Mistery

The two men were sitting in the car, watching the building. “Are you sure they will come?”, the passenger asked the driver. The driver placed a cigarette in his mouth and inhaled. "If the intel is correct, we will finally be able to role up the entire cartel”, he answered after he’d exhaled the smoke.
Suddenly the radio came to life. “Hawkeye one. All clear. Post two. All clear. Post three. All clear.” The passenger took the mic of the radio. “Post four. All  clear.” He placed the mic back. Before either man could say anything, the radio came alive again. “Attention all posts. A vehicle is entering the area.”
The two men straightened up a bit and stared intently into the darkness of the street. Shortly after they had heard the call over the radio, they saw the car in question coming towards them at high speed. A door in the building they were watching came alive and slowly rolled upwards. “Heads up. This is it. Post four here. The door to the loading dock just opened up”, the driver said over the radio as he and his passenger focused on the door across from them. The car reached the door and as it made a sharp turn towards the door the tires protested with a shriek.
Even before the car was completely in the loading dock, the door started closing again. The driver placed the mic back and opened his door. “Let’s go. If we can slip under the door we can take them down”, he said. The passeger also got out of the car, but was doubtful. “Let’s wait for backup. Something isn’t right.”
The driver gave him a look. “Do you want to move up in the world or not? You want that promotion, right?”, he asked.
The passenger sighed as he closed the door. “Of course I do, but I’m telling you, something isn’t right.” As if to lend power to the passenger’s words, a bright blue flash and a sharp, loud bang came from the loading dock, followed by more flashes and bangs. Under a deep rumble from within, the building started to collapse from the middle. The two men took cover behind their car as they looked at the collapsing building. While the dust cloud expanded, bigger by the second, the blue light and sirens of the police cars rushing in were barely visible.
The two men stayed behind their car until the dust had completely settled and another policeman walked up to them. “Johnson, Jones, what the hell happened?”, the policeman asked as the two men got up and dusted themselves off.
“We don’t really know, captain. The car entered at high speed and when the door was almost closed all hell broke loose”, the passenger said.  People from the neighbourhood were coming out of their homes to see what had happened despite the late hour. The captain took a quick look around the street then looked at the two men in front of him. “I want the two of you back at the station”, he said, before barking some orders at a couple of policemen – who were looking a little lost – that they should close down all streets around the building. Johnson and Jones were about to protest when the captain stuck up his index finger. “You two go back. That’s an order.”
The captain didn’t wait for a reply, but walked away to coordinate the emergency services that now arrived at the collapsed building. The two men looked at each other. “What do you think that blue flash was?”, the passenger asked his partner, looking at the rubble that had been a building only an hour before. The driver pulled up his shoulders before getting back into the car again. “I have no idea, but I guess we can find out once we are back at the station”, he said while the passenger got back into the car as well. The driver started the car and drove off.
The passenger looked back one more time. “Do you know what this reminds me of? The strange reports that have been coming in lately. You know, the ones that mention blue light before something happens.” The driver pulled up his shoulders again. “If so, then this was no ordinary bust”, he replied. Unnoticed by the two men driving back to their station, a faint blue light was following them.

After another ten minutes, the two men arrived at the station and went inside. The faint blue light flew over the building as they walked in. Once above, it gave a strong pulse of bright blue light that shot through the roof of the building.

The light filled every floor; it went through until it reached the ground. Inside, people stopped moving as if frozen in time, execpt for the two men who had just entered. They stopped in thier tracks when they saw their colleagues freeze up into statues.

“This way, gentlemen”, a female voice said to their right. A beautiful woman with the most intense blue eyes the two men had ever seen came around the corner and walked up to them through the entrance hall of the station. Normally, the men would have drawn their guns and asked her who she was and how she’d frozen their colleagues, but this was not a normal situation. They gave the statues around them another look, before deciding to follow the woman as she walked straight to the interrogation rooms. When they arrived at the rooms, she opened one of the doors and let them enter. Once they were all in, she closed the door behind them.

Only now did the men seem to regain their normal selves. “What the hell is going on here?”, the driver, who was the elder of the two men, asked as soon as the door was closed. The woman gave them an intense, serious look.

“Let me be blunt, gentlemen. You saw something you weren't suppose to see.” She gestured to them to sit down. “So we have two options now.” She paused for a moment, waiting for the men to take a seat. “Either we make you forget what you saw. Or we let you join us”, she continued once they had. The older man was already getting up again and wanted to protest, but before he had the first word out of his mouth the woman held up her hand and stared into his eyes. Until he sat back down.

“Before you start protesting, this offer isn’t one we make every day." She sat down as well, across from the two men.

“Now, lady, listen  to us-”, the younger man began, but again the woman interrupted. “The captain told us you two were very good detectives, and we can use good detectives, however you’re mistaken to think that you have any other choice than the two I just gave you.” Her voice was suddenly harsh and cold at that last sentence. The younger man looked at the older man, and then back at the woman. “Okay, I'm in.”

The older man rubbed both hands over his face, as if to wash it with invisible water, while sighing deeply. "I wish I could forget what I’ve seen, but I know I won’t be able to. So I guess I'm in, too", he said to the satsifaction of the woman.

“Good choice, gentlemen. Welcome to the bust squad. Your training will start now.” She pulled out a small device and tapped on it. Another pulse of blue light shot trough the building and people began to move again. At the same time, the interrogation room was left empty, without any trace of the people that had been inside.

Burning crosses

Burning crosses

The night sky lit up as the fires below in the city started raging. The wood of the houses and shops had dried in the last weeks of summer, when temperatures had gone up higher than ever before, as long as people could remember. Now some unfortunate soul had tripped and knocked over a candle or torch and the city turned into a blaze.

Thick clouds heavy with rain moved high above the fires, reflecting the light and turning night into day. Slowly the fires made their way through the city, while its inhabitants fled for their lives or ran for water in an attempt to stop the flames from destroying their homes.

From the top of the church, it was clearly visible that the city did not stand a fighting chance against the raging inferno. Down in the streets in front of the church, there were carts being loaded up with the valubles from inside. A big wooden cross that had been hanging above the altar was now being dragged onto one of the carts.

The priest gave an ironic laugh when he saw the people struggling with their load. After the last fire some fifty years ago, the church had rebuilt the city in its own image. Altough very impractical to defend, the town had become a holy place. The shape was visible from the nearby hills and had become somewhat of a tourist attraction on its own.

The embers came in through the open doors. The sight of the fire through the doors was one that could only be described as the sight of hell: buildings burning, the heat that struck everyone that looked out, and the realisation of the fact that there were people in those flames. As the heat of the fires became unbeareble, the people that had stayed behind could only look at the glow from behind the doors and pray that the blaze outside would not destroy the church, and them with it.

The heat of the flames became to much for the doors and set them on fire. For those who had stayed behind, it was the moment of realization that the church was also lost. Some decided in this last minute that they wanted to survive and ran to the back door in an attempt to escape the blaze. The door opened, and through it came scorching heat.

