An Evening in October: A Vampire Story

Marlene was playing in a sandbox in the park. It was her favorite spot to play; the box was both deep and wide, leaving plenty of sparkling sand for her to shape and form. The October wind was chilly and damp, and caused the orange and brown leaves to float around her in a graceful dance. Her long black hair blew behind her like a majestic mane, sweeping across the autumn sky in fine wavy lines. Her doll, Margaret, sat next to her, staring blankly at Marlene as she structured several small piles in the cool sand. Marlene's lips appeared slightly blue when compared to her doll's perfectly formed red pair. A large vein throbbed in her neck beneath the delicate white skin, and seemed to grow larger as her excitement grew. The palace was almost complete; a pretty sand palace in a pretty sand world, as white as falling snowflakes on a calm winter day, but as alive as the swirling wind. All I have to do is finish the main tower and I can go eat supper, she thought to herself. Then the perfect sand palace would be complete. But as she piled the damp clumps of sand together in her small pink and blue hands, she spotted a woman approaching her. Marlene didn't think anyone would be in the park on a cloudy evening, but the mysterious woman sat down on the wooden bench beside the sand box, watching Marlene make her palace. Much like the doll Margaret, the woman just stared with a blank smiling expression that was almost frightening to look at. Her hair hung in brown ringlets around her shoulders that bounced in the breeze. Her dress was flowing and black as Marlene's hair, and contrasted beautifully with her shining red lips. Tears hung in her glassy, vacant eyes as she watched Marlene put on her finishing touches.

"I've just come from a funeral, and how wonderful it is to watch a playing child after seeing so much death."

The tears decided to fall down her cheeks as she spoke, and they intrigued Marlene enough to ignore her palace for a moment and watch the woman as she cried silently into her hands. Her fingernails were long and as red as her glistening lips. Doll's lips. Perfect. Marlene brushed the sand off her skirt as she walked over to the woman. She sat next to her on the small bench, and watched her intently. All was silent with the exception of the rustling leaves and the silent sounds the woman was making in her soft hands. Marlene was entranced by her beauty as she observed her, and she couldn't help but run her small fingers through the woman's fair hair.

"Don't cry," she whispered in the woman's ear, and she looked up at Marlene with her watery eyes. "If death is all you fear, you shall be free at last." And with her soft words, Marlene rested her cold lips on the woman's neck, exposing her small sharp teeth, and drank the sensuous liquid from her body until the pink skin was as blue as hers. The woman gripped Marlene's shoulders tightly, but didn't even make a sound as she passed.

Marlene covered the woman's face last, letting the small granules slowly slide over her painted red lips. When she was finished, she picked up Margaret and decided to head home. Before leaving, she purposely kicked over the perfect sand palace that was next to her freshly covered pile, watching it crumble under her feet as her long black hair tangled around her in the chilly October wind.