Perched on top of one of St. Luther’s magnificent towers, she looked down onto the dark streets beneath her. Traffic was light, two, three cars passed by unknowingly into the night. The drizzle left over by the previous downpour slowly drenching her raven locks, sticking to her sharp jawbones. She’s been waiting for awhile now. Waiting, watching, hungry. The street lights gave out a wonderful yellow glow illuminating her golden eyes.   

Follow, not strike. Be stealth, your presence not necessarily felt. Follow, not strike. How degrading. How dare he deny her from her nature? How dare he refrain her as if chained and bounded to an invisible leash? Pathetic, she thought. Her heart surged with anger, her eyes burned with hatred. I’m not some pesky little servant, she spat silently. Yet, here she is. Yet she carried out his bidding. Perched like a gargoyle. Pathetic.

Something glinted in the corner of her right eye. There she is, she thought. She leaned closer to get a better look. Not like she needs to anyway; she has perfect vision stretching more than a mile, her senses far more advanced than any other beings on Earth. The act itself made it seem somewhat trivial but she does it out of habit. The glint came from a heart shaped diamond pendant that sat snugly just above the girl’s bosoms. The girl walks hurriedly down Lutheran St. carrying two grocery bags, trying to get out of the drizzle, now evolving into a shower. Her chestnut hair limp lifeless in a ponytail, her white shirt clung tightly to her body revealing a sheer black brassiere. Suddenly, the girl stopped short in her tracks, jerked her head up towards the church, hesitated and then hurried along. 

She pushed herself from the ledge and free-fall 30 metres onto the street, landing swiftly like cat. She walks silently down the street in the direction of the chestnut-haired girl although she is no longer in sight. Suddenly, a voice boomed from behind her. “Who are you? Why are you following me?” the girl demanded. She spun around to find the girl behind her. She chuckled. “I see now why he wants you,” she smiled mischievously. “Not bad at all.”

“What do you mean?” Her necklace glittered in the street light. She started to move forward.

“I hunt, I kill, that is my nature. But tonight I only watch. You dare not step any further than that. Just know that you are no longer safe. He yearns for your power, and he sees all, he knows all. You cannot hide. Be prepared,” she replied. She turned around and started to walk away. “Lakshmi,” she called out, throwing her hand in the air. “We will meet again. Remember my name,” and then the dark haired woman dissolved into the night.

—-

Raine wakes up to a phone call. It was Ryan. She had promised him earlier to help him with English Literature this morning but she never showed up. She could vaguely remember when she made that promise, things had been too crazy lately and she’s always feeling so tired. On top of that, the outburst she exchanged with Kaelan made her feel borderline suicidal. Feeling a bit dazed and confused, she apologized and told him she’ll make it up another time and hung up before he had the chance to ask her out to the movies. The clock on her bedside table showed 1.30pm. She had slept through the morning without knowing it. Not the first time. She has been doing it quite often lately. Ironic, she felt like a vampire, out at night, sleep during the day.  

Vampire. The word rang in her mind. As she gathered herself up, her long black hair in knots, she suddenly thought of Kaelan and felt a huge guilt overcoming her. Then she thought of Ryan and felt guilty towards him too. Her head felt a bit heavy, and she remembered she was dreaming of something before the call. It wasn’t her mother this time. She could vaguely remember, but she thought she saw herself, as if through an astral projection, standing in front of an old building holding a heart shaped diamond pendant. The sun was rising in the backdrop. What the hell is going on? She thought and cupped her face in her palms. She needed to reach Kaelan, to find out if he is alright, and to explain things to him. She reached for her phone and dialled his number but she got to his voicemail. She tried a few times but still, she got the voicemail. 

She was in the shower when she heard a loud knock on her door. Thinking it might be Kaelan, she wrapped a towel around her body and went to open her door, only to find an envelope with her name on it on the floor. The letters that spelled her name were written in crimson ink, blood-like, and the ink had oozed down and dried. A feeling of panic started to rise within her and she tried hard to suppress it. Hands trembling, she tore the letter open and read:

I’m within you, I’m always watching, waiting. Like the river will always find its way to sea, you will find your way to me.

She tore it to pieces, threw them into a pot and set it on fire.

***

For the first time in her life she could not sleep that night. Usually the instant her head hits the pillow she would doze off to sleep. But last night, after that strange encounter with that dark haired woman, her mind was not at peace. She kept thinking about what the woman had said, and it left her puzzled and scared all through the night. She never felt this scared before in her life. Not even that time when she got lost for three days during a camping trip out in Jargar Forest. Never ever go off alone for walks at night, in a freaking jungle, it’s rare that you’ll be able to find your way back. She learned that the hard way. Nor that that time she discovered she was different from everyone else.

Yes, that time when she accidentally knocked over a bowl of tuna casserole off the counter and somehow managed to stop it hovering in mid air before it crashed to the floor. She was only nine years old. Or during that time over dinner she thought she heard her brother said, “How the heck am I going to tell them I flunked biology,” and asked him out loud, “You flunk biology?” Then realized he hadn’t said it when his eyes grew large and blank, looked over at their parents and smiled sheepishly.

“Megan, breakfast,” she heard her mother call out from downstairs. Reluctantly, she got out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Walking down the stairs, she saw the usual sight that greeted her every Sunday morning. Her mother Lillian, towering at 6’1 with beautiful  chestnut locks both Megan and her brother had inherited, bending over the dining table to serve sausage and eggs. Her hair in a loose bun, Megan thought she saw a twinkle in her hazel eyes every time the sun light hits them. Her father, still handsome at 53, had a lean and toned body, with a slight cleft in his chin. His dark hair was slick black, except for a few strands of white hair that stood visible gave out his age. He would always sit at the head of the table, as if representing the ‘head’ of the family, but in reality Megan knew her mother was actually the one in control. Her father rarely, if not never, made a decision without consulting his lawyer wife. Even as a judge himself, he had deep respect and love for his wife. Then there’s Daniel, her twin brother, older by 3 minutes. They look exactly alike; both had deep chestnut hair, slender bodies, and stood tall at 5’11. The only thing that they didn’t share was the colour of their eyes. Megan inherited her father’s dark greenish pupils, while Daniel’s were hazel.

Daniel gazes up from his plate of sausage and eggs and smirks, “You look dandy today,” “Stow it Danny,” She passed the antique mirror hung on her living room wall which her mother had purchased from an unknown antique store. Megan always felt like the evil queen in Snow White every time she look into that mirror. She took a quick look and thought, My God. There were dark rings around her eyes and her face looked as pale as ever. Her hair, even though she had combed it, stuck out here and there, like an electric charge just went through her body.

She pulled the chair in front of Daniel and plopped down, sticking her tongue out at him. “Everything ok, honey?” her father cooed. She was especially close to her father. It seemed to her that her father could sense even the slightest hint of worry in her face and would immediately try to make her feel better. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” she replied, but as soon as she said that a feeling of doubt gushed over her. Is it really? She tried to brush it away as if brushing a pesky mosquito away, but as much as she tried it would not go completely away.