From the top of the hills, those that had escaped the city could see the tragedy unfold. To some the thought occurred that their world was coming to an end with the burning of the city, and that god had lost his throne. Before them, the city build like a cross was fully ablaze with its church at its center. Now all the crosses in the city were burning.

The bookstore

The dim lighting gives the store the old, dark and dusty look that you might find in an old building or an old library. As I walk in trough the door, a doorbell comes to life and a - to my surprise - young lady leans to the side of a book case from the top of a ladder to see who has just walked in. “I’ll be right with you,” she says, while placing a few books on the top of the rack and then climbing down. For some reason I notice her clothing, a long grey skirt with a white blouse that doesn’t have much trouble hiding her curves.

“How can I help you?” she asks when she stops in front of me. Her eyes, the colour of which is difficult to see in the dim light, fascinate me and I almost ask wich colour they are. I restrain myself, and instead give her an awkward smile. “I'm just looking around, if you don't mind.” Only now I notice her glasses that give a short twinkling from the reflected light outside as she turns around. “Let me know if you need anything,” she says as she walks back to whatever she’s been doing before I came in.

I start walking past the rows and shelves of books, letting my mind run free. This kind of bookstore isn't very common anymore. Shelves filled with books, with the older ones in the back of the store in the dimmer light from the sparsely placed lightbulbs, the smell of paper in the air as if the books that are for sale have been standing there for a very long time. When I reach the older books, looking at the spines and reading the titles, I feel a strange sensation. Nothing unpleasant, just something like you feel when someone asks you questions and you need to think about the answer.

A wild thought occurs to me when the sensation disappeared again. The smell and feeling of the book store suggest an aura of mystique. New book stores are sterile compared to this one and seem to lack the thing that would bind customers to come back. The lady I saw when I came in appeared again behind me with a shy smile on her face. “Can I interest you in this?” she asks, holding out a book bound in dark brown leather.

‘Werewolves’, the title reads. I look at the lady with a bit of surprise. “How did you know I like stories on werewolves?” The question has left my mouth before I realise it. Even in the dim light, I can see a faint blush on the lady's cheeks. Her eyes drift down but her posture, which doesn’t really match with her bashful look, seems to say ‘I would like to tell you, but I fear that you would get mad if I did’. Only for a few seconds is this visible, before the lady composes herself again. Somehow I find myself very attracted to her. The thought of asking her for a drink briefly crosses my mind.

“You seemed the type that likes this kind of book. Am I wrong?” she says. Automatically, I shake my head to indicate that she was right. We walk back to the counter and once there, I can see her eyes clearly. They are as grey as a cloudy summer’s day.

From behind the counter, she takes the book from me again and looks up the price.

“The book is 12,50 but you can have it if you take me to dinner in a few days.” As she says this, I can see her cheeks flare up bright red. The sensation I noticed earlier comes back again. I look at the lady, but can’t see anything on her face that suggests that she is behing my silent questioning. In my mind I demand that the questioning should stop, and the feeling goes away.

“You’re very good at guessing,” I venture, trying my best not to make it sound like an accusation, but more like an compliment. As much as that is possible, the lady’s cheeks turn even redder. “My name is Jack. How about tomorrow?” I say, before she can respond to my remark. Relieved that she doesn’t have to reply, she smiles and holds out her hand.

“Yoana, and yes, that would be nice," is her answer. We exchange phone numbers and I walk out the bookstore, a book and a date with a beautiful, yet mysterious woman richer.

magic

I have my fingers pointed at the guy in front of me. For a fraction of a second it seems that the sky changed its colour. I know it is blue, but for the blink of an eye it changed. The crackling of a thunderstrike follows, even though there are no clouds or even the slightest hint of water in the air.

What happens next is scientifically impossible, but it happens nonetheless. The other guy is just as surprised as I. He tries to speak, but no sound comes out of his mouth. Slowly I lower my hand, with what must be a look of perplexion on my face.

Eventually, he does manage to say some words. Although I can’t hear it quite well, it must have been something like "That’s impossible". He looks down at his hand, where until only a few seconds ago, he’s been holding a gun. The gun is now gone, as if it had vanished into smoke or never really existed in the first place.

Unable to speak, I just look at my own hands. How did I do that? All I did was hold out my hand in an attempt to calm him down. Instead of what I wanted to say, other words came out, words that I didn't and still don't know or remember.

As we’re standing across from each other, trying to understand what just happened, we can hear the sound of sirens getting closer. I just look at him.

"Let’s keep this between us," I finally manage to say. The guy slowly nods and swallows. His legs give way and he falls to his knees in a small puddle that suggests that he is probably scared beyond belief of me. I am scared beyond belief of me. I mean, I just did something impossible.

I used magic.

dream

It has been haunting me for a long time now. It wakes me from my sleep and keeps biting me when I'm awake. It leaves me unable to think clearly, like drink would after a night in the pub with friends. Images that keep repeating before my mind, whether I'm asleep or awake.

Not that dreams bother me much; I've dreamt before and will dream again and I could always let them go rather easily. Not this one though. Strange in origin, it was one that I could swear was not mine, yet I'm featuring in it and I also know the other participants. Maybe a strong fantasy keeps it alive, or just a lack of what I need - I simply don’t know. The images I keep seeing make me blush and wonder. Whose dream is it? Why do I see it now? What is its meaning?

No matter how it’s biting me or making me wonder, I keep in mind that it’s still a dream and nothing more than that. It is one that I dream when I'm awake and when I'm asleep. The biggest question for me would be, "Do the other participants in this dream dream the same? Would they feel the same things I do while watching this dream?" No matter what the case may be, for me the thoughts of this dream make something stir in my stomach. Things that could have been, or fantasies.

But in the end only one thing really matters. It's only a dream.

Miracle

Sand blows around the few buildings, which have seen better days. They tell a tale of a town full of life and people in its high days, and of the tragedy that happend, wich left it in the state it is in now. Surviving signs tell stories of social disintegration, of nature disappearing, leaving nothing but sand. A lost piece of paper blows past an entrance of a square building with boarded up windows and doors. From the entrance, the only door that has been left open, a man looks at the outside world with a nervous look on his face. Behind him in the building, a group of people is busy moving and rearranging furniture.

