Vlad's POV
I can see Mina waiting for me at the flower stand across the street. She could never look more beautiful right now. Mina is wearing a black lace, zip top with white ivory pants that go well with her black double buckle, ankle boots. Her short blonde hair glowing brightly in the sunlight and her marvelous hazel green eyes that would make any man smile like I am. And her lips fairly filled with nice pink blush color lipstick.
If I was alive, I would be taking a deep breath right now in how nervous I am. I move my right hand a few inches in front of me, using my power to make it cloudy enough for me to come out. I cross the street over to her. The moment she sees me, her smile makes my world light up. Her smile is helping me to forget every horrible thing that has happened in my life for a few moments. I walk across the street when it is clear for me to do so. I approach her grinning. Mina still has the same smile on her face.
"Beautiful, my Lady." I grab her right hand, pulling it to my lips. I kiss it gently on the top. She starts to blush in the cutest way that makes me smile even bigger than before to her. I ask her, "How are you?"
"I am great. Had some good sleep. I was hoping for it to be sunny all day but downside to living around here, mostly cloudy. How are you, Vlad?" She tells me; I look at her hand for a second and she has not let go of my hand. I slowly wrap my hand around hers. She does not seem to notice how cold my hands are; most people that have ever touched my hands notice.
"I am wonderful, Mina. I could have slept a bit better to be honest. I miss watching the sunrise. I love watching the colors change the sky, it is a shame for those that miss sunrises and sunsets during their life." I tell her while being careful with my words about the sunsets and sunrises. I nearly slipped in my words telling her this.
"Where do you like to get your cup of coffee, my lady?" I ask her while she continues to smile to me.
She tells me, "I am open for anything. What place do you have in mind?"
"I have heard that Origo is a good place."
"I have not been there yet. Let's go." Mina says ready to go there.
We start our way down the street. Our holding hands change to our arms linked together. We walk for a bit in silence. I cannot help but to focus on the sound of her heart beating. She seems relaxed and happy to be with me right now. The sound of her heart beat is nice to hear. I use to love the sound of a heart rushing, almost like music to my ears. This rate of a heart beat is soothing like the sound and watch of rain outside a window.
We manage to reach Origo coffee shop. There is a bit of a line, however we do not mind when getting in line. Mina looks at me as I stare right back at her. The physical resemblance of Mina is so much like Mirena. It almost feels to real that I am truly walking with Mirena again. But I know that this woman may look exactly like Mirena. I need to know who this woman is right here with me and not think of her as Mirena. She is her own woman.
"What do you do in your life, Mina? Any excitement, or adventure you do?" I ask her. A part of me does want to see if she is similar to Mirena in any way. However I know I will enjoy her no matter what she is into, and possibly open my heart to her...
"I am into many things. I enjoy some history, books, music, movies, and outdoor things like hiking, or camping. I like to cook. I use to collect antique old american muscle cars. It is something my father and I use to do. I love cats, dogs, and horses. And of course, I love flowers. My favorite is the pink with a hint of white rose. It is almost like the sunrise or sunset pink color." She tells me with such joy in telling me these things. "What about you, Vlad, anything exciting in your life?"
"I enjoy history, books, and many things dealing with the outdoors. I love to go horseback riding whenever I can. I like to travel around the world. There is so much of it to see. I like to help people as much as I can especially Veteran Charities, or support groups. It helps them cope with things they have seen or endured. Several of my favorite TV shows are Seinfeld, That 70's Show, and Criminal Minds. I have been getting into some other shows and movies like Game of Thrones, The Royals, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and even Sleepy Hollow. I think they are all fun, interesting and wonderful to watch."
We get to the register to order our coffee. "Get whatever you like, Mina." She looks at the menu for a moment. The menu has limited specials because it is about to be Halloween. Some of their specials are pumpkin spice coffee, lattes, cookies and muffins. She picks the pumpkin spice coffee and a blueberry muffin. I would normally get myself nothing, but I order the pumpkin spice coffee just for the heck of it. I pay for our coffees then we sit down for a moment so I can let her enjoy her coffee.
Mina eats her muffin first then slowly drinks her coffee. I watch her enjoy her breakfast. I would like for us to continue spending time together and I know the perfect place to do so. "Mina, have you ever been to Cărturești Carusel?"
Mina stops drinking her coffee when I mention this place. She sets down her coffee and questions, "You mean the 'Carousel of Light' bookstore nearby? The extensive renovation that went above and beyond, creating a stunning shop considered to be one of the most beautiful bookstores in Romania, and possibly in the world?"
