The sound of the creaking study door jolted him back to reality.\u00a0 He looked up to see his wife standing next to him, carrying his dinner on a tray.\u00a0 A quick glance outside confirmed his fears\u2014the sun had already set.\u00a0 He\u2019d gotten distracted and missed breakfast.\u00a0 Again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think it will work?\u201d she asked, setting the bottle down onto the desk next to him.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not that I don\u2019t trust you, of course, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, it\u2019s fine, I understand.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to believe that something like this would exist, I get it.\u00a0 I don\u2019t blame you for being skeptical.\u00a0 But every other spell I\u2019ve found in that manuscript has worked.\u00a0 So it\u2019s got to work.\u00a0 It just\u2026 it has to, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m just worried about you.\u00a0 Ever since\u2026 well, you know\u2026 you\u2019ve been so depressed.\u00a0 I can\u2019t blame you.\u00a0 Lord only knows how I\u2019d do if I were suddenly transformed like that.\u00a0 But as much as I love seeing you happy like this, I just worry that it\u2019s for the wrong reason, you know?\u00a0 Two weeks after the attack, and you just happen to find something that will reverse all your troubles?\u00a0 Dearest, it just sounds too good to be true.\u00a0 You\u2019ve spent so much time and effort into translating that grimoire, but what if it\u2019s just snake oil?\u00a0 What happens then?\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached up, wrapped his fingers around hers, and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cWell\u2026 I guess if that happened, I\u2019d just\u2026 try and figure out what went wrong, and do whatever I can to fix it.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure it\u2019s possible.\u00a0 Yeah, okay, no one around here thinks it\u2019s possible, but\u2026 that\u2026 that doesn\u2019t mean anything!\u201d\u00a0 He spun around on his work stool, and stared into her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cThis is going to work.\u00a0 I know it.\u00a0 If I had stopped working just because I didn\u2019t think something was possible\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
He paused.\u00a0 \u201cIs that a new blouse?\u00a0 It looks nice.\u00a0 I like the collar.\u201d\u00a0 She clutched her neck, her face growing pale, but he was too distracted to notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, two months ago, we didn\u2019t even know magic existed.\u00a0 And maybe I was a bit reckless.\u00a0 I admit that.\u00a0 I went too far, I ended up over my head, and I created a huge mess.\u00a0 If I had known then what I was really dealing with, I would never have gone through with it.\u00a0 But I did, and\u2026 well, the point is\u2014if I can go my whole life without knowing that magic is real, then those witches can go their whole lives without knowing that there is an antidote.\u00a0 I refuse to live the rest of my life as a vampire.\u00a0 Okay?\u00a0 I will figure out how to become human again.\u00a0 I promise.\u00a0 One day, we\u2019ll both look back on this and laugh.\u00a0 And until then, we\u2019ll just\u2026 honey, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven\u2019t stopped looking at my neck this whole time,\u201d she said, tears welling up in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI should\u2026 I should leave for work.\u00a0 Please drink your breakfast.\u00a0 You know what happens when you get hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026O-oh, right.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed, and picked up the bottle of blood she had placed on his desk.\u00a0 Chicken blood again, he noticed.\u00a0 He tried not to grimace.\u00a0 It tasted awful, but there was no way they could afford large amounts of pig blood, even if there were a way to obtain it without raising suspicion.\u00a0 \u201cAre you\u2026 sure you can\u2019t stay?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
She stared at the ground, refusing to make eye contact.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I\u2019m sure. \u00a0They\u2026 found the body,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThe body of a missing child, found dead two days later, floating in a lake.\u00a0 Official reports say he drowned, but\u2026 if you look closely at the photo, you can\u2026 you can see the puncture marks in his neck.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 look, honey\u2026 no, okay, look, I\u2026\u00a0 I can explain\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She took a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cThen it really was you.\u00a0 It could have been any other vampire\u2026 but you didn\u2019t deny it.\u00a0 I wanted to believe it was someone else\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