When a pain-filled scream suddenly arises, everybody jumps a little and gives an anxious glance in the direction of the origin of the scream. Not long after that, a few woman chase out the men who are too close to the screaming. The man who was watching the outside world gives a few orders to those who look a bit uncomfortable with being chased out. Quickly they do as he says to avoid the burning eyes of the others.
On the outside of the building, nothing gives away what is happening inside. The wind calms down a bit, as if the world itself is holding its breath. Inside, the cries grow more intense, and people begin to feel the pressure of not doing anything but listening. Minutes, hours pass, then one last long scream and then a deafening silence. The seconds pass as all now turn their faces inwards and pray.
After a few centuries long seconds, another scream emerges from inside. Together with the people inside, the wind outside the building wind picks up in a collective sigh of relief. People now come back to their senses, continuing with what they were doing with vigour so that they would be done in time.
Meanwhile the scream changes pitch and becomes more of a cry. Some of the people can’t hold back their tears anymore, for they know what the crying means. Everybody stops working for a second time when a woman appears in the hallway, still washing some blood off her hands, but with a tired but happy look on her face. She walks towards the man by the doorway, while fending off questions of the people in regard to the blood on her hands and her smile.
The man gives some orders to give the woman some room to explain and tell her story, but he cannot hide his own concern. She lays her hands on his shoulders and looks him deeply in the eyes. She tells him that he doesn’t need to worry and that everything is alright, with a big smile on her face. She lets him process all this for a moment and then steps back a bit.
Everybody around them listens to her with their breath held, waiting for the big word to come out. She looks around for a moment and then back at the man. As she says the words he has been waiting for, the people around them give way to a loud cheer. In the noise, she comes closer to him again to repeat the words. That he has become the father of a baby girl, and of the first child born in a long time.

The world which has died will become alive once again.

sacred and wild

Did you know that there are areas that are so mysterious that, despite having been explored, they are not? You know what I mean? Places where creatures live that haven't been discovered yet, that defy every explanation you could think of? I have been to such a place, not even very far from here.

How I got there, you ask? It wasn't easy, I can tell you that. What? You want me to take you there? Are you sure? Well then, it seems you’re in luck tonight. It’s one of the few nights we can go.
Why? Well, because of the red moon ,of course. Look at the forest behind you. Notice how big it is? Well, we have to go in there. Come on, there is nothing to be afraid of. Just follow me.
Did you know the trees in this forest are sacred to the locals? They say they hold some sort of power. I guess that you could call the place we are going to the source of that power. Ow, before I forget, you’d do well to remember the way, otherwise you might not find your way back in the dark.
Okay, I think we are here now. Let me see. Ah, yes. Can you see the moon? Yes? How is it? Not nearly at its highest? Okay, I guess we were a bit quicker than I thought; we have to wait a bit. Let me use the time to give you a little warning. Oh no, that wasn't really a warning, well, not in the sense this one is. That one was similiar to "don't step in that turd". This one is a proper warning though.  
There are creatures in this area that look a lot like us humans. They are very beautiful and intelligent, but they are also wild. Wild beyond belief, and they will kill you if you try to come too close. How I know this? Ouh, that is a difficult one to answer without scaring you.
Very well, then. The last time I was here they killed the one that was with me. How is the moon now? Is it at its highest point? Good, let’s move on then. What, you have doubts now? Don’t worry. If you don't get too close, you will be fine. There, do you see a faint shimmering between those trees? No, between the ones hanging towards each other. That’s right. Let’s go, before we are to late.
I will go first. Don’t worry, it feels a bit like you pass a thin screen of water. Nah, you won’t get wet, it’s just the feeling. There you are. Well, what did I tell you? Amazing, isn't it?
How much time we have? Uh, a couple of hours at most, I believe. What? You saw a flash of light? Where? Wait, ah yes, I saw it too this time. That is one of their riding animals. Something like a horse. Magnificent, isn’t it? Wait, don't go after it, you can't catch it anyway. How I know? Because I already tried. See how fast it is?
There, that’s one of the creatures I was talking about before. Yes, she is beautiful. Be still; if she even thinks that you might want to catch her, we’ll be in a lot of trouble.
There to your right, look. Others. I think they are hunting. Try not to move; it seems to me that they are on edge. They have seen us.
Why there are only women? I'm not sure, now you mention that. I think I have never seen a man before. It must be something with their culture. Come on, let’s leave them to their hunt.
What? You want to stay? Are you mad?
You can't. Why? Because this isn't your world. Now come along, the moon is descending. What they are? I like to think that they are the spirits of the forest. Sacred and wild spirits.
What? The moon changed colour? Ah, yes. It seems that we were back just in time. Sure, if you remember the way, you can get back here anytime you want. Just remember my warnings.

Pact

It was about six months ago when I first met her. The sun had just left the sky as I went out to get groceries, standing on the corner of the street. When she saw me, her eyes lit up and a beautiful smile appeared on her face.

"Hi." I just barely heard the word as I walked by and gave a small nod in response. "How are you?" Kind of surprised, I stopped and looked her way. It seemed that she knew me but I couldnt recall her.
"I'm fine," I answered automatically, feeling unsure on how to proceed next.
"I'm doing fine as well. You live here in the street?" She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that I was looking at her with a blank expression, or she simply ignored it altogether. When I noticed that she wasn't taking my hint that I didn't know her, I started walking again without answering her question. The hope that that had been it vanished when I noticed that she started following a few steps behind me. I could hear that she stopped behind me when I did. I was puzzled why she would follow me, so I turned around to face her.
"Who are you? Do I know you?", I asked in a soft voice. She gave another one of her disarming beautiful smiles. "I’m Cristine, and I doubt that you know me." Her answer puzzled me even more. Why would she want to follow a perfect stranger? It made no sense.
"Would you please stop following me, Cristine?" I asked. For some reason I already knew the answer to the question before I asked it, but it was out before I realized it. She didn't reply. I gave her another look. She was small, I think around one-fifty, one-fiftyfive. Deep black hair fell down to her shoulders. I realized to my own surprise that I found her quite the beauty. Probably I only noticed it now and not before because I hadn’t paid much attention to her up until now.
"Look, Cristine. I think you are mistaking me for somebody else," I said, as I turned around again and continued on my way to the store. Behind me, I could hear that she continued aswell. "Nope, I'm not mistaken," she just said.
The longer I talked to the girl, the more confused I was getting. I hoped that if I kept my moth shut and just walked on to the store she would give up, but in front of the store I did and turned around again.
"What do you want?"  I asked, but only got a smile in return and an innocent one at that.
"I want you to become my partner." I couldn't believe my ears. After this, I was convinced that she was completely crazy. I shook my head and walked into the store. Even in the store she followed me around and poeple started giving me wierd looks on the fact that I walked around with the girl constantly two steps behind me, making me feel more uncomfortable by the minute.
"Stop following me. If you keep this up, I will call the police," I said under my breath when I couldn’t take it anymore. Quickly I passed the counter and paid for my groceries to get away from her, but she was faster than I’d thought and was already waiting there for me.
"Are you always so rude to your girlfriend?", she asked with a smile and a voice that was a bit too loud to ignore. I was at a loss for words when she said that. It took me a second before I got my voice back and walked towards her. "Look, we don't have a relationship. You’re at least ten years younger then me," I hissed. People were looking at us and all I could think of was getting away from the store. As I walked out of the store, the girl followed after me still.
Now there is a place close to the store that isn't much used, but it’s a shortcut to my house. When I passed through there, I felt a jerk on my arm that pulled me back and caused me to fall over. As I lay there on the ground, trying to wrap my head around what had just happened, I saw the girl getting on her knees and leaning over me.
"You know that it’s considered rude if you start talking age to a girl? Anyway, I'm not as young as you might think," she said, with her innocent smile still on her face. All I could do is give a moan due to a sharp pain in my head. "Now can we go to your house so that I can explain, or are we going to keep up this act of ours?", she asked. Despite the smile on her face, there was a serious sound to her voice that I could hear that hadn’t been there before. I got the feeling that up until that point, she had just been playing with me, and that she was tired of it now and finally got to the point.
My mind was racing to find a way out of the situation. I was still puzzled why she was so confident that she needed me, but now also intrigued how it was that she was strong enough to pull me to the ground on just my arm. Slowly, I got up and picked up my bag of groceries.
"I don't know you, so why should I take you to my house without an explanation? Especially after you pulled me to the ground like that," I said with an annoyed sigh. I can't be sure, because I couldn't see it, but I was certain she was smiling behind me when she heard me talk.
"Just accept the fact that we are going to your house," she said. I couldn’t help myself when I turned around to her. "Why? What do you want from me?"  I looked at that eternal smile again.
"Thats simple. I want you," was her answer. She said it as if it were like the most normal thing in the world. "I suppose that saying that you need to leave me alone wont work?", I asked and got answered by her shaking her head. I too shook my head when I started walking again.