I chuckle in her response of the bookstore. I shake my head yes, enjoying her excitement about this bookstore. "Yep. That very same book store."
"I have been wanting to go but have not been able to due to things that have happened the past few months and having to work." She tells me.
"Would you like to go?" I ask her.
"Yes!" She says in such happiness.
"Then grab your coffee and let's head over there." I tell her when standing up from the table. She does not hesitate to do so. I open the door for her. She walks past me with a grin on her beautiful face. I manage to toss my cup of coffee away since it will be no good to drink it. Coffee is ok but not for my taste. However I wonder if putting a bag of blood in the coffee would make it enough to drink it for the next coffee I get.
Mina and I head down a few blocks and right at the entrance of Cărturești Carusel. Mina let out an excited sort of squeal when looking at the front of the building. I cannot help but to grin in how excited she is to be here. We look both ways before crossing the street to get to the bookstore.
We see that there is a good amount of people going in and out of the building as I let Mina go in first. Mina and I walk in to find how amazing the bookstore is built. I realize that the store is not the greatest with how dark and cloudy it is from the weather I have made it to be. I want Mina to get the full view of the store in the sunlight. I make sure that I am clear of the windows that are for the rooftop of the store.
I slightly lift my arms forward, making a small motion like my hands are wings stretching outward. When this happens the sun comes shining through the windows, revealing every detail in the building. It is quite something to see. The store has three floors spread across more than ten thousand square feet that hold as many books. There are elegantly curved balconies on each of the upper levels, a large open space in the middle, and a tea house on the top floor that offers a great view of the entire bookstore.
Mina slowly spins around to take in the entire view before her. I cannot help but to see her almost like Belle seeing the library in Beauty & The Beast film. Mina and I start going through the store. I manage to stay away from the sunlight shining through the roof windows. Mina and I make our way up to the second floor in seeing what amazing books they have.
We see books labeled in cooking, history of Romania. I stop for a moment to see a book that is apparently about me. I chuckle in the horrendous portrait painting of me. I take the book and turn it around to its backside so I cannot look at that horrible painting of me. Mina and I manage to make it down to the teen section. Mina grabs one of the hard cover Twilight books.
"I use to enjoy these books but the older I get, the more I realize that they could have been written a little better than they are. I guess one of the things about being a writer is making sure the final work is what you want it to be." Mina says when setting the book back on the shelf. I agree with it on writing; writing is not as easy as some people make it out to be.
We continue to walk around the store. Mina and I see the new published books and some others look like they were worth the read. Mina stops to stare at these book series known as the Tiger Saga by the author Colleen Houck. The book cover details are amazing especially the second one with the red, and gold designs of a black tiger on the front of it. She grabs the book then reads the book story line. Mina seems to like it by the look on her face.
I hear her heart beating racing a bit the more she reads the book information. She is already excited in reading what little she has of the book. "Grab the four books. I will get them. I am up to read them if you are."
"You do not have to, Vlad." She tells me, putting the book on the shelf. I could tell through her senses that she did not want me to spend my money on her. I smile grabbing the four books of the entire Tiger Saga. Mina gives a small smile back to me; still unsure about me buying her something already.
"I want to. They seem to be a good read by the look on your face when reading about the book. We can take turns reading each book." I keep the books in one arm.
We go to the purchase line and I buy the books. She is excited that she is going to be able to read these books. I can tell through her senses that she is starting to admire me. I feel the exact same way about her also. I love her energy of excitement in things in just the amount of time we have spent together already.
I use my power without anyone noticing to make the sky cloudy once again for me to be able to walk around without the sunlight harming me. I open the door for her then go outside. We walk towards the street when I see a horse drawn carriage a few feet from us. I smile knowing that Mina is going to enjoy this. "Mina, there is a park close by. It is one of my favorite spots. Can I show you?"
"Yes, I would love to see it. How far is it?"
"It is within walking distance but I figure a old fashion ride there would be even better." I move my eyes to the horse drawn carriage. Mina is happily stunned to see a carriage we can ride in. Mina and I link arms together when climbing into the carriage. I ask the driver to take us to Cismigiu Park as I hand him a hundred dollar bill. "Keep the change for the horses." The driver is stunned to see the amount I gave him. He thanks me before he takes the reins back in his hands. He urges the horses to walk on.
