Chapter 16 MAKE A WISH.

FRIDAY
Night fell, the rest were not back from their activities and the only other person in the house was Leya. I glanced at the clock, it was past eight. I checked the kitchen but there was no flask, probably Jhan would bring it with him back.
Leya who was in the silence of her room, had finally decided to go to school. Something I had talked her into. I had about two more hours of my own freedom till my family returned and I had to make the most of it.
I went to Leya's room and knocked on her door.
"Kaldar?"
"Yes Leya, it's me," I said, "I'll be leaving the house but I'll be back soon."
"Okay, I'll be fine," She said. I got downstairs and exited the door. Glancing to either side of the road before dashing down the sidewalks.
I got around Dawn's house and to my surprise I saw her sitting by her windowsill, a book in her hand. She noticed my presence.
'I've been waiting for you," She said, a bright smile on her face.
'I'm here now," I said, pulling my hands away from my body and slapping the back to my thighs.
'Come in," She said, stepping down from the windowsill and into her room. I easily grabbed hold of the windowsill and threw myself in.
'Yesterday…That was close huh?"
'Very close."
It was too close in fact. I had lost all my strength by a beam of sunlight to the forehead and we both fell to our doom.
She sat on the bed. Placing her hands on her laps. I was getting more and more used to the smell of her blood. I could withstand the urge long enough to hug her for a few seconds.
"So... How do you know Tia?"
"She's in my clan, kind of like my family now."
"Now?"
"Yeah."
"So... How about your parents?" She asked, "did you live with them before coming here or...?"
I hadn't excepted this kind of conversation to come up. I wasn't prepared for it.
"Probably, I don't remember anything from past when I was turned to a vampire," I said.
Her brows drew together.
"What do you mean? Like amnesia?"
"Yeah, something like that. I only have a few memories of myself in a hospital I was held at."
"Why were you in a hospital?"
"I was a cancer patient," I said, carefully watching for her reaction which only seemed to be more surprise.
"Oh, sorry. Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"It never came up."
In fact, we hadn't talked about our lives properly. This was a good opportunity.
"But we're here now... So..."
"Well... I want to go to a professional swimming academy but my dad wants me to go medical school. I know he's just trying to ensure the best for my future but that's not what I want."
"Did you try talking to him about it?" I asked and she shook her head.
"Maybe you should try."
"I don't want him to be disappointed in me," She said, looking quite down.
Eager to shift the mood.
"Well, when I still had the cancer, I suffered. Then one day the pain became unbearable so I decided to kill myself... Obviously that didn't work out."
"And then... Who turned you?"
"Oh, that must be my clan leader, a tall, darskinned man. Should look in his early twenties."
She twisted her mouth to one side, trying to recall memories.
"Haven't ever seen him, in fact, I thought Tia lived alone."
The fact that she hadn't seen any of my other family made sense. Leya went to school very early in the morning, Jereum was as shady as a fox and Jhan coul easily wipe away the memories of any human that see's him. Tia was the most outgoing and yet still she had only known her as a street neighbour, nothing more.
"Can you like turn invisible or...?"
"No," I said, laughing lowly. "We can't turn invisible."
"So what can you do? That is, apart from your strength and speed."
"I can sense emotions, auras. I know when you are scared or happy. I can see perfectly well at dark, I can see your pupils dilate. I can hear your whispers... I can hear you heart skip a beat whenever you look me straight in the eye."
She diverted her eyes from mine, a slight flush of red covering from her neck to her face.
"So do wooden stakes kill you?"
"Only to the heart, but come on, who wouldn't die if a wooden stake was passed through their heart?"
She saw my point.
"How about silver?"
"It only slightly singes my skin, no serious damage though."
"Garlic?"
"Nope, well, I don't eat human food so I won't know for sure—"
"So you only eat blood?"
"Yes."
"Like from people?" She asked, looking at me nervously and I knew what she was trying to imply.
"No—wait. I don't kill people, I've told you that before. The blood I drink is gotten from the hospitals."
"Oh." And I could sense her relief.
I looked at the sky through her window, stars littered all over creating a beautiful abstract pattern of dots of light.
'Hey, I wanna show you something," I told her.
'What is it?"
'It's a surprise."
I got back outside and she stood by her window.
'Just jump I'll catch," I told her, keeping my voice low.
'You don't expect me to actually jump, do you?"
'Trust me," I urged, 'have I ever let you fall?"
She crossed her legs over the window and sat on it. She looked at me, freighted by the distance between me and her. Even if I didn't catch her she would only suffer a broken ankle.
'You sure?"
'Dawn, I'll catch you." I looked into her eyes, trying to reassure her. She placed her foot against the walls of the house and, with a quick glance at me, she pushed away from the wall and fell to me.
I watched her as she fell, I could see her fall slowly through the air. There was a smile on her beautiful. I caught her by the waist and then quickly swooped her legs with my arms and then. She looked at me, the smile on her face even wider. She held the side of m y face with her hand and then kissed me once. She smiled even wider as she pulled away from me.
I dashed away from her house and towards the forest. We got to the darkened forest in no time but I ran till we got under the tree Tia had taken me upon to see the city. She looked at the familiar environment.
The stars were out, their tiny lights sparkling in the sky.
"Ever watched the stars before?" I asked her.
"Yeah, many times," She said.
"I bet you never seem them from this angle."
Slightly confused she contorted her head to one side.
"What do you mean?"
"Let me show you.'
I walked to her. Carrying her with ease and leaping for the tallest tree in this forest. I held her with one arm and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I leaped higher and higher until I got to the think branch I had sat on.
She had shut her eyelids tightly and had her head pressed against my chest.
"You can look now..."
She opened one eye first, then the next. Her eyes grew wide and she mouthed the word, "Wow".
The view from here was beautiful indeed. Not only could you see most of the town and the tiny dots of light of street lamps. You could also see the sky till its very far end where is seems to meet the ground.
"Up here you can see the whole town. You watch the stars like thy were a foot from your face."
What was best was the ethereal view of the stars in the sky. You could clearly see the little dots of stars, and every flicker of light.
"This is... Amazing."
I helped her to sit on the branch.
"I've never seen the sky so clearly, so vividly. Like I could reach up and touch it."
And she marvelled at the sky. Star gazing from up here was beautiful. A streak of light shot across the sky very quickly, I had traced it till it disappeared.
"Make a wish," She said.
"That doesn't work."
"Come on, just do it," She urged.
I sighed.
"I wish that I can be with you forever..."
I looked into her wide bright eyes. "I wish that your wish will come true."
I smiled at her. She leaned her head on my shoulder.
"Kaldar, how does it feel to be able to live forever? To be able to see all the corners of and hidden parts of the earth."
"Nothing compared to how I feel when I'm with you..."
She sighed.