Ripple on the Lake 1

Those words last night repeated itself in my mind. He didn't want me to go out in the open

Don't do this. Sidharta's voice echoed in my mind, repeatedly pleading to me not to go to the outdoor world. You might be exposed to them, they might recognize you for what you are... He is both right and wrong. I would consider him right because some kinds of human knew about our kind--witches, wizards, and alchemists are aware that we exist. To make things worse, there are some of these people who'd actually slay us for the mere reason of human preservation. But he was wrong, for Varacolaci are the ones who are frequently recognized as "vampires" in a human's unknowing point of view.

However, I wanted to see the feast. In the inside of our little peasant cottage, I listened to the lively merriment of the village from afar. People chanted in an unusual tune, accompanied by swiftly strumming guitars and clanking tambourines. Images formed in my mind of what occured, but instead, I opened the window and let it come through.

Spectacle was the feast. Most of the participants in the feast are middle class and peasant villagers, as I saw on their clothes. There might have been the rich, but maybe they were the smallest group there. Women danced in circles, while the men held their wine bottles with pride as they drunk from it. Children and teenagers played active games while the elderly watched them. The smell of the food diffused right through the room--I could sense cooked meat and chicken. Intoxicating was the smell of wine, I almost would have wanted one. Smoke entered too, perhaps there was a bonfire created even in daylight.

I heard footsteps from upstairs, and that had to be Gustavo. The rest of our coven who resided in this cottage were Varacolaci, so Gustavo and I were the ones usually up in the morning, socializing with the people.

"There you are." he said, and I turned my back to see him stand before me.
I pointed to him the occurring scenario. "Look, Gustavo. There's a feast ongoing. Maybe we could join them."

He chuckled and replied, "We can't go there, Zahira. They'll force us to gobble down their food and we'll just continuously choke them off. They'll be suspicious."

I rolled my eyes at his response. "What? Can't we just watch them outside while we converse with a few of them?"

He shook his head. "I'd bet my next victim that Sidharta's telling you to avoid going outside. You'd bet an inch of your hair that I'd agree with him."

"Damn," I muttered, and stood from my position. "Couldn't I?" By the look on his face, it proves he couldn't make up his mind.

"All right... but be back as soon as I call you--and don't go further to the forest." he sat on one of the dining chairs.

"What?"

"What I mean..." he paused, then opened the door. "Don't victimize one during this time. Please. It's going to get attention."

I sighed in half-defeat. "Fine.", I muttered as I headed to the door. As I got closer to the scene, I found myself drowning in their merrymaking. People were offering me food I could never eat and wine that tasted the opposite of blood. I refused it all, but I made sure I was polite. The company I took were those other young adults who didn't participate in the games.

"Watch the mating rites with us!" a male voice came from my back. When I turned to see who it was, it was a brown-skinned young man in his mid-20's. His black hair was thick and wavy, his high-bridged nose was slim, and his slim body was firmly muscled. If I ever was a man, I'd be a lighter skinned version of him, except he has thick voluptuous lips that added a touch of femininity his square-jawed face.

I responded shyly but bluntly--"Who are you?"

"Simon Levive." he responded. Another youth came along, one that had the same thick lips, square jaw, brown eyes, and slim nose as him. However, this one was taller by three inches, I assume, and lanky compared to his brother. His greasy hair was flat, and his neck was rather long.

"And this," continued Simon, gesturing to his brother. "This is my younger brother, Salvatoire."

"I'm--" Then that voice of Sidharta interrupted my actions in my mind. I needed to cover myself, so I made up a name...what could be my name?

Then I remembered Gustavo and decided to use a feminine version of his name. "Guinevere. Guinevere del Fortunato."

Salvatoire smiled, showing his unequally sized two front teeth. "How are you doing?"
"Just alright." I responded, then the two brothers began talking... I had a question in mind I want to ask, so I excused myself.

"Excuse me?"
Both of them turned to me in a mild surprise. "Need anything?" Salvatoire asked.
"I'm going to ask... what's the mating rites game all about?"
Simon smiled in nostalgia, which I couldn't understand until he explained, "Mating rites, for us peasants, is something like a pseudo-marriage."

