A Vampire In Town

Note: Inspired by Darren Shan's 'The Saga Of Darren Shan' and 'The Saga of Larten Crepsley.'

The vampire arrives at town
Glad to have found civilization, sighs happily out loud
With his stomach rumbling for blood, determined to feed
He slinks through the still, rainy streets
Making sure no one is around
He enters through the window of a dark, quiet house
Into a room of a sleeping couple in bed.
He makes a cut in the woman's exposed leg
And drinks the sweet, savory blood.
Looks up after he has quenched his thirst
And is stunned, no, not by her beauty and allure
But because he had seen her before.
His eyes fall on her ear, running down it a small scar
And he sputters out blood as the memories hit him like a stake through the heart.

He's walking down the street in the bright afternoon
Basking in the sunlight, whistling a tune
Suddenly, around the corner, he hears a loud cry of pain
And he rushes forward to help; half-afraid
A pretty, young girl- having fallen from her bicycle- weeps softly
A deep cut running down her ear; he calmly
Covers the wound with his blue shirt.
She stops crying because of his gentle touch
And looks up into his eyes
So beginning the friendship as they both smile.

The vampire stands there, reliving the joyous moments
Until the burning, tiny rays of early sunrise leave them broken
He yearns to look into her eyes once again
But with such little time left his wishes are in vain
He frantically studies her features
Her silky hair, graceful face and gentle lips
Runs his rough, scarred hand over her soft, smooth cheeks
Looks at the man alongside her and with his heart burning with sorrow and envy turns to leave.

He felt like the boy who had run away all those years ago
How he wished he had returned home
It was the same gloomy, cloudy sky
Except he had said to her a proper goodbye
The sun rays scathe his skin
Just like the grief that had been inside him.
He puts aside all thoughts of her
And hurries forward to find a cemetery for shelter.

He stops in front of house, takes off his hood
The haven of the memories of his childhood
Though there was a different family name on the mailbox to his dismay
He could still see his father picking up the morning newspaper at the start of the new day
Flashing him a charismatic grin, as he goes inside
His loving mother, kissing him goodbye
From the porch, as he runs past the tree to catch the school bus
The tree, so old it had become
The pillar of his friendship
He could see him and his best friend playing next to it
Talking and laughing at the petty things of life
Disclosing secrets to each other behind
But he could not stay there for long
The burning rays made him unhappily move along.

He comes to a halt- as the clouds shield
The blistering sun- in front of the football field
Oh, how he had missed the beautiful sport
He had even suggested it to the higher ranking vampires, only to be ignored.
He wished he could take off running
On the grass; so tempting
Just like he would in the old days
When his friends would be amazed
By his determination and skill.
But just then the clouds open up a bit, the sun burning his skin
And rain begins to pour down
Washing away his happiness as he hurriedly moves on.

He finally arrives at a cemetery
The sunlight had damaged him badly
He frantically searches for a crypt where he can sleep in
But wait...
His eyes fall on two graves
His parents' names etched in the worn out, grey tombstones
The hardened vampire could no longer keep his feelings under control
He falls to his knees
And begins weeping noisily
His tears merge with the heavy raindrops
And fall onto the soft, mossy earth of the graves
How could he?
How could he leave behind all this?
He had searched for a meaning and purpose in life
And now what was he? A blood-sucking, ferocious vampire!
He begins to shout apologies to his parents
Curses himself for his foolishness.
Claws at the dirty covetously
As if they would miraculously rise; before his shoulders slump in defeat.
The scorching sun was eating away his skin
But the pain was incomparable for what he felt for his sin
He wishes- so that his ashes could unite with theirs- he could burn away.
But he knew that was not the vampire way
He presses his face against the dirt
As if he was hugging them without love in return
And gets up reluctantly, wiping away the tears on his aching face
For his parents he quietly begins to pray
Before to destiny he surrenders
And hastens towards shelter...