Immortal Heart

Chapter 2

I was staring blankly into the darkness, lost in the middle of an abyss, but I was neither scared nor at peace. The darkness is frightening, but the silence brings me serenity. I'm neither falling nor floating. I was just lying without a solid ground on my back. I am not sure where I was facing and where the right path might be. I was staying still, not lost, but also had nowhere to go.

I liked it here. It's not like I've given up, but I also don't know what to do. I was trapped, but I didn't really want to break free. I felt how my consciousness was slipping away, and I didn't even fight back to stay conscious. I just want to let everything happen in its own flow.

When I opened my eyes, I was still stuck in the same room where I had slept. It's been a week, but nothing has changed, and nothing happened. I didn’t even step out of this room for food. I just stayed in this room, staring into space and not sure what I should do. I still don’t have any idea who I am, where I came from, and what I am. I didn’t want to look for any answer either because I felt like there was something I didn’t want to remember anymore.

I heard the door open, and the guy who claimed to saved me came inside the room. He was wearing a black suit, and his hair was nicely done. He looked at me with a worried expression on his face. This guy seemed to be worrying about me, even if I don’t know him.

“Why are you here?” I asked him as if I owned this room.

“It’s time for the feast,” he replied, then sat on the edge of the bed. I can see that he’s being cautious around me.

“Feast? What’s that?” I asked him, not glancing at him.

“Well, I hope you’re wondering why we didn’t give you any food or why you’re not hungry,” he said.

“I don’t care anymore. What’s the point of knowing all of that when I can’t even remember anything about me?” I replied, still not giving him a single glance. I can feel my chest tightening, and it’s painful.

“I know that you’re having a hard time and that you’re scared, but rest assured that I don’t have any ill attention towards you,” he replied. I looked at him, and he just gave me an assuring smile, telling me that he’s someone that I can trust.

“Listen, it’s almost time for the feast. If it’s not too much of me, I would like to ask you to change into this,” he said as he pulled a beautiful maroon dress from a cabinet.

“Why? Is there a party?” I asked him, as I could feel myself calming in his presence.

“Like I told you, it’s feast time. Everyone is asked to be in their best clothes during the feast,” he replied as he walked towards the door. His steps were quiet and light, and I couldn’t hear any sound from his shoes.

“I’ll let you prepare yourself, and I’ll just wait for you downstairs,” he added before he left the room.

I stared at the dress for a long time before I heaved a sigh and stood up. I don’t have any idea of what’s going to happen to me in the future, but this is the only option that I have, given the fact that I don’t have any memories of my past. I can’t stay in this four-cornered room forever.

I grabbed the dress that had been laid on the bed and went to the bathroom. I took a quick shower and put on the dress. I was genuinely amazed at how well the dress fit me. It’s a strapless v-neck cut dress that shows my chest but not revealing enough to make me feel uncomfortable. The cloth perfectly hugged each curve and shape of my body, which promoted elegance and sexiness. The slits on each side are high enough to elongate my legs and show their length. I looked beautiful, and I was utterly amazed at how he knew what kind of dress would suit me.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked pale but not pale enough to be mistaken as a corpse. My lips are surprisingly red, and my eyes are a reflection of the color of the rays of the sun in the early morning. It’s colored gold, which I don't have any idea if it was my original eye color or not.

I decided to fix my hair so that it would match the dress I was wearing, and then I went back out of the bathroom. I found red high heels on the bed. The guy earlier must’ve brought it for me, and I unconsciously smiled. I took the heels and wore them on before I went downstairs.

I immediately found him at the end of the stairs while he was smiling brightly at me. He reached out his hand to me, and I willingly reached out mine.

“You’re gorgeous,” he said the moment I faced him. I felt my face heat up out of embarrassment, even though I don’t have any idea if it’s possible.

He held my hand and guided me towards the dining area. I was actually expecting a lot of their kind inside since he told me it was a feast, but I was surprised to find only the three of them. They were perfectly dressed like me, and they all smiled at us when we entered the room.

