guess that I’m done for now.” Then without another word she just left.
“That wasn’t so bad right Cynthia.”
“Your right. Could you tell me what you were going to say before I stormed off and almost got killed?”
“I was going to say that I would not force you to be with me if you did not want to. If I had won I would have let you choose who you would want to be with.” I was right next to her, sitting on a plastic chair by the bed. She was sitting up on the bed and smiling at me.
“Really, even if the person was a commoner?”
“As long as he was a good man and he loved you the way that you loved him, his social status would not have mattered.”
“Would you really do that?”
“Without a doubt.”
“So, you wouldn’t be mad, or upset?”
“Why would I? All I care about is for you to be happy. That is what anyone would want for their friend.” Then I heard the door open and the doctor came in.
“Hello, my name is Andrea Alvarez.” She walked over to Cynthia and shook her hand. Then she shook mine.
“Cynthia, I think that your boyfriend should wait in the hall.” Cynthia and I just blushed. I got up from the chair and walked out into the hall. An hour later I heard the door open and Dr. Alvarez came out.
“How is Cynthia? Is she alright?”
“She is fine, you don’t need to worry. But her ribs will be sore for a few hours so could you tell her family that?”
“Of course doctor.” After I paid the hospital bill I helped Cynthia get back to my car.
“I have to tell your aunts about the animal attack.”
“But nothing bad happened to me.”
“Something bad could have happened. I want to make sure that you will be fine tonight.”
“Ok, what time is it?”
“It’s three in the afternoon.” She thanked me and we were on our way to her house. But unfortunately there was a terrible traffic jam and so it took us two hours to get to her house.
“Where have you been Cynthia?” was the first thing that I heard when I entered her house.
“She got attacked by an animal and I took her to the hospital. It was entirely my fault.”
“I wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I had listened to you and not run off alone! I’m to blame.’’ Lucy looked at me as if she wanted to clout me.
“Well the important thing is that both of you are safe and sound.” I heard Maria say. She sounded relieved that Cynthia was back home. But then she turned as insipid as a ghost when she saw that Cynthia was covered in blood.
“Cynthia what happened?”
“Well, like William said, I was attacked by an animal.”
“But what happened before you were attacked?”
“William and I were talking and I decided to go ahead on my own and I just ran off. He tried to catch up to me but he probably didn’t see that I was lying on the floor until I moaned because I heard him calling my name. But I couldn’t say anything because I was in shock.” Chayo looked at me then back at Cynthia.
“Well, I think that you should take a warm shower. It will help you relax.” Then I remembered that I had to tell her aunts what the doctor said.
“Chayo, the doctor said her ribs might be sore for a few hours because the animal probably tried to fracture her ribs or something, but they aren’t broken.”
“Ok, thank you for taking Cynthia to the hospital. Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“May I cook?” Everyone except Cynthia looked a little uneasy.
“I am not a bad cook. I took cooking classes.”
“Ok, you can cook while Cynthia gets cleaned up.” Maria said, seeming in a better mood. I decided to make a simple three cheese lasagna for dinner. Every five minutes Lucy or Maria came to check up on me to make sure that I probably wasn’t making a mess of their kitchen.





***

Where is Cynthia? I hope that she is alright. After Cynthia came down for dinner I felt better, until I saw what she was wearing. She was dressed in a white blouse and jeans. Why is she dressed like that? She should be dressed in something comfortable. She looks as if she were going out.
“Cynthia, you look as if you are going out. Should you not be wearing a t-shirt and sweats? Doctor Alvarez said that your ribs will become sore. You should be in bed right now. Someone could have brought your food to your room!” I scolded. She looked at me and said that she did not feel comfortable wearing sweats and a plain t-shirt when there was company and that she always ate with her family at the table.
“Fine then, but do not move too fast or else your ribs or spine might hurt a lot!”
“You worry too much, I feel just fine.” I just sighed at her and placed a plate of lasagna if front of her.
“You didn’t have to make anything, I could have cooked.”
“But you were covered in blood and you might have felt pain in your spine or ribs.” After everyone ate, I apologized again about how Cynthia got hurt.
“It wasn’t your fault William. I shouldn’t have run off and practically gotten myself killed.” She looked indifferent about the fact that she could have gotten killed.
“What exactly were you doing in the woods?” Lucy asked and she sounded suspicious about our motives for being in the woods in the first place.
“Like I said, Cynthia and I were taking a walk in the woods. Why do you ask?”
“I don’t think that Cynthia ran because she wanted to go ahead, I think that she wanted to get away from you!”
“That is not what happened Lucy. I wanted to go ahead because I thought that I saw an animal.”
“The very same animal that attacked you!” Lucy was starting to get on my nerves again.
”No, I thought that I saw a white-tailed deer with her fawn.” I saw Lucy stomp off to her room. Maria followed after her, which left Cynthia alone with me.
“I’m sorry about that William.”
“It is alright, I am used to being accused for these things.” She looked at me, puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“I will tell you tomorrow.” Her stupefaction changed to delight in that instant.
“You’ll come and visit tomorrow!”
“Of course Cynthia, why would I not?”
“What if my aunts won’t let you through the door?”
“I will break into the house if I have to. I just want to make sure that you are out of harm's way and that you are not irate at me anymore.” Then she did something I didn’t expect, she kissed my cheek very lightly, so lightly that I wouldn’t have felt it if I wasn’t giving her my undivided attention.
“I overreacted. I should have waited for you to explain everything to me.”
“No, I should have told you some time ago.”
“Then what stopped you?”
“I was afraid that if I told you then you might hate me and I’d lose you again, or you would get hurt.”
“Again, what do you mean?”
“I will tell you tomorrow.” She looked a bit sad but didn’t say anything at all. Then I just walked out of the door, but first I wished Cynthia a good night.

Cynthia’s Perspective

What would be so bad that he wouldn’t want to tell me? I wouldn’t get mad at him again, not like this afternoon. I would be careful to control my feelings. Well, he said that he would tell me tomorrow. But I can’t wait till then! I need to know NOW! I went straight upstairs to change into a t-shirt and sweats. I winced a lot because my ribs were very sore, I couldn’t move without feeling a sharp pain as if someone was poking a very sharp needle into my skin. After I got into bed I couldn’t stop thinking about what William told me. There is no more doubt in my mind about who he was, but I still couldn’t believe that he would ever fight for my hand. Then again hector was competing, so he probably didn’t want me to suffer by being with him. He really is a very good friend. It was dumb of me to get mad at him. He even wanted to explain to me the whole story. That night I had another weird dream. In this dream I was in the same beautiful house as before, only this time it was December because there was pure white snow all over the ground. It was past sunset because the sky had already turned a dark blue and you could hear crickets in the far distance. If you just looked at this place you would think it peaceful and relaxing. But I could sense feelings of hatred amongst the people in the house, as if all the people inside only care about winning and not of kindness or it’s kin, every one of them seemed to think that life was only about getting something that everyone else wanted and getting rid of anyone that gets in their way one way or the other. Except for a single person who’s thoughts weren’t of hatred or greed but of love and happiness. I walked over to that solitary ray of humanity as if transfixed. I wanted nothing more than to be with that one person, it was strange because I felt like I knew that person better than I knew my own self. I felt as if we were destined to be with one another. I walked and walked until I was in my own backyard-well it was more like a hundred acre forest-and that is when I pinpointed my other half. I saw that he had curly jet-black hair, an ashen complexion, and striking eyes. They were so fascinating to me because they looked placid and were of the most uncharacteristic tint. The irises were a deep dark violet but had a light, almost unperceivable streak of goldish red, like there was a spark igniting behind those docile eyes, creating a brilliant fire. It was practically unnoticeable to everyone else because the streak was so infinitesimal.
“Hello sir, how are you this fine evening?” he looked down at me and I suddenly remembered that I did know him. He was dressed in a black dressing gown with two dozen dark red roses in one hand which he gave me with a bow, as was the custom when a young man was asking for the hand of a maiden or something like that. Although not when he was at the gathering the night before he was going to vie for her hand. I accepted the roses and asked one of my chambermaids to place them in a vase with fresh, clean water and place them up in my room. He smiled down at me and I smiled back at him, hoping that he would see that I was very pleased that he was here.
“Cynthia, I am fine thank you. How are you doing? Are you not mad at me for even setting foot in your house, tonight of all nights?”
“Why would I be mad at you William? You are my best and only friend.” His smile grew a bit bigger and the fire died down, as if someone tried to extinguish the spark.
“Well, it is the day before the competition that you are so very much against. I thought that you would be seething to see me here, about to fight for you.” The very mention of fighting ignited the ember and now it became a wild fire. But he didn’t grimace or look irritated. Instead he looked composed and very calm, unlike the other men at this horrid gathering. I would have liked to have gotten a choice of who I wanted to be with, or how to spend my life. Every day of my life was the same as the last, I was not allowed to have fun with friends, play piano or read all day because I had to take care of the household and tend to my studies. The only pleasures that I knew were visits from William and nursing my garden.
“I would not be mad. Because I know that you are a caring person who respects my opinion. Whereas some of these people only think that women are here to wait on their every whim.”
“I would not make you do anything that you wouldn’t want to. I would rather do it myself than make you do something you did not want to do, no matter how repugnant the task. To tell you the truth I believe that this whole thing is a waste of time. Because what if you ended up with an old man who only thought of you as a trophy? Or someone that would abuse of you?” he grimaced in the direction of three young men who were looking at me as if I was a horse for sale. I just looked back at William but he was still glaring at those men with the fire burning brighter than ever. The very thought of him going against those ruffians distresses me. I do not want him to get hurt because I truly care about him overwhelmingly. I know that I should not even think of him in that way, because he probably only thinks of me as a friend but I just could not help it. I fell for him a long time ago but I kept my feeling secret because what if he did not feel the same. I could not go on if he stopped seeing me. He stopped caring for me, if I could never see his smile or hear his musical laugh. My heart would break if he met another and he never knew how I felt. Then again why was he willing to fight for me in the first place? Probably because he did not want me to be with an insensitive jerk for the rest of my life.
“Then I am glad that you are competing. Because I have known you all of my life and I know that you would never hurt a soul if you had any other choice.” He looked back at me and when I looked into his eyes I didn’t see a flame or even a spark. I saw only the ashes as if his eyes were engulfed in flames but now were extinguished. Then the ashes disintegrated into nothing and all that I saw in his eyes was absolute nothingness. They were vacant and his face was indecipherable.
“What is wrong Cynthia? You looked as if you were heartbroken a moment ago.” He said in a quiet voice, practically more than a whisper.
“Well, could I talk to you for a moment?”
“Of course, is something the matter?”
“Yes, but I would like to tell you somewhere where we will not be overheard of you do not mind.” He nodded and I led him farther into the forest, away from the house and into a small snow-covered clearing. When we were there he turned his head to look at me.
“What did you want to tell me? Does it have anything to do with tomorrow?” I looked away from him and walked a bit deeper until he grabbed my arm, but gently and asked me to answer him.
“It has everything to do with tomorrow William. What if you get hurt, or almost get killed? Some of those men would stop at nothing to make sure that they were exultant.” I said, feeling distressed. He just looked at me and smiled.
“Is that all? I thought that you changed your mind and hated me.” I heard him laugh his musical laugh and I couldn’t help but feel better. But then I remembered why I took him here.
“This is not funny! I would not forgive myself if you got hurt or if you almost got killed by those monsters!” he looked a bit sad now. Why would he look sad?
“You would probably feel bad at first, but in time you would forget and you would be happy again.”
“No, I would never forget that I was the one that hurt you. I would never be happy again for the rest of my life.” Then he just held me in his arms as if trying to comfort me.
“You care too much about me. I am not worth it. You could find someone else, someone better.” He sounded sad. Maybe because he knew that he would never have feelings for me and that I should just forget about him now.
“No, I would never find someone better, but you might. I only want you to compete if you have feelings for me. Because even if you do compete but you do not have feelings for me I would still be miserable.”
“Of course I have feelings for you. You are my best friend.”
“That is not what I meant.” He looked into my eyes and I saw the firestorm in them again. However, there were no other people in the clearing. Then he leaned down and pressed his lips gently to mine, so lightly as if he did not know how I would react to his boldness. My arms were around his neck but he grabbed them and pinned them to my sides.
“I am breaking all of the rules as it is. Being with you alone right now would be a violation of his rules. I want to fight for you and I plan to win.” He said as soon as the kiss was over a moment later. I was just staring, I couldn’t think clearly at all. We were still intertwined in each other’s arms, my head rested on his chest and he just gazed into the woods, I could hear nothing except his heart beating in synchronization with mine.
“Why did you kiss me?” I looked up at him, a bit confused because he looked sad just a second ago.
“I kissed you because what if you are right and something does happen to me. I am madly in love with you and I would do anything that you asked. Even if you told me that you never wanted to see me again.” Instead of saying anything I kissed him, well it was just a mere brushing of lips. He just stared at me and kissed me again. Only this time it was a real kiss. I felt like I was made of flames but I liked it, I felt a warmth inside of me and I couldn’t think of something that could make me feel disconsolate. I knew that he would do everything in his power to win and I couldn’t believe that I actually felt gloomy a moment ago. I didn’t want it to end. Apparently neither did he, we were so intertwined that our shadows were mingled together and made a shapeless blob, then he reluctantly let go of me and just looked into my dilated eyes.
“That was very wrong. I should not have kissed you Cynthia, not even once.” But instead of returning back to the house he extended his hand so that he could caress my cheek. I could not describe how happy I felt when he did this. His casual touch sent small shivers down my spine.
“I know that it was wrong. I know that my father would be furious if he found out, but I….” I couldn’t finish my sentence because I didn’t think that it was so wrong. I mean this would be the only thing that I did that someone would think wrong. He was going to fight for me tomorrow and I wanted him to win, I cherished the time that I spent with him. I wouldn’t want them to end just because my father is forcing me to marry at such a young age. This was my last night as a free woman. We walked a bit deeper into the woods until we came across a small pond where a couple of nightingale were singing their sweet lovers song. The full moon shun on the clear pond and made the frozen water sparkle like miniscule crystals. I couldn’t think of a more peaceful place.
“Cynthia?”
“Yes?”
“Are you alright? Cynthia…Cynthia!” I heard my name being called, but even though it was William’s voice his lips weren’t moving. I felt two strong arms gently grab my shoulders and shake me lightly. Then everything went dark and quiet. After a moment I opened my eyes to find William sitting at the foot of my bed, with my aunts behind him.
“Why are all of you in here so early?” I said, feeling a bit bleary. William just looked at me with wide and horror-stricken eyes. My aunts looked at me as if they didn’t know me. I decided to get up and look at my reflection in the mirror on my dresser. But when I did I was shocked, I was paler than usual. My hair was all in knots, and I honestly looked like a bleached corpse, no a bleached corpse would look a lot better than I did that morning. But then I saw two small wounds at the base of my neck. Oh crud, that monster attacked me! I looked back at everyone. None of them moved a fraction of an inch.
“What could have done this to you?” Lucy asked, seeming to be a bit uneasy. Then I heard the doorbell ring. William said that he would get it. After a moment he came back in and told Lucy that his guardian was waiting for her downstairs.
“You have another date with him?” I asked. I honestly thought that he would have left town by now, because now I knew his weakness.
“Yes, are you surprised? He seems to really like me.”
“Oh I’ll bet he does.” I said it at the same time that William did and in the same sarcastic tone. We just looked at each other and laughed.
“Well when are you two going to go out? Because I am getting incensed at him being here so often.” She retorted bitterly.
“Cynthia is too young to date. As for me, I do have feeling for a girl but she will never see me for me, at least not now.” He probably thinks that I am still a little mad at him for him keeping secrets from me.
“What?” my aunts both said at the exact same time. He just ignored them and looked at me.
“Stai bene?”
“Si, grazie.”
“Quanto?” I knew what he meant.
“Io non lo so.”
“Come stai?”
“Sto molto bene.”
“Spiace.”
“Io lo so.” I just realized that we were talking in whispers because my aunts were leaning their heads in our directions.
“Mia senza fine luce.” I just stared at him. I knew what that meant but I still couldn’t believe that he said it. It just seemed so random. But it was nice to hear anyway.
“Grazie.” But that was all I could say. I couldn’t think of anything else to say at the moment.
“Excuse me but what are you saying?” Maria asked, sounding a bit confused.
“I was just asking Cynthia if she was alright. Is there something wrong with that?”
“Well no but could you please speak in English?” I assured her that I would do as she asked. After about two hours and a shower Cynthia looked a lot better. She seemed to be smiling again for the most part. She even gave me the 500-Giga Watt smile that made my heart liquefy. I had just finished making an omelet for her when she came down the stairs. She thanked me and started eating. I couldn’t believe that my brother could have done this. He was never this bad, at least not always. Not until that girl came into his life and made him mad for her. Then I saw that Cynthia was looking at me.
“Is there a problem with your omelet? Would you like me to make you something else?”
“No it’s very good. But you didn’t look too good. Are you ok?”
“Yes, I am fine.” She didn’t seem convinced but she let it go. Then she just looked at the newspaper. The headline said,
KIDS GET OUT YOUR SUNSCREEN AND SURF BOARD!!!
HEAT WAVE SAID TO HIT TODAY!!
SCHOOLS WON’T OPEN TILL 12/15/10!!
WEATHER: 90+ DEGREES
No wonder that it was so hot right now. But the weather should be cold and snowy right now. I mean its winter right now.
“Global Warming is screwing up the environment.” She said as if reading my mind.
“You are probably right.”
”What are you planning to do right now William?” I heard Lucy ask me.
“Well, I have no idea. Why do you ask?”
“Well, hector asked if I would like to go for a walk with him. I was right, he does like me.”
“Sure, whatever you say.” Cynthia said this in a sarcastic tone, like before. Instead of answering, Lucy just glared at Cynthia.
“Well I think that this would be a good time to soak up some vitamin D and have a good time in this heat. Although that is just my own opinion. What do the rest of you think?” Cynthia and her aunts thought that it would be a good idea.