When we came to my house, I opened the door for her. "Don't you clean this place?", she asked first thing when she came into the living room. I looked at her and was ready to say that she could leave anytime if she didn't like the way my house looked, only to see her smile. "We are here now. Can you please explain why you are my future and why you followed me around?", I said, still a tad annoyed.
She walked around the room, picking up things, looking at them and then laying them down again before she looked at me once more.
"I'm here to make a pact with you," she said like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I probably looked like I felt. "What kind of pact?", I asked suspiciously. At this point, she was starting to really test my patience. When I was done putting away my groceries, I sat down across from her in the room with the table in between of us for some imaginary distance.
"A blood pact. You give me your blood, and in return I will give you something of mine," she said, while looking at me with a straight face. I got the feeling that she was testing me in something, but when she said that, my mouth fell open.
"You want my blood? As in a transfusion?" I asked in disbelief. She shook her head. I could feel the atmosphere change. "I need blood to survive," she said, her face still straight and her voice serious. I couldn't say a word for a while. In the time that I needed to form an answer, she keept looking at me.
"Do you mean you are a vampire?" I finally asked. The nod she gave me confirmed my fears. I let a vampire into my house. Questions were racing through my head. What was she going to do to me if I said no, could she be trusted, was this the end of me? I swallowed my fear away.
"Why me?", was all I could ask. I had already forgotten that she was talking of a pact.
"Because you are special. Or to be more precise, your blood is," she said, while she leaned a bit towards me. Apparently, I had the question "why" written all over my face, because she kept talking. "When a vampire bites someone, that person will turn into a vampire as well if the vampire doesn’t kill them. You on the other hand won’t. Because of something in you, you are immune for some reason."
After hearing that, the only thing I could think of was that she wanted me to be her life supply of food. "So you want me to become your personal blood bank?", I flapped out before I realized what I said. The look on her face changed a bit.  
"If I wanted to do that, I’d just kidnap you and hold you prisoner somewhere. I told you I will give you something in return," was her answer. I still felt uneasy, but she did have a point. If she really wanted only my blood, she could have abducted me. That would have been a lot easier. She pulled out a knife and placed it in the palm of her hand.
"Wait. What are you doing? I haven't said that I agree," I said quickly when I got her intention. I got up to grab the knife from her at the same time. She looked at me.
"Know that if you don't make a pact with me, you will be hunted down by vampires if they find out that you are imune," she said softly while looking away. The tone in which she said it made me stop. It sounded not pleading or friendly, but more like a threat.
"You wouldn't." I stared while I fell back in my seat. She shook her head while taking the knife off her hand. "No, I wouldn’t tell others. But if I can find out, so can they." She looked straight at me at this point with a kind of fire in her eyes. "And they aren't very nice. You will become a slave and your life will be forfeit. But if you make a pact with me, they will leave you alone."
All I could do was hear her words in silence. "What is in it for me?", I only dared ask after a while in a small voice. She swallowed and looked down to the knife that was resting in her lap.
"I will become yours," she whispered. "How do you mean ‘you will be mine’?", I asked, astonished. A light blush appeared on her face.
"It means that you can do with me as you please." Her gaze was still fixed to the knife in her lap. I shook my head, unable to wrap my head around the fact that she was willing to give herself to me.
"Don't get me wrong, but I don't want you. It’s wrong to own someone. Besides, I like my blood where it is."
She gave me a sad look. Before I could do anything, she had picked up the knife from her lap and made a cut in the palm of her hand. Bright red droplets fel on the table as she held out the knife and her injured hand to me. The look on her face didn’t need much force to push me over the edge of reason. While looking at her bleeding hand, I took the knife.
"I won’t turn into a vampire then?", I carefully asked as another droplet fell on the table. "I don't own you, nor do you own me or my blood, but I will let you have some as long as it doesn’t hurt and you don’t kill me," I said, taking the knife from her. I placed it in the palm of my hand and closed my eyes as I foulded my hand around the knife. After a quick jab on the blade, I felt a sharp pain followed by warm liquid spreading through my hand and fingers. Slowly I opened my eyes together with my hand. Blood from my hand was now also falling on the table.
Across from me, Cristine's breathing became heavy when she saw my blood. The most terrifying thing was that the colour of her eyes changed. Before I had a chance to pull back my bleeding hand, she gripped it with hers. The next thing I can only describe as an experience I never want to feel again. First a pain shot through my hand and up my arm, and after that my hand and arm felt numb and I could swear that something was crawling under my skin.
Before I got the nerve to look at my hand to see if something actually was crawling, my entire body tensed up like I was hit by lightning. Cristine fainted and our hands were pulled apart, just after some images featuring her flew past my inner eye. I got my movement back as soon as the connection was broken, and gave my hand a worried look. I expected that it would still be bleeding from the cut, but my entire hand was covered by markings that I had never seen. They went up my arm, where they stopped in a sort of band that went around my arm. As I turned my hand over, the cut that should be there was not. Only a scar.
Across from me, Cristine's breathing got me out of my puzzlement. Quickly, I got up and walked around the table to see if she was alright. The stuff she had told me, and, more importantly, the stuff she hadn't told me were going through my mind as I picked her up and brought her over to my bed.
"Thank you for helping me," she mumbled as I laid her down. As the night progressed and my mind got the time to think abou what had transpired, the fact that I had made a pact with a vampire, a mythical creature of the night, settled down. I have never been a firm believer in god or the devil, good or evil or that kind of thing, but still, this girl, this.... creature didn't seem evil. Still I wondered if i were to become a vampire now as well.
My eyes wandered back to my hand when I heard Cristine move on the bed on the other side of the room. "What is on your mind? Are you still worried that you will become a vampire?", sounded from the bed. Absently, I looked up at her.
"Can you realy blame me?", was the only thing I could think of. She pulled herself up and leaned against the headboard, after which she tapped on the bed next to her. "If you were to turn into a vampire, it would have happened already."
I got up while she said that and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. She picked up my hand and went over the markings with her fingers. She stared explaining what the markings meant, and answered the questions I had in the rest of what was left of the night. When she did, the fact finally settled down in my head and found its spot in my consciousness. I had made a pact for life in blood.

encounter

It was a beautiful evening with the promise of an even better night as Alex walked into the rugged terrain just outside the city. Only a week ago, he had overheard a couple of miners in the pub talking about a wierd strangely humanoid creature appearing close to the mine. They had only seen it when the moon was out and behind the creature.

