I followed the trail until it disappeared into a coffee shop. It was not part of my plan to enter any place where vampires could hide, but the trail was gone. I had accepted that I must go inside. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the glass door open.
Immense blackness engulfed me as I stepped into the shop. The door swung shut behind me.
The low conversations of the coffee shop customers was cut off when the door shut, leaving a silence that was broken only by the sound of my footsteps against the wooden floor. I shivered in the cool temperature, but was soon filled with warmth by the coffee bar. I stepped into an invisible barrier. As my hand came into contact with it, the barrier yielded and I could reach inside to select one of the many cups neatly stacked on the display. I pulled one out, lifted it up to look at the steaming, dark liquid, and—
Then I was in front of the human male.
He had black hair, pale skin, and was tall and slender. I was surprised by his attire. He looked like a vampire, dressed in a black, fitted button-up shirt and black trousers, but I had learned that I could never trust appearances.
The man sat in a booth seat. ''What can I get you?'' he asked.
I felt as though I were looking at him through a cobweb.
''Is that tea? Such a nice shade of green,'' he said.
I nodded.
He reached behind me. ''I'll take a cappuccino.''
''Yes, of course,'' I said, handing him a coffee cup.
He sipped at the drink. ''Delicious.''
I nearly asked him what kind of tea he was serving, but I noticed that he had a nut in his palm.
''How did you know I wanted tea?'' I asked. I needed to know how the conversation was going.[/story]
He sipped at the drink.
''How did you know I wanted tea?'' I asked.
He sipped at the drink.
I stared at the coffee and the nut in his finger. For a moment I wondered if I had the courage to remove the nut from his hand. But then I thought that it was not good to judge by appearances: thus, I was also not sure I could trust him.
There must be a way to find out what he was, yet I knew that if I asked that necessarily would violate the code of not knowing who one can trust.
Surprisingly, I felt that I was about to learn who he was, and that I suddenly had to stop myself.
I had a question about him, but I did not want to know the answer.
He took the nut from his mouth and rolled it in his hand. ''I'm going to be honest with you.
I just nodded.
He touched the nut with his lips and it crumbled into pieces.
I kept my mouth closed and prayed that my inaction would be a good omen.
''I'm not what I seem to be,'' he finally said.
I did not answer him. I hoped he would continue with his explanation.
''When you first came in, the skin around your eyes wrinkled as you looked in the espresso machine. You had that look of someone who does not understand what he is looking for.''
I looked in the door of the espresso machine.
He had a questioning look on his face.
''I'm sorry,'' he said. ''I am not such a gifted speaker of English. Perhaps it would have been better if I had never set out on this little adventure.''
He took a sip from the drink.
''No,'' I said then added, ''I am not upset. I wanted to know.'' I had not realized that I had spoken the words aloud.
He looked at me. ''How did you know that?''
''Do you know that you are not what you seem to be?'' I responded.
He gulped the drink.
''Tell us the truth, then,'' I told him.
''I am not the monster that you think I am,'' he said.
I listened to his voice, more curious than ever.
''I have a family, with my wife and my daughter. I am a scientist. I've been looking for a way to travel in time. I am believing that I am about to theorize a method to do so, and I just want to go back to my life.''
I opened my mouth to speak, but I stopped myself from spilling out the words.
''I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you. Deeply sorry. But I need you to know that I am a man looking for his family. I have no special powers.'' He drank the last of his drink. ''I desire no harm to you or to your people.''
I nodded. I was relieved to hear his story and I was satisfied that he was not a vampire.
''Thanks for allowing me to give my story,'' he said.
He slid out of the booth and walked away. He pushed open the door. It was locked from the inside, and I wondered if it was one of the precautions that the vampires decided to put in place.
I did not want the man to leave.
I needed to see the rest of his story, but I was trapped inside.
I knew then that I did not have to see the rest of the story. I was safe inside, just as he said he was safe.
He was not bad; he was not brave. He was a man who knew what he wanted, who was trying to find it.
Suddenly, I could no longer feel my feet.
I was wishing to meet him. I was wishing to find out if he ever made it back to his wife and daughter.
I was about to free my legs when another of my kind opened the door. ''Your family is hungry,'' the vampire said to me with his long, sharp fangs poking out of his mouth.
I nodded and followed the vampire back to the town.
In my mind, I had begun another story for myself.