***

After an hour had passed we were all in my car on our way to the beach. Although we would have gotten here sooner but I had to get a change of clothes from my house. This was the first time in my life that I wore a pair of black with gray striped shorts and a solid black sleeveless t-shirt, or any kind of shorts or t-shirts. Cynthia was wearing a purple top and dark blue shorts with sandals. Her aunt Maria was wearing a pink blouse, dark blue sweats and pink sandals with socks. We picked out a spot by the edge of the ocean’s shore. The mist that sprayed my face felt so good in the heat. The weather did feel like ninety degrees.


Cynthia’s Perspective

This is beautiful weather to be at the beach. Although I wonder where hector and Lucy are right now?
“Don’t worry. If he did try to hurt her then she would fight back. Trust me; she could beat him up if she really wanted to.” I heard him say, as if reading my mind. I made sure that my aunt was well out of earshot before I asked him if he could sense Hector’s feeling the night that we went on a double-date. He said that all he sensed from his brother was a ceaseless love for Lucy. I turned to look at him but made sure that he didn’t catch me staring at him. I had not noticed before but he had a medium sized tattoo of a deep red rose on his left shoulder and under it were fourteen stanzas to what I could only guess was a poem because it was in another language. I wanted to ask him but then decided against it. I didn’t hear her come near us but after a minute she was at our side.
“What are you kids doing sitting in the shade? Wouldn’t you much rather go for a walk?” I looked at William and he smiled. He seemed so serious in the car. Maybe taking a walk with him wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I said that it would be a good idea and he agreed. We both got up from our peaceful spot on the beach and started walking along the fresh shore. I was glad that I was able to spend more time with my best friend.
“Well who or should I say what do we have here?” I heard that irksome nasal voice before I saw that it was Amy, the school’s head cheerleader and William’s biggest admirer.
“Hello Amy. How are you today?” I tried to be polite but my voice sounded brusque. She didn’t seem to notice my tone of voice. She was DROOLING over William. He, on the other hand, had his eyes glued to me. He looked the same as before, very serious.
“Well, it was nice to see you again but Cynthia and I should really get back to our walk…” Then he looked at me and said. “Do you not think so, dear?” he was still looking at me. I was just as surprised as Amy was.
“Yes, it would be a good idea because we could get hit with volleyballs or something.” Amy was just staring at William. Then she composed herself and walked away from us.
“That was a bit too much don’t you think?” He just stared at me and gave me an amused smile.
“Why do you think so?” he said, a bit distracted by something.
“Well because everyone at school thinks that we are friends, despite the fact that we are always together from when school commences to its culmination.” He didn’t seem to be paying attention to what I was saying. I felt unimportant because he wanted an answer and he wasn’t listening to it.
“I am very sorry but I was just sidetracked with her feelings.” Why does it bother me so much that he was even thinking about her feelings? Then I just started walking again, away from the beach and he was at my heels. I wanted to know everything but I didn’t know how to ask. So I just said what I had wanted to tell him.
“Could I talk to you for a moment?” he slowed his pace and I started to slow down too. He looked at me and he looked serious again.
“Of course, is something the matter?”
“Yes, but I would like to tell you somewhere where we will not be overheard if you do not mind.” He just nodded and walked further away from the beach and the other people. We walked as far as a few miles that led away from the beach and into a dirt path that seemed familiar although I have never been here before.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” he was still in that serious mood and I was starting to get tired of it.
“I just wanted to ask you what you meant when you said that you were afraid to lose me again?” he stopped walking now and I saw that we were only a few yards from the clearing near his house.
“Well I just want to tell you that I did enter the contest and I did win.” He said.
“But then what happened….if you did win?” I asked.
“Well I was glad that you would not end up being with my brother, or anyone like him.”
“Now I feel even worse for yelling at you. Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?” he held me in his arms and said in his sweet voice that made my heart melt,
“I could never stay mad at you. Although, I think that you care about me too much. You could find someone better than me.” I heard his heart beat slowly when he said those words.
“No, I would never find someone like you in the entire world. I feel whole when I’m with you. But if you don’t feel the same then I would let you go if it would make you happy.” Then I heard him laugh.
“Well, there is this girl that I am madly in love with. I do hope that you approve of her.” Well as long as he is happy then I am too, even if he does want to be with someone else. I felt his pulse speed up with every intake of breath.
“What’s wrong William?”
“Nothing, it is nothing.” I just sighed as if giving up and asked,
“Could you tell me about her please?” I heard him laugh again.
“She is very intelligent; we both get straight A’s in all of our classes. She loves music and we both play the same instruments. She is also the nicest person that anyone would every have the pleasure of meeting. Granted that she also voices her opinion, just not in a rude or disrespectful way.” They are perfect for each other.
“Well, she sounds very nice, a perfect match for you. I hope that you two are very happy together.” I said in a sour tone that he didn’t seem to notice. He just held me tighter. I let go of him and walked a few feet away from him.
“Is there anything else that I should know about her?” I hadn’t noticed before but a dreamy expression bepainted his face. He seemed to have been thinking about her the entire time that we were together. Then why did he hold me, or toy around with my emotions? I thought that he was different from any other guy that I’ve ever met. But I guess that I was greatly mistaken!
“I have not even told you how beautiful she is. When you look into her eyes you can see into her soul, she resembles an angel so much so that you would think that she was one masquerading as human.” I had had enough of him talking about that girl that had taken my friend away from me. I just wanted to be alone and never see this man who played around with my feelings. Making me think that I meant something to him when I meant nothing at all. I started to run with my hands covering my tear-stained face. Right now I felt as if my heart were being stabbed by little daggers that were sharpened to a thin but very sharp tip. I started to run faster and faster until I was back in the clearing. I heard him calling my name, he was right behind me but I kept on running and I wouldn’t stop until I was as far away from him as possible. After a few miles of sprinting I just collapsed on the dirt road. The last thing that I saw was his house just a few yards away, and then everything went into complete darkness.

William’s Perspective

Why did she run away from me? Could she not tell whom I was describing? I was running and as soon as I caught up to her I felt shivers go down my spine. She fainted; I should take her inside now. I carried her, the few steps to my house and opened the door. Then I walked all the way to my room and laid her on my bed. About half an hour had passed since she had passed out. But gradually, I saw her start to regain consciousness. When she finally opened her eyes I was comforted to see that she was alright. But after looking at me for a microsecond she looked repulsed at what she was seeing.
“What is wrong Cynthia? Are you alright?” She just looked at me and then got up from the bed. I was sitting next to the foot of it and I got up as well.
“Are you alright Cynthia?” she just grimaced in my direction. I sensed a great hatred and an even greater sadness from her.
“What is wrong Cynthia? Please tell me, maybe I can help.” She seemed as not to have heard me. She only walked to the door and was about to walk through, but I grabbed her by the hand and asked her to tell me. I said that I wanted to help.
“How could you help? You are the reason that I am like this!”



Cynthia’s Perspective

How could he? Didn’t he know how I felt? I can’t believe that I actually fell in love with this being that only toyed with me as if I were only an object for his amusement. He looked at me as if his heart was breaking, if he ever had a heart.
“Cynthia, I would never do anything to harm you, physically or emotionally. You know that you mean the world to me.” I just yanked my hand away from his as roughly as possible and walked away into the living room. I heard footsteps coming from behind me.
“Cynthia could you at least tell me what I did to upset you so?” he was in the living room, gazing into my eyes trying to find something. But I doubt that he would find it now.
“You could have at least told me about her, like her name for instance. Or what classes you had together. Anything would have been good to know.”
“But I did tell you about her.”
“But why did you wait until now? Amy will start a rumor about us when there is no us!” he didn’t say anything at all. We just stared at each other, until after a moment he seemed to want to say something.
“Well, we both have the same classes. Does that narrow it down?” he sounded serious, but I could detect sadness in his voice that made me wonder. Why?
“No, that doesn’t help much at all.” I might as well know as much about her as possible.
“Well, she has beautiful hazel eyes that make you want to stare at them for hours on end and brown hair so light that it appears like golden silk when the sunlight hits it, it cascades down her shoulders carelessly as if it was a waterfall of golden light. Does that help?” he was sitting down on the sofa while I was still standing by the door. There are a lot of girls in school with hazel eyes and light brown hair.
“Could you tell me anything else?” he seemed as if not wanting to tell me.
“Have you not figured it out yet Cynthia? It is not that hard to figure out.” He sounded serious. I closed my eyes and reviewed what he told me but came up a blank.
“I can’t find anyone that matches that description.” When I opened my eyes he was standing a few feet away from me and smiling.
“Il mi angelo.” I was starting to get fed up with him calling me that. I didn’t even know what that meant.
“Could you please just tell me what that means!”
“If you must know it means My Angel.”



William’s Perspective
I could not believe that she doubted how much I cared about her. Granted that I never told her openly, I always tried to make her figure it out on her own, but still. I also did not want her to feel bad if she did not feel the same. I wanted her to figure it out on her own so that if she did not feel the same, then I would stay out of her life. I wanted her to figure it out for herself. Although I did not like that she had to hate me before it sunk in.
“But that means that…!” She seems to be in a happier mood now.
“Exactly.” I smiled at her because she finally figured it out.
“Why didn’t you just tell me that in the first place?” she sounded mad but also very happy at the same time.
“I was worried that you would not feel the same.” I waited for her to say something but instead she just turned her back to me.
“Is something wrong?”
“Well no, unless you count the head cheerleader telling everyone that we are together.” She still did not turn to look at me so it was hard to see if she was joking or not. Also, her tone was deadpan. But I walked over to where I could see her face, right in front of her, and asked her again if anything was wrong. She said that she was just worried about what would happen if either of her aunts heard the rumor, or if hector heard it.




Maria’s Perspective

Where are they? There’s Amy, maybe she saw them?
“Amy, have you seen Cynthia and William anywhere?” I said in a worried voice.
“Oh they are probably around here somewhere….” She leaned closer and whispered. “Do you know that they are together?” I was shocked because she would say something like it.
“Where did you hear that from!”
“I saw them taking a walk.”
“So, they are just friends.” Then she told me about her conversation with them. But I already knew that he had feelings for her, he told me two nights before, when he asked her to go out on a date with him. She must have felt the same because she agreed, he gave her a choice. But I didn’t think that they would have not told anyone, although there was no school and they didn’t talk to anyone else, they would have told someone.




William’s Perspective

We were on our way back to the beach, but we ran into my brother and Lucy. The sun was covered by some clouds at the moment.
“What are you doing here William?” my brother asked and I told him that we were just out for a walk on the shore. Luckily we were a few feet into the beach so we had a plausible pretext. He did not believe me, and neither did Lucy. Doesn’t she look familiar? Oh now I remember who she is. But then why is she with him, she should know better by now!
“Lucy tells me that you got bitten by an animal last night Cynthia. How do you think that it happened?”
“Well I probably left the window open.” He was smiling and I could see his incisors grow longer than normal, Lucy could not see it because she was focused on Cynthia. His teeth only grew bigger when he fed on human blood, a lot of human blood. Why does he have to pick now to ruin my life? Why doesn’t he just live his life without involving innocent people?




Hector’s Perspective

Why doth thee have to be so enamored with this maiden when there are fairer than she out there in this vast world brother? Although you were mad for her for a long time, even after she left the town where this all started. But it will be folly to deem that she will every feel what she did all those centuries ago. He should be able to hear all of this. I saw his face grow cold and full of hatred.
“Well, I believe that it would be a good idea to get back to your aunt, don’t you think Cynthia?” he said in a curt tone.
“Yes, it would be a good idea.”


