Nightflower
The night sky was dimly lit by a single full moon. There were no stars to accompany it. As the wind blew a solemnly, a figure, dressed entirely in black and hooded, trudged up the stone steps to a nearby church.
As the figure reached the altar, it lowered its hood slowly. The hovering moonlight shone over her, and it was clearly seen that it was a girl, with long dark hair and a pale face. Staring hopefully at a statue of the Virgin Mary in front of her, she quickly raised her hands in prayer and uttered words that could be barely audible.
“…and with this, I beg forgiveness for my sins”. She ended the sentence abruptly, sensing another presence.
She quickly turned to face the figure behind her. Like her, the second figure was also dressed in black.
“You came at last”, the girl said coldly, “I had been waiting”.
The figure nodded. “I had been expecting to see you here”. It spoke in a gentle male voice.
The girl, however, was not too gentle. “I don’t want to waste time”, she said briskly, “what did you call me for?”
“Ha…” the figure stepped towards the girl, “yes, about that…I need to tell you something”. He added in a strange, sinister tone.
The girl started to tremble nervously. “W-w-what d-do you w-want?” she asked, terrified.
The figure went closer to her. The girl looked into the figure’s mysterious face. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was, but it was too late.
It happened in a flash.
~*~
Next morning, it was another new day at Springfield High School. Students littered the hallways and corridors, chatting and minding their own businesses. Amongst the crowds of students, two girls were heading to their classrooms.
“So, Xia Li, did you finish your math homework?” said one of them.
“Yes, of course I did, you’re always asking silly questions, Marie”. Said the other named Xia Li.
Marie laughed. “Just checking”. She grinned.
As they entered the class, they each settled into their own seats.
“Hey, weren’t you beside me?” Marie asked, puzzled.
“Silly-billy, we changed yesterday”, Xia Li replied, “I’m sitting beside Rerumino”.
Marie stared at her for a moment. Then she smiled widely, and sneered: “Good luck then!” and sat down.
Xia Li did the same, her face bright red. Girls of Springfield High would know Rerumino Ranperouge well – not very active in sports, just average in studies, but otherwise, a great thinker and the most good-looking among the other boys. With raven-black hair and dark eyes, his age seemed a mystery. But the weirdest thing was that he never seemed to be interested in women.
As a result of lack of attention in class, the teacher, Miss Romeyer, had asked Xia Li to switch seats with another classmate who was sitting beside him. Xia Li sighed as she thought about it. But she stopped as Rerumino entered the class and sat down beside her.
“Morning, Xia Li”. He said pleasantly.
“Oh…hi…” Xia Li said nervously.
Rerumino pulled out a book. “Finished your math homework?”
“Y-yep”. Xia Li simply nodded.
Rerumino yawned. “Oh…good then. I find equations so...ubiquitous”.
Before Xia Li could say any more, one of her friends, a blonde girl dashed into the classroom. She was breathing fast and her face was deathly white.
“Guys!” she called. “Over here!”
Xia Li, Rerumino and Marie ran towards her. “What’s wrong, Aria? You look terrible”. Marie said, noticing Aria’s paleness.
“I-i-it’s…” the girl named Aria panted, “it’s…Lin”.
“What about her?” Rerumino asked.
Aria handed him today’s edition of their local newspaper. “Read on…” she said heavily, still panting.
Rerumino took the newspaper and noticed a large article on the front page. The headlines read: “Girl Killed In Freak Accident At Nearby Church”.
Xia Li quickly read the article. “NO!! Lin …” tears swam in her eyes.
“…police are currently investigating. The cause of death is still unknown”. Marie recited.
“No way. How can it be Lin…” Rerumino’s eyes widened. He tried to comfort Xia Li, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Lin had been Xia Li’s close friend since their third grade. Marie began to cry, too.
“Our good friend…she was always…” she said sadly, tears dripping down her front.
At that moment, the bell rang.
“Class starts now. We have to go”. Rerumino said, patting Xia Li on the back.
Xia Li nodded, still crying. “Please tell Miss Romeyer that I’ll be in the washroom…please?” she pleaded.
“Xia Li…” Rerumino began, but Xia Li was already gone.
~*~
TRRRRIIIINNNGG!!!
3 o’ clock seemed to arrive early today. As soon as the bell rang, a signal for freedom, students flooded the school once more. News of Lin’s death seemed to have spread, as everyone seemed to be talking about the article. Rerumino, accompanied by Marie, walked out from the school.
“I haven’t seen Xia Li since this morning”, Marie looked around for the sight of her friend, “have you?”
“No”. Rerumino shook his head.
