Me and My

I sat there in my kitchen, in my house, in the dark. I sat there all alone hoping he wouldn’t find me. The moon barely cast any light through the drawn blinds. I needed it dark, it had to be dark. I held the match in my right hand. The single match for a single candle, which stood patiently on the table, in my kitchen, in my house, in the dark.

I knew I should light it but feared he would show up. I feared that with the glow of the flame he would show his ugly face and torment me once again. Oh how I hated him. Wherever I went, there he was. Out for a simple walk and he would tag along. I once went on a date and he decided to appear, naturally at the most inappropriate time. I would try running and he would only follow quicker than before. I knew it was serious when I caught him in my house, uninvited. The police wouldn’t do anything. They said they couldn’t do anything until he did something first. How insane is that. If I’m lying in a pool of blood then they can do something? So that’s why I sat there in my kitchen, in my house, in the dark.

He never showed up when I was in the dark. The only time I felt any comfort was when it was completely pitch black, no light at all. I knew he couldn’t find me, I knew I was safe. But I had to face my fears, I had to face him and show him I was no longer afraid. I had to light the candle, I had to strike that match.

Slowly I placed the match at the end of the striking strip. Gritting my teeth and in one fluid stroke, I lit up the room with a flash. The flame flickered and danced as it sputtered to life only to settle back down and slowly glow with it’s newly found heat. I gently held it to the candle’s wick and it woke from it’s slumber. At first it didn’t want to light but it then caught hold and grew and grew in brilliance. Blowing out the match I sat there waiting, in my kitchen, in my house, now in the light. Waiting for him to show up.

Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a flicker of darkness on the kitchen wall. I spun to see what it was and there he stood. His motionless body taunting my frozen stare as I sat there petrified with fear. He didn’t make a single movement towards me. The flickering light from the candle danced all around the room but still he didn’t move. Then as I gained my composure and moved to watch him closely he moved ever so slightly. Standing up quickly I bellowed, “Damn you evil, you don’t frighten me anymore. You no longer will make me quiver in fear or cower in your presence. Stay if you like for I no longer care.”

He didn’t say a word. He never moved closer nor did he move away. He just stayed where he was. I sat down smiling, knowing I had conquered my foe. I had beaten my adversary right there in my kitchen, in my house, in the light,…. in the light.

Finally the roles had been defined and each one now knew their place. Finally there was an end to all this madness. For now there was peace between me and my shadow.

Eternity

It was lonely sitting on his balcony that night. It had been some time since he had any serious conversation. He remembered back some time ago when people of all ages scurried about the streets below. Now the noise was considerably less. He liked to think of the days when food was plentiful and easy to obtain. Of course man in his infinite wisdom had decided to screw things up as usual.

Oh sure it was to be a small battle. Nothing but a little skirmish, a conflict contained between two small countries that really only fought for the sake of fighting. They knew no better, no real reason for fighting, only that they had too. Passed on from generation to generation. Only this time it got a little out of hand. Soon other nations had to stick their noses into the fray. Then naturally the various militant groups took up their sides, then the religious zealots and not to be outdone, the classic terrorists factions. Before you know it the whole world was bickering and whining about something. To this day he never did actually find out what it was. But it had to happen, some smart-ass decided to show a little muscle and launched a few too many missiles. That set off a chain reaction and presto-chango, we have ourselves a nice little nuclear fallout on our hands. A self imposed man made winter.

Now the cities didn’t get vacant too soon. There were a lot of survivors. Food was still plentiful at this point in time but not as fresh as it use to be. Law and order was non-existent so it truly was survival of the fittest. He had moved around a lot at this time, mostly following the food. I think he was better suited for the prolonged darkness then the average person. All those long years on the graveyard shift made for an easier adjustment to the lack of sunlight.
So he had wandered until he found a home that would suit his needs best. It was a lovely 5 story brownstone with a quaint view over a large portion of the city. The iron grate railing surrounded the large balcony which covered the whole front of the building. Nestled on a busy street, he was sure to follow the pace of the remaining people. But tonight, it sure was quiet.
He had lost a lot of weight over the past few months as the food supply became smaller and smaller. Now he sometimes lacked the strength to get up out of bed and forage for some food. It could have been easy enough to skip on down to the local blood bank but after a while, even that doesn’t supply enough nourishment. For a vampire, the blood bank is like a fast food restaurant for humans. You can get filled up but no real nourishment is obtained. No, it looks like another night of fasting, or was it day. So hard to tell with the eternal darkness from the fallout. Sometime eternity can be a bitch.