Cynthia’s Perspective

Hector looks a lot more like a vampire now than before. Doesn’t Lucy see that she is with a monster? We walked a few feet until we were out of Hector’s hearing range.
“Why do his fangs look bigger and sharper?”
“He fed on human blood, your blood.”
“Well, why did he bite me in the first place?”
“To vex me. he knows that I would die without you.” That’s an exaggeration, he wouldn’t die just because I was gone from his life. I looked at him and saw that his face was enigmatic
“What’s the matter William?” he didn’t seem to want to answer, then all of a sudden he smiled out of what seemed to be mirth. He’s smiling so at least he isn’t mad at me. Then he started running towards the spot where we started our walk. What is he up to?
“Would you like to race?” instead of answering I just ran after him, we were about a few feet from where my aunt was supposed to be. I was almost at the end of the race, with William on my heels, but-I don’t know how but- I tripped. Or I would have if William wasn’t right behind me and caught me just in the nick of time.
“Are you alright?” he said, in a worried tone.
“I’m fine, the worst thing that could have happened would have been that I’d have scraped my knees.” He just walked next to me, I hadn’t noticed but the day was almost over, and when friendly sunlight left us and gave way to bitter darkness came the end of my time with William. The clouds were turning a rosy color and the sun was setting over the horizon. I sat down by the shore next to William, just two feet from where we were sitting before our walk.
“This just seems so beautiful. Hard to believe that it’s six at night.” What? It’s six at night? But then where is Maria?
“She is probably around here somewhere.” He didn’t look worried. I wonder why? He just said that Lucy could take care of herself and that Maria was with Amy.
“Oh great!” I could just see and hear Amy talking. Did you hear that William and Cynthia are dating? I can’t believe that he would ever be interested in a girl like her, she isn’t even pretty and I have met smarted then her. Then I heard William sigh and say in an exultant voice,
“You are as knowledgeable as Pallas and far more radiant than Venus at her best. The sun’s light seems faint compared to your smile and Pallas herself deems you to be her equal. Why would you worry about how others see you?”
“Well, because they are right.” He looked at me and I was surprised because he got up and seemed to be mad at me. What did I do?
“You did not do anything except put yourself down. That is something that I will absolutely not allow.” He seems to be mad at my comment. But I didn’t say anything bad about him.
“You did not have to. I do not want you to think badly of yourself, because then you will believe everything that anyone says about you.” he started to walk a bit towards the place that we sat under this morning, I got up and followed him. He looked back and slowed his stride.
“We never saw who won remember?” I said. He smiled an amused smile and said that it didn’t count because I could have gotten hurt.
“Do you know where my aunt is?”
“Yes, she is a few yards from here.”
“Then could we have a rematch?” he looked at me with a worried expression but said,
“Only if you are up to it.” I smiled and said,
“Then on your marks…...get set…..go!” we ran at full sprint and I was beating him by a good two feet but then he ran a little faster and beat me by an inch.
“Hello, how are you this evening?” I heard Amy say although she didn’t sound all to friendly. We said that we were both fine and asked how she was doing. She said that she was well. Then we saw that Maria was sitting by the fire that was made by some of the others that were there. In a few seconds we saw that a few yards away she was talking with a man about the same age as herself. He was tall, had a deep tan and DARK VIOLET EYES!
I looked at the man in disbelief. How could he actually be here? I looked back at William, who’s expression seemed like a mixture of shock, anger and hatred. Then she saw us and beckoned for us to come over, she smiled as if nothing was amiss, but she was wrong. Because I could sense that a hurricane of mixed emotions was stirring inside of William, he seemed to be keeping his cool, but I could tell that he was making an effort to control his emotions.
“William, is that your father?” instead of answering he just walked over to that man and introduced himself. I walked over to my aunts and asked her who that man was. She said that this was Adam and he shook my hand at threw me a polite but warm smile. I could see the resemblance.
“Hello, you must be Cynthia, Maria has told me a lot about you.”
“Really? Have you two met before?”
“Yes, we met at the last Comic Con last July.” I looked at Maria.
“I didn’t know that you went to Comic Con.”
“Well, I only went one time, last July.” Then I heard William ask Adam how he was doing. He said that he was fine, and asked how William was.
“Oh, I’m fine thank you.” Then he looked at me with an expression that looked like a mixture of pain and hatred.

Hector’s Perspective

Lucy looks a bit tired. Maybe I should just take her home now. I wonder how my brother is doing? I cannot wait until the day that this all ends.
“I think that it would be best if I took you home right now.” She looked at me as if trying to say, but I don’t want to leave you! I held her hand in mine and started to lead her back the way we came, it was already dark but the moon was not out yet when I heard a sound in the distance that made me halt in my tracks. It was one of the maenads that had attacked her before. I had tortured her to the extremity of my powers for almost slaughtering Lucy, but now she came to finish what she started. I heard her say in a croaky tone,
“Greetings hector, how are you tonight?” I didn’t answer, appalled by her appearance because she was as pale as ashes and looked even paler because it seemed that she had just dinned, she was covered from top to bottom in dark red blood and her eyes matched the solution that now encased her. I looked at Lucy to see that she was shocked and appalled at what her eyes were beholding. She looked at me and I saw that her eyes were wide and her complexion was drained of color. That mad woman was still looking at Lucy as if she was a repast, with hungry eyes and her mouth parted slightly. You will not touch her! I knew that she would try to get her away from me and then attack, but I would not let that happen. Then I whispered in to Lucy’s ear,
“You will run back to you house when I tell you to!” then I heard the maenad laugh in a hoarse voice and say,
“I heard that, she won’t escape me!” then she ran towards me and tried to knock me to the ground, but it was futile. I was stronger, faster and far more deadly than a thousand maenads and she knew it. I dodged her easily and knocked her to the ground.
“Lucy run NOW!” I shouted and in an instant she recovered from her shock and ran towards the road and I lost sight of her. Let’s hope that this traitor didn’t decide to bring any friends.
She got up and tried again, but I just flung her towards a tree that was a few yards away as easily as if she were a rag doll. She’s persistent, I’ll give her that. Then I walked over to her, grabbed her by her throat and thrust her towards a sapling that was a few feet from the tree.
“Do you want to give me a reason to end you right now!” I growled on her ear, I felt all of the fear that was inside of her, the fear of the prey when it is about to die at the hands of the predator with no means of flight. Then I just ripped her head from her shoulders and buried her by the baby tree where I destroyed her. I didn’t feel bad about what I had done, because then she would have killed Lucy had I given her the chance but I would not have allowed that to happen.

William’s Perspective

We were back at Cynthia’s house and Adam came along, apparently he didn’t want to say goodbye yet. I talked to him for a while and found out that he was the owner of a record label. What a surprise. I thought to myself, with a bit of sarcasm. Then Cynthia asked if she could talk to me….alone. Adam didn’t seem to have had a problem with this at all, in fact after I left to talk to Cynthia he started a conversation with Maria.
“I’m sorry if I sound crazy but Adam looks like your father.” I looked at her and just started to chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” She demanded.
“It is just that you are right, he is.” She stared at me in disbelief. Then I saw that Adam was walking over here.
“Hello, I just wanted to ask William something quickly, do you mind if I take him from you for a moment Cynthia?” he said with a smile and she said that it was fine. I walked with him until we were outside and he said that he was sorry.
“Why would you be sorry, you did not do anything bad.” He just looked sober and told me that he was the reason that Cynthia and her father left, and that he knew where she was all of this time. I was enraged because I spent all of my time trying to find out where she had gone, I wanted to know what I had done to deserve such a cruel punishment as have her ripped from my life without even a goodbye. But I couldn’t find her and no one knew where her father took her. I just wanted to scream and tell him how much pain he had caused me. I even went to the underworld to ask it’s lord for help, I was past caring at that point if he wanted my soul in return for it, because back then I had no soul or heart for that matter, both were ripped from me.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you knew where she was all of this time father!!” I looked at my father with odium. How could he let me go through so much ache and not say a thing to me? Cynthia was the only person that I could-and would-ever trust with my existence and my heart without worrying about being betrayed or lied to.
“I did not tell you because then you would get your hopes up and I would not want you to end up getting hurt.” He said in a soft voice.
“She would NEVER do anything to hurt me.” I said in a voice that was filled to the brim with the pain and torment that I felt all that time ago, and still feel to this day. He just looked at me and I saw that he was on the brink of crying. Why would he cry when I was the one that was betrayed!
“I did not want to lie to you, or tell you that you would get over her soon, because you would not. But I would have done it all over again to prevent that abhorred divination from coming true.”
“What are you saying?” I don’t remember hearing of a prophecy or anything of the sort?
“Your brother knows more about it, he was the one that went to meet with them to see who I would choose, and he told me what they said.” Now he started to cry and said that I had every right to be mad at him, to despise him.
“How come you didn’t tell me before, why don’t you tell me now?”
“You would not like it, I still cannot believe that I didn’t even see it!” How could he not see it, it was his job to see things like this.
“But then why didn’t you tell me, I could have prevented it.” But then if it meant leaving heaven then I would never be able to do it, unless she would get hurt in the progress.
“Father, show me the prophecy!” he had recovered his bearings and took out a sheet of paper that said,

A SON AND DAUGHER OF THE GODS
WILL MEET AND AGAINST THE ODDS
THE STRINGS OF TWO WILL INTERTWINE
BUT WILL BE CUT BEFORE THEIR TIME
ONE OF THE IMPUREST SOUL WILL HOLD THE KEY
TO THE INTERTWINED’S HARMONY
THE DIVINE WILL DIE FOR HIS MATE
THE JUST ACT WILL SEAL THEIR FATE



As soon as I finished reading the paper I just wanted to run back inside and tell Cynthia that I could not be with her anymore, no matter how much it hurt me. But, instead I just went back inside and force myself to smile. I walked over to her but she saw that I was not well, so she asked me. I told her that I was just a little tired today, with all that happened. Then she frowned, probably remembering everything that happened.
“Not everything that happened was bad, unless…?” I couldn’t even finish the sentence because even thinking that I meant nothing made me scared. But then she smiled at me and said that she felt really bad about what happened earlier.
“It’s fine, I would have reacted the exact same way.” I told her. My smile wasn’t forced anymore.
“Would you like to go for a walk with me?”
“Of course I’d love to, but I have to ask my aunt first.” As she was about to ask Maria if we could go for a walk we saw that she and my father were going out the door, they said that they were going out for a walk and would be back later. This was perfect, now I could talk to her about what my father told me.
“Could I talk to you for a minute?” I asked her.
“Sure, what about?”
“About you. That is what I want to talk about.” That seemed to confuse her.
“Ok…what about me?” then I told her everything that my father told me, what happened at the end of the contest and even showed her the prophecy. She just looked at me and looked as if she was about to shed tears.
“What is wrong darling?” We were sitting down on the sofa and I was holding her at this point, trying to comfort her. She seems really sad. I wonder why? I guess that it was a good thing that I did not tell her that I visited my father’s uncle in his dominion to seek his help.
“Why did I leave you? How could I even think of leaving my only friend?”
“You were not the one to blame, my father convinced yours that it was in your best interest.”
“But why didn’t I do anything at all?”
“What could you have possibly done that would have made any difference?” I looked at the vase that held the flowers that I gave her and saw that they were flaccid. Then she looked up at me and for the first time in a very long time, I kissed her. Although, it only lasted for a brief moment.
“I would have done whatever was necessary, as long as I could be with you.” I heard her say, her voice full of happiness now, although I still heard a twinge of sadness that was not hidden by that joy. After a while, Adam and Maria came back, they were all smiles. Was I ever like that when I was enamored? My case was probably much worse. I was sitting next to Cynthia, I was not holding her. Although I was holding her hand, and when they caught sight of that fact they both said,
“Well, it’s about time!” which shocked Cynthia, but made me smile. I looked at her to see that she was smiling too, but when she looked at my father she looked serious. They did not seem to notice it at all, they were caught up in their own little romance and I was not the only one to notice. Then we all heard the door open and Lucy came running in, all in tears. She came in saying,
“Help, come quick!” we were all shocked and got up suddenly, worried. Had he tried to hurt her?
“What happened, did he try to hurt you?” Cynthia said. But we were all shocked by what she said next.
“No, he was attacked, he told me to run and I already told the police about her. She was a mad woman, covered all in blood.” My brother was attacked by a maenad? That made no sense. In a few minutes we were at the spot where she and Hector had been. I saw that he was still there, walking around. When the car stopped I saw Lucy run to him and he embraced her. I saw that he was covered in blood, it reminded me of that day in the hospital, and for once I felt sorry that he could have almost been killed. I walked over to him and asked if he was hurt. He just answered in a curt voice,
“As if you care. But if you must know then I’m fine.” For the first time in forever I actually saw him smile at me, without any trace of malaise at all.
“What attacked you?” I asked him, although I already had a pretty good idea.
“One of the maenads. But she is gone now.” He turned his head towards a sapling and I knew what had happened. He must really love her. As if reading my mind he said,
“Oh you have no idea, but then again I guess you do.” He looked at Cynthia. She was walking over to us, her expression was serious.
“Are you ok?”
“Oh, I’m fine. I didn’t think that you would have cared.” She didn’t answer to his comment. They dropped my brother and me off at my house and he got himself cleaned up. After a few minutes he said that he was surprised that she tried to attack him.
“Why did you protect Lucy?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I love her.”
“I just thought that….”
“She didn’t kill me, it was just a scar.”