Marie sighed. “Well if you do, please tell her that I won’t be able to play tennis with her for a week. My ankle isn’t well”. She told him.
“I will”. Rerumino agreed.
Marie let out another sigh. “Oh dear, her eyes’ll be swollen tomorrow…” she shook her head. “You’d better go easy on her. I hope the police will catch whoever did it”.
Rerumino nodded. “Everyone’s hoping for that”.
“Yes, I think so too…well, see you tomorrow, Rerumino”. With that Marie turned on her heels and walked away.
“All right, see you”. Rerumino said and started his 2km walk home.
~*~
Rerumino lived alone. His home was situated near the woods, an unlikely place for a student to live. As twilight approached, the streets grew quiet and lonely. The sky became dark blue, lit only by the moon, which was still full.
He was not far away from his home when he heard a shrill cry pierced the night.
“Who’s there?” Rerumino asked, and threw down his bag before looking around to see if there was anyone in the surroundings. He saw no one.
Then, the cry echoed again. A panicked cry for help.
“Hold on!” Rerumino shouted, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to sense if there was any presence nearby.
Boom boom. The sound of a nearby heartbeat. But where was it coming from? He tried again.
Boom boom. He felt it. It was coming from the woods!
Without hesitation, he darted into the woods, pushing away bushes and tiny plants that were in his path. The woods, as usual, was dark and seemed remote. Rerumino arrived at a clearing and as he stopped to catch his breath, he heard the cry once more.
“Anyone there?” he grew frantic. Then, all of a sudden, he saw three figures, partially hidden by shrubs, who were chasing after another figure, who was screaming. Rerumino rushed towards the screaming figure.
“Are you all right?” he asked. He noticed that it was a girl around his age, her clothes torn and cuts all over her face. She looked oddly familiar…
“Xia Li!” Rerumino gasped, as he realized who it was.
Xia Li was sobbing hysterically: “Get them away from me!”
Rerumino grabbed her and pulled her away from the three figures that were trying to corner them. “You’ll be fine”. He said, trying to calm her down. As the three figures stepped closer, Rerumino could see their appearances.
They were tall, muscly figures, and by their looks on their faces and state of clothes, Rerumino could tell that they were one of those ‘street gangs’. They growled and flexed their muscles threateningly.
“Hey kid, who do you think you are?” one of them said. Rerumino noticed a large ‘X’ tattoo on his left arm.
“Yeah, we found that lady first”. The other interrupted, with a sickly leer on his face.
Rerumino glared at them. “So indeed, you are one of those street gangsters”. He said quietly.
“Out of the way, pretty boy!” yelled the gangster with the ‘X’ tattoo. He lunged at Rerumino.
Rerumino laughed softly. Too slow.
In what seemed like lightning, he leapt upwards, sidestepping the gangster’s move, and let out a hard kick to the gangster’s face. The gangster fell to the ground with a loud ‘ooof!’
The other two gangsters gaped at Rerumino. “HOW DARE YOU, YOU DAMN KID!” they roared and charged towards him. Rerumino closed his eyes, turned around and slid his legs under the two gangsters, tripping them. They both fell into the ground, just like their other partner.
Rerumino stood up, let out a sneer at them and quickly ran towards Xia Li, who was still crying.
“Come, Xia Li, we must go now…” he said, trying to lift her up.
Xia Li continued crying. “Oh Reru…it was horrible…” she sobbed into his shoulder.
Rerumino patted her on the back. “Look…it’s getting dark. We’d better go”. He said, and with his arm around her, he led her out of the woods.
Since his home was just nearby, he decided to bring her there first. He opened the door, proceeded to the living room and laid Xia Li gently on a couch.
Xia Li finally stopped crying. She looked up and let out a little gasp when she saw Rerumino examining her for any serious injuries.
“Rerumino!” she squeaked. Rerumino turned his head towards her in surprise.
“Anything wrong?” he asked anxiously.
Xia Li gulped and shook her head quickly. “Of course n-not”. She hiccoughed. Rerumino stood up.
“You’re fine. Nothing wrong with you”, He told her, “I’ll get some water for you…” and he headed to the kitchen.
Watching him go, Xia Li averted her sight to the condition of the living room. It was neat, clean and tidy, but there was something not right about it. There were no family pictures in sight, no photo albums, nothing that suggested that he had a family. Xia Li tried to ignore these thoughts pondering her head, but before she could look for more, Rerumino approached her, holding a glass of water.
“T-thanks…” Xia Li drank the water eagerly. Rerumino gave her a quick smile.
“You missed all the classes today”. He said.
“Oh…” Xia Li put the now empty glass on a table in front of her, “well…you won’t mind me asking about the homework, right?”
