Do you ever wonder how your life might have ended up had you made a different choice at one of those fork in the road moments? Years ago, so many now it seems but not really that long ago I had a crush. I actually had two crushes. The below story was not written by me. It was written for me by one of those crushes. The one I didn't choose because I knew it would never work. Still, I think of him every Halloween because of his dark fantasies and I take out the dark story he wrote me one year. I guess because he was someone who got me in a way that nobody else ever has. He had an innate understanding of who I was at the core without any explanation. It actually scared me at the time, and he loved me like a vampire.

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By S.P.

The mist rolled across the soft cool grass of Simmon’s Cemetery. It was one of the first rains of spring and Lori had taken her shoes off to feel the moist little fingers of grass dance through her toes. She looked up now and again to see the stars becoming visible in the midnight sky. The clouds were departing for their next appointment somewhere down the road. The darkening night began to show itself more and the moon announced its arrival by bringing the dew on the grass to life in a dance of light.

This was one of her favorite places. The markers were old and the names reminded her of an Old Irish Cemetery. Names like Finnian and McKay read across the moss covered stones. She remembered walking this way before. She remembered the old woman brushing the leaves of her beloved husbands plot. She remembered stopping to help and the old woman’s touch that meant so much as she got up to leave. She remembered that most of all and a single tear streamed down her face to show how much.

It was at that moment she heard what could have been nothing, but she was sure that it wasn’t. Lori was never one to overreact, but her heart pounded one time too many for her liking at the sound of nothing. Her head whipped quickly around. A single strand of hair crossed her lips. And she stared directly into the face of night. All that was there was where she had been and nothing more.

“What a loser” she said in a quiet voice trying to convince herself that her vibrant imagination was just playing tricks on her again. She turned back to the path and began again at a much faster pace. Not quite a run, but no longer a Sunday stroll.

As her feet glided across the cool green carpet it came again. That noise of nothing. This time she did not look back. Now she only moved faster. And again she heard it. A sound of nothing. A sound that was so empty that it silenced the night and hushed the wind, a sound so vacant that it seemed to even cause the stars above to blink. And as the sound of that impenetrable quiet became louder she stopped.

The adrenaline rushed through Lori’s body causing heat to rise in every pore of her flesh. Her heart was pounding and her breath came in short pants. She stood for a moment facing the large oak that stood in her path, a guardian or a sentry, she knew not which. But this was as far as she was willing to run. Whatever the silence was; it was going to have to show itself right here and now.

Taking a deep breath and summoning all her courage she turned slowly around. This time it was not nothing that followed. This time it was most assuredly something.

The pale figure sat atop one of the markers with such grace he could have easily been at a cocktail party at some foreign embassy. He was tall from what she could tell. A very attractive man. The type of guy she would have wanted to meet if this had not been a cemetery at midnight. His cold blue eyes stared across the 30 feet that separated them. And as he stood brushing aside his long blonde mane a smile crossed his lips. He seemed to float as his body began crossing to her. The long black coat he wore swept across the grass with every gliding step.

Lori stood frozen, as did the night. She stared back at him. Her eyes glued to the pale blue gateways and his graceful form. She saw him as a dancer. His body moved with such purpose and yet no effort. His hands hung loosely at his sides swinging back and forth in a rhythmic cadence. His hair flowed over his shoulders and glistened in the moonlight. And his pale skin was that of a china doll. He was possibly the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.

“No my dear Lori, you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen,” said the silence.

She wanted to run. That was for certain, but she stayed. She stared back at him as if all will in her body was gone. Her heart still pounded, but no longer with fear.

And then in one instance, in the space of a single heartbeat he stood before her. Lori drew in her breath. She could feel his aura surrounding her. She could feel the cold that seemed to flow from his body. And she could feel his eyes staring into her soul.

A scream sat perched in her lungs waiting to be released. Her legs waited for the command to run. But none of these things would happen. She did not want to go. She could have stayed and stared at him for hours.

His cold hands brushed her flushed cheeks and ran back through her silky hair. Holding her head softly in his hand he stared deep into her eyes. Bringing one hand back down across her face and softly began one finger across her gentle lips.

“I have waited so long for this moment” spoke the dark clad figure. “For years I have watched you walk this path. Always wanting to touch you. Seeing you walk through the cold snow of winter, or the fallen leaves of autumn. The tropical nights of summer, or the gentle breezes of spring. Always wanting to be near you. For how many years I have dreamt of this moment.” And as the streaming tear on her face showed how much the old woman’s kind touch had meant to her, so too did the blood stained tear that streaked down his white skin show how much this moment in time meant to him. “Give me this night,” he said, his voice cracking a bit. “Let me show you how beautiful my world can be. And at its end you may leave and I promise that you shall never see me again, or stay with me and together we shall travel the night skies of a thousand years and million places. It will be your choice.” Smiling again he brought his head back all along his eyes locked on hers. “Will you give me this night?”