Now Alex was out with a full moon in the sky and a camera in his hand to see if he could get a picture of it. Since it was still light, he sat down while he looked at the rising moon. Around him, he could hear the crickets until the light of the sun was completely gone. The field in wich he sat was mostly dryed out grasses and a couple of big boulders scattered around like someone had trown them there just to see how it looked and then just left them there. Above Alex the stars came out one by one next to the moon that continued its climb in the sky.

He took pictures of his surroundings to drive away the boredom when he heard the dry grass behind him move as is something was stalking towards him. Alex’ free hand slowly dropped to the gunholster at his side. He removed the clip holding the gun in place so he could reach for it if the need should arise.

The sound stopped when Alex looked in the direction it was coming from. He slowly took out his gun and lifted his camera with his other hand. When he was holding it up as high as he could, he pressed the button. The flash lit up the area for a short second. In the flash he could see something dash away from the light. It had the movements of a cat, but looked more like a small human. The rustling in the grass stopped and the night became silent again.

There would have been reports if a big cat like a lion or a tiger had been close to the town, so Alex guessed that the creature he saw couldn’t have been one of those. And no humans lived out here, so he wondered what it could have been. Alex waited for some time, listening for whether he could hear other sounds, before he relaxed a bit. He looked at the moon again. It was at its highest point now, but seemed impossibly close and big. It was not a strange phenomenon here in this time of year, but it always fascinated Alex.

Again, the sound of something stalking in the grass was now getting closer, this time from the front. The field in front of Alex was scattered with the big boulders so his camera wouldn't do much to help him now. The creature wouldn't be scared off that easily this time.

"Who is there?" he called out, while gripping his gun tighter. It felt like a pointless thing to do, but Alex felt the need to do something even if it was. When he called out the stalking stopped, but after a few minutes of silence it continued, though in another direction. Alex took another picture. In the flash, he could only see a shadow of a tail disappearing behind a big boulder. This really seemed like a big cat and Alex pointed his gun at the boulder. If he got out of there alive, he could tell the miners that there was a big cat lurking around here and if he could kill it he could tell them that they were safe.

The moon started to surround the boulder he was pointing the gun at and Alex moved a bit to the side, when something on top of it caugth Alex' eye and he stopped. He wouldn’t have noticed it if the moon wasn't behind the boulder. When he looked closely, he could see the silhouette of two ears pointing upwards from above the edge of the boulder. As far as Alex could see the ears looked like those of a cat, but seemed too small for a big cat and too big for those of a normal cat. Alex couldn't help but wonder what kind of feline would have ears like that.

The silhouette moved up slowly, and attached to the ears was a human-shaped head. Alex lowered his gun in astonishment. Two big round orange eyes appeared and stared directly at him.

"Who are you?"Alex asked once he had recovered from his astonishment of seeing a human head with those ears and eyes. At first he thought that the ears were like those headbands you saw in the city and the eyes some kind of lenses, but then he could see the ears move independently from each other. The silhouette disappeared behind the boulder again.

Alex holstered his gun against his intution, so he made sure that he kept his distance to the boulder. "I know you’re human and that you are out there, so you better come out", he said in the hope that whatever was behind the boulder would show itself. The ears appeared again and Alex tried to encourage it. "I'm not going to hurt you." He still had his camera pointed at the boulder so that he could blind it if it decided to atack him.

"Can you put that bright light maker down?" a soft voice said. Alex was surprised when he heard a female voice. He hadn’t expected any response, but here he got one. He looked at his camera and lowered it, so that it pointed at the ground. The eyes became visible again.

"You know, if you want to sneak up on someone having the moon at your back isn’t the best way", he said. There came a short hissing sound from behind the boulder. "What are you doing here, with that bright light maker and that noise stick?" came the next question, ignoring Alex' remark. The word choices of the one behind the boulder surprised Alex a bit. It didn't say ‘camera’ or ‘gun’, but described them by what they did.

"The gun is for my protection and the camera is to take pictures. I heard a rumour in town that a creature was around that looked like a cat and a human. So I thought I’d try to take a picture of it." Alex was curious of what kind of reaction his answer would trigger. The head came up a bit higher and the eyes of the creature seemed to light up a bit. "I'm called Selexa", it said. The more it talked, the more Alex was convinced that it was a female. "I came here to get a glimpse of the creature that lives in dens made of stone and moves in big packs."

There were still large parts of this world unexplored and the city Alex lived in was build on the frontier of an unexplored erea, but Alex hadn’t expected to find a creature that could talk and think on a human level.

"You are one, right? Can you tell me a bit about you?" it asked, before Alex could say anything. He looked at the head, a bit unsure. "How can I talk to someone who hides behind a rock?" he asked in an attempt to stall for time so that he could think over what he could tell it.

It tilted its head a bit and then climbed on top of the boulder. Now Alex was sure it was female; although he couldn't see how she looked, he could see her silhouette against the moon as it sat crouched down on the boulder. To Alex' surprise, she was wearing clothing. He was captivated by the silhouette of the creature infrond of him. Soft flowing curves told of a slender body, although the clothes in the backlight of the moon made it dificult to see. Her orange eyes were as bright as the moon and lit up from her dark silhouette. When she smiled, he could vaguely see bright white teeth. "Your mouth is open", she said. Alex saw two slightly longer than normal teeth that could have been fangs.

He repostured himself and swallowed. "I'm sorry. I have never seen anyone that looked like you before", he apologised.

She gave a soft, but warm laughter. "You are funny, not like others that I have seen. At some point they must have seen me, because they all started to run away." Suddenly she twisted her ears, listening to something. "I have to go, my pack is looking for me", she said and made ready to jump off the boulder.

"Wait, can I take a picture of you? I promise I won't show it to anyone" he asked and when he saw her doubting look he quickly added "I won't use the flash, so no bright lights."

She sat back down again. "How long will it take?" she asked. Alex shook his head while he changed the settings of his camera. "It wil only take a second. "She looked a bit puzzled on how he was going to do that in a second, while he set the camera in front of his eye and took a couple of pictures.