Cynthia's Perspective

I can’t believe that I kissed him, it was just an impulse. Why did Hector protect Lucy? I can’t believe that he would even have feelings, he tried to kill her. But maybe he didn’t want to kill her? Maybe he actually had a heart? Or maybe he was just toying with her, maybe he planned to end her after he ended William and me? That night I could not sleep at all, I had this strange dream. It was in a place that was black and I felt so miserable, there was fog everywhere, and the living dead, or maybe restless souls. I saw that a living being was walking up to a man dressed all in black, so pale that he resembled a living corps, yet he had a sort of elegance. Anyway, the person that I saw walking towards this being was tall, and also resembled a living corps but he was all in tears. Whereas the other was smiling as if he had won the Olympic games or something.
“Oh lord of the dead, please grant me what I most desire.” I heard the sad man say. Lord of the dead?
“I cannot favor you, I have more important things to take care of. Anyway what you most desire is gone from you because of something that could not be helped.” The lord said, in a detached tone. Then I saw the other fall to the ground and start screaming as if he was dying this very second. Oh poor man, I wish that I could help you. The man turned his head in my direction as if he heard my thoughts and I saw that it was WILLIAM. Why would he be here? In a place so sad and terrifying? He looked as if he hadn’t fed or slept in months, it made me sad to have to see him like this.
“Please sir, I would do anything that thou ask of me. I am prepared to give thee my soul, for I have none, nor have I a heart, for they both were ripped from me as if someone cut me open and just left a vacant gap in my breast.” The man sitting in the throne made of carcass looked as if he was jaded to death. How could someone hurt my friend so! Then I remembered what he told me earlier.
“I am sorry if you feel that way, but so you see that I am not a heartless being I will grant you one thing. When her time is up, then and only then, will you truly find silence. But until that time you will feel the sadness that accompanied this decision.” At this William’s face lit up.
“Thank you so much, now I am finally assured that I will not suffer as much when she has truly departed from the living forever.” Then I woke up to find the smell of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and sausages fill my nostrils. I walked down the stairs and found William in the kitchen, he was wearing a dark buttoned shirt, a dark blue pair of pants, and gave me one of those smiles that made my heart melt right down to the core. But I was also mad at him and I knew that he could sense it. His smile vanished in an instant. My aunts weren’t downstairs so I was free to just get to the point, I walked up to him and said,
“Why did you go to the Underworld! Hades could have kept you there, why were you there in the first place!” I know that I should have just calmed down but I just couldn’t believe that he would even think of going to such a horrid place.
“How did you know that I went there?” he seemed quite shocked.
“Well I had a dream last night.”
“I am so sorry, but I just could not take it anymore, I felt so miserable. I did not even know if you were safe or not.” He said in a voice that seemed more like a whisper, rather than his normal angelic voice. Then my aunts came down stairs and I was practically holding William, at least that is how it would look from their point of view. I was leaning on the counter but they could not see if from where they stood.
“Shouldn’t you two be at school right now?” Lucy asked as soon as she came down the stairs.
“The police decided that no one was allowed to be anywhere near the woods, and we have to pass the woods on our way to school.” William said. Then I heard my phone ring, it was José. As it turned out he couldn’t come to visit after all, his parents heard about all of the attacks.
“Who is José?” William said in a curious voice, although I could hear something else in his voice, something that I could not detect.
“He is just a friend from my old school.” He still didn’t seem all too happy.
“Don’t tell me that you are jealous.” I couldn’t even believe it myself. He just smiled a bit and said,
“Well I am a bit, now that you brought the subject up.” I couldn’t believe it.
“Why would you be jealous of him?”
“Well, he knows you better than I do.”
“I only know him because he is the brother of one of my best friends.” His features changed from confused to happy in an instant.
“Oh really? Well I am very sorry that I did not have the pleasure of meeting him.” My aunts looked at him as if he was a bit out of it.
“Maria, how was your walk with Adam last night?” she looked at me, surprised. Then I heard Lucy ask who Adam was. I told her that he was a friend of her sister’s. Then Lucy kept teasing her saying,
“Maria has a beau! Maria has a beau!” We all tried to ignore her. Then I heard the doorbell ring and when I opened it I wasn’t surprised to find Adam on the other side, wearing a light blue buttoned shirt, beige pants and matching blazer. He was also carrying a bouquet of a dozen white roses. He asked if he could come in and I let him enter. When he saw Maria he gave her the roses with a courteous bow. That made Lucy look at Adam and back to Maria.




William’s Perspective

Lucy does not seem very happy today, I wonder why? Although my father and Maria both look ecstatic. After about an hour Lucy left the kitchen, probably because she was tired of seeing the way Adam looked at Maria, with unyielding love. It reminded me of the way that I looked at Cynthia at times. Then Adam and Maria left to go for a walk in the park. Even with mass murderers on the loose they still go for a walk. My father is out of it right now. Cynthia and I were alone in the living room, we were actually watching the movie Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. We were at the part where the vampire father was about to execute his own daughter because she had met with a werewolf in secret and was now expecting a child. Cynthia looked at me to see that I wasn’t paying any attention to the movie, but I probably looked as if I was giving her my undivided attention, because I was.
“Why are you looking at me, is there something on my face?” she said, but then I just smiled at her and said,
“No you look fine, actually I was just admiring how dazzling you look today, and every day.” Her only reaction was to blush, which made me smile all the more.
“You look so beautiful, I just cannot help but stare. I am so sorry if it makes you uncomfortable.” I would not want to make her feel uncomfortable.
“Love is oh so exceedingly sweet for a man whose only acquaintances are odium and torment.” I said, thinking aloud. Although I do not think that she could have heard me.
“Why do you say that?” she said, as curious as ever.
“I did not say a thing.”
“Yes you did, I heard you loud and clear.” She has very good hearing.
“I was just thinking out loud.” I said and she seemed satisfied with my answer. Then I remembered something.
“Would you mind helping me with something?” I asked.
“Sure, what do you need help with?”
“I need help with a song.” I told her.
“Learning to play a song?”
“No, I need help writing a song. Could you help me?”
“Let me see what you have so far.” So I took a piece of paper from my pocket and showed it to her. It said,


Forever Yours
Whenever I see you I just want to be with you, hold you, and kiss you
I can’t get you out of my mind
When I see you my heart beats in overtime
When I’m with you I can’t help but smile

You’re the center of my world
And I’m forever yours
Our love so strong and true
Can’t die even at the hands of Pluto

She looked at me and just kept quiet.
“I know that it is not that good. So could you please help me?” she smiled and said,
“Well, I guess that I could give it a shot. Although I’ve never written a song.” We spent ten minutes coming up with more lyrics and came up with,
Eventually you will have to go
Although we will feel sorrow
I couldn’t help but fall for you
Because you’re perfect at everything you do
When I close my eyes I see your face
And my pulse quickens its pace

Please don’t leave me or my heart will break
I wouldn’t leave you even if I met a horrid fate
I just can’t think of living without you

I didn’t know what love was till I met you









You are my whole life.

After that I said that what we had so far was good. She on the other hand though that it could use some improvements.
“What kinds of improvements?” I asked.
“Well you are just explaining how you feel.” She said.
“But a song usually tells a story.”
“Exactly, so how about we write,”
My life would have been wonderful
If not for that fateful day
When you were taken away
From my life without a last farewell
“That sounds great. How about we add this,”
We had always thought that we would be together forever
But our parents made sure to stifle our endeavor
They thought that it was would die away in a moment
We vowed that it would be eternal
Now every time that I look at you I tell you how much I care
Because I am afraid that you might go and leave me here



She was not even looking at me, she had her head down.
“Is something wrong Cynthia?” she did not answer, instead she just looked up at me with a blank expression.
“Maybe we should take a break for now.” Cynthia just nodded. I remembered that I had brought my IPod; we heard the songs Undisclosed Desires by Muse, Lucky by Jason Mraz, The Only Exception by Paramore, Paper cut by Linkin Park, and Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars. By then an hour and a half had past. Where were Maria and Adam? Then they came crashing through the door. They were both pale faced and Adam was bleeding. We both ran to see what happened. They said that they were attacked by a maenad. They were out for a walk in the park and all of a sudden they saw a woman wearing robes, just like when Maria and Lucy were attacked. The woman was about to rip her to shreds when Adam shoved her out of the way. But that still does not explain why he was covered in blood. I asked him how he got covered in blood. He said that the woman made a huge cut in his arm. He even showed us his arm, it was completely doused in his deep dark red blood. How could he get hurt, he is a god? Lucy was coming down the stairs and she sounded testy. She wanted to know why her sister was so scared. When we told her what happened she practically fainted. It was about two thirty, they left at about noon. Why would a maenad attack someone in broad daylight? Adam and Maria were sitting on the couch, Lucy was standing aloft, and Cynthia and I were sitting across from Adam and Maria. We were all tense due to what had happened. I called Hector and told him everything that happened, I do not know why I did that. Maybe I thought that he could explain why he was trying to kill these people. But then again I think that I know the answer. He wanted to kill Maria because she was important to my father, and he was ticked at my father. But why would the maenad attack Lucy? That makes no sense. After I called him he said that he had nothing to do with the attack, which made me skeptical. My brother was not the kind of person that just let things not go his way, he almost always did. By now Maria dressed Adam’s cut and he was smiling. His smiles were always infectious. Once he smiled you could not help but smile also. I glanced over at Cynthia to see that she seemed really worried about Adam and Maria. Why would she not be worried? Her aunt and her aunt’s boyfriend were attacked by a MYTH. Lucy’s face was indecipherable. By now we had called the police and they said that they would track down the monster. That still was not enough because they could not deal with a monster that could rip their tissue from their bones and devour it, as easily as if they were trying to rip a piece of meat from a T-bone steak. Even thinking about it made me feel sick to my stomach.





***

By now, the police had been here and asked Maria and Adam multiple questions about their attackers. Although I knew that they would not be able to find them, they were good at hiding.

Cynthia's Perspective

I can’t believe that Hector would let those monsters attack my aunt and his father. Then again he has done some very bad things. It was five fifty by now and Adam thought that it would be better if he and William went back to William’s house. It would have been unanimous if William said that it would be better if they stayed in case something happened, but he was outvoted. I wanted him to stay as much as he did but what if the maenads came over here, they could hurt him. I wouldn’t want him to get hurt. After he left I went straight to my room and went on my laptop, I looked up more on the maenads. A small article caught my eye. It said,
The MAENAD: They are
a group of women, the
followers of the Greek
god of wine Dionysus.
They are mad women
driven by passionate
feelings like anger and
hatred. Basically a
woman affected by wild,
uncontrollable emotions.

Well that would explain their behavior. But they were the followers of my father. I scrolled down more and it said,
They were also taught
by this god to behave.
He gave them drink and
fed them and they slept
in peaceful meadows and
they were peaceful and
stopped feeding on flesh
for a while.


Well, at least they are not entirely evil. But then why would they attack so many people? Aside from the fact that Hector could be controlling them, why else? I heard my door open and Maria came in. She walked over to me and gave me a cup of coffee and asked me how I was. I told her that I was fine. She said that she was glad that I was such good friend with William, she said that he was a gallant young man. Not like most of the other boys from my school. I said that I agreed with her entirely. Then she just left my room smiling. But now I couldn’t stop thinking about William. Then I heard a rap on my window by the balcony, so I got up from my bed and found a bird on the other side. It was a beautiful dark brown hawk with a black face and golden-bronze eyes. The beak itself was as sharp as a spike and as golden-bronze as his eyes. It had an air of grace and prestige. In one of its talons was tied a note. I removed it and as soon as I did, the bird flew back the way that it came. I closed the window and I went back to my bed to read the note. It said,
Dear Cynthia,
I hope that you are safe and sound. I do not want to leave but I must. For if I do not then you would be in more danger. I would have wanted to be with you for the rest of my life, but alas it is not meant to be. For fate is a cruel mistress who’s only desire is to cause us and the ones that we hold most dear great pain. I hope that you will not be mad at me, or maybe it would be best, because it would mean that you would live on. I wish that you will be better after I am gone, find someone that you can be with and that makes you happy. I know that after you read this you will be mad, and I hope that tomorrow you will be over me. But you must know why I am going. I am leaving this place because there is too much misery and death. My brother has made sure of that, also I believe-let us hope that I am right-that my brother only wants to kill me. If he sees how much pain I feel, then maybe he will be satisfied and just cut to the chase and end me. But if not, then I fear that you and your family will still be in danger. I am very sorry if I am wrong and I hope that you will forgive me, but if I am right then I just want to tell you that I was thinking of you. I always have wanted the best for you, so I hope that you will have a better life now. Lastly, I just want you to know that I love you and that my heart is slowly dying as I write this last farewell.
With love,
William Knight
P.S. I wish you the best and may your life be well worth living.

There were blotches on some of the words so it looked as if he was crying, I could barely make out what some of it said in other parts because it just looked like ink blotches. What, how could he…? Why would he? I thought that he..? I mean he said…? I read the note over and over again but the words just didn’t connect. I do not want to leave but I must. For if I do not then you would be in more danger. I would have wanted to be with you for the rest of my life, but alas it is not meant to be. This just didn’t make sense to me. Right now I broke out in tears. My brain was completely shut down. Apparently I just can’t process the fact that he is leaving me, he could probably be gone for all I knew. I was lying in bed, I wasn’t even dressed in my pajamas yet. I was just crying on my pillow, my life just seemed empty now. I saw that the cup of coffee was lying unruffled by my laptop. I walked over to pick it up, walked back to my bed, laid down and drank. But then I started to feel drowsy and then I just collapsed in an instant. It was weird because I dreamt that I was alone in a beautiful room, filled with flowers yet I was miserable. My eyes were red and swollen from crying, it seemed like I hadn’t fed or slept in months. I felt so bad, so incomplete. Then my father came in and started saying that I should be in a better mood. I told him that I would be if he let me go back home.
“You are home, you ungrateful girl!” him yelling scared me, yet I didn’t care.
“I will be home when I am with the one person who I care about!” I retorted. Then my mind was filled with all of the dreams that I had ever since I met William. I also remembered every second that I spent with him in the last few weeks. Then I just woke up. The sun wasn’t shining so it matched my mood. Then I looked around my room to find my aunts looking at me.
“Are you ok Cynthia! It’s December 18th, you didn’t wake up for two days! What happened?” they were saying. The only thing that I caught was the fact that I hadn’t awoken for two days. I didn’t even remember drinking something that I shouldn’t. All I remember was feeling drowsy and then fainting. They left as soon as I told them that I was fine. After a few minutes I went downstairs to find a black rectangular box with a dark red bow around it. Then I saw that William was standing at the foot of the stairs. When he saw me he smiled, then held me for about ten seconds when I came down the stairs. I was glad that he was still here, but I was also sad because he had made me worry, with the letter that he sent. When I told him about it he said that he never sent any letter. I went upstairs and showed it to him.
“That was a letter that I wrote but I was never planning to send. It would cause me too much pain to have to leave you.” He said in a sincere yet serious tone. He seemed worried about something.
“Are you ok? Is there a problem?”
“I believe that someone gave you a sleeping draught. What was the last thing that you drank two days ago?”
“The last thing was a cup of coffee that Maria brought up to my room.” Then he looked at Maria for an instant but as if he despised her. Then he looked back at me and said that he had something for me. He pointed to the black box.
“I hope that you like it? I did not know what you would like.” I hadn’t noticed but Adam was here too. Now Lucy, Maria, and Adam were sitting on the couch while William and I were sitting on the sofa adjacent to them. He was smiling at me and gave me the box to open. Before I did I read the card, it said,
Dear Cynthia,
Happy birthday! I hope that you have a good time. I hope that you like this gift, it was hard to think of something considering the little time that I have known you.
Sincerely,
William Knight
“It’s still six days until my birthday.”
“Well, I cannot wait, so I am going to give you your present six days early. I hope that you do not mind.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything. We have known each other for a short while.” He just smiled at me and said,
“Yet I feel as if I have known you for my entire life.” He said in a voice so soft that I think that I was the only one who could hear him. I looked at him and smiled back. Then I opened the box and was amazed. Inside was a pure black Spanish guitar with a design of a golden-eyed angel holding a lyre in one hand and a bouquet of dark red roses in the other, floating down from a beam of golden light coming from a cluster of clouds. The angel’s golden eyes looked as if they were sparkling.
“This is amazing William, thank you so much!” I smiled at him and gave him a quick hug. Although I probably shouldn’t have, because Lucy was glaring at me.
“I am so glad that you like it.” He said and you could hear the happiness in his voice. Then Lucy said,
“How much did it cost?” I would have ignored her, but her tone sounded so annoying that I just scowled at her. William and Adam seemed as not to have even known she was in the room. Maria just looked very annoyed now.
“I made this guitar. Actually I made all of my guitars.” That response made Lucy go quiet. I looked at the guitar and it meant more because he made it. Then he got up and sat down on the piano. He started playing and singing the song You Found Me by the Fray. Then I played the chords for it. After that song ended I started playing Lucky by Jason Mraz and William started singing. Then I started singing and he started playing the piano part of the song. The only thing that was missing were the drums, but the songs still sounded pretty good. By the end of the song we were both smiling. Then I saw him grab his guitar that was lying beside the piano and started playing La Bamba. I was in a much better mood now that I knew that he wasn’t going, then when I got that letter. Nevertheless, that made me think. If he didn’t send that letter, then who did? Why would that person send the letter? Who spiked my drink with a sleeping potion? Who would hate me so much? I knew the answer to all of those questions. William’s evil older brother Hector. He had always hated William and would probably do anything to cause him pain. But why exactly would he send that letter? Maybe he thought that if I read that letter then maybe I would be so mad at William that I would stay as far away from him as possible. But then William said that he wrote the note but never meant to send it, why would he write it, and when? Maybe he wrote it a long time ago and Hector found it and sent it to me. I realized that everyone was staring at me. I looked back at everyone, shocked to see them staring at me as if I was a monster. Because they were all wide-eyed and had their mouths open in fear, you could practically see sweat beating down their faces. I looked back at William to see that he was still sitting by the piano, he seemed unruffled. Then why was everyone else so scared? Then I saw that William didn’t look calm, but serious and mad. He was staring straight at the door and when I followed his gaze I felt faint. It was a maenad, the one that Lucy described. She was covered all in blood and looked appalling. When she smiled I saw that her teeth were as sharp as razors, no, as sharp as Hector’s. Why would she be here in the middle of the day? Everyone was stock-still and looked as if they were made of white marble because they turned sickly pale.
“I come baring a message. I promised not to hurt you.” She said in a hoarse voice. Somehow I didn’t find it in me to believe her, why would I. The hawk that came into my room two nights ago came flying in and landed on my shoulder. In his beak was a letter, everyone was staring at the animal and, like the last time, as soon as I got the letter it flew away. But now the madwoman was gone and all that was left was an air of fear and a lot of questions. I opened the letter and read it aloud. It said,
Dear Cynthia and William,

