This is a very short story that introduces Maelwys
You lay quietly in your bed, breathing so slowly it would
give pause to someone who couldn't hear as well as I.
For three years I have watched you walk about your home that is next to mine. I
have seen your husband come home late, or not at all. You cling to your
children, they are the most stable element in your life. The beautiful daughter,
flowing blonde curls and lover of butterflies. The boy, dark-haird and quiet, he
ventures out in the backyard with his stick, his rapier. Imaginary pirates fight
him day in and day out. He never tires of his game, occasionally a plastic patch
covers his left eye.
You. I watch you and wonder if you have ever noticed me, the pale man who
disdains the sunlight. What would you think if I told you my kind avoid direct
sunlight because it weakens us to the point of helplessness, or worse? Would you
pull away, afraid? Would you look upon my ivory skin, see that I am indeed,
whole and want to touch me? Do you know I have shed the crimson tears of my kind
as I hear you cry yourself to sleep, alone? Those same tears have stained my
face as I listen to you sing, to your children, to no one.
How would you react if I killed that cheating husband of yours as he left the
Motel 6 on Blymer Street? I almost have, several times.
Tonight I will break a rule I made for myself one hundred and five years ago.
Honor and do not feed on thy neighbor. There are many women and men that could
feed me tonight. Willing and the unwilling alike, aware or unaware, they would
give their life's essence to me in a red flow.
Kerry, my beautiful neighbor, I have chosen you. While I have watched you,
longed for you, loved you, I have kept my distance. Tomorrow, I will be gone,
moved to a new city. Tomorrow you will wake, my name in your thoughts, your
blood flowing within me.
I whisper, "Maelwys" in your ear. My old Welsh name, a soft hiss left on my
lips. Your neck, I kiss, willing you to stay in the blissful in-between world
where one is almost aware of your surroundings while sleep still holds you.
Gently, I pull back your long brown hair, it smells of flowers, the skin of your
neck like soap. Your pulse beats beneath my fangs as I gently slip them into
your skin. In seconds I feel your sorrow, and I feel your pain. Beneath it all I
sense a familiarity. My questions are answered in the blink of an eye, you have
seen me, wanted me. I see me through your eyes, smelling the roses in my garden
at twilight. And I thought it was only I who spied.
Before I drink too deeply, I pull clear and lick the wounds to aid in their
healing. Your moan rings in my ear like a choir. A sweet music it is, a sweet
music that I will enjoy only once.
I love you Kerry, love you enough that I will leave you and your children. Your
world and mine are incompatible.
I love you enough to make sure the insurance policy I purchased in your
husband's name will allow you to pursue your dreams and your children's dreams.
I love you enough to make sure your husband's car ends up in the river three
minutes after he leaves that Motel 6. This I promise, my love.
All contents are copyright 2006 Johnny Peregrine and David Fields