"I really have to go now",she said and leaped off the boulder. "Next time we meet show it to me, okay?" She dashed away through the grass.

"When will that be?"he shouted his question after her and further in the field he saw her silhouette come up from out of the grass pointing up to the moon. Then she disappeared again.

Alex looked at the picture he’d taken. She looked almost human, except for the tail, the bright orange eyes and her ears. He stared in the direction she had disappeared in, wondering and filled with questions.

vampire

… Let me ask you a question. Do you believe in vampires? I'm not talking about those in films or books nor the bats but real breathing human looking vampires.
I can tell you that I didn't until a few weeks ago. I'm no different from the rest of you out there besides the fact that I'm a good for nothing sitting at home looking for a job and being single. But let's put that aside and let me tell you what happened during the last few weeks. Weeks in which i had to throw my world and beliefs upside down. So a few weeks ago I went out into the city to have a drink. every now and then you need to get out there and be among people, you know. The evening was uneventfull and after some drinks it was closing time for the bar and time for me to go home. And if you might wonder: yes there were beautiful women in the bar but the loser that i am doesn't go to them to pick one up or talk to them, I'm a very shy guy, what can i say. Anyway, I walk outside to my bike and unlock it. For some reason I decide to take a different route home than I normally would. On this route there is a small park next to the canal that goes through the city. In the park I stop at a bench and sit down to enjoy the stars because I didn't feel like going home just yet. Not much later I can see a woman walk towards me from the other side of the park. As she comes towards me I feel a cold chill run down my spine. I would imagine that it would somewhat be similar to staring at a hungry lion without the fence you have in a zoo. I ignored the feeling because what reason would I have to fear this woman? That's what any normal person would think too. Right? As she came closer I could see that she looked like she was drunk. Her footing unstable and on top of that she looked pale. There were some shouts behind her outside of the park, when she was close to me she collapsed. Startled by this I jumped up to help her back up not realising what i was doing. It was as if my body moved out of its own accord. Slowly and carefully i pick her up and set her next to me on the bench while I check if she has any cuts from the fall. She whispers something what I can't quit understand. I lean a bit closer to her to better hear what she has to say when I notice the blood on her clothing. Before she has an other chance to repeat what she said I start looking for the source of the blood. As I'm aboute to open up her blouse a bit to find a wound she grabs my arm. Taken by surprise I take a step back only to notice that the woman has a very strong grip. She looks up at my face and then at my arm. "I'm sorry." I can softly hear as she lets go of my arm and fastens her blouse. "Your wounded." I'm stating the obvious, a bit perplexed by the pained look in the womans eyes. Her eyes get a look like 'no shit sherlock' as she beckons me to sit down again next to her as she sits down aswell. She leans her head against my shoulder and closes her eyes. "Will you let me sit like this for a while?" her question is very hard to hear but I keep sitting still as a response. "What happend?" I manage to ask after a few minutes of silenceBut before she can reply I get to see the source of the shouts I heard earlier. Even before I get the chance to react the woman grabs my face and looks me deep in my eyes. "Don't let them get me." Even though I don't see her lips move I can heard the faint plea for help. I try to think of something while the men look at us from the entrance of the park. I wrap my arm around the woman while glancing at the men to see if they buy my pathetic attempt to fool them. Seriously it was the only thing I could come up with. Yes, I could have kissed her but I didn't know if she would allow that kind of forwardness from me. You tell me what else I should have done. I'm sure you probably would have done the same if you were in my position.The woman got even closer to me in the pretent that we were a couple that wanted to be together and not be disturbed by others. I can hear one of the two swear that they have lost some woman. The other trying to calm the other by saying that she couldn't have gone far. Both the woman an I keep still and look over the water in the hope the men wouldn't come over to ask if we had seen a woman. The men are hesitating whether or not to ask us if we have seen the woman they are looking for. The woman somehow reads their decision before they do and leans over to kiss me. The men had started to walk in our direction from the moment the woman kissed me and, as surprised as I am, I can see them stop. "You have to kiss me back to make it believable." she whispers as she notice that I haven't recovered from the surprise yet. Yanking myself back I do as the woman says without thinking and kiss her back. As I think back about it now I guess that the men were really desperate because they recovered aswell and walked towards us. The woman moved a bit before the men were close enough to us that there might be a chance they see the blood on the blouse of the woman. I expected them to ask us if we might have seen someone come by but the men kept on walking until they were a few metres away on our other side. "She couldn't have come by here, she would have attacked those two." I couldn't make out which of the two men said that, but I got an other shiver down my spine as the men walked back again to the entrance of the park.

I know what you're thinking. Now that the men are gone are you going to take her home? I'll get to that later. The men gave us one final look at the entrace before disappearing from our view. Unsure what I was supposed to do i stopped kissing and looked into those beautifull eyes of that woman. I really wanted to know what was going on but I also didn't want the kissing to end. Who can blame me, I mean, what would you think? Me who is a good for nothing sitting at home being single suddenly finds himself liplocked with a woman of whom he could only have dreamt of in his wildest dreams. Would you want something like that to end? Anyway she looked back at me and gave me a innocent little smile. I felt my heart melt but at the same time I became aware of that chill that had been running down my spine. I move my lips in an attempt to ask what that was all about. By 'that' I mean the men, you know, I know what the kissing was about, that was to hide from the men but, why were they after her in the first place. Ok, now that that is clear back to topic. So I tried to ask what was going on. Together with that smile of hers she layed a finger on my lips and then moved her head in closer again. I, who still couldn't belief my luck, closed my eyes again in anticipation for her lips on mine. That happend, only not the way I had expected. She bit my lower lip. I felt a sharp pain and I shuddered. A bit shocked i looked at her. She still had her innocent smile but something had changed in her eyes. They seem to be fixed on my mouth. "Why did you do that?" I asked a bit shocked. I know its a great way to have a woman leave you if you ask something like that, but honestly, it really hurt. It was not like a normal cut or anything. She split my lip. The smile on her face disappeard when I raised my hand to feel if there was any bleeding. I could see a little droplet of blood on the tip of my fingers when I removed them from my lip to look at what ever would be on them. "I'm sorry." She whispered as she sat back normally next to me. "Forget this. What is going on? Why were these men after you?" I asked. I didn't want her to leave just yet. She was beautiful and we just made out. It would be wierd to send her away or leave myself, wouldn't it? Right? I couldn't anyway. "Because of this." She whispered with a guilty look on her face as she pulled her blouse from her chest and looked at me. The blouse jerked me back out of the clouds for as far I was still on them in the first place. "You're wounded." I blurted out suddenly remebering that her blouse was coverd with it. In the distance i can here sirens aproching. the woman gave me a smile, if it was sencere or more a look like 'ah poor naief boy' i still dont know, and shook her head. At the time i couldnt wrap my head around it why she had an other persons blood on a specific place of her blouse and not on the rest of her body. now i know better. "its just a scratch." i think she said. there was no way a mere scratch would cause so much blood. would you agree with me? yes? my mind was making overtime thinking on what to do next. ask her to come home with me, leave her here on her own devices or bring her to a hospital? i know i should have done the last thing with all that blood but she said it was just a scratch and i didnt want my time with her to end just yet.