Enjoy this time while you may

For it will end on the eve of her birthday

On that day I will rejoice

For this union was a fatal choice
You will regret everything that led up to this point and in five days I will finally be rid of the both of you.
P.S. I hope that you have a good day, enjoy your time while it lasts.

As soon as I finished reading the letter I was scared. Would he really try to end William and me? Would I really have so little time left? Why does he hate me so much, what have I ever done to him to make him hate me so much? I looked around the room to find both of my aunts scared-stiff, Adam looked surprised, as if he didn’t think that his own son was capable of such a thing and William looked morbid. He had a murderous gaze, his face was pale and he looked like one of the living dead and his features were rearranged in a grimace. His eyes that looked so calm before now looked as if there was a fire igniting behind them, just looking at him gave me a chill and I felt bad, bad because he was so mad that I thought that he would start having a convulsion if someone even spoke of what just happened. But then he looked at me and all of the anger and hatred melted away and he gave me a kind smile but his eyes were very worried.
“Are you alright Cynthia?” William said and walked over to sit next to me.
“I’m fine, how about you?”
“I have been better. You know that I would never let anything hurt you.” His voice was soothing and I felt better knowing that he was here. Yet I still couldn’t help but feel scared because of that letter. Everyone else recovered from that terrifying episode by now and everyone was just looking at me.
“Why was that she-demon here?” Lucy yelled at me, I ignored the tone because she was reminded of the last two incidences that she had with that creature.
“She came delivering a grim message.” I responded.
“This all started when you met him.” She raved and pointed at William. How could she accuse him when she did not even know the half of it!
“How could you accuse him!” I yelled at her, which shocked her for an instant.
“Everything was just fine until you started to waste your time with him.” She said in a calm voice, which infuriated me. She spoke as if she was stating a fact.
“Do you feel the same Maria?”
“Of course not! William would never do such a thing and he has lived here for some time and he has never caused any problems.” At least she isn’t corrupt. Who knows what Hector said to brainwash Lucy. Adam glared at Lucy in a way that made me feel scared of him just like I was scared of his son a few moments ago. Although William was calm, even though he was accused of horrid things.
“Why do you defend him? I would understand Cynthia, she fancies him. But you are my sister.” Lucy was yelling and I was just seething because she had no argument. It was four against one about whether William was the cause of this or not and she knew it.
“I will not think badly of him without some credible evidence that matched what you are accusing him of.” With that being said Lucy went quiet and we all knew that she had lost and would never bring this up again. She grimaced and stomped up to her room. Maria and Adam just stared at us and we stared back. No one knew what to say next, and none of wanted to talk about what happened a few minutes ago.
“Who do you think spiked your coffee Cynthia?” I heard Adam speak for the first time in three days, he sounded worried.
“Well, I don’t know. But I have a pretty good idea.” I whispered the last part so as that no one but William heard me. This talk lasted for a few minutes so we decided to watch Grease. But even that seemed boring so I went upstairs and brought my laptop downstairs.
“Are you going to write more?” William asked, in a tone that sounded sad.
“As much as I possibly can.” He didn’t smile, he just looked even sadder. I wrote,

This just seems so wrong. Why should I feel this way if I am a heartless monster? Shouldn’t my mind be filled with thoughts of death and misery? Instead my only thoughts are about her. Why would I feel so….so good when I am near her? Why should I even feel at all? Shouldn’t a person without a heart nor soul have no feelings as well? I don’t believe that I could endure being hurt again, it would just be one more reason why I should just leave this town. I have caused enough trouble already. What with my “family” running amuck. Would they believe me if I told them this? No, they would think me a fool and just dispose of me. They hated anyone who was good and went against their beliefs, well just my brother. Which were that humans were here for their amusement and that they were worthless. How could I have ever gotten mixed up with them? They were the first people like me that I have ever met, well that thought the way they did. Although I think that I have seen others. I didn’t think as they did, and yet they never got mad at me. There were only three of them and even though they were strong, I was smarter than the three of them put together…..and stronger. Maybe that’s why they act the way that they do? Maybe they are scared of me? But I would never hurt them just because I could. I would not act like them and hurt people just because I was mad or annoyed or even bored and wanted something to do. The humans here knew that there were people like us here and they had no power to stop us. Well only the adults and few of the teenagers. That’s why people like me were treated with more patience and were allowed to do as we pleased. I could not believe-well I could-that my family would abuse of this fact. They would go out every night and go on killing sprees. Well not exactly, we feed on powerful emotions like love, hatred, fear and depression. This town was a great place because this place was crawling with people that fit the bill. There were people, newcomers that heard about us and called us vampires; oh they didn’t know how wrong they were. We are not vampire, they feed on blood and kill, while we feed on emotions and we don’t kill. Just take away some emotions and leave a zombie in return. Although it would be better if any newcomers thought that we were bloodsuckers. Now where was I? Oh right, they would be irate if they found out that I felt something. I had to feed today so I might as well keep an eye on her.
“Logan, where are you?” I heard my older brother James say. He was a tall, blue-eyed twenty years old. He was the one that made me what I am, I hated him but if I left this place then I would upset my “parents”. They were actually nicer than their son. They tried not to hurt the humans, well only criminals and scum so they weren’t all bad. Although they slipped sometimes and fed on innocent people. But they felt bad for a short while afterwards. My parents, Jill and Marcos were in the living room right now watching the movie Saw VI. They were supposed to go feed tonight; it was family night so we all had to go.




***


It was nine at night, everyone was asleep and the windows and doors were locked. No problem, it is easy to pick locks. I go to the prison and feed on the outlaws there. They aren’t the tastiest but it’s better than the alternative. My brother always feeds on innocents, that’s why we have such a bad reputation. But tonight instead of following my usual route I went to olive’s house. I walked, although I could have flown. (People like me can run at three miles per second at least and we can fly at ninety miles an hour, well float in the air is more like it.) I remembered the first time that I met her, it was my first day of my senior year of high school, a cold day and I just felt so famished. Everyone that I met gave me a weird expression, like I was evil’s incarnate. Everyone except Olive, she was the only person that treated me as if I was a normal boy. Why am I thinking about that? I should be focusing on why I am out here, I am here to make sure that James doesn’t go anywhere near her. For the past week James has shown a certain interest in her which made me think that tonight he would strike. So I hid under her window, in a large blueberry bush and waited and waited, and waited until it was past midnight. Then I heard a sound come from the direction from whence I came. I was right, it was James. He leaped up from the ground to her two-story window and unlocked it in a microsecond. I would have let him go if it was someone that was bad, but not if it was her. I followed close behind him and found him just looking at her.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed at him.
“What does it look like!” he retorted. He seemed tense but I couldn’t see why.
“Well I don’t know. But I will not allow you to feed on her!” we had to talk in whispers because she might wake up at any moment.
“Like you can stop me!” he said in a tone that made me think that he was challenging me.
“Oh, I could beat you to death in an instant and you know it.” I said but it was an empty threat, unless I was provoked. He just looked at Olive and smiled. Then he bent down and was about to bite when I grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him down, out the window and on the ground in an instant. Then I heard him curse and run away. I looked back at Olive to find her sitting up and looking at me.
“He won’t come here again, I’ll see to that.” I said in a voice that didn’t seem my own. I was talking to her in a sweet and caring tone. I had never talked to anyone like that, not that I remember anyway.
“Thank you so much Laurence, I’m glad that you were here.” Then she just smiled at me. I didn’t even think that she knew my name.
“It will be a good idea if you go back to sleep ok. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” Then, before I let her speak more I just jumped down from her window and ran back home. I will regret this when I get home. I was right, because as soon as I got home James gave me a surprise uppercut, put me in a head lock and then thrust me towards the wall and wouldn’t let me move an inch. Then Marcos and Jill came in the room and told him to leave me alone.
“Why did you do that?” I yelled at James.
“I was about to feed on that girl, why did you stop me!” he retorted back. Why did I stop him? I don’t even know why I did that.
“I stopped you because…..because you would have hurt an innocent. She never did anything that would dictate you to hurt her!” I said in a voice that was filled with so much vehemence that I thought that I would rip his head from his shoulders any second. Why do I feel so mad at him? Aside from the obvious.
“Laurence, are you ok dear?” Jill said but I didn’t pay much attention to her. Right now my mind was filled with all of the ways that he could have disposed of her after he was done. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and I realized that I had my brother pinned down on the floor and was about to squeeze him to death.
“Laurence, could we talk for a minute?” Marcos said in a soft voice. Although I knew that I couldn’t trust him. I knew that if I told him then he would tell his son. I can’t trust any of them. I shook his hand off of my shoulder and stalked towards my room. Once there I went to my bookshelf and picked up the book Prom Nights from Hell. I opened the book and started reading. Why did I yell at him like that? Why did I try to kill him? Why wouldn’t I try to? He is a monster and he could have hurt a nice person. Is that the only reason why I stopped him? If so, then why didn’t I do the same for the others that he hurt? Why her, why just her?





William’s perspective
“Cynthia…Cynthia wake up!” I was at her house, it was eight in the morning and she had written until she fell asleep. That had been fifteen hour ago. Then I saw her wake up slowly. In a minute she was staring at me, she gave a blank expression as if she did not know why I was here.
“What are you doing here William?” she said in an innocent voice. There was no trace of annoyance at all.
“I am here because I was worried about you. You have been asleep for fifteen hours.” She just looked momentarily stunned.
“What time is it?”
“It is eight in the morning. It is December 19th.”
“How could I have slept for so long?” she got out of bed and went straight to her closet. I left the room then. I paced back and forth in the hall for twenty minutes. How could she have slept for so long? She did not drink anything that would cause that. Maybe she was really tired? Or perhaps the effects of the draught were not entirely gone? Who could have poisoned her drink? Then I walked all the way towards the kitchen and overheard Lucy talking to….someone. The other person has a voice that reminded me of a snake hissing.
“There, just the right amount. She will not be able to resist this gift. He will pay for all that he has done.” I did not understand what he was talking about when he talked about the he, although it could not be good. Who is that man? Immediately, I thought of Hector. But he does not talk in a hissing voice. Who could this be? After I could not hear the voice I went in the kitchen and found Lucy decorating a huge two-tier cake. It was a light green and reminded me of the walks that I took with Cynthia. The rims were covered with flowers and in the center of the second tier was a small statue of Cynthia and me sculpted out of marzipan. What is Lucy up to? She looked at me.
“Hello, how is Cynthia?”
“She is fine, I believe that she is getting ready right now. What are you doing?” I asked her, she just smiled.
“I am baking a cake for Cynthia's birthday.”
“But should you not do that until the day before the birthday?”
“Well, yes but I want to get this over with. Since I can’t decorate a cake as well as Buddy Valastro I want to have plenty of time to bake more in case I made a mistake.” That seems plausible. But what about that other voice?
“How about I decorate the cake?”
“Would you, as you can see I am making little progress. The flowers are more like spheres and the statue of you two is deformed.” At that I just had to laugh a bit. She is a really bad cook.
“I will take it from here, you just make sure that everything else is ready before her birthday.” She nodded and just left the room. Immediately I threw everything that she had made away. Who knows what she put in these. I decided to make everything from scratch. I make the batter for a two- tier red velvet cake, the green fondant, I made two dozen dark red roses to rim the edges of the two-tier cake. While it was baking I started making the marzipan statue. I made it look like Cynthia was sitting on a blanket of grass. Then I added the details, like the hair, the eye color, the expression and every other little thing that I could think of. After I took the cake out of the oven and let them cool I covered them with the green fondant. Then I added the flowers at the rims of both tiers. After that I added little stars to the sides of the cake. Later I drew a heart and in the bottom tier I wrote,
Hope your day is a happy one filled with joy!

Then, on the top tier I placed the statue of Cynthia and wrote,
Happy Birthday Cynthia!