Lori stared back at the dark angle that stood before her. Her eyes welled up with tears for reasons she did not know. And as her eyes overflowed with tears and a smile opened on her face she spoke but one simple word. “Yes.”

The blue eyes that would not leave her face smiled and another bloodstained tear found its way down his face..”

“I have waited too long for this moment.” Slowly he moved his head forward, his icy hands running through her hair. Carefully his lips approached and gently pressed them to hers with great care he tasted every piece of her lips. His tongue licked the moist red flesh and his teeth gently tugged at their fullness. There was no refusal on her part as he pressed his mouth full onto hers.

Lori’s hands found her way to his face feeling the cold skin under her hands, running her fingers back through his long thick hair. It was a kiss like none she had ever had. A kiss full of such power and care. It was like a kiss that needed to happen. A kiss that was long overdue.

His lips pulled back for only a second and he spoke just three words. “Are you ready?”

With a longing look in her eyes she gave her reply. “Show me your world.”

The word had barely escaped her mouth when the blonde vampire bared his teeth and lunged at her neck. His fangs found their mark and savagely pierced her supple flesh.

She jumped in his arms and tears began flowing down her face. It was not so much pain as incredible pleasure. She could feel the blood flow from her neck. She felt her warm life flow down her pounding chest. Lori squeezed the creature in her arms, her back arching against the mighty oak as moans of ecstasy began to escape her wanting lips. She felt his lips on her neck pulling the blood from her tender body. She felt the gentle caress of his hands around her waist and around the small of her back. She was totally aware of the slowing of her heart and the darkening of the world around her. And just as her heart prepared for its last beat and her tongue ran across her aching lips, he stopped.

Her eyes could barely open. She felt the dark shadow lay her gently against the tree and began to caress her lifeless cheek.

“Now my sweet Lori, I shall take you to my world,” he said, bringing his face to her ear.

And with a quick bite on his tongue the blood began to spill out. Once again he brought his lips to her. The warmth radiating from his immortal flesh. Instantly the two were engaged in a steaming blood soaked kiss. Her body began to awaken as the crimson flowed down her throat, waking senses she never knew she had. Her hands sprung to life running up her own flesh feeling with the new touch, finally finding his wonderful face. She held it firm in her hands as her mouth worked feverishly over his. Their tongues dancing together in their blood drenched mouths. And as she began to see through his eyes and feel the beating of his heart with hers she stopped.

The night came alive before her. The sounds from all around came together in a symphony of life. The air seemed to speak to her and the tree confirmed what it said. The stars all welcomed her to the night and the scent of flowers she never even saw filled her nose.

“Is this your world?” she said turning to face the dark being. She noticed that he was more beautiful now than even before.

“Yes, this is mine and for tonight at least…..yours,” he spoke looking longingly at her.

He took her by the hand, another feeling he had for so long wanted. “Come let me show you. Her hand gladly accepted his and she gently turned and placed kiss on his now warm cheek snuggling close to him as they walked.

They traveled what seemed days, walking through forests, stopping under a tree or by a stream along the way to kiss one another with untold passion and to see the beauty in the world that most never see.

As they approached the lake she began to pull away. Reluctantly he let go as she ran in splashing in the cool water. He said not a word and sat on a log at the edge of the water. He had that same smile he always seemed to have, but just a bit different somehow.

In her he had found a joy that he had not felt in centuries, a woman with such a brilliant mind. Her beauty unsurpassed by all he had ever seen. Her smile seemed to light up the night and her eyes held stories he yearned to share.

Lori turned, her clothes soaked with the sparkling water, feeling every drop as it glistened down her face and neck. “What is it? What’s the matter?” she asked.

The vampire looked back at her, his eyes filled with every emotion ever known and softly spoke, “You have made me happier in this night than in any I can remember. I did however make you a promise. And if you look above that mountain you can see that dawn is fast approaching.”

Lori slowly drifted from the water leaving no wake as she made her way to the shore. As her feet left the water and she drew closer to him she knew what he meant. It was clear in his pale blue eyes. Gently she took his hand and brought it to her lips with a soft kiss.

His eyes now unable to hold her gaze, he looked skyward at the vanishing darkness and the coming day. “This is the most of your world I ever get to see. I wanted to give you this gift. I wanted for one night to share with you the world that I see. But I did make you a promise. You can go back, and I shall never come to you again. You have given me all that I asked. I have shared with you in this one night enough to sustain me for eternity,” Tears now streaming down his face.

Reaching for him, she pulled him into her arms and held tight as she too felt her eyes give way to tears.

“Or we could share eternity together. It is your choice, but I’m afraid you do not have much time to think about it,” he said through a veil of tears.

And in that moment she thought of all that she had done and all that she could do. She thought of this night she had shared with a being that would let her be who she wanted to be. She thought of her future and what it might hold. She thought of her friends. She thought of loves she’d not yet had, and of love she had already found. And as the sky began to push the night aside, she looked up with tears still filling her beautiful eyes and smiled at the wonderful monster that she held in her arms.