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Havana’s Malecon, July 10, 2023

Yolie:
I was holding a bouquet of roses in my hand as I stood on the boardwalk, directly looking at the Castillo de los tres Reyes del Morro. I had left work early , bought the flowers and came to the place, it had become a tradition of sorts, coming yearly, on this date, to remember him. My hair was loose and my feet were bare.
—Your son is so much like you…- I whispered. -…he has your same cheekiness, you know?
I smiled. Taking all the petals from one of the flowers, tearing them off, holding them in my palm and blowing on them, making them fall into the sea.
— He’s one of those , who considers it better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
I repeated the process with the remaining flowers over and over again, until I ran out of petals. I tossed the bouquet over the rolling waves and sighed.
— I hope that wherever you are, you have found the rest you were looking for.
The wind lifted my hair, swinging it for a moment.
—I’ve come to jump with you, little witch.– A heavily accented voice spoke. I smiled again, believing his words came from one of my many memories.

— I’m here, turn around and look at me, precious.- he insisted and I turned by inertia.

I saw him,he was right there. Standing, facing me and the wall I was standing on. My knees gave out and I fell forward, going over to him but he quickly caught me, avoiding my fall and taking me in his arms.

Having him so close , I was able to detail him. I frowned, there were noticeable changes in his face. His hair had gone from blonde to light brown, his unruly mop of curls were replaced with a wavy style. Only his eyes remained the same, the beautiful brown and gray colors of his mismatched eyes.

—Aren’t you glad to see me, little witch?- he whispered slowly, pressing his nose against my neck. I caught the fabric of his shirt between my fingers, and my body went numb. In his chest, just below my palm, I felt a throb that had never been there.
—You’re alive.- I stammered.
—Yes.
—No, I mean, you’re a human! How is this possible?- I asked puzzled.
He rested his forehead against mine, closing his eyes for a few seconds, as he lowered my body until my legs supported me, firmly on the pavement.
— It’s too long a story.
—Tell me… where were you? How did this happen? Why…?
— Shh. I’ll explain everything to you later.- He took my face in his hands.- Now kiss me, shut up and kiss me.

Alex:

—So… you appeared in Yoleandra’s cave and then the Iraqi soldiers imprisoned you?
— Yes.
— You were in prison for almost two years, Alex. It must have been a living hell.- she whispers scared.
—It was, but it’s over now, magissa mou.- I reply, tasting her sweaty neck with my tongue.
Zeus!
I was afraid I’d never see her again. I was afraid I would die in that damned place. The hope of returning to her was the only thing that kept me going, giving the strength to resist torture, hunger…and the agony of spending days without water.

—But Alex…- she insists and I shut her up with my kisses.
—No ,precious. It’s not worth martyring yourself with what’s already happened.
—I’m sorry.- she whispers, her little eyes filled with tears.- I’m so sorry, I swear I had no idea…if I had known…I wouldn’t have…
—It’s alright, I swear.
— It’s not right, Yoleandra tricked us.
—I know, but it was necessary.
—Necessary? Have you gone mad?!
I smile benevolently at her, hugging her around her waist. I have noticed that she’s changed. She is more…mature, more corpulent. Her hips are much wider now and her breasts are bigger, fuller. I like it. It sound impossible but I fancy my witch much more now than we first met.
— Yes, it was necessary, because I had no purpose, I had no reason to exist. I had a crown and power. I was the most revered of vampires and yet, I felt jaded, bored… I found no delight in my existence.
She purses her lips, looking at me with pity.
— I was close…very close to stoping the process, you know…Yoleandra’ s summoning. I considered changing my mind and trying…- I caress her cheek.- to have you stay with me, but I’m very stubborn, precious.
She snorts, looking at me with a scowl.
— And I was afraid, very afraid. When Yoleandra looked me directly in the eyes in the garden, I trembled with terror, imagining… that you would look at me just like that, with that same amount of hatred when you discovered the truth… - I swallow dry.
— I never did.
— No, you didn’t. On the contrary, you looked at me with such pity when you found out everything, but anyway, I had already made up my mind.
She ponders my words for a moment, biting the corner of her lower lip.
—What do we do now?-she asks and hope flutters inside me.
Being human is not easy. My heart felt ready to burst, when I saw her, perched on the malecón’s wall , and when I quietly approached and heard her wish that I had found peace, I almost hyperventilated. Two years had seemed like two millennia to me, even though Patrick assured me that she missed me and that she would kiss me madly when she saw me, I didn’t quite believed it.I couldn’t.
—We shall get married and…
She looks at me crossly causing my heart to plunder to my stomach.
—Don’t you love me anymore?- I ask, giving voice to the most terrible of my fears. I swear I’m breaking out in a cold sweat.
She settles on my chest, she is completely naked. We have made desperate love, not once but twice, but still I am unsure, I need to know…it is important that she tells me. I tangle my fingers in her hair pulling at it, making her look into my eyes.
— Of course I love you, I wouldn’t be like this,in here… with you if I didn’t … but…
Oh oh.
—There’s something you need to know before we decide what comes next.- She says, getting off my chest and leaving the bed.
Thousands of doubts flood my mind. Is she with someone? Patrick said no, but it’s a possibility…besides…she said she loves me…but…
I hate feeling so many doubts and insecurities, I hate feeling so weak, so helpless all the time and most of all …I really hate being human!

000

We get dressed and go out into the street, we walk along the sidewalk until we reach the wide front porch of a house, in which little girls and boys play, they must be between one and three years old approximately.
Yolie opens the entrance to the portal, entering while calling someone, the woman who answers, do so by standing at the entrance door and I see she is the same girl who five years ago Patrick put under compulsion to invite us to enter Yolie’s house when we were looking for her to prevent Jeanne from killing her. The neighbor smiles at her and when she sees me her face turns pale and her mouth drops open.
—Do I know you? -She asks me.
I don’t answer her, I cant. My eyes have followed each of the movements of the little boy with curious eyes and tousled black curls who has run to throw himself into Yolie’s arms. She takes him, kisses him, rocks him in her arms, and turns to me with him in her arms. The resemblance is undeniable. A terrible dizziness takes hold of me, I feel weaker than ever, feeling how all the blood leaves my face.
Yolie has had a son.

Yolie:
I saw him turn pale and immediately knew he had assumed the worst, besides, it was impossible for him to suspect the truth, after all…having children is practically impossible for vampires, Alex himself had told me he had only met one vamp able to father children after his conversion and when we made my son his father was very much a vamp.
—Alex…-I whispern, putting the utmost seriousness in my tone of voice. -…this is Alejandro, your son.