It took me almost the entire day to make the cake and to make sure that Cynthia or her aunts did not see what I was doing. I wanted it to be a surprise. It took me a while to finish the cake, but I did it. I just had to make sure that no one looked in the refrigerator. By the time that I left for home it was eight at night. For the entire day I tried to figure out who was the person with Lucy. That night all that I could think about was that letter. It was probably from Hector. Who else would want either of us dead? Since I could not sleep, instead I decided to try to finish the song. I reread what Cynthia had written but had come up with nothing. I remembered to the time when I started writing, it was after I had started to have feelings for her. She made up the only part of my life that did not totally bite. After that I decided to just clear my mind and try to go to sleep. But I could not because I kept hearing a voice in my head. It kept telling me that I should keep on trying to find a solution to my dilemma. I tried to think of something else, but the voice just would not go away. My only problem is that I want something that I know that I cannot have. I thought back. Then the voice asked what I wanted. I want Cynthia to be safe! That is the only thing that I want, and I do not care if I have to die to have my wish granted! I was starting to get mad because as soon as I thought that I thought of multiple ways that she could get hurt and it hurt me. It hurt because all of those ways had to do with my brother ripping her head off, poisoning her, bleeding her, torturing her to death. I was being tortured because I knew that I had to stay as far away from her as possible. Well, if I have to leave at least she will be safe. That thought comforted me a bit. But then I thought something truly horrible. What if even if I leave he will still hurt her? Or what if the other person, the one that was talking to Lucy hurt her or even kill her. Talking about her end reminded me of the letter that she received yesterday. What did it say again?
Dear Cynthia and William,

Enjoy this time while you may

For it will end on the eve of her birthday

On that day I will rejoice

For this union was a fatal choice
You will regret everything that led up to this point and in five days I will finally be rid of the both of you.
P.S. I hope that you have a good day, enjoy your time while it lasts.

I know that my brother could not have written that, it is not his handwriting. His is more like cursive. Who would want to hurt us, and why? These questions tortured me the entire night and made sleep impossible. The next morning I got up a few minutes before dawn,out of rote I did 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 10 two minute trunk lifts. It was nothing compared to what I usually did, but the sooner I was with Cynthia the better. I was tired due to sleep deprivation.

Cynthia's Perspective

I woke up at dawn, I couldn’t sleep. I saw that the sky was still pitch black and I was wide awake. Then I grabbed my phone and dialed 1 on my speed dial.
“Hello?” The voice was slow and sounded tired.
“Hi, I’m sorry if I woke you. I just couldn’t sleep.” I said.
“What a coincidence, neither could I.”
“How come?” I asked him, he sounded sad.
“I was worried about you.”
“Why would you be worried about me?” I asked him.
“Well, it is just four days until your birthday.” I didn’t forget about that, and I tried.
“Um, how come you wrote that letter?” he didn’t answer for a moment. But then he said that he would tell me the next time that he saw me.
“But why won’t you tell me now?” I asked, my voice sounded a bit irritated.
“Because I would like to tell you face-to-face.” He said simply.
“Ok, I’ll see you later. Good night”
“Sleep tight.”
“You too.” Then I clicked off and lay in bed. Now I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Then I started feeling light headed, and yet I was very much awake. After that I tried to go to sleep. Then I just lost consciousness. I was lying in a meadow, no one was anywhere in sight. It was bathed in moonlight and I could feel a chill in the air. Everything looked more beautiful, as if everything was made of crystal due to the moonlight. Now I was walking back home, William was walking next to me. But then I heard something behind us. The sound was like footsteps, someone coming closer and closer. I turned around to see that there was nothing behind us.
“Are you alright love?” at that last word I turned to look at him, he was smiling at me yet he looked worried. He was looking back at where I was looking a moment ago.
“I’m fine, although I thought that I heard something behind us.”
“It was probably a figment of your imagination. Considering the fact that we are not allowed being alone.”
“That is probably it, I could just be paranoid.” I could see my house now, but I did not want to go, because if I went back home I would have to let go of my best friend. Therefore, instead of stepping into the light and leaving my best friend forever, I pulled him and myself into the darkness.
“What is wrong? Do you not want to be back home where it is safe?” he asked, he thought that it was unsafe to be in the forest when it was too dark. At least that’s what I think he meant.
“I would not be safe because even if it were day I would still be in danger.”
“I would fight whoever would try to hurt you!” he sounded brave when he said this.
“It is not something that you can fight and win. I am afraid because what if you do not?”
“If I did not, would you forget all about me?”
“Of course not, I would never forget you!” How could he think that I would ever forget him?
“But what if you were to have some interest in the man that did win?”
“That would never happen!”
“But what if that person made you happy and was better for you? I would want you to be happy, with whoever you choose to be with.”
“But I am happy with you. There is no one else that I would rather spend the rest of my life with!” he held me for a brief moment and then just let go. Then he just stood there, looking at me. When I tried to come near he just took a step back, he did not want me to come anywhere near him.
“I think that it would be best if you just went back to your house.” Then, without giving me a chance to answer, he just walked into the darkness. Then the dream-or rather nightmare-shifted into a dark scene, just like before. I couldn’t hear anything at all. But then I heard someone call my name. I turned to see a man, at least I think it was a man. He was standing on two feet yet he had skin the color of rotting flesh and it looked more like a snake then a man. He had dark red slits for eyes and no nose. His face reminded me of a human-sized, yellow-skinned Python. His mouth had two long fangs, instead of teeth. It was coming towards me and smiling, teeth exposed.
“Relax child, my name is Anton and I wish you no harm now. I am here to tell you that I will help someone that would want to hurt you though. He will stop at nothing until he rips the one thing that gives his brother the least bit of happiness. Although I am sorry that he will have to hurt you.” I looked at that monster that was in front of me. I didn’t want to look at him anymore. But I couldn’t wake up. Why can’t I wake up!?
“You will regret ever coming here, I promise you!” he hissed and it became fainter and fainter, he was fading away as he said that. Then the morning light pierced my window and I woke up to a beautiful morning, I could hear birds singing outside my window. After about half an hour I walked downstairs to find no one in the living room or kitchen. I decided that I would make myself an omelet and serve myself a bowl of corn flakes. After I had finished eating, I heard a knock at the door and practically ran to answer it. When I did, I found William on the other side, as soon as I saw him I gave him a quick hug then invited him in.
“Hello Cynthia, I am sorry that I am late.”
“It’s fine, at least you’re here now. That’s all that matters.” He looked at me as if he was worried about something.
“Are you ok William? It looks as if something is bothering you.”
“I am fine, I just could not sleep last night.” He sounded tired. We walked to the living room and just sat there, enjoying the silence and peace. We were sitting on the sofa, eyes closed and just relaxing. I had forgotten what peace and silence were because there was always too much noise back in California.
“I love you.”
“Excuse me William?”
“That is why I wrote the letter.”
“But if you loved me then why did you write that letter?” I asked because if I loved someone then I wouldn’t write a letter telling that person that I was going to leave. I would stay and be with that person without caring if it was wrong or not.
“But what if you were forced to leave?”
“I would do anything in my power to be with that person, I wouldn’t just leave.”
“What if your family left and took you with them by force?”
“I would run away from them and not have cared if they were mad at me or not. Since clearly they didn’t care about my feelings.”
“But what if they thought that it was in your best interest?”
“I wouldn’t care. I would not go with them if it meant leaving you.” He sighed and held me in his arms for a moment.
“I wish that I had had the courage to tell your father that I loved you. Maybe he would have let you be with me.”
“What did he do after the contest? I had a dream that he took me to live far away from where you were and I was despondent.”
“He took you away from me, told no one and made my life miserable.”
“Well I will never leave you ever again, I promise.”
“Please do not make a promise that you will not be able to keep.” He said in a serious yet very sad tone.
“What makes you say that?”
“You could get tired of being with me and find someone else, or someone would say something bad about me and you would think bad of me and not want to be with me anymore. In addition, you could get hurt by being with me, because of the maenads and my brother and think that it would be safer to stay away from me. To be honest, I would not blame you if you just decided that I was not worth the trouble.” He sounded sincere and sad at the same time. As for me, I would not do something like that.
“I would never do something like that. I would never leave you, not even if you were the most dangerous creature in existence.” By now a few minutes had passed, everything was quiet and I could hear his heartbeat. I never want to be away from him, never.
“I love you William knight!” He smiled at me and I was starting to feel at peace again.
“I love you too Cynthia Simmons!” Then I heard a noise come from upstairs and we reluctantly scooted away from each other a few inches.
“Good morning Cynthia….William.” Lucy said his name in a mad tone, she must still be mad at William. Then Maria came downstairs and greeted us with a warm smile.
“What is he doing here?” Lucy asked in a rude tone, as if she didn’t want him around here anymore.
“I invited him Lucy. Is that a problem?” I said in a voice full of innocence, since she believes that he is an evil and dangerous person.
“Oh, well you could have at least told us that he was coming over.”
“I knew that he was coming over and I allowed her to invite him.” Maria said, she didn’t share in her sister’s opinion.
“Ok, at least you told one of us. Now if you will excuse me I have to get ready.”
“Don’t tell me that you are going out. It is very dangerous out there.”
“I will be fine ok, I will be with Hector.” Hector was starting to annoy me so much right now.
“Please be cautious anyway ok?” William said, in a serious tone. Even when she makes it clear that she hates him, he is still nice to her. William looked as if he didn’t even care if he was maltreated by her or not.
“I will be careful. Now why are you really here?” How could she not believe that I just wanted to invite a friend over?
“I came here to spend some time with Cynthia and invite her to dinner tomorrow evening, if none of you have a problem with my asking.” He asked in a formal tone. Lucy had her mouth open with shock but Maria just looked calm.
“Well, if Cynthia is alright with it then I would not mind at all.”
“I think that it would be good to tell you that I was planning to cook at my house. Do you still think that it would be a good idea?” he asked. He probably thought that they would act like responsible guardians and say that it would be a bad idea.
“I think that it would be a good idea.” Lucy said, she did seem in a good mood now, probably because she would be away from him in a few minutes.
“I would like to know exactly where your house is William, so that I can pick her up afterwards and I want her to have her phone on at all times.” Maria said in a tone full of authority.
“Of course, I could show you right now if you want. It only takes a few minutes to get from here to my house.” So after Hector came to pick up Lucy, we went to William’s house. Apparently it would only takes about five minutes to get to his house. Then they started talking about what he was going to serve, he said that he would be on his best behavior. They agreed that Maria should drive me to his house and that he could drive me home. As soon as Maria and I got home, I crashed on the coach. It was one in the afternoon and I felt strangely tired. My muscles felt heavy and I didn’t want to move, yet I also felt good.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah Maria, I’m fine.” She just looked at me for a moment and went into the kitchen. I grabbed my Ipod from the side table next to the coach and listened to some songs by evanescence. Then, I heard some songs by Muse, Paramore and Plumb. Although I heard cut by Plumb about two times because the piano music sounded nice and soft. I focused more on the music rather than the lyrics the second time I heard it. Then I saw that I had a text from Lucy. It said that she was having a fun time. They were at the movies and saw Easy A. She said, and I quote, “It is a Laugh Out Loud movie. There is a lot of cussing though.” Then I stopped reading because she sent me two more just talking about how cute hector was, I erased them immediately. It is sunny today. How could hector get to the theater? After I erased her two previous texts, she sent me two more. I only read the first one because it was not that long, just ten sentences but the other was a continuation, a long continuation. Basically, it said that she would be having dinner with him at his house, he lived about twelve miles away from William’s. I deleted those and got out my small black notebook that was in the little drawer in the small table by the couch, that I had since I was eight. The day that I got it was the day that I wrote this,



Easter
“Whenever it is springtime
It is always a fun time
When Easter comes, it is always a blast
When the day is over, I go to sleep real fast
Of all my favorite holidays of the season
It just stands to reason
That it is my favorite holiday
Because my entire family is together all day
When Easter is here, I am always happy
Because I get to spend a day together with my family”
It was short and not great. However, I was eight so of course it would not be really good. The reason that I looked at this is that I wrote it because it was true. I always wanted to know my father, but I realized then that it was better if I did not know him. From what I know now, I was right. He is not someone that would be worth knowing. After I read it, I put the notebook back in the drawer and went into the kitchen.
“Hey what’s up?” My aunt was washing the dishes and she didn’t even turn around to face me as she asked.
“Well, Lucy texted me that she will be dinning with hector tonight.” We both shrugged and I sat down on the table.
“What does my sister see in him?” I heard my aunt say, more to herself than me. I poured myself a glass of milk and just left it on the table. I thought that I was thirsty but after one sip, I put it down. Perhaps I just needed something to do. But then again, I felt lazy. I didn’t want to do anything at all, except lie down on my bed and listen to music until tomorrow evening. All of a sudden, I had a jolt of energy, like an adrenaline rush. I couldn’t stand still for a moment. How could I get so much energy? People mostly got an adrenaline rush when they were either really stressed out or in a dangerous situation. All I did was sit on a coach and listen to music. After I finished my milk, I ran, on account of all my energy, up the stairs to my room. Once in my room I turned my radio on at a loud volume and took out my laptop, something that I haven’t done in a while. Then I opened a new file and wrote down the song that William and I were working on. I read and reread most of it but I couldn’t think of anything. Then I thought, you are the one thing in my life that could cause me true pain /because I have never had a friend as kind as you/I lost you once /But I have you back now and I will never let you go. Would that be a good ending? I saved it and then turned the computer off. I couldn’t think of anything else to do so I just took a small nap. That night I ate meatloaf and then, after taking a quick shower I went to bed. The next day I didn’t even wake up until my aunt Lucy shouted for me to get up and almost made me fall off my bed. I was on the very edge. According to them, I was tossing and turning in my bed.
“Are you nervous about your date in seven hours?” Both my aunts asked when I came down stairs, only Maria asked in a worried tone. Lucy sounded as if she was teasing, so I tried to ignore her.
“No, I’m fine. Why would I be nervous?”
“Well, according to your mom you have never been on a date before. Also we heard you say something like ‘William don’t go’.” Lucy said, with a grin on her face.
“I don’t remember ever saying something like that.” They just got really quiet and when I asked them why they were so quiet all of a sudden, they didn’t answer. I left the kitchen after I had eaten a bowl of cereal. I spent the next few minutes deciding what to wear. After I picked an outfit out I took a long and warm bath. I felt wound up and a bath would help me unwind. After two hours, I was ready but there was still a lot of time left. I decided to watch two movies to pass the time. After that, I looked out the window.
“Cynthia, are you ready?” My aunt Maria asked. When I nodded, she unlocked the car and I practically ran to take my seat, I guess that I still had a bit too much energy in me. She just laughed and got in.