The table was elegantly decorated, with gold cups and a dinner candle that created a regal atmosphere inside the room.

“Come dear,” the woman called me.

I looked at the guy who was holding my hand, and he just smiled at me, telling me that it was fine. I took another sigh before I walked towards them while the guy was following me. He pulled me a sit, and I quietly sat on it. He sat beside me, and I could feel myself easing up.

“This is your first feast, and it would also serve as a ceremony for us welcoming you to the family,” the woman said.

“Let’s first introduce ourselves to have the formality since we didn’t get the chance when she first woke up,” the man said.

“My name’s Hannah Furrey. I’m the youngest child and am currently a sophomore student in the nursing department at X University,” the girl across me said with a smile on her face. I was surprised to learn that she was a nursing student at a university. How can she study something related to humans despite her being a vampire?

“I am Cynthia, the mother of this family. I own a boutique shop in the city and a pet shop,” she said as she bowed at me.

“Hector Furrey. I am the father of this family, and I train every new member of this family,” he said with a stern look on his face.

“I’m Hunter. I'm a third-year engineering student at X University,” the guy beside me said.

“I..” I started as I tried to look deeper into my memory again.

“I-I don’t know who I am, so I don’t know how to introduce myself,” I honestly said as I looked down.

They were silent for a few moments when Cynthia called me.

“Lift your head, dear. There’s no need for you to be troubled about introducing yourself. We only introduced ourselves for you to know us,” She said with a sincere smile on her face.

“We actually knew you,” Hannah said with excitement in her eyes as if telling me to ask her about me.

“What do you mean?” I asked them.

“You’re also a student at X university, the same department as me, so we often meet each other. We’re even in the same class for a few subjects,” Hannah replied. I looked at them with confusion.

“You’re Raine Salvador,” Hunter said.

If they knew me, that means they knew my family and where I came from. Why didn’t they tell me anything about me?

“If you knew me, then you know..” before I could even finish my question, Hunter spoke up.

“Unfortunately, it’s all we know about you.” He said.

“But we can look for information about me since we knew my name, right?” I said as I looked at them, but they all just avoided making eye contact with me.

“We tried looking for more information about you, but you keep a low profile. We can’t find your address or about your family. We couldn’t find any information about you. We’re not sure if you have a family or if you're living on your own,” Hunter explained.

The small hope that I just have earlier started to crumble down, like pieces of rain falling from the sky. It hurts. I badly want to know about myself.

“I think it’s best that you leave your past behind,” Hunter added. I immediately stood up and looked at him.

“H-How can you say that? I can’t just leave my identity behind with my human me!” I said as I felt the tears swelling up in my eyes.

“Then what? You would go back to who you are and to where you came from?” Hector asked. I felt a lump in my throat as I looked for answers.

“I-I don’t know,” I said, while tears are falling from my eyes.

“Even if you manage to get your memories back, you can never go back to being human. You can never go back to who you used to be. You’re one of us now, a vampire that feeds on human blood. Even if you have family and friends, going back to them would only put you and them in danger,” Hector said.

Both my head and my chest hurt. Hearing all of this is painful for me. I don’t want to give up my memories because I feel like there’s something that I need to remember even though I think that I don’t want to.

“N-No…” I said as I fell to my feet.

“Trying to go back to the things that you can’t have will only burn you,” Hector added.

“Then you shouldn’t have saved me back then!” I said before I ran outside the house, finding myself in the backyard of the house.

I looked at the sky. It’s already dark, and it is covered with stars that look like diamonds on a black blanket. I sat on the grass as I felt myself being pulled by the pain. For some reason, I feel like there’s something that should remain lost in my memory. Even though I don’t know what it is, it pains me.

I clenched my fist as I felt the thirst in me. I’m starving, but I don’t want to drink blood. I was once a human. Drinking blood from humans makes me feel like I was drinking my own blood. I was more terrified of becoming a blood-sucking monster than dying.

