Segment 1~The Vampire's Mate

Segment 1

Science states that sun-rays illuminate the earth after traveling for eight minutes and thirty seconds from the sun itself. It is also quoted that, true love illuminates one's life, it can take a simple, flashing throbbing moment, but sometimes it takes eternity. Love...this 4 letter word have various meanings. Love is of various types, like, love of a child for parents, brother-sister love, lovers love and what not. For different people, love can be different in ways but the extract, the depth, the exact meaning is same.

It is said that love has 7 stages. Firstly, falling in love, then fullness, rejection, patience, duties, respect n' trust, and the final stage, love as worship. Reaching the 7th stage of love, means that you have attained the way to God, to his true love. Reaching this stage, love becomes as pure as a prayer. In this world, we have to fulfill our part of duties assigned by the all mighty God that we are unaware of.

Just like, the little, 5 years old, too didn't knew her purpose of life. Little did she knew, that she was born to illuminate a person's life. A life that lacks everything but is full of darkness. Little did her parents knew, that their baby Sunshine, was born to illuminate the life of a dark, lifeless soul. Little did that dark soul knew, that now, the time had arrived, and that love illuminates his life. Little did we know that a story, an unbelievable and impossible love story was going to start. The love story of live and death. The nature too showed her excitement, in form of the thunder, the wind, the hustle of leaves, as they were going to witness the first chapter of this unique love story.

The wind was so powerful that the church bells were bawling. There were still 15 minutes to strike 12, in the midnight, when a car passed through the road, that was connected to the most dense forest. Suddenly the car screeched to a halt, and the elegant lady, who had her sleeping beauty in her lap, asked the driver;

"John" she paused. "What happened?"

The driver didn't replied, he just smiled, a smile that indicates, that his purpose has been served. When the lady didn't have her answer, even after asking the same question at-least 5 times, she gently tapped the drivers' shoulder, only to find, that the driver has just disappeared and the thing left was, just a dummy. The lady got scared, she immediately came out of the car, with her daughter, her sleeping beauty, who was now awake and fully conscious, and started moving away from the car, actually running away, only to get tripped over the huge rock, lying at the side of the road. The lady fell and hit the rock but managed to wrap her 5 year old daughter, securely, so that she didn't get hurt. But she couldn't help herself, as the blood oozed from the lady's forehead, attracting the predator.

The wound was affecting her senses, her hold now loosened up-on her daughter, who was now rubbing her eyes as tears were making her vision blurred. The predator couldn't hold herself any more. She leapt forward and caught the lady tightly, pushing the 5 year old, a little away from her mother. What could be more horrible, than a 5 year old watching a dangerous yet beautiful predator, sinking her white fangs, in her mothers' neck, sucking the life out of her?

The predator has sucked her mother dead, as if, she wasn't satisfied, the dangerous, yet immensely beautiful lady predator now lurched towards her, scaring the little being. She felt the predator's breath of her neck and was too scared to jerk away but the next moment; the little one felt that someone has pulled her away from this deathly predator, hiding her securely in his arms.

She cuddled more into his chest, hiding away as she felt secure in his manly arms. The scared 5 year old was now, snuggling more into her strange savior, inhaling his scent, hoping to find calmness in his heartbeat, but instead of a calm heartbeat, she heard, his heart beating so fast and loud, more like drumming. She heard her savior shout at the predator;

"Shreya, how could you do this, you went against our rules. We don't feed on humans remember!!!"

"I couldn't stop, it was intoxicating. Please let me feed on her. It's like her blood is calling to me!"

"Shreya!!!!! Control your urges,we are supposed not to make such mistakes. You have already done huge damage to this girl. You took her mother away from her; she's just a 5 year old. Now leave from here...I SAID LEAVE."

The predator ran away, deep inside the jungle at an inhuman speed. At a speed, even the fast blowing wind would envy. The 5 year old girl felt her savior, making her stand on her feet. She had her head bowed, not wanting to show her hurt, her grief, her sadness to her savior, fearing that it would sadden him too. Her savior, knelt down, held her hand and said;

"I am really sorry for your loss, baby. I can't undo this. I know what is the importance of a mother in a child's life but the damage is done now. I can't heal her, but I can heal you. You have your whole life to live and enjoy to the fullest." He put his hand of her head and said, "You have to forget what happened here, you are not supposed to remember this. Forget that you were here, forget that your mother died, forget the predator that killed your mother, forget...ME."

And the real damage was done now!! The moment, her savior asked her to forget him, the girl looked up, directly in his eyes, hinting her determination, not to forget him. And her savior looked as if her gaze, her eyes had locked him still. He did the best mistake of his existence; he looked deeply into her eyes as if searching for her soul. Their hands still entwined, eyes still locked. The darkness was hiding her savior's face, but couldn't hide his grayish-blue eyes, that were turning into dark shades of blue. She held such determination that her savior felt himself melt under her powerful gaze, his heart now thumping so loudly, that she could not only feel but hear it too.