Unable to make up my mind I move around a bit uneasily, I also had that chill that went down my spine. Last time it had stopped, now it hadn't since she made my lip bleed. Thinking of my painful lip made me touch it again without thinking to much about it. The bleeding had stopped but it still hurt. If she felt my uneasyness or not, I don't really know but she layed her head against my shoulder again. "Do you live close by?" she suddenly asked. Could she be thinking of coming home with me and continue where we had stopped when the men left? Before I could answer she already stood up to face me. She seemed to have a better footing than before, like she shook off her drunkeness. "It will be a bit problematic if i walked around town like this." I couldn't argue with that statement, if somebody were to see her like that they definitly would involve the police and call an ambulance. "Are you sure your okey?" I managed to ask, still hesitating if it wouldn't be better to bring her to an hospital. "I will be if you lend me your coat and let me clean up a bit at your place." I swear that was what she said. I hadn't told her if i lived close by or not, but she had already decided that she was coming home with me even before I decided it. Her attitute had changed a bit aswell, she was more confidant than before. I was sure that she would change her mind halfway to my home and would say "Hey you're a nice guy but I think I'll go to my own home afterall." But she didn't. After I handed her my coat to cover up the blood on her blouse we walked back home. Along the way I could not help thinking that I might get lucky, I'm still a guy afterall. So yes, I took her home and looking back on it, it might have been my biggest mistake, but I wasn't thinking of that at the time.
At this time I do have to tell you that the myth of vampires needing permission to enter a home seems to be true. But it could also be that I have a the belief that if somebody wants to hurt me won't be able to enter, this is also only my belief so I could be wrong. In any case the woman stayed infront of my door waiting. "What is wrong?" I ask when I saw that she is still standing outside when I had taken off my shoes and opened the door to the livingroom. "Can I come in?"she asked, she still sounded confidant but for some reason she didn't step over the threshold until I invited her in. I knew these myths form tv and all but I still didn't link her behavior to that of a vampire because in my defense I didn't knew that they were real at the time. I was a bit confused about why she would ask me such a question. "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have brought you over." I answered while I dropped my wallet, phone and keys in the bowl on the table. After some hesitation the woman stepped through the front door with a look on her face that she might expect something to happen at any moment. I, in my infinite wisdom, tried to make a joke out of her reaction. "Don't worry it's not like you're going to be killed if you didn't have my permission." I said from the living room. Not my smartest move ever, I have to admit and I realized that when I saw her face. I'm not sure what the expression meant at the time, but I could see that she didn't think it was funny. "I'm sorry. Bad joke." I said quickly, in the hope to save some of my already virtually non-existing dignity. The woman came into the living room looking around while she held my coat in her hand. "I'm afraid it's has become stained." she said.


Her voice seemed a bit different from before, almost playful, like she would have dropped her stockings while sitting in a chair with her legs open for a nice view and than saying oops. But I didn't realise it at the time what went through her mind... and I still don't know when i think about it. "Just drop it on the chair there. I'll wash it tomorrow." I said in my infinite ignorance while pointing to a chair in the corner of room. I walked to the bathroom and pulled out a blanket that she could use after cleaning up. "You want anything to drink after you cleaned up?" I asked as I turned around to hand over the blanket, only to find out that she was standing right behind me. Before I could do anything she was already kissing me. To be honest with you I could discribe what happened after that, but it has been kind of a blur, as if you're watching what was happening on tv or from an other room instead of really experiencing it. At some point I fell asleep. If it was after the love making or during I don't know but I passed out. Yes you're reading it correctly. I passed out. Now the next day I woke up. My head felt ten sizes too big for my skull, my lip was still cut up and I had my right wrist wrapped in bandage. At first I thought it was all a dream, of coarse until I saw the bandage and felt my lip. I was thinking by myself at the time 'if I have all this, then the woman should still be here aswell. I mean  it would be a bad joke if she wasn't here.' As it turned out she was gone and it wasn't a bad joke. I walked into the living room again to see if she was there, but instead I found my writing pad lying on the table with a piece of paper on top. The paper said: "Thanks for everything. See you around." She didn't leave a name or a way to contact her. Just that. And with that my first contact with a vampire was over. I didn't know at the time she was one, until I unwrapped my wrist later that day. Little did I know I would have more dealings with her, but that I'll save that for next time. Unless she herself pays you a visit first.

Beat

I am standing on the side of the stage. Nerves are raging through my body while other players are standing on the stage in the spotlight doing their performance. The neckband of the guitar hanging around my neck feels heavy. The curtains drop and stage hands spring into action to setup the stage for us. Setting up drums, mic stands and keyboard. I grip my guitar a bit tighter then necessary and we all go to our places on the stage. We only get an short look at each other before the curtains go up again.
Then it's time, the curtains go up and the drums start playing the rhythm of our first song followed by me who is playing the bass. The keyboard and finally the guitarist completes the sound of our song. The lights blind me when the curtains are completely up and they make it difficult for me to look beyond them. Although we can't see past the lights the sound does and gives us the feedback we want to hear. The song appeals to the public. The sound of screaming people reaches us as the song ends and we catch our breaths for a moment. We glance a look at each other and on their faces I can see how I feel, knowing they can also see it on my face. The fear that we had at the beginning is gone and was replaced by happiness and joy. Without waiting we start our next song. The rest of the concert goes by in a flash leaving only the memory of the musical beat from the songs resonating from our bodies and instruments into our very beings with the cheers from the croud as support.

Ghost lullaby

In the empty room on the end of the hallway this time, in another room the next or in the hallway itself the time after that. People have come to the place before and all have claimed to have heard it. A strange sound on moonless nights like a soft breeze of the wind. Others claim it's like a musicbox that makes soft plinking sounds but it's always a strange tune. When you try to look for it the sound moves or disappears only to reappear somewhere else. The sound both follows and is followed by you as you walk through the place. The longer you stay in the place you get the feeling the sound gains volume as though amplified by the walls around you. It gives you the feeling that you are getting closer to the source. The sound now fills the room you entered but still is it impossible to tell what it is, although you get the feeling that you know it. It keeps luring you to the center of the room, where the feeling of familiarity is coming from. As you try to figure out where you heard the sound before you come in the center of the room and you close your eyes to focus on the sound. Slowly your mind fills with flashes of memories of the past, except it's not your past. Although the memories have a calming effect they are laced with an eery edge as if something bad is going to happen. You open your eyes again and look around the room to find the source of the sound but you can't find anything. Although the room has been empty for a long time you can still see what used to be in the room, as if the images are carried by the sound. Then the sound grows more familiar and your feeling of unease grows as you still can't find the source. The sound changes into a lullaby as it keeps awakening the memories that are not yours. You start humming along with the lullaby and as soon as you hear a voice you realise that it is your own that is singing along at first unclear but slowly gaining power. You notice that its an lullaby that you should not know. While this is happening the flashes of memories increase and your sences are on overdrive. Someone is coming up from behind you, or is it an memory? The line between present and past blurrs as the lullaby reaches its peak and you turn around. The air in the room grows cold the sound stops and everything turns black.

