Hair

"Excuse me!"

Raymond heard footsteps running across the grass. He turned his head, and panic ran through his body when he saw his sister running towards him.

"Ada, darling, you need to go," he whispered frantically, waving his hand. He quickly popped his collar to cover up his neck.

Ada's light hair bounced as she continued to run. "Why.." She paused and finally caught up to Raymond. "Why did Mother yell at you?"

"You have to go. Now. If anyone sees me with you, they will call Mother. I'm not supposed to be here anymore."

"But why did she yell?"

Raymond sighed, crouching down to Ada's height. She was rather small for her age. "Mother..she insists that I've left town. She thinks I'm an imposter."

Ada giggled. "That's silly! Why does she think that?"

Raymond couldn't tell her the truth. He wouldn't be able to live with telling her what had happened. He had cried enough. He didn't want to lie, either, but Ada hardly knew what death was.

"Some people told her I had left. People she trusts."

"I'll just tell her that it's you. You knew me!"

"No, honey, no. You don't need to tell Mother anything. You can't, or she'll get angry. You must act like this never happened." He put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "Can I trust you enough? It's our secret."

Ada paused, a worried look on her face. "I can keep a secret," she said. "At least until you come home. Will you come home soon?"

"..No. No, I likely won't be home for a long time. But no matter what happens, you must not tell anyone you saw me." Raymond stared at Ada, tears welling up in his eyes. His head hurt.

Ada stared back. Her face turned completely blank and her eyes glazed over for a short while as she listened. She then nodded. "I won't."

Raymond, trying to ignore Ada's odd expression, pulled his sister into a hug. "I love you, Ada."

"I love you too. I hope you'll come back soon."

Raymond rubbed his eyes. "You'll see me again. At some point." He let go, standing up and waving his hand again. "Now go. Before you get in trouble."

Ada waved silently and took off.

Raymond watched her go, then turned and ran as fast as he could in the other direction. He had read about vampires before the incident- had he just hypnotized his sister? He hadn't meant to.

He had to leave town.

--------------------------------------------

When Isaac opened his eyes, it was two in the morning, and Raymond was already awake. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, staring blankly at the sheets. Isaac sat up next to him.

"Hey," Isaac said. "How long have you been up?"

"An hour, maybe." Raymond shrugged. "I didn't have a very good dream."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Oh, no, it was nothing. It was just about my sister."

"Hm." Isaac moved closer. "What was she like?"

"Bouncy. Sweet. Any other little girl."

"So people weren't that different back then?"

"Nope. Humanity has always been the same, at least certain aspects."

"God, it's so crazy to think about. You were alive more than a hundred and fifty years ago."

"It went by really slowly." Raymond's smile was soft but saddening. "I just want it to be done. But will it ever be done?" He shrugged. "Probably not."

"You can't think like that, Raymond. You have to enjoy things while you're still here."

"Goodness, I'm being such a downer. I'm sorry."

"I don't want you changing the subject on me again. You seem to really like doing that."

"If I dodge it, I don't have to think about it." Raymond suddenly looked pained. "You really think I want to remember what happened to me? Leaving my sister behind when she needed me? Seeing my mother cry at my own funeral as I watched from a distance? Waking up in the forest with-" Raymond suddenly froze. "With..never mind."

"Ray, talk to me. Please."

"You don't know what it's like being bitten on the neck. I felt like my throat had been ripped from me. I couldn't scream loud enough." Raymond ran his fingers down his neck. "I've never bitten anyone on the neck. I do it here." He pointed to a vein on his inner elbow. "Sure, it's a little awkward, but I'd rather that than have them feel the way I did.

"That's my main moral code here. Don't make them experience what I did. The man didn't ask me, so I always ask them. I was in pain for hours, so I make sure they feel nothing. I was left scared and confused, so I'm there with them the whole time."

"I want to hear the whole story. Sometime."

"I'm afraid I'll have an attack. I almost did once."

Isaac sighed. "We may have not known each other for long, but I'm here for you. I want to be your friend. I want us to trust each other. That's all we need in a place like this."

Raymond wrapped Isaac into a tight hug, and Isaac could tell he was trying very hard to hold back tears. Once he let go, he took Isaac's hand and kissed the back of it. "Thank you."

Isaac grinned. "Fancy."

"That's called 'Charming People in the 1840s.'" Raymond smiled back. "Normally it's reserved for the women, but it shows respect nevertheless."

"I like it." Isaac squeezed Raymond's hand. "I'll have class later this morning, but I won't tomorrow. We'll do whatever we want, okay?"

"Of course. It is late, isn't it?"

"I used to wake up around this time a lot in high school. I don't know why."

"Who knows. Who knows why we do anything?"

Isaac lay back down and got under the covers. "Stay up as long as you want. I know your schedule's a little off."

"No." Raymond lay right next to Isaac. His long black hair was sprawled out like ink across the pillow.

"Do you dye your hair?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I was just born with it. My mother had it. I've heard many people in Europe have black hair."

"It's soft."

"Probably because I washed it. Thanks, by the way."

Isaac closed his eyes. "You're welcome."