He froze.\u00a0 \u201cOh, well\u2026 that\u2019s\u2026 that\u2019s what I was going to explain\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cWe both know you\u2019re a terrible liar.\u00a0 If you weren\u2019t responsible, there would be nothing for you to explain.\u00a0 You\u2026 killed him.\u00a0 He was just a little boy, and you killed him!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney, please!\u00a0 You don\u2019t understand!\u00a0 I can\u2019t control myself when\u2026 I mean, it\u2019s hard to control, if\u2026 if I don\u2019t take the proper precautions, but I can\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you were right the first time.\u201d\u00a0 She raised a hand to silence him, before turning to leave the room.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t control yourself.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what you are but\u2026 you\u2026 you\u2019re\u2026 you are not the man that I married.\u00a0 Whatever you are, I share partial responsibility for your actions.\u201d\u00a0 She closed the door behind her with a loud click.\u00a0 \u201cI had to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, wait, I\u2019m sorry, would you just\u2014 what was that sound?\u201d\u00a0 He paused, staring at the back of his office door.\u00a0 It was a cheap, interior plywood door.\u00a0 Nothing should have made a clicking noise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a lock.\u00a0 I installed it over my lunch break, while you were still asleep.\u00a0 It was there the entire night.\u00a0 You just haven\u2019t noticed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDarling\u2026 why did you install a lock on my door?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you.\u00a0 You\u2019re\u2026 not the man I married.\u00a0 You have an hour before the sun rises through the trees and into your window.\u00a0 If your cure actually works, we can have a good laugh about this.\u00a0 But\u2026 when it doesn\u2019t work\u2026 this ends today.\u00a0 I cannot be responsible for any more deaths.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 When I come back from work, I\u2019ll be sure to give your ashes a proper burial.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cure is going to work!\u00a0 Look, please, I\u2019ve almost got it figured out, I know it!\u00a0 Please!\u00a0 Can we just talk about it?\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to do this!\u00a0 I love you!\u00a0 Honey, I would\u2026 I would never\u2026\u201d He sighed, clutching his head in his hands.\u00a0 There was no use in discussing it further.\u00a0 She had already left.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s\u2026 fine.\u00a0 It\u2019s okay.\u00a0 This is okay,\u201d he said, pacing around the room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI want to be angry, but I know why she did that.\u00a0 Even if she is over-reacting.\u00a0 The point is, this cure will work.\u00a0 I know it will.\u00a0 And it\u2019s already done.\u00a0 I wanted to test it more, but\u2026 that\u2019s okay.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t need testing.\u00a0 It will work.\u201d<\/p>\n
He poured the chicken blood out onto the floor, and used the empty bottle as a mixing bowl for the various ingredients he had researched.\u00a0 \u201cAnd when you think about it, pressure is a great motivator.\u00a0 So of course this will work.\u00a0 I translated the recipe, and I obtained everything it listed.\u00a0 There\u2019s no reason this won\u2019t work.\u00a0 Everything will be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked over to the full-length mirror her parents had given them for their fifth anniversary.\u00a0 A t-shirt and jeans stood upright, and a murky bottle floated in midair.\u00a0 Out of all of the weird traits of vampirism, no longer having a reflection had taken the most time to get used to.\u00a0 He absent-mindedly stroked the chin stubble he could no longer accurately shave.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is going to work,\u201d he announced, brandishing the bottle around the empty room before downing its contents in one, swift gulp.\u00a0 He stood in front of the mirror, arms akimbo, waiting for his reflection to appear on the mirror\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny moment now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The sound of the creaking study door jolted him back to reality.\u00a0 He looked up to see his wife standing next to him, carrying his dinner on a tray.\u00a0 A quick glance outside confirmed his fears\u2014the sun had already set.\u00a0 He\u2019d gotten distracted and missed breakfast.\u00a0 Again. \u201cDo you think it will work?\u201d she asked, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[692],"class_list":["post-10707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-mirrors-surface"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10707\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}