City of angels

They are all around as I walk daydreaming through the city. Unknown to me and themselves angels are walking around me, in the street I currently walk in or in the next street over. A Lady is helping an elderly woman crossing the street. She doesn't consider herself an angel but with a bit imagination I can see the white wings on the lady's back. To  the old woman she is an angel that helped her out. Not much later a young man helps up a girl that tripped. Again I can see the stereotype with wings. I think that people that help others can be considered one in one way or the other. If you look at it that way everybody is somebody's angels in a way and if everybody is an angel then is the entire city filled with them. A man that is sitting on a bench next to a girl that is talking to him with tearfilled eyes and the man then putting his arm around her in an attempt to comfort her while listening to her story. A way to be an angel to somebody just by listening to them and give them a vent out of their troubles. These are some of the best angels that there are, for they have infinetly broad backs to help carry a load of someone else. Although this city is filled with them there are those that stand out more than others. Be it with their actions or just being there at the right time and place. Their wings are more clear than others and we have to cherish them the most because in my eyes they are the angels to the angels. So daydream and see the wings for yourselves in your own city of angels for I'm sure that they are there. Unknown to you and themselves.

girl in the rain

I sit on a bench at a bus-stop waiting for the bus and staring out infront of me. On the other side of the street i see a girl. Radiant as the sun she seems unaware of the rain coming down or of her surroundings. Her moves surprise me and catch my attention. Two quick steps forward followed by a jump just before a pirouette. Unaware of her surroundings she passes people that look at her with as much surprise on their faces as on mine. One leg goes up to her back as her upper body moves down. Then she moves up again, lowering her leg. A slow pirouette and then two steps back. For some odd reason she keeps being stuck in my gaze with a dreamy look on her face. The rain intensifies and more people take shelter at the bus stop, forcing me to stand up in order to see her. I happily give my seat to an elderly lady and move a bit forward. Still she seems unaware of the rain as she continues her dance on the other side of the street. Her leg goes up again, this time infront of her while she leans back. Her hands land on the ground at the bottom of a puddel. A short pause. The bus announces its arrival with the sound of its diesel engine and I look away from the girl to see if it is the bus that I need. When I look back I see the girl is standing normally again and looking at me. The smile she shows warms me inside and makes me forget my surroundings only to be thrown back into reality by the bus that fills my view. In the bus I look at the other side of the street to see the girl making a bow and waving at me, before the bus takes me away from her.

forest of dreams

Lying in bed, you feel the sleep taking over your body. Slowly closing your eyes you ascend in your mind to the place of places. They rise before you as an ancient forest, dreams for you to pick from like you would pick a tree for christmas, although these trees are much bigger. The forest stretches out before you in every direction you look. A small breeze makes the leaves rustle as you look around. Trees you touch show a film, the embodyment of your dreams. In one you're a dog chasing after a ball that has been thrown, in another you're a manager holding a speech at a big banquet. Each tree, a different dream. But where good dreams exist bad ones do aswell, and you see some trees that look as if they were about to die. As you touch the tree you see why. In this dream you loose control over your car and crash into a bridge. Startled you take a few steps back from your dream. A dream of death, a dyeing tree, even in this quiet forest not everything is merry and good, even here bad things happen. But in this forest you can step back from the bad things. It's for you to pick your dreams out of this forest, good or bad. This is your dream forest

Angelic wings

Darkness surrounds me as I get the feeling that I'm falling. Even so, I also have the feeling that I'm not alone. I can hear the rustling of feathers beside me. Is someone trying to catch me? Or following me in that dark place just to feed on my remains after I've hit the bottom. A soft voice calls out to me but I can't hear the words. A warm sensation rushes through my body as an arm wraps around me. The sound of beating wings grows stronger, as if to slow me down. Slowly the wind that has been rushing past my ears dies down and I get the sensation of floating in the air. The voice from before is there again but I still don't hear any words. The sound of the birdlike wings captivates me, pushing any thought away. Feathers touch my hair as I slowly feel the warmth of the body that caught me. Even though I can't hear the voice I know that it's there to complete me and help me. My own personal angel.

passing hearts

Two people passing by on a street or square with the sun setting and the moon claming its place in the sky. In an instant their eyes lock and a spark flies. As fast as it happens it is over again.They walk on just to stop after a few steps.
‘Who was that?’ They turn around but can’t see the other in the crowd.  Both have the wish to see the other just one more time, to confirm it wasn’t a dream. As if moved by destiny the crowd splits apart and the two catch each other's eye again. Another spark flies between them before the crowd closes up. Love? Lust? Both? Or soulmates? Who knows.  Destiny moves in strange ways. For now they just pass each other, leaving each other's memory imprinted with their smell, their look and their hearts until destiny brings them together again.

battlefield survivor

Silence was the first thing I became aware of. Unaware that the battle was won. The last thing I could remember was the axe coming towards me and when I woke up again I was in the tent for the wounded and dying. The weird part of it was that I was the only one in there. I tried to move, sit upright but I was unable to, bound by my wrists and ankles to the bed. The tent opening went open and a couple of heads appeared. They looked familiar but the expression on their faces was a surprise and i saw that Happiness and fear were fighting on their faces. The heads disappeared again to make place for another one. Her I did know. She was the one that lead us on the battlefield. "You gave us quite a scare" was the first thing she said. Slowly she walked in and sat down on the side of my bed and after giving me a worried look, she started telling. Apparently just before the axe struck me something extraordinary had happened. The fear of dying had awoken a dormant power within me. Friend and foe died in a massive explosion that seemed to emanate from within me. It was the power of my people.

sun rays in the city

The darkness disappeared and the heavy rains that plagued the city became wind. Although there were still few people on the streets of the city I felt the change as something good. The rest that the city breathed after the violence of the storm was inspiring. The first sun rays touched my face and I closed my eyes to enjoy just their warmth. Thick droplets from the wet trees and the street shone golden in the light of the sun. An empty city in the first sun rays is a beautiful sight and for just a short moment you will imagine yourself in an abandoned city.

talking, thinking, standing

What would a statue think if it could?
Standing all day long on the same spot while people are walking by, taking pictures, laughing while pointing at you. Would a statue think "Leave me alone." or would it stand in position just for the pictures? It would be something extraordinary if you found a statue suddenly talking to you. Stone and iron that moves, making gestures – of course presuming that it’s not abstract art. It would be a bit weird if abstract art were to suddenly be walking down the street. Me personally, I wouldn't want that. For what I'm concerned it’s better that statues can't talk or think but just stand.