Mina is having a good time while we ride in the carriage. We are nonstop talking about the things we like; what we do in our life. Her job is a reviewer for all things food for the food column of the newspaper. Mina tells me that she loves her job because it keeps her busy. It is something different instead of the same boring thing like some jobs are in this century. For example, serving tables or drive-thru orders.
I am surprised to notice that my supernatural hearing is focus on Mina and not the birds chirping, the horses' hooves colliding against the road, the sound of the carriage moving. It is nice to focus my hearing on Mina, not everything else surrounding me. We reach the park within fifteen minutes. I help Mina out of the carriage and head in the direction of the stone bridge of the park.
I knew right away that Mina is so lovely, warm and nice to be around. She is so much like Mirena. She finally finishes the rest of her coffee slowly. She enjoys the taste of it. We stop in the middle of the stone bridge that has a nice little view of a water with some ducks swimming in it. The view is quite nice while we take in the view of the park. I can not help but stare at her right now.
She notices how I am looking at her. "Why are you staring at me like that?" Mina asks.
"Because I want to see you, my lady. Don't you want me to see you?"
"I do. It's just intense. However in a good way." She tells me while being a cute nervous in my continuing gaze to her.
After a few moments, she tells me that she needs to leave for a moment to find the restroom. I watch our things while she goes. While she is gone, I look around to be sure that no one sees me for what I am about to do. I reach down into my inside coat pocket. I grab the blood bag hidden in my pocket. I quickly open the top of it. I drink the entire blood bag to settle my carvings before any chance of my thirst will kick in around her.
I tuck the empty blood bag to my inside pocket. I hear Mina come out She walks back smiling and sits down next to me. "I never have been horseback riding before. It looks like so much fun."
"It is fun. It can be a bit hard to learn at first." I tell her.
"How so?" She questions.
"The rider has to learn how to move with the horse; knowing when to give the right body signals to the horse on the ground, under saddle. It is not about control of the animal, it is nothing more than a relationship based on mutual respect. It's important to take as much time with the horse, setting the horse up properly and let the horse do the rest. It is about trust, friendship. The Indians use to call the horses, Big Dog since they had no word in their language for horse. 'When the Indians saw the first one the Spanish brought over. They didn't know what the hell it was. But when they saw how it could run, carry a man through battle, become his friend for life. They figure it had to be a sacred animal.' I also believe horses to be sacred animal."
"That is pretty poetic, Vlad. Where is that quote from?"
"Frank T. Hopkins, Hidalgo film. The movie is not accurate with the whole story behind Hidalgo but that quote is all truth." I tell her.
"Indeed." She says soaking in the quote about horses.
"Would you like me to teach you?" I asks.
"Seriously?!" She wonders in joy.
"I would love to. We can do a lesson once a week if you want." I tell her smiling in sensing her excitement.
She smiles a heavenly smile. She comes closer to me then leans her head on my shoulder. We watch the birds on the water. I want nothing more than to freeze this moment; long enough to last long as I have the past few centuries. I cannot remember the last time I had a nice moment such as this one.
My heightened sense of smell notices that Mina is wearing a sort of perfume. She smells so good with the scent of vanilla bean. It smells so good on her. I am not a vanilla smell kind of man but in the case, I am liking it. The more little detail I see of Mina, the more I know that Mina is such an amazing person. She is so pure. I do not want her to lose her goodness, not ever. It is a rare thing to have.
A part of me wishes I still had that same goodness in me. I once had it when I was alive... The moment I think about what I remember about being alive. The movements my shoulders make when I take a deep breath, the inhale and exhale when breathing. The warmth of the sun shining on me without the feeling of burning to ashes. I would want nothing more than to be alive again right now, maybe even to know what it is like to grow old and die an ordinary death like i should have long ago. I would love to be alive again...
All of my thoughts come to a complete halt for some reason. Suddenly I feel this sharp pain in my chest. It is painful enough to make me groan a bit. I place my hand on my chest, not ever feeling this kind of pain for centuries. Mina looks at me worried.
She asks, "Are you alright, Vlad?"
"I am alright. I am sure it is nothing. Just give me a moment, I will be right back." I tell her.
I walk towards the restrooms. I close the door and lock it. The pain is starting to get worse that I exclaim from it. "Ahh!" I place both of my hands on my chest. I realize the pain seems to be coming from my dead heart. A sort of pounding sensation is happening to the left side of my upper chest. It happens repeatedly as I wonder what is going on right now. I stop when I feel and hear my heart beating for a few moments. I gasp in hearing my heart beating. My actual heart is beating!
