BEGINNING
by ophelia drowns(aka Tanya)
CHAPTER 1
We thought that we would be as one forever, you and I. We thought that nothing could change the way we were, the way we loved, the way we felt. Pushing against the storm that always fought against us, we laughed at our own madness. The world could never understand us, we were not of this world at all. I remember the first time you bit me, fear intermingling with desire as your teeth sank into my skin. You were the one who changed me, teaching me the ways of our kind. The salty taste of your fragile skin as I took my first drink will be forever burned into my mind. We had everything, but all we wanted was each other. Clinging to one another as we prowled the darkened streets at night, screeching in the silence as we sought out others like us. My fingers entwined with yours so that all who saw us knew at once that we were one. Life lost all meaning other than to exist together, to do what we pleased when we pleased. There were no rules, no laws that applied to us for we were unstoppable. We were high from one another’s life source and soared above the rest of the world, completely unaware and unprepared for the time that would bring us plummeting to the earth with such force that it tore us forever apart.
I met Bianca on a warm June evening through a mutual friend of ours, Ella. Ella was going to spending the majority of the summer vacationing with her family in Europe. Bianca and I knew of each other but had never actually met. Ella was concerned that we would be jealous of each others friendship with her and not be able to get along, so she had kept us as separate parts of her life. She knew her leaving would be hard for the both of us, so she wanted to spend as much time as possible with us before she left. I remember that from the first moment I saw Bianca, I knew that she was different from everyone that I had ever met. There was an energy that radiated from her that made me feel I was capable of doing anything. That week, Ella, Bianca and myself basically lived together, spending the nights in Ella's bedroom, sharing her futon, though we slept very little. We tried to cram everything we could into the time we had before the flight. Ella was worried about how each of us would deal with the time she was away and made us promise to be there for one another until she returned, although I knew that the promise was not necessary because Bianca and I had connected from the start. We went and saw Ella and her family off at the airport, all of us dissolving in tears as we said goodbye. Bianca drove me back to my car at Ella's and we exchanged numbers before we each headed off on our separate ways.
After about a week, I hadn't heard from Bianca and I began to worry that she wouldn't call. Although I've never been a person that is comfortable calling people that I've known all my life, let alone people I've only just met, I decided to give her a call. I couldn't believe how much I missed spending time with her! I had only met her a couple of weeks earlier and yet I felt like an integral part of my life was missing. It was as if I had waited my entire life for her to enter it and awaken me. I pulled all my courage together, dialed her number, then held my breath, crossed my fingers and hope that she would answer.
"Hello?" Bianca answered.
"Hi, umm, this is Christina, Ella's friend," I stammered in response.
My god, could I sound any more like a dork?
"Oh, hey Christina! What's up? Sorry I haven't gotten a chance to call you!" she replied, her voice sounded happy and breathless.
Trying to speak normally, I responded, "No, it's okay. I haven't had time to call either," thinking quickly, "so, um, what have you been up to? Have you heard anything from Ella yet?"
"I haven't heard anything yet, but it's only been about ten days so I wasn't really expecting anything yet. I've mostly been helping my mom with work at one of the shelters," Bianca explained.
"Shelters?"
"Sorry, I guess I never mentioned them before. My mom does volunteer work at animal shelters. She spends time helping the abused and neglected dogs get used to being around people. She helps train them to listen to basic commands and things that help make it easier for them to be adopted. My mom is really in love with animals. Right now we have four dogs, five cats, a rat and two ferrets that she brought home from shelters. Sometimes I go with her and play with the larger dogs or exercise them."
I was impressed! She was only 16 but she seemed so much more mature then most her age. Not many 16 year old girls would be concerned with the welfare of animals that are in a shelter. "Wow! That's awesome! I love animals, but I could never go to an animal shelter without bringing them home with me! I live with my parents and sister in an apartment where we can only have animals that live in cages. I have three hamsters and a guinea pig right now."
"Coolness! So what have you been up to?"
"I've been working on campus. I work in the audio-visual department so it's nothing exciting," I told her, "umm, actually I was wondering if you had any free time to get together this weekend?" There! I said it!
"Saturday I have to go to a company picnic with my parents for my dad's job, but I'm free all day Sunday if you want to do something."
"Great! I don't work at all on the weekends so I'm basically free anytime Sunday. What's a goodtime for you? Do you have a particular place that it would be easy for us to meet up at?"
"How about eleven in the morning? Do you know where the bagel shop is on Mercer St is in the art district downtown?" she asked me.
"Next to the convenience store right?"
"Right! Want to meet there? We can grab something to eat and then figure out what we feel like doing after?"
"Sure, that sounds great!" I answered, trying not to sound overly excited even though my heart was beating as if I had just run a marathon!
"Rad! See you then!"
"Okay then. Call me anytime before if you need to change plans, okay?" letting her know she had a way out if she hung up the phone, came back to her senses and realized she really didn't want to hang out with some lame college girl!
"You can give me a call too if you want. Later!" Bianca said.
"Later," I repeated as I hung up the phone. Later? I could barely talk coherently for one phone call! How was I going to be able to make it in person?
BITE ME TO CONTINUE!
Email: wiccanvegitarian@cox.net
