Chapter 3: One Touch: One Kiss

It took a moment before Maya managed to get her run away emotions under control. The very presence of the man in front of her has her overwhelm but also strangely at ease. She slowly stepped away from him. She took a deep breath before lifting her head to looked into his face. She stood still just studying his expression.

“Hi,” she said softly, while she kept looking. She stood motionless just looking at his expression. Her immediate thought he looked like the models of the covers of romance novels.

“Do you like what you see Maya?” he asked softly…teasingly.

She said nothing just keep looking at him. She slowly studies the contours of his face; noticed the black thickness of his hair that just covers his shoulders in length. His nose straight just above his thin upper lip and full lower lip. What kept pulling her towards him was his bleak blueish eyes. The longer she kept looking the more it changes in color and depth.

“Thomas Roman, you said.” She queries in a tone of questioning yet in truth already knowing.

“I am,” he confirms with a serious expression.

“Am I allowed to asked you anything?”

“You may,” he confirms. “Just that you know I can hear the growling of your stomach. If it is deemed acceptable by our host; you may sit down beside the breakfast table.” Thomas said softly watching the color changed on her face.

“Papa…” Maya was so intrigued with the man she had actually forgotten her grandfather’s presence.

“Breakfast is ready Maya. You both may sit down.” William moved to took the pot of coffee before placing it on the table. He watches surprise when Thomas choose to sit down on the extra chair. In his heart he thought the man would choose to sit at the head of the table.

Maya sit down on the chair that Thomas pulled out for her. Once she was comfortable, she reached for her cup of coffee needing to hold onto something solid. She slowly looked at Thomas again who patiently watched her.

“Go ahead, Maya.”

She took deep gulps of breathes her eyes focused on him. “I don’t know much but I do have a bit of common knowledge.” She slowly begins.

“Ask me anything Maya.” He smiled slowly; while keeping his hand around the cup of coffee. He never drinks the brew but he knows how to conduct himself socially.

“I know I am repetitive…I am trying to sort my thoughts.”

“Take you time.”

“You said you are Thomas Roman…and you said you are a hundred and four years old.” She said-asking breathlessly; certain but with a touch of uncertainty.

“That is correct Maya. Now ask the burning question. I will answer you honestly.” He kept his eyes focused on her.

“A moment ago, …when I woke in the tomb within that coffin to be precise… It was you with me?” she looked directly into his unwavering eyes.

“It was me; yes; Maya.”

“I felt you. I heard you talking. Why couldn’t I see you?”

“I am able to blend within the night. Again, Maya, ask me the question on the tip of your tongue.”

Maya suddenly stood. She slowly walked towards the mirror to look at herself. She wants to make certain she wasn’t losing her mind. Also, for the very reason he asked her earlier to looked and learned about herself. Her very intention now was to see herself just the way she was.

She slowly starts to study her own self-portrait. The words slipped over her lips. “Gentlemen, excuse me for a moment.” Maya briefly turned to face Thomas and her grandfather. Both men sit and watched her intently before nodding their heads in agreement. She turned and now stood looking at her own reflection within the mirror.

“I am looking at my own profile like you had suggest Thomas.”

“What do you see?”

“Various reflections that showcase the shades of brown in my eyes. When I turned my head slightly, I see the casting and expressions of my turbulent emotions.” She said finding this curious within herself.

“Tell me more Maya.” His tone sounds curious and intrigued.

“At the moment there is a crease between my eyes. Definitely define by the moment of this morning.”

Thomas quickly rises. He stood beside her but kept his back to the mirror. He listens intently to her words. His senses were acutely in tune with her but he allows her to set the pace.

Maya senses herself awaking from a kind of slumber. It feels like without knowing she has been waiting for this moment all her life.

“Papa…”

“Yes Maya?” William stays in his chair. He makes barely any movement. He had his time, today is the start of Maya’s future.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Maya.” He answered sincerely.

“Hmm,” she looked at herself again. She was quiet a time just looking. “I see within my hairline, now a faded scar from my tomboyish lifestyle. I am tracing with my finger the softness of my skin; discovering another scar close to my right ear where a nipple is small but visible on my earlobe.”

Thomas stood still listening to her voice. He realized he loved the sound of her tone vibrating through her body. He was never very talkative throughout the ages but he loved to listen how people discover themselves…their own truth.