***

It was almost seven at night when he opened the door of his house. There were dark clouds covering the sky and it looked like a storm was coming. Maria decided to stay in the car and go as soon as I entered the house.
“You look so beautiful.” He said as soon as he invited me in.
“Thank you, you look very striking.” He looked very nice in a black suit and white tie. He led the way to his dining room, the tables were Milano Rosso marble and everything else looked as if it was made of bronze.
“I hope that you do not mind that I made angel hair pasta with Alfredo sauce and shrimp and cheese manicotti.”
“Oh it’s fine.” He set two plates across from each other on the table.
“What would you like to drink?”
“I would like a glass of raspberry ice tea please.”
“Of course, here you are. Would you like anything else?” he placed a glass of ice tea by my plate and a glass of red wine by his.
“I am fine thank you.” He sat down and smiled at me. A portion of the dining room was bathed in moonlight, since the window was open and the moon was coming out. I couldn’t help but stare at him every few minutes, the moon made his eyes look like they were sparkling. They looked so beautiful. I had never noticed before, but his eyes had a small streak of reddish-gold mixed in with the dark violet.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Oh no, it’s just that I had never noticed before but your eyes have a streak of reddish-gold in them.” I said, he had noticed that I was staring at him and I could feel my cheeks grow red. He just tried to hide a laugh.
“How could you have so many portraits?”
“How come your name doesn’t seem Italian at all? It sounds more like a position in medieval times. Because in those times people’s surnames were sometimes determined by their job or occupation.”
“Is that so? Well, I asked my father why he gave me that surname and he said that his father was thought of as a king and therefore I would be like a knight to him.”
“How come Hector changed his last name?”
“He changed it because at a time, he was engaged to a woman that he loved very much, and that was her surname.”
“But it didn’t work out?”
“No, she broke his heart.”
“Is that why he is so evil now?”
“I do not know to be honest. He was never someone that I got along with. All I know is that he was never the same after that.” He seemed sad for a brief moment.
“No matter how evil your brother is, he is still your brother.”
“You are right, no matter how much I would want him gone from my life I could not stop feeling bad.”

William’s Perspective
“I would hate to ask but, when did you write that letter?” she sounded curious, yet I could hear a smidgen of dread in those words.
“The one that you received earlier this week? I wrote it about three weeks ago, after I had told you about my life and my brother.”
“But why? I mean if you wanted to leave, then what stopped you?” she looked at me and I could not lie to her.
“I wrote it because I knew that sooner or later you would be hurt by being with me, I would do anything to make sure that you were safe. Although I did not leave because it would hurt me so much and I already lost you once.” She looked at me but her expression seemed stoic.
“I would love to know why I left in the first place. I know that my dad wasn’t crazy about you but he could have tried to like you.”
“He was not an understanding man.” She pushed her chair back and got up in a quick and exasperated motion. She walked towards the door and I followed.
“Aren’t you worried about tomorrow?” she asked, looked straight at the door instead of at me.
“Should I be? I would not let anyone hurt you. You have nothing to worry about.” I was only a few feet from her and took two more steps towards her, when she suddenly turned around to face me we were only a foot apart.
“But what if he hurts you? What if he kills you?” she said, trying to speak calmly. Yet you could still hear the fear in her voice mixed in with her earlier curiosity.
“My brother? Well I would like to see him try.” She did not say anything at all.
“Cynthia, May I show you something?” she looked at me as if she were puzzled but then nodded. I led her to the living room and I asked her to wait here for a moment. Then I went up to my room for a moment and found the item that I was looking for along with its letters. I practically ran to the living room, I saw Cynthia sitting on the couch and a fire was burning in the fireplace so there was no need for the lights to be on now. The sun was setting and there was still a little light out. She was looking at me, but I looked at the kitchen and at the food that lay untouched. I did not want to look at her because I did not want to give her a hint about what I wanted to show her. She could read me too easily.
“What did you want to show me?” she looked at me and I sat down next to her. How will I go about this? How will she react? She was looking at me expectantly. I am taking a long time just to explain one simple thing. Yet I want to make sure that she does not think the wrong thing.
“I want to show you something but I want you to be open-minded. What I mean is that I do not want you to jump to conclusions, alright?”
“Alright, I will be open-minded.” Then I handed her the small red box that I took from my room. She opened it, but she did not seem shocked or angry or confused, she seemed stoic again.
“I hope that you do not think that….”
“No, I am not jumping to conclusions, but I would like to know why you showed me this.”
“This might explain better.” I handed her the letters.

Dear Cynthia,
I would have loved to give you this in person. However, as it turns out, your father has forbidden me seeing you, much less speaking to you in person. I hope that you feel the same as I and I hope that you receive this token of my affection. If not then do not worry about me for I have dealt with pain before. Although I hope that, you keep it so that you know that I care about you.
Love,
William Knight
The next letter said,

Dear William Knight,
You should know that I have no desire to keep this trinket and I find it a waste of time to play around with you. I have absolutely no feelings for you and I hope that you will forget about me, it will be in your best interest for I am no longer going to be involved in your life..
Sincerely,
Cynthia Simmons
“This doesn’t seem like my writing.”
“It is not. It is your father’s, the last letter is yours. He was very mad at me.”
Dear William,
I am sorry that you had to read that letter from my father. But I just want you to know that when I am with you, I feel happy. I feel…whole. It is as if time stops around us. If I could, I would stare at your eyes forever. When I am near you, I feel safe, as if you were the thing that came between me and the rest of the world. Like a barrier. I would give anything not to have that barrier broken. Because then I would lose you. But I think that it would be better if you forgot about me because I will no longer be in your life. Therefore I cannot accept this ring.
I apologize,
Cynthia
“Why did I…?”
“Because that was the day before you left with your father.”



Cynthia’s Perspective
“I am so sorry. I didn’t…”
“You did not do anything. So there is no need for you to apologize.” I looked at the ring again. It had a 24 karat black diamond in the shape of a rose in its center, with two emeralds shaped like leafs on both sides and in was set in silver.
“Did you send this to propose or…” he smiled.
“No, well yes but no because I knew that your father would never approve. But I just thought that you would like to have something from me. It is still yours so you may have it.”
“Thank you although I couldn’t. If my aunts saw it then they would probably get really mad at us.” He didn’t seem to take that seriously.
“Are you sure?” he didn’t sound happy. I don’t have to show them the ring. It’s not like he is asking me to marry him or anything of the sort.
“Actually, are you sure that I could keep it?”
“Of course, I had it made just for you. Have you read the inscription on the ring?”
“No I haven’t.” So, I looked at the ring and found an inscription on the bottom, it said, al mio amico e il mio amore. It was written in gold.
“Thank you. It is so beautiful.”
“I am glad that you like it.” He looked at the ring again and I placed it on the second finger of my right hand. Then I heard the rain start to pour down and lightning struck. The rain was light so it was just a pitter-patter on the roof and the lightning struck only once. Aside from that, everything else was still and quiet. We listened to the rain and just stayed quiet. I rested my head on his shoulder and he held my hand. We were like that for some time. It ended when I got a text from my aunts.
Are you alright? Is it raining over there? When are you coming home? Call me or text me back.
Sincerely, Maria

I called her and told her that it was raining and that I was fine. I would probably be back in half an hour or so. Then I hung up and looked at the fire that was dwindling in the fireplace.
“Would you like me to drive you home now?” he asked although I thought that I heard some reluctance in his voice.
“I don’t want to have to go. But if I don’t then my aunts will think that something has happened after a while.” William was already standing and grabbed my beige coat for me. Then I got up and put it on. He was already in his grey coat and about to open the door for me, when I surprised him by holding him. He didn’t object and we just stood there holding each other for a moment. But then he let go and opened the door for me.
“I agree with you. I would like to have you stay with me just a while longer, if it would be alright with Maria and Lucia.”
“I don’t think that it would be a good idea and it is getting late.” I said.
“I know, but at least I got the chance to spend time with you.” Then he said something else. I could only hear him say “my last”. He sounded sad yet happy at the same time. Maybe he thought that tomorrow everything would be all right and every threat would be put to rest, although something inside of me said that I was very wrong and that tomorrow was just the beginning. It took a matter of minutes for him to drive to my house, despite the howling wind, blinding lightning bolts and the rain that seemed more like heavy transparent bullets rather than crystal-clear drops of water. He stopped me as I was about to open the door.
“Is everything alright?” he didn’t seem to want to answer, but I knew that he was worried about tomorrow.
“Relax, I doubt that anything bad will happen.” I tried to sound as optimistic as possible. But it was pretty hard to after everything that has happened.
“How can you be so certain Cynthia?” he sounded very skeptical yet very hopeful at the same time.
“I’m not, but I would like to hope that I am right.”
“I hope that you are right too.” Then I heard my aunt Lucy call my name.
“I guess I’d better go inside.”
“Yes, and I should go home right now. But…”
“What, is something wrong?”
“You are the one thing in my life that could cause me true pain. Because I have never had a friend as kind as you. I lost you once but I have you back now and I will never let you go.” Then he bent down and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. However, I could barely feel it.
“I am sorry if I surprised you.” He sounded very sorry but I was a bit bewildered so I was at a loss for words. When I didn’t answer he just turned around and was on his way. When he was gone I went inside and said goodnight to my aunts. I didn’t even answer them when they asked me how my night went, mainly because Lucy had a smug expression and I didn’t want to have to listen to her rave about what a great time she had. Also, I did not want to hear her talk about how gallant her boyfriend was. I practically ran to my room because she started talking about him and how he was the very model of a perfect gentleman, it made me gag at the thought. As soon as I got to my room I took the letters from my pocket and read them over and over again. Then I looked at the ring and saw it gleam in the thin silk-like strip of moonlight, which was almost entirely hidden by rain clouds, which came from my balcony. Then I thought of reasons why anyone would ever hate William. He’s kind, caring, smart, respectful and a gentleman. Why would anyone hate him? Maybe someone that was jealous of him. Then I walked over to my balcony and looked at the flowers that grew from the vines that were around the railings. I thought that I saw a person walking in the shadows, by the woods. I leaned over to see if I could make out the person but there was almost no light and when the light did hit him, all I saw was probably scales. I heard footsteps come from inside my room. When I turned around, I saw Lucy sitting on my bed.
“What are these Cynthia?” Lucy held up the three letters and a frown on her face.
“They are for a project for English. The teacher splits us up in pairs and we have to write letters. They could be about different things.” She still seemed suspicious.
“Then why do they have your name and William’s?”
“Because Mrs. Perez paired me up with William.”
“I read the beginning of the first and it sounded like a love letter.”
“That is because she said that they could be about different things and we decided to write a love letter because we were reading Romeo and Juliet at the time.” I was making things up as I went along, but she seemed to have started to believe it. Then she started reading the rest.
“But we thought that it would be better if the other letters were sad.”
“Why does one say ‘I am sorry that you had to read that letter from my father’?”
“Because one of the letters is from the father because he hates him.”
“Well, when are these letters due?”
“They are due after the break.”
“It takes you that long to write three letters?”
“No, but Mrs. Perez thought that some people wouldn’t be able to come up with ideas and execute them on paper in a week.”
“Ok, well I hope that you two get a good grade because they are surprisingly good.” Then she just left my room. I was more tired than I thought because as soon as I lay down on my bed my eyes grew very heavy and I fell asleep instantly. The next morning I woke up to a screech on my bedside table. It was the hawk that I had seen only once before. It was staring at me and I saw that it had a note tied to its leg, just like before. I untied it and it darted out the open balcony door. I opened the note to find just a sentence written, it said,
Today is the day when your world ends.

Who keeps sending me these notes? Why do they keep sending me these notes! However, I had a pretty good idea why and by who. It has to be Hector and he’s trying to scare me. Well it won’t work! I went downstairs but found no one eating or watching TV. They must still be asleep. I’ll let them sleep for a while more. After two hours, I was dressed and have eaten already. No one besides me was awake so I decided to go for a walk. Hopefully I’m right and nothing will happen. I could hear Hector’s voice saying, this is your end. I will finally be rid of you and that pest that is my brother. Neither of you will be able to stop me. Why do you hate him so much? I would ask him. He would answer, he took my place, and I was supposed to be the god. Gods have so much power, they could be whatever they wanted. But I was reduced to being a monster that can’t even be out where the sun or moon can hit him. Then I just stopped thinking about why he would act the way he did. Now I started thinking about the person that I saw from my balcony running in the woods. I couldn’t see the person, just the outline but it reminded me of someone. The person wasn’t too tall and I thought that I saw scales when the light hit him a bit. Now I looked up at the sky and there was no sunlight and it looked as if it was going to rain again. I felt droplets fall and then shower down. In the distance, you could hear lightning and see it flash a white and blinding light that could make a driver crash, if there was anyone driving. It seemed like I was the only person around and it was about twelve in the morning. It would probably a while before my aunts woke up and they would probably call me. I walked to the coffee shop because it was the closest place from where I was, about two minutes away. I didn’t even look at the scene around me and when I got to the café I tried to open the door. But it wouldn’t open, it was locked. Of course, it would be closed today. It’s raining cats and dogs. The rain was stopping but I didn’t want to go back home yet. The streets were wet and it looked as if it was going to rain again. I loved the rain, it seemed to cleanse everything it touched.
“Cynthia, Cynthia Simmons!” I heard my name being called but I didn’t recognize the voice. Then I felt someone tap my shoulder. Oh no! When I turned around I saw Michael, it’s not that I hated him but I just didn’t feel comfortable being near him.
“Hello Michael. How are you?”
“I am fine, how are you?”
“Fine, has anyone come by?”
“No, are you looking for William?” Even though he tried to hide it from his voice, I could still hear the vehemence in his voice when he said William’s name.
“I was hoping that he would be here, so yes.”
“Well you could probably find him at home. I am so sorry that you didn’t get the job.”
“It is fine.” I had completely forgotten that I even applied. I have had other more important things on my mind lately.
“You should be at home right now. I could take you if you want, my car is parked close by.”
“No, it is fine. I was actually planning to pay William a visit. So I will just go over to his house.”
“You two are very good friends aren’t you?” he said in an annoyed and jealous voice. I just rolled my eyes at him.
“Good bye Michael!” Then I turned around and took a taxi as close as it could take me to the woods. After I paid the taxi driver, I walked the rest of the way. Birds were singing and the place was filled with light. I knocked on his door and it opened by itself, I could hear someone playing ‘Beauty and the Beast’ on the piano and I was instantly at ease. I forgot just how much I loved to play piano and how that song made me feel so at ease. The last time that I had played piano was…was the evening that William asked me out on that fake date. He seemed so happy and I felt equally as good. Then the song came to a close.
“Hello Cynthia, I was not expecting you. What a wonderful surprise.” He walked towards me and shook my hand.
“Did you hear the lighting earlier?”
“Yes I did. How rude of me, I am sorry. Would you like to sit down? Are you hungry? Would you like anything to drink?”
“No thank you, I am fine.” I saw that he had a piano at the lower right corner of the living room and one in another room. He saw that I was staring at the piano.
“Would you like to play?”
“Could I?” Instead of answering, he grabbed my hand and led me to the piano. He took a seat and I sat next to him.
“What would you like to play?”
“I don’t know?”
“How do you feel today?”
“I feel…happy, at ease.”
“Well, what song would match that?”
“I can’t think of a happy song, but I would like to play the song ‘My Skin’.” He smiled and uncovered the piano. Then he got the sheet music from a pile by his side of the bench. He put the music in place and looked at me. I looked at him then started playing. The piano keys felt cool and smooth under my warm fingers. After a few notes I was aware if his gaze. I saw him smile with my peripheral vision. I looked at the wall and saw four degrees. One in medicine, another in graphic design, one in physics and the last on was for culinary cuisine. Beside them, I saw a photo of William and a tall, sandy-haired youth. The boy had a very light tan. His eyes were a mysterious auburn shade. They were smiling and wearing fencing gear, they had foils in their hands. Both were sitting by a tree and behind it was a school.
“Who is that boy next to you in that photo?”
“It is Paolo Ambrogio. He is a very good friend of mine.”
“Is? How long was that picture taken?”
“About fifty years ago. Why do you ask?”
“Ambrogio is the Italian form of the Latin word immortal right?”
“Yes it is. I met him a while back and we became very good friends. In that picture we were studying at Princeton University at the time and we were both in the fencing team.” He walked away from the piano and took the picture from the wall then walked back. He took the photo out of the frame and handed it to me.
“He resembles Hector in a way and yet at the same time he doesn’t. I mean that he is a bit scary, yet he seems friendly in a way that your brother isn’t.” William raised an eyebrow and I thought that I saw him frown.
“I didn’t mean what you think.” He smiled and sat down right next to me.
“Hector and Paolo do have something in common. But I believe that you have that figured out already.”
“How did he…?”
“I do not know. He never told me.” This just gets more and more..
“Confusing? Weird? Yes, it will be like that for a while Cynthia, trust me.”
“So how come you seem alright with monsters and people accusing you and monster attacks?”
“I am not, but it gets easier with time. Although, I do not fancy the attacks or that monsters are trying to kill you. Speaking of that, do you still think that everything will be alright?”
“Of course I do.” His expression was stoic.
“Please be very careful. I would not want you to get hurt. So please be careful.” He said it in a begging tone.
“I promise that I will be careful.”
“Thank you. Would you mind if we talked about something else?”
“Not at all, I actually wanted to finish the song. If that’s alright with you.”
“By all means, go for it.” He tried to sound cheerful but he knew that I wasn’t buying it. I played ‘Beauty and the Beast’ instead of that other song. After I was done, I looked at him and finally saw him smile without seeming as if it was forced.
“That was great.”
“Now, could you play something?”
“I would love to. What would you like me to play?” he seemed really happy all of a sudden.
“I don’t know. How about the song ‘Sleep Away’ by Bob Acri?”
“Sure, that is a good song.” He started playing, he knew the song by memory because he didn’t use sheet music. After he was done he covered the piano and walked over to the kitchen while I sat down on the couch. When he returned, he had a glass of red wine in one hand.
“You do know that there is a drinking age right?” he just laughed.
“I know. However, I just grew accustomed to drinking wine, I am sorry though.” He put the glass on the table and sat down next to me. Now there was just an awkward silence and it lasted for a while. I looked at the wall clock to see that I had been here for almost an hour.
“Did you tell your family that you were coming for a visit?”
“Well not exactly. They were asleep.”
“I think that they will be awake right about now.”
“Don’t call them please. They would want me to come home right away, and I don’t want to go.” I sounded like a willful child but I just didn’t want to leave him.
“I do not want you to go either. But I think that you should have at least told your aunts.” He held me, but I didn’t feel much better.
“Would you be mad at me if I told you something?”
“What is it?” I told her.
“Well, Lucy read the letters.”
“Did she get mad or did you tell her about the ring?” I asked.
“No, I lied and told her that they were a homework assignment.” I looked at the ring that I will never take off. He looked at me but didn’t say anything.
“Are you ok?”
“Yes I am fine. Did Lucy seem interested with what the letters said?”
“Well, not from what I could tell why?”
“No reason at all.” He held me tighter. I rested my head on his chest and sighed. I could hear his heart beat in a slow and even rhythm.