“Homework?” Rerumino’s eyebrows shot up, “oh…there’s only a History essay on World War II, nothing else”.
Xia Li heaved a sigh of relief. “Well…that’s good”. She said brightly. “Now you’ve said it…I need to go now”. She stood up and headed to the door.
Rerumino ran to open the door for her. “You don’t need me to…er…escort you back, don’t you?” he asked.
“Er…well…of course no, I’ll be fine”. Xia Li answered promptly.
As Xia Li proceeded to exit, Rerumino remembered something.
“Hey wait!” he called. Xia Li stopped and her eyes widened in surprise.
Rerumino sighed. “It’s just that…that...well, Marie told me to tell you that she won’t be playing tennis for a week, her ankle’s not in a good condition”. He told her.
“Oh, I see. Well then…” Xia Li shot him a smile, “thanks for everything. I don’t know what else to say…”
“It’s fine”. Rerumino said, trying to sound firm.
Xia Li nodded and walked outside. Then, as she gazed upwards, her eyes seemed to shine vibrantly.
“Hey Reru!” she said excitedly, pointing to the sky. Rerumino hurried out. “What?”
He soon realized that she was pointing to the moon, which seemed strangely fuller and paler than before. It seemed to float in the sky, like an angel of the night.
Xia Li was standing in a juxtaposition to him, smiling. “It’s so beautiful tonight”. She said, turning towards him.
Rerumino had to agree. “Yes, it is”. He smiled as well. Even though it was just a single moon, on that night, it seemed to shine with ethereal beauty, something that he hadn’t noticed before.
“Reru?” Xia Li turned to him. Rerumino looked at her. “Yes?” he said.
Bathed in the moonlight, Rerumino’s features were almost equal to the moon; ethereal, mysterious and angelic. It was a sight that she could not take her eyes off. Xia Li felt herself being drawn to him; yet, she couldn’t figure out why. She reached closer and kissed him.
Rerumino was taken aback. However, he slowly closed his eyes, and returned the kiss.
The night seemed to stop.
~*~
Tick tock. Tick tock.
Xia Li tossed and turned. She reached for her clock, which said 11.46 .
She sat up, slammed the clock onto a table beside her and pushed away the bedsheets. Why can’t I sleep? She wondered anxiously. Why? She stood up and walked towards her window. The moon was still bright in the sky.
It was just one kiss, she thought. Just one kiss.
She yawned, but before she could return to bed, she spotted something that made her stop.
A human figure.
Xia Li watched it walk slowly past her house. She hid behind a curtain, hoping that the figure wouldn’t see her. To her relief, the figure did not look back, and it continued its way, walking further from her home.
However, questions raced through her mind. Who is it? She kept asking herself. And most importantly, what is he or she doing at this time of night?
She observed it quietly for a while. It didn’t take her long to realize that the figure was heading towards the school. Sensing something amiss, Xia Li quickly dressed herself and decided to follow the figure.
After randomly putting on a blue shirt and jeans, she opened one of her drawers and pulled out a 24-calibre handgun. Her parents had entrusted her the handgun in case if anything were to happen. She clutched it in her hands, and took a deep breath.
“Just in case”. She told herself.
~*~
The night seemed the same as before, except that there was a light wind blowing as Xia Li made her way to Springfield. Her hand tight on her handgun, she quickly ran into the hallways.
There was no one in sight.
Xia Li sighed in relief. Maybe it was a hallucination. Maybe she was just tired.
As she proceeded to walk out of the school, she heard a blood-curdling scream.
“Anyone there?” Xia Li spun around. The scream sounded again.
Xia Li could not hesitate any more. Holding her gun in front of her, she made her way across the hallway. As she turned a corner, she saw something that made her scream as well.
It was Marie, covered almost entirely in blood and writhing on the floor. Her eyes seemed blank and her mouth a wide ‘O’ of terror. At the sight of Xia Li, she became more aggressive.
“XIA LI!” she shrieked, trying to crawl towards her. “GO!”
Xia Li screamed. “Marie!” she ran towards her friend, not believing her eyes.
“Xia…Li…” Marie reached out a hand. Xia Li rushed towards her and tried to calm her down.
“I’m here, Marie, it’s OK”. She said, trying to calm herself, but her heart was still thumping wildly. “Don’t worry…” she whispered to Marie, “I’ll get the police. You stay here”.
Marie made a choking sound. “No…no…” she said, gasping for breath, “it’s too late…”
At that moment, a thought hit Xia Li.
“No…it must be…it must be…” she murmured to herself.
Marie’s hands flailed about, trying to get Xia Li’s attention. “Listen to me!” she tried to raise her voice, but to no avail.