“I am still tracing my face; finding another scar criss cross underneath my chin. It was once cut to the bone from chasing a ball that went flying through the window. I remember that day; you were mad papa.” She said with a touch of humor.”

“I also remember. You didn’t even cry.” William answered knowing he was losing his granddaughter. His heart filled with sadness.

“I love my nose as it fit my face. Sometimes I see the freckles sprinkles in the shades of fiery red across my nose.”

“Don’t blush Maya.” Thomas said softly; teasingly.

“Are you cheating sir?”

No, just observing your current body language. Admit your final facial truth Maya.”

“I feel a bit embarrassed. In my opinion I don’t suffer vanity Thomas.”

“This is your truth Maya. Admit it and own it.”

“My mouth…my lips full and sensual; kissable I was once told. There is another soft scar; now faded with time. The upper lip the result of a hard-hitting ball. I really did enjoy my tomboyish escapades. Now the final conclusion of my face…both sides of my checks sporting dimples of delight.” A slow smile curving around her mouth.

Thomas reached for her hand. Instant sparks sizzles between them. He slowly smiles acknowledging what she felt resonant within him. He made her sit down at the table again.

Maya slowly looked at the man who patiently waits for her questions. She briefly focused on her grandfather who quietly looks back at her. She can’t read his expression. Her attention focused on Thomas again.

“Who are you?” she asked again softly.

“You tell me Maya. I already have given you a couple of clues.”

“Are you a …vampire, sir?” her voice openly uncertain but with a clear touch of curiosity.

Thomas just looked at her. He watched while understanding dawns on her. The different expressions flashes rapidly across her face. There was uncertainty mingled with a touch of fear. There was curiosity mingled with disbelief.

“I am.”

“How…how is that possible? I know a bit of folklore but I never actually though there was any truth to it.”

“I am a vampire Maya. I told you from the beginning I was reborn in the year 1919.”

“How?” she looked at him. “What was the actually age when you died, Thomas?”

“I was twenty-seven. I used to live in Europe. I didn’t have much of a family to be worried about me. The truth of that matter came to light the day I was dying from Spanish flu. The old doctor who found me…well unbeknown to be he was a vampire…one that choose to help the unthankful humans. The old master had given me a choice. I took the offering. Only later when I was fully recovered did I realized fully what I had accepted.”

“Thomas…” she looked at him. She slowly studied the paleness of his complexion. The red tint on his sensual lips. She looked into the bleak blueness of his eyes. He wasn’t thin but neither was he bulky. There certainly was a strength emanating from him.

“Do you…drink blood?” she asked fearful yet curious too.

“I do Maya. Just sitting here now across from you…I can hear the throbbing of your blood. I only need to reach out and take it from you.” He admits honestly.

“Why don’t you?”

“I have self-control Maya.”

“How?”

“You see this ring on my finger. The object is enchanted.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can walk by daylight if I chooses and I prefer it when its mostly misty. The doctor knew a good witch. She gave me this ring as protection against myself.”

Maya sits there absorbing the information. She was indecisive about whether she was awake or not.

“Why do you live in a tomb?”

“It’s my choice.”

“Why?”

“Once I was turned into the creature of the night…the blood hunger was impossible. My master caged me. I learned to find my center. One decade I live in solitude. Then I choose to live amongst people. It all depend on how I felt. Twenty-three years ago, I was about to withdraw from society when I heard the calling.”

“Who called?” Maya frowned heavily trying to comprehend.

“You…” Thomas watch as understanding slowly settles within her.

“What…do you mean?” She looked startled at him before slowly looking at her grandfather.

“He delivered you into this world Maya.” William confirms the truth he received and witness from his daughter-in-law.

Maya sit there frozen on the chair. She just looked at him. Then suddenly she reached out and grab his hand. Her fingers wrapping around his wrist. For an absolute moment everything was blank in her mind. She blinked several moments looking through the mistiness. Once the mistiness clear she looked at the red pooling blood on the ground. The groaning of someone in pain pulled her forward. She peered over a shoulder watching a small head making its appearance. She heard the first cry…

Maya shakes the premonition forcefully from her. Her shocked eyes focused on him. She was suddenly aware of the electrifying sparks sizzling between them. She was the darkening of his eyes…she saw the desire building while his fangs extend. She felt the pull towards him.

“Maya…run…” he said softly in her head.