I flinched when I felt someone sat beside me. I immediately looked at my side to find Hunter holding a cup of blood in his left hand. The metallic scent of the blood immediately makes my throat run dry. I wanted to grab it from his hand and drink it, but I restrained myself from doing so. I saw a tint of blood on his lips, so I’m assuming that he already had drunk blood inside.

“I don’t want that,” I said as I rested my arms on my knees and buried my face to avoid the scent of blood from getting into my nose.

“I know what my father said was a bit too harsh, but it’s the reality that you need to face, Raine. It’s your reality now,” he said. I can feel the cold breeze hitting my skin, but I don’t feel the cold. He felt warm beside me.

“I still won’t drink that,” I said while my face was still hiding in my arms.

“There are two possibilities of what would happen to you if you refuse to take blood,” Hunter said as the night breeze blew in our direction. I can clearly hear the leaves dancing to the air and the sound of the crickets singing in the night.

“First, you’ll starve yourself to death,” he said.

“I’m fine with that,” I replied, still hiding my face.

“Second, and the worst-case scenario, is you’ll become a Vlad,” he added. I raised my head as I looked at him. So I can become something else than a vampire?

“V-Vlad? What’s that?” I asked him.

“A vampire who’s out of control. It kills all humans that it found, and it feeds on human blood every day, unlike us, Leal,” he said.

“Leal?” I asked him again as I fought back the temptation of the scent of blood.

“There are three types of vampires. The Vlad, the Leal, and the royals. Vlads are vampires who are out of control and would mercilessly kill humans to ease their starvation,” He explained as he put down the cup of blood in front of me, and I tried my best to hold my breath to avoid the scent of blood.

“Vampires can survive with just a cup of blood for a week. We Leal only drink a cup of blood during a feast that happens once a week,” he said, then looked at me with a smile on his face. For some reason, I can feel my heart beating so fast.

“We bought blood from blood banks. As for royals, they are the kind of vampires that only drink from their donors during the feast,” Hunter continued as he picked the cup up and offered it to me, but I immediately shook my head even though the thirst was starting to get into me.

“What is a donor?” I asked him.

“Donors are humans who agreed to give their blood to vampires,” he answered.

“What kind of human would willingly give their blood to a vampire?” I asked him.

“Well, there are benefits of being a donor, but that’s something that I would tell you next time,” he said before he finally handed the cup to me.

“For now, you need to drink this.”

It took me a few moments to look at the cup filled with blood before I placed it in my mouth. I drank it slowly as I savored the taste of blood moving from my mouth down to my throat. It’s calming me and filling me up. Drinking a cup is much better than killing humans for blood, I told myself.

“Hunter, why did you save me?” I asked him after I drank each drop of blood on the cup.

“Because I like you,” Hunter replied without any hesitation.

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

“It means what it means,” he replied with a smile before he looked up at the night sky.

I just stared at him, not knowing what I should do or say. For me, he was a mere stranger that I just met last week, and now he’s telling me he likes me. I don’t know how I should react.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m asking you to like me back because I saved you,” he said. I can clearly sense the faint sadness in his tone.

“I don’t know whether you tried to kill yourself and jumped off that cliff or whether someone pushed you, but when I saw you in the sea below that cliff, I was scared.” He looked me directly in the eyes, showing me that he was sincere in what he was saying.

“I was scared that I would never see you again. I was scared that I would never have a chance to show you how I felt. I was only watching you from afar, but that time, I just don’t want to lose you; that’s why I saved you,” he said with a sad smile and held my hand.

“So please, don’t die again,” he added.

I felt how my chest tightened as he said that. I owe this guy my life, but he’s the one asking me to continue living. He’s not asking for anything else than to live the second life he had given me.

I smiled at him as I heard my own heartbeat. For some reason, my heart is happy by being held by him.

“Okay, I’ll live this life that you’ve given me.”