William’s Perspective

Why would she be interested in them? They have nothing to do with her. As I held her close to me, I could not stop thinking that maybe something would happen and someone would try to hurt her or take her away from me. She lifted her head to look at me and her eyes locked on to mine. We gazed at each other for a moment.
“Are you alright?” she asked again, only she sounded really worried.
“I am fine. I was just thinking.”
“What were you thinking about?” she asked.
“I was just thinking about why she would care about those letters.”
“Maybe she thought that they were real.” She said.
“But they are real, except for the one that your father sent me.”
“Except for that one. But I made sure that she thought that they weren’t.”
“That is good. The less she and her sister know about all of this the better.”
“It’s getting late, maybe I should go back home. It will be a two hour walk back.” she said, her voice sounding melancholy.
“I could drive you if you want.” I did not want her to leave me yet.
“No, I need the exercise.” I nodded and opened the door for her.
“Good bye, I hope that I will get to see you tomorrow.” Then she leaned forward and kissed me. I did not even try to resist, I wanted to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and practically choked me. But I held her close to me and did not want to let go, for a while everything was silent. Then I heard her say,
“Devo andare.” She let go of me and was about to walk out the door, when I grabbed her arm and asked,
“Perchè?”
“I have to go or else my aunts will get mad.” I let her go and said nothing. She had a point, she had to go. Although, when I looked at her hazel eyes I saw that she did not want to leave.
“Ok, I will just go for a jog then.” Then she walked out the door and waved good-bye. I waved back and thought, I hope that I did not just make the biggest mistake of my life, as I saw her sprint back towards her house. You will be sorry that you did that! I heard that voice inside my head. However, it was not my voice. It sounded more like the voice of my brother. For a moment, I thought that I was just hearing things. Then I heard him laugh and heard him say,
“A SON AND DAUGHTER OF THE GODS
WILL MEET AND AGAINST THE ODDS
THE STRINGS OF TWO WILL INTERTWINE
BUT WILL BE CUT BEFORE THEIR TIME
ONE OF THE IMPUREST SOUL WILL HOLD THE KEY
TO THE INTERTWINED’S HARMONY
THE DIVINE WILL DIE FOR HIS MATE
THE JUST ACT WILL SEAL THEIR FATE”

I could not pinpoint where the sound was coming from, but I had a good idea where I could find him. I sprinted towards the spot where I first saw him shift into the monster that he was. However, I found no one. The moon was not out yet and the clearing ringed with trees was dark. The scene was ghostly and the howling wind gave it a terrifying air to the eerie landscape. The wind smelled musky, yet you could smell the distant odor of something rotting. I walked around the area and could only smell it in one particular spot. As if someone had made a kill, and the corpse was rotting right beneath your feet, it was just that strong. Imagine you had an animal die in your home and you did not know until about three months later. Well, this was magnified about a thousand fold. Then I heard a noise that reminded me of a howl, only it seemed more savage and throaty than the ones of the wolves that I heard in my time here. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I could see someone or something coming at me at rather fast speeds. The person was going so fast that I only had the chance to look at him for a microsecond before being tackled, and have something be wrapped around me. I did not even get the chance to see the man’s face. All I saw was what I believe to be a few dark yellow-goldish scales. Then I felt a pair of fangs the size of a python’s bite. I felt them savagely tear at my flesh of my neck as if wanting to rip me to shreds, so as to make me easier to devour. The animal growled as if warning another to back off. That was not the same one that was attacking me now. The snake released me and I turned to see its face. Only what I saw did not make sense, it had the face of a snake, but had the form of a human. The man-snake gave me a sinister smile but it was gone as fast as it had appeared.
“Salutations, William. My, it has been a long time.” I tried to get up but he pushed me down before I could even try to get on my feet.
“Do you remember me William? Of course not, but I remember you.” His voice was as loud as a whisper and more like a hiss rather than anything else. Where have I seen him before? He seemed familiar in a way, as if I had seen him once but only for a brief second. No one would have thought that he was different, except for his scaly face. You could see his forked tongue flicker whenever he spoke. By his side was a yellow python, it looked like his twin because they had the same face and the scales were the same shade of dark yellow-gold. I turned around to find someone hidden by the shadow of a huge tree. All I could see were his eyes, his dark red blood curdling eyes. Then he stepped out into the light, the moon was slowly rising. Then he bent back in a grotesque manner, and hunched back in a swift movement. Then he started to glow until a dark cloud of mist surrounded him from head to toe and I heard a scream that made me feel as if I were in a hollow hall. Because the sound grew and grew until it was more of a growl and then it was just a white noise, no longer a sound fit for a human of even the wildest of animals. I felt the blood rushing to my ears and then the cloud lifted to reveal a sandy colored wolf. He had blue eyes and he stood up on his hind legs. He had a broad chest, with ripped arms and a very thin waist. His entire body was covered in fur and he had a tail. His muzzle was coated with blood and so were his sharp, three-inch long teeth. They were yellow and his incisors looked curved at the ends. I was horrified and could not look at him any longer so I tuned out.





Cynthia’s perspective

I ran back home, the rain had stopped but I could still see clouds that said that the rain would return. It was pretty late, I had spent a lot of time with William. It was already night and the moon was out. When I could see the house, I slowed my pace to a walk. When I was close to the door I heard my aunts’ shouts coming from inside. I opened the door slowly and closed it even more so, my aunts probably couldn’t hear me and I wanted to keep it that way. I wanted to know what they were arguing about. I stood behind the closed door and pressed my ear to it.
“He is a nice boy Lucy!” I heard Maria say in a pleading voice.
“But this all started when she started spending all of her time with him! Now if you want this to keep happening, then allow her to keep seeing him. However, I will make sure that she will never see him ever again! He is a monster!” Now she got on my last nerve. I ripped open the door, or I wanted to tear it off its hinges. I was just that mad.
“He would never do such a thing to me!” They both turned around and saw me.
“He cares about me and you can never tear us apart! NEVER!” I stomped out of the house, slammed the door behind me and ran, I wanted to find William. He said that he was going for a jog. I ran until I was at the edge of the forest. I didn’t even know how I knew where to go, but I did. I was in a clearing and I could not find anyone. The moon was shining and then I could see a shape moving about in the shadows. I ran to that spot and just saw a small garden snake. Then I heard a growl that sounded like that of a wolf. Then I felt eyes on me, the same that I felt on my second day here. When I turned around the only thing, I saw was a pair of fangs coming towards me and then a searing pain that it seemed like I was dying and blackness.




William’s Perspective

I had woken up lying on the floor and wanting for the excruciating pain that came with dying to end. My blood was being spilled all over the fertile soil. It was still flowing out of my body as if a dam burst, gushing out a typhoon of water, with the smallest of cracks. The moon was out and I could not move and inch, I could not see but I could feel something…something slick constricting me, making it harder and harder for me to take in a much needed breath of air. My neck was throbbing and I could barely think straight. I wished that he would just stop all of this and be merciful. He could at least have killed me quickly. But then again, if he does then he would not get what he wants. He wants me to suffer. Then pain grew worse every second and what made it more painful was that he had cut my neck where my mark was. I could not stop thinking about how I could have avoided all of this. I could have renounced the offer that my father made. I could have never fallen for Cynthia. Maybe he would have left her alone if I never showed any interest in her. I could have lived my life away from him until it was my time to end. But then again, if I lived that way then I would never have been happy. I would never have shared my feelings with Cynthia now if I had died then. If I could, would I change everything that I had ever done up to this point? I thought about this and remembered a passage that I had written in my book that was as true as the day was long. It said,

This hurts…it hurts so much. All that I ever wanted was to be with her. I feel as if my heart were being ripped at the seams. All that I ever wanted to do was have a life, to be happy. Now, I am stuck like this. I miss her so much. I miss the way that she looked at me whenever I held her. I miss how I could tell her everything, and not worry about what she would say. She was always so…understanding. But now, I am trying to work out my feelings. If there is a god, I hope that he hears me. I cry every night because my heart just hurts so much. It is the only way for me to let it out. She left me and I used to resent myself, I believed that I was the reason that she left, without saying a word. But now I just… I did not know how to finish it. At the time, I did not know that Cynthia was alive. I did not even know that her dad hated me as much as he did. Then I thought of something, something that, back then brought me comfort. But now, it just did not seem right. I acted irrationally, I did not think of the consequences. What if, when I die she follows me? Or what if she feels pain? He was never specific when I made that deadly bargain with him. Now I thought back to it.


When her time is up, then and only then, will you truly find peace. But until that time you will feel the sadness that accompanied this decision. I thought back to that day and now I just felt bad, I would die without telling her how much she actually meant to me. I had told her that I loved her yes, but that was only a small drop in the geyser that erupted every time that I thought of her. At the time that I made the deal I was wretched and just wanted a way out of my suffering or at least a promise to end my time with the living when my heart and soul left the earth. But now I wish that the thought had never even entered my brain.



Cynthia's Perspective

I woke up in a clearing and I saw blood running down my neck, where I was bitten, towards the ground. The watch on my wrist was ticking. It was only a few more hours till morn. Where was William? I turned my head to see him lying on the ground, not moving. I crawled to be by his side and saw, to my relief, that he was awake. Then, I saw that he had a cut on his throat and it was bleeding so much that I saw him getting paler by the second. Love, who could have done this to you? But I already knew the answer, his devil of a brother. Why does someone so sweet have to die because of hatred, when all he wanted was to live a happy life?! The wind was howling and it was as cold as if someone placed an ice cube on your back beneath your shirt.
“Hector, if William dies then I will end you!” I said, with as much hatred as possible. But I felt William’s heart slow.
“Don’t die love, please don’t leave me. I would die if you left me, please don’t die! You mean EVERYTHING to me!” but then I couldn’t see his chest rise and fall, the thing that indicated that he was alive, I felt my heart slow and in a flash I remembered everything, I remembered every second that I spent with William, every conversation that we had, ever time that we kissed, every time he laughed and I knew that he was right about everything, and then I felt a pain that was worse than death himself. He was dead and now my life was meaningless. I wish that I was the one that died, at least he would have been safe for a while longer, but now he was gone and I felt so empty. Every time that I tried to take a breath it hurt so much. I just wanted Hector to kill me. HECTOR….That MONSTER! I started to cry hysterically, then I looked at him. He was just lounging around the area, watching me weep. He should be a wolf right now.
“Funny thing about that, the sun’s or moon’s rays have to hit me. If not then I stay human.” He stated with a menacing smile.
“You are no human, you are nothing but a monster inside and out.” I shouted, he exposed him gleaming white fangs at me but that didn’t scare me in the least.
“Hector, you will pay for this!” then I heard him say,
“What could you do to me, you are a petty human girl.” Now he was smiling at me as if I was a toy for his amusement and that only made me hate him more.
“Kill me, just end it now!” But before he could even move I felt my heart stop and in an instant I fell by William’s side and died, with a smile on my ashen face.

“He’s DEAD! He’s finally DEAD!” Then a tall, yellow skinned man, with skin and slits for eyes that resembled a huge snake came up to that monster and, in a sort of hiss said,
“Calm yourself my son, you will have time to rejoice soon. Now we must dispose of the corpses’ before anyone starts to look for them.” But as they looked at the dead bodies, the corpses’ started to glow with a bright white light and then disappeared in an instant. In their place were two small saplings, intertwined as if they were holding each other. They were right under the moonlight, with rain falling like bullets, lightning bolts strike and thunder booms around them. It was exactly like the eve of Cynthia's birthday and William’s doomsday.
“Find out what has happened, I will not rest until they are found and disposed of!” The man shouted and Hector ran out into the woods, always keeping to the shadows, to try and find the bodies.