I ask myself, "What is happening?" I lean my head back against the bathroom wall. I try to keep calm until I notice the pain in my chest is gone along with the sound, the feel of my heart beating like it was a few seconds ago. I cannot believe that happened. Then again, why did it happen? I am a vampire. This is not possible for me.
I cannot help the fact that my heart actually beat for the first time in centuries. I realize that in hearing my heart beat for just a brief seconds, I want it back, all of it, the good and the bad of being human. But I know it will never happen for me, not ever. There is no point in wishful thinking.
I turn my focus back to Mina. I use my senses but somehow they seem to be distorted for some reason. I could see just enough to reach Mina on the park bridge. I can tell just enough that she is worried about me. But she is enjoying her time with me.
I close my eyes losing my focus when the pain in my chest felt like it never happened. That was the first time in a long time that I have left pain like that. But it is more of a good pain like pulling a thorn from your foot and popping your dislocated bone back in place.
I decide to wash my mouth with water to get some of the stains of blood off my teeth. Then a grab the small pack of gum that is mint flavored. I start chewing on a strip so I can get rid of the blood smell on my breath. I look at myself in the mirror before going to the door. I unlock and open the door. I walk back over to her. I smile when I stand right next to her.
She asks, "Are you alright, Vlad?" She grabs my hand in concern.
I pull her hand to my lips and kiss it gently. "I am wonderful, Mina. I have been thinking when I could see you again." I tell her with my charming smile. She blushes a bit in her smile back at me.
"I would like that very much. I have not had this much fun in a long time. Maybe another cup of coffee and a stroll in the park with a cute view of the park again?" She asks with joy.
"Yes, along with starting to read the Tiger Saga books." I tell her.
"That sounds good, Vlad." She tells me.
Mina begins to lean closer toward me. I did not want to kiss her, not yet. I want to give us some more time before rushing into things. So I kiss her on the forehead then let her head rest my shoulder once again. I put my arm around her, and we stand here for a long while. We enjoy the view of the water moving gently below the bridge. The leaves covering some of the green grass of the park since it is in the middle of autumn now.
After some time has passed, Mina has to head to work. We walk back to where the same horse drawn carriage is waiting for another customer. We take the carriage in the direction of her work building. We reach the entrance of the building. I grab her hand, helping her down from the carriage. I thank the driver for his service before he has the horses walk on and continue their shift for the day.
Mina and I walk up closer to her work building. We stop at the entrance. "Thank you. This has been so much fun, Vlad. It has been a while since I had this much fun." She tells me with her heavenly smile and her glowing hazel green eyes.
"That makes two of us, my lady."
I could tell that some people are looking at us. I can hear some of them saying how we are torches ready to shine together to make a dark night brighter. I smile at the thought of it but not yet, not this soon. I want this to be right between her and I. I extend my hand to hers and bring it closer to me.
I kiss her on the top of her hand then ask, "The flower stand tomorrow, my Lady?" I hand her the bag holding the books.
"Yes, I would really like that, Vlad. See you tomorrow." She blushes when she whispers to me. Mina tries to walk towards the doors of the building. Her hand lets go of mine slowly. It felt like everything inside of me screams at me, not to let her go right now.
But I settle that with the fact that I will see her tomorrow morning. Mina looks back at me one more time before we lose sight of each other. I put my hand on my chest thinking about earlier. I really did feel my heart beating earlier. Sadly, my heart is not now. I have to find out what that was before he does...
I do not want him to get anywhere near her. He said he would call upon me one day. On that day is when we would be bringing the first move or the end to his Immortal Game of Revenge. I cannot be apart of his Revenge Game or have him know about Mina's existence. He could see her possibly as a move in his game. I do not know what he would do if he found out about her. I cannot allow that to happen.
I know that I would rather die for good before I let anything happen to Mina. I start to head back to my car so I can go home to see if I can get some better sleep than what I had the other morning of Mirena dying in my arms. The flashes of the dream start to flood my mind. I swiftly shake my head a few times knowing I need to fill up with something far better. I fill my thoughts with this astonishing morning with Mina.
Her smile, laugh, her excitement, the smell of her vanilla perfume, and her beautiful eyes. The way she looks when the sun is around her. This morning is one that will be worth remembering for the rest of my life, however long it will be. Mina could be my second chance at life again. I said before, I will say again. I am willing to find out if Mina is my chance to live again.
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