“…Lin…Lin’s KILLER!” Xia Li yelled. She quickly turned to Marie.
“Marie, you stay here, I’ll get the police and look for the killer!” she said, shaking with anger.
To her surprise, Marie quickly shook her head.
“Y-y-you d-don’t understand, Xia Li…” she said, terror in her eyes.
“What do you mean! I understand! It’s a killer’s doing!” Xia Li shrieked hysterically. “The same killer…who killed Lin! You stay here!”
Tears leaked out from Marie’s eyes. “No…look behind you…” she said, her eyes wide, and after finishing her sentence, her eyes rolled in her head and she lay motionless.
“Marie!” Xia Li said frantically, but she spun around as well.
A figure, hooded and dressed entirely in black stood a few metres behind them. Xia Li could smell the stench of blood coming from him. Her hands trembling, she raised the gun and pointed it at the figure.
“Y-y-you…y-you must be…” she clenched her teeth.
“Now, calm down…” the figure spoke. It was a male voice.
Xia Li bared her teeth. “Be quiet! Killer!” she screamed. Thinking of Lin, she fired a shot.
The figure jumped aside to avoid the shot. However, in the process, his hood flew off. Xia Li’s eyes widened and felt her knees buckle as she recognized the figure.
“No…no…” she uttered in dismay. “No…it can’t be…”
The figure stood up. It was no one else but Rerumino, his eyes bloodshot and bloodstained. He gazed at Xia Li, a strange look in his eyes.
“Xia Li…you have to listen…I will explain…” he began, but Xia Li let out another scream and fired another shot, which narrowly missed his head.
“You…you…” Xia Li breathed heavily, “you…how can it be…”
Rerumino stepped towards her. “Xia Li, listen…” he started.
“NO! Go away! OUT OF MY SIGHT!” Xia Li screeched, pointing the gun at his heart.
Rerumino took a step backwards, a sad look on his face. “Please, Xia Li, let me explain…” he said.
“There is nothing to explain!” Xia Li screamed, tears swimming in her eyes. “You are a killer, and you killed Lin! There is nothing else to say!”
“No…Xia Li…do you honestly believe…” Rerumino let out a slight grin. To Xia Li’s horror, she saw a set of glistening white fangs protuding from his mouth. Rerumino, realizing his mistake, quickly turned away, but the damage was done.
Xia Li stood up, her gun still aimed at him. “What are you, MONSTER?” she cried. “Why have you come here? You…MURDERER!”
Rerumino raised both his hands in surrender. “I can tell you the truth, if you will just…” he said, eyeing Xia Li’s gun.
Xia Li, panting, slowly raised her gun down. She marched up towards Rerumino and slapped him on the face.
“Hurry! Now!” she barked, as Rerumino staggered.
Rerumino nodded. “All right”, he said. “I am not human. I am a vampire, yes, the vampire that you humans think are mere fairytale monsters…” he added, seeing the look on Xia Li’s face, “…I used to live in Summerfield, a place near Springfield, but I was cast out and I decided to come here. I have been living here since 200 years ago”.
He waited for Xia Li to give any sort of reaction. Xia Li began to shake with uncontrollable anger. Then, all of a sudden, she fell to the floor and started to cry. Rerumino went towards her and embraced her.
“How…why…” Xia Li cried into his chest. “Lin…why…how come…”
“Shh…don’t cry…” Rerumino said soothingly. As he embraced her, he felt her blood pulsing in her body. Blood…he felt his hunger arousing, but there was no time for that.
“Why…” Xia Li sobbed. “Why…why did you have to come…why did Lin have to…”
At her words, Rerumino suddenly felt an overwhelming urge of sadness. As he held Xia Li more tightly, he felt her sadness and sorrow engulf him.
No..no…he thought, Xia Li…she didn’t have to go through all of this...what can I do? There’s only one last way…
“Don’t worry”, he whispered, “I will end your suffering”. With that, he sank his fangs onto Xia Li’s neck. Her warm blood gushed through his throat. Xia Li stopped sobbing and lay her head on his shoulder.
“No…Reru…” she choked.
“Shh, you’ll be fine”. Rerumino replied softly.
Tears poured down Xia Li’s face. “R-Reru, I…I know what y-you’re trying to do, but…” she reached for her gun and put it at Rerumino’s temple. Rerumino’s eyes widened as he felt the tip of the gun touch his head.
“No…Xia Li…!” he cried out.
BANG.
Watching Rerumino crumple to the floor, Xia Li stood up, her gun firm in her hand.
“Don’t worry”, she said, smiling slightly, “I will bear the atonement for you”.