The tables were turned; the scared child now looked adamant and fearless while her savior looked helpless. The nature laughed, the wind stopped, there was pin drop silence, as the souls got bounded. Life got bounded to death. Bounded by souls. Her savior was now bound to her for eternity, for now and forever. None of them blinked their eyes even once. The clock strike 12. It seemed that the darkness still had a ray of light. The savior reluctantly pulled his hand from hers. He kissed her forehead, making her forget these 15 minutes of her life. Those 15 minutes that changed her life, his life, their life and it was no turning back now. She fell unconscious in his arms.

Her savior picked her up, holding her close to himself as if not wanting to let her go. He hugged the unconscious body of the 5 year old, tightly, as if his existence depended on the little being. He took deep breath and inhaled her scent, her natural fragrance. Now he got to know, that how much potent her blood could be. He felt himself in the need to taste her blood, but it would only mean and lead to two things, 1) her death, and, 2) bounding her to himself, to death for eternity. Both the options were not acceptable to him. He wanted life for her. The death itself wanted life for her, what an irony!

Not trusting himself with her, he ran towards her house, still holding her close. Reaching the door-step of her house, he reluctantly pulled himself away from her, laid her on the door-step, but felt her small hands clutching his big one. He smiled warily, gently tried to remove his hand from hers, but she was still clutching his hand tightly. Her savior managed to remove his hand from hers but this caused his bracelet to break. He was now left with the chain, but the gem-stone, his bracelet had, was now in her hands. He made no attempt to take it back; he just secured that gem in her fist and said;

"Always keep it with you, this will save you from every danger, be it our clan and even me. Goodbye, baby...my soul. I'll be always there for you, but as a shadow. I don't want to taint your life dark, as mine. Live and enjoy."

He looked at the unconscious body of the 5 year old, especially at her innocent face. After a while, he rang the door-bell, and then shut his eyes tightly, as if capturing the innocent face of the little girl, in his brain, his heart and his soul and then, before the door opened, he ran away swiftly.

Crossing the dense forest, he stopped near the lake. The lake has always given him peace but tonight, his dead heart felt throbbing, so much restless that he was afraid, afraid to be alive, again. He knew, she was safe, secure in her fathers' arms, but wouldn't she be more secure with him, in his protective embrace' thought the savior.

"WHY?" roared the savior.

"Why...?? Why me, huh?" he cried, "You surely know how to play with me; I am your favorite pawn, isn't it? In my whole existence, I never felt this much restless, that those particular 15 minutes had caused. I just saved her, just like I would have done for any other innocent being. But why her? WHY HER?" he broke down.

"She's innocent. This thread..." he stared at the sky. "We got soul bounded. Huh!" he mocked. "She's a kid, a 5 year old, and you, you love to play with lives, right. Damn...it's been just 5 minutes that I left her and I am feeling restless already. I so want to go near her, to be with her, to shield her, but I can't let my dark life taint her colorful one. I want life for her, she has to live, for me. Whenever she'll need me, I'll be always there for her, be it physically or mentally. I know, that being away from her is impossible for me, but I-m-possible (smirks). And, as the prophecy says, she can't be a part of me and my life. She has to stay away from me, and I, will make this sure." he sounded determined. His mind was all set, but at the mention of staying away from the innocent being, he felt sinking.

While her savior was fed up, battling with his heart and brain, the 5 year old, innocent one, seemed blank. She was there in her own home, but why didn't it felt so. She was in her fathers' arms, but that also felt strange and uncomfortable to her. Her father was caressing her head and shouting on the phone, at some police officer, who rejected filing a missing complaint of her mother, as according to the rules, to file a complaint a person has to be missing from past 24 hours.

The girl seemed lost, as if, her body was present here and her soul somewhere else. Could this be ever possible? She couldn't sleep, because she was afraid. Afraid of those grayish blue eyes, that turns into dark shades of blue, by each passing second that haunted her. Those eyes made her go crazy. Why she felt so, she's just a 5 year old ordinary girl, then why her uncle John (the driver) always called her special? He used to say, that she was born to do great things, she was special. Her father and mother used to share smiles at this and she had always felt this intriguing, as to why she was special?

The whole night passed like this, her father shouting, her mother missing, the servants of the house worried, police helpless and she, she was just blank. She felt that something was missing, she felt that a part of her soul was missing, but whenever she looks at the gem stone that she now had around her neck she felt tranquil. The stone looked ordinary but it gave her peace, certain calmness as if assuring, that someday, she will get her soul back and that too for sure.

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Author of the Fiction~Megha