Salvatoire, also nostalgic, continued his brother's explanation. He pointed to a group of teenagers who were playing some sort of Enlightenment-era dodgeball back in the days. "Five men are on the left side, and another five are on the right. Ten lasses are in the 'court'. When a man throws the ball to the girls' direction, whoever catches it first will be the 'wife' of the boy."

"How long does that so-called 'marriage' last?" I queried.
"There's not time, really." Simon answered but did not turn to me. He focused watching the game. "Some could actually develop to a real relationship then turn into marriage. Ask Salvatoire, that's what happened to him."

I could see why, remembering Salvatoire's nostalgia."What about you?" I asked him as I stared at two girls who hysterically pulled each other's brown hair to catch the ball. They were too distracted to notice that the blond girl got hold of it and already headed to a slim redhead.

"I met my wife while I helped her family with her crops. Now, she's... gone." His tone of voice changed to melancholic.

"I'm sorry." I said, then Salvatoire cut off this sad air when he screamed, "Sebastian's the only one left on the left side!"

"Who?"

"Sebastian," Simon answered. "Our brother." He pointed to the left side, where one boy had been standing. "Let's go nearer to him, where we can get a clear view!"

Though it seemed impolite, the two Levive brothers slightly shoved the audience. I had no choice but to follow them, and I had to escape this entertained mob. The people were all so tall, my five-foot-one frame felt like an ant right next to them. As we passed through, "I'll get you soon, mad children!"

"See that Guinevere?" Simon didn't lose his track of the boy. "That's Sebastian."

I never realized an adolescent boy could be so... big.

He was the barefooted one in a partly-unbuttoned cream peasant shirt with short brown pants. Sebastian, like his brothers, had golden brown skin, a slim high-bridged nose, thick lips, and a square jaw. However, a lot of things made him different from them. His auburn, straight hair was long and its length draped until it reached a few inches below the shoulders. Fancily enough, he tied it to his back. Electric blue was the color of his eyes, a very great contrast to his brother's dark brown. He was remarkably tall--around six-foot-five--and very muscular, with a lot of body hair. His eyebrows were thick but well-shaped.

"What's so appealing about him?"

I didn't realize I said that so loud until both Salvatoire and Simon looked at me.

"Don't look at his body hair." chuckled Salvatoire. "Look at his face." I did, and... to my defeating confession, he was handsome. Though his hairy muscular body was scary and "manly", his face was still handsome.

"Handsome isn't he?" teased Simon.
If I were human then, I could've blushed. "Sort of."
"Sort of?!" Simon laughed. "Well, yeah... some girls don't find body hair appealing though."

While we were laughing ourselves off, something heavy hit me in the face that made me land in a thud. A lot of people noticed, based on their gasps. I opened to see what it was, and I found it on my chest.

"Are you okay?" Simon asked.
"The ball..." I muttered, then saw Sebastian coming to me with a worried look on his face.
"I'm sorry!" he apologized and held the ball. "I just got out of balance before I tossed it and now I sent it to you. I didn't mean it, really... This is my first time."

"First time?" one of the players asked tauntingly. "Well then you're not like your expert brothers, Levive. You might not marry after all." The other four boys remaining laughed in mockery.

To everyone's surprise--including mine--I shouted back. "Fuck off, you arrogant brats."

Every pair of eyes landed on me, especially the boy I defended. "Don't say that." he warned. "But thank you." he whispered back with a smile.

"Come on..." Simon called us. "This way." We made our way to the crowd, and didn't bother the whispers and mutterings.

However, I was bothered by one thing: Sebastian stared at me for long. It wasn't a loving stare that a boy would do to the girl he likes. It wasn't an admiring stare that admired beauty. It wasn't a sweet stare that screams "I love you."

It was the stare when a human spots a vampire.

Oh fuck, I thought, but hid any facial expression that could mean I know what he thinks. When we reached the wider space, Sebastian, whose suspicious gaze continued resting upon me, told his brothers "I'll be in our cottage. I'll see you later."

"All right." Simon replied and we bid him goodbye--and he still wore that scary gaze. I got paranoid every second--what was he going to do to me? Stake me, decapitate me, or confront me? I don't know, but it doesn't look good...