Not Quite Death

Liquid fire spilled over the black lip of the horizon as the sun slowly pushed aside the curtain of night. Ari stood at the window, her hands gently clutching the lace draperies in her slender fingers, and watched as the glowing orb slowly made its way into the sky. She imprinted every detail of the sun’s glorious ascent to the heavens firmly into her memory; after all, this would be the last sunrise she would ever witness.

As the golden hue of the sunrise finally replaced the velvet blue of nighttime, Ari turned, letting the drapes fall from her fingers. She looked out over her small, but airy living room, now filled with various marked boxes. She had spent the entire night sorting through her belongings. With careful thought she separated them into piles, trying to match each of her treasures with the person she felt would best enjoy them. Where she was going she would no longer need any of these things.

"Love will make us do the strangest things," she thought as she slowly looked over the piles one last time. She stopped at the one marked for her sister, Melanie, and gazed unseeingly at what had been her most prized possessions. She thought about what she was going to do tonight, and that maybe Mel might have understood. Mel was the only one who had ever understood her completely. She probably wouldn’t even have tried talking her out of a decision that had taken weeks, months, to come to. But Ari couldn’t have burdened her sister with this secret. Someday, when she found Ari’s diaries, she would discover the truth behind such a drastic choice. But for now, it was better that Mel too, was left in the dark.

Ari made one last trip through her small house, peering into each room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. She re-entered her living room, gathered up the letters she had written to those close to her and opened the door to the blinding light of morning. Turning in the doorway, Ari took one last look at what had been a comfortable yet lonely home, and then firmly closed the door, locking it. She dropped the keys in the envelope containing the letter to her sister, and felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She was going to miss her sister. The sudden pain brought by the fact that she wouldn’t be seeing her again in this lifetime nearly doubled her over. Ari sat down heavily on the front steps as tears slid out of her eyes and splashed down onto the envelope, smearing the ink and leaving large wet splotches in the thick paper.

She let herself cry for a few minutes, hugging her knees to her chest, and for a brief moment, almost reconsidered her decision. But, what she would be giving up by not going through with it caused her just as much pain as what she was giving up by doing this. So she cried, and with each tear that fell, she let the pain fall with it.

When she had cried herself dry, she sealed the envelope with the keys inside, and picking herself up off the stairs, placed the bundle of envelopes into the mail-box. Feeling somewhat drained, yet strangely light hearted, she strode quickly down the walkway to her car.

Hearing the powerful engine of the Z4 roar to life brought a smile to her face. She put the top down so the sun’s warmth could beat down on her hair and tore away from the curb, not once glancing back at the life she was leaving behind.

With nothing to do until sundown, Ari had the entire day to kill and decided that the best place to spend her last few hours of sunlight was the beach. She spent the entire day hopping from boulder to boulder exploring the treasure-laden tide pools in between, or just sitting on the warm rocks watching the sun’s journey through the sky.

When the sun had long since passed its zenith and was on its descent, Ari finally climbed back up to her car. It was almost time. Her skin began tingling with anticipation as she climbed back into her car and began the drive along the winding cliff road to her prearranged spot.

Before long, she started to catch glimpses of a great stone mansion between the trees; she was almost there. She found the small break in the trees where she could park and leave her car, and pulled in. Ari shut off the car and hopped out, leaving the top down and the keys in the ignition. She didn’t need the car anymore, and whoever found it could keep it. Without a backward glance, she walked off into the woods, her car already forgotten.

The path before her was faint in the dying light of the sun, but she had walked it many times and knew every root, branch, and depression in the ground. She strolled along, excited, but not really in any great hurry. Nothing could happen until the sun sank back below the horizon anyway. She was enjoying the colors of the woods as the sky shifted from light to darkness, and the music of the dusk filled the air around her.

After a few minutes of walking she broke through the tree-line, entering a nearly round clearing. In the center of the tree-ringed meadow was a small boulder, perfect for sitting on. She walked over and sat, waiting now, because that was all that was left.

She watched as the full moon rose over the tops of the trees, reclaiming its spot in the sky. As the moon’s pearly light poured into the clearing, illuminating what had been in the shadows, Ari caught her first glimpse of what she had been waiting for.

There, on the edge of the clearing, previously hidden in the shadow of the trees, was her whole reason for doing this. As he stepped from the shadows, into the light of the full moon, she thought again of how love makes people do the strangest things. She watched him as he walked towards her. His stride, normally confident and self-assured, was slow and hesitant. He approached her as he would a wary animal, like she would bolt at the slightest unexpected movement.

She stood as he stopped in front of her and looked up into that face she loved so much. His strange, silver eyes gazed back at her, drinking in everything about her face as if he’d never see it again. Reaching out, he gently cupped her cheek in his hand.

“Arianna,” he said softly, his fingers slipping into her hair, his eyes locked firmly upon hers. “You don’t have to do this, especially for me.”

Ari smiled, and her face glowed with the happiness inside her. There was no hint of regret, or the sadness she had felt earlier. She was at complete peace as she looked at him and knew without doubt that she had made the right decision.

“Kristopher,” she said, raising her hand up to gently caress his face. “You had everything and nothing to do with my decision. I didn’t come to this place lightly. If there was any doubt left in my mind, I wouldn’t be here now.”

Kristopher’s face relaxed a little as she spoke. “You’re sure then, angel? Once you do this, there’s no going back.”

Ari looked straight at him as she answered. “I would rather spend an eternity in darkness with you, than a few short years in the light without you.”

Kristopher smiled then, his fangs glinting in the bright light of the full moon. He leaned forward and brushed a light kiss to her forehead, sliding his hand around to the back of her head. He rose back up for a moment, to gaze down at her, looking at the woman who was giving up so much to be with him for eternity.

He opened his mouth and then closed it, unable to express what he was feeling in words, but Ari knew. She smiled up at him, and nodded slightly as he started to lean back towards her, tilting her head slightly to one side. “Don't be afraid angel.”

She felt his warm breath on her neck. “I’m not afraid,” she said, and felt the tip of his sharp fangs against her soft skin. She barely felt it when his teeth sunk down into her neck. She was only thinking that no, she wasn’t afraid, because though this was the end of her life, she was finally going to live.