• The Other Side

    Prologue:

    It was five-thirty in the morning in January when Father Nathan looked out from his window and discovered a little bundle resting on the doorstep of the monastery. With a worried expression, he slid on his jacket and shoes, for it was freezing outside, and went to open the door. Looking down upon the bundle, he espied a thin envelope sticking from the folds in the thin fabric. As Father Nathan lifted the bundle, he gasped with shock. The letter was covering the face of a baby. He lifted up the precious little human and brought it inside, cooing and rocking it in his arms. Setting the baby down, he gently pulled at the crease of the letter and opened the envelope. The letter was made of a delicate paper, crinkled at the edges, but with sloppy handwriting, as if the person writing was in a hurry. Father Nathan started to read:
    “Dear Father Nathan,
    I humbly come to your doorstep and leave my baby here for you. For all my life I have lived by the church, and I wish for my daughter to do the same. For personal reasons that I would never want my daughter to find out, even if she comes to hate me for it, I have decided to leave her with you, for I feel my life is coming to a tragic turn. If only things could have turned out better, I could be here for my daughter, but all the times I spent in the temple of the church could not have prepared me for this. I do not have much time before a monster that is chasing me finds me… I know that reasons for my sudden absence could be inferred from that so please, do not worry. Please prey for me, as I will pray for you, that the future will bring understanding between the parties that I am dealing with. I do not have enough time to say more.

    Your old friend,
    Serena    ”
    A tap resounded through the door. Father Nathan looked incredulously from the letter to the door, wondering if something came for his dear friend Serena’s baby girl. In fact, he wondered, could it be the child’s father, whoever he was? The tap came again, a gentle tap, seeming to not harbor any danger. Father Nathan slowly opened the door, seeing a tall shadowed figure looming in front of him. Red eyes glistened from its shadowed body, looking down at Father Nathan with obvious enmity. The form saw the letter crunched up in Father Nathan’s hand, and smiled.
    “So, she left her here,” the figure said with masked distaste, “One would think to be more smart in the placement of such a, precious item.”
    “Who are you?” Father Nathan asked in fear, “What is it you want with an innocent baby? You could not be its –“
    “Father? Ha! Of course, “The creature laughed maniacally, “Your friend Serena played with the devil, don’t you forget that. As a vampire, I should know what the devil is. Hmm… Listen. I shall let you, out of the kindness out of my heart, let you keep that little mutt, for all the vampires are migrating elsewhere, for some reason that eludes me, the pickings are still very lush here, “The vampire licked his lips as though remembering a recent meal, “However, if our clan ever comes back to this town, be prepared to die, with that girl too. I don’t need a little experiment I had at controlling a human to cripple me later, you understand?”
    “No, I don’t understand, not at all. You said you were a vampire?”
    With a movement as quick as a snake, the vampire lowered hid head down to eye level with Father Nathan and came dangerously close to his neck. Revealing fangs in a dark smile, he made a biting motion and glanced at the baby farther away in the front room. “I do not need a liability, Father. If I hear of anything going on with that girl over there, I will come personally and dispose of it. I could just come at any time as well. You just keep your guard up.”
    “What is your name, son?” Father Nathan asked, “I could help you.”
    The vampire said nothing, spit on Father Nathan’s shoes, and sauntered away, hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket. Father Nathan looked after him for a long time, until the baby girl started crying. Closing the door, he went over to the baby, concerned. He lifted up the bundle and stared into the girl’s eyes. What could have happened to cause this?, he thought, and kept walking around with the baby, all sorts of questions and thoughts raging through his mind. He wondered if Serena would be all right, why she was associated with that menacing figure, what would have happened to the baby, what happened to anything. One thing was for sure, vampires were indeed real, and dangerous. At this thought, Father Nathan hugged the baby closer to him, as though protecting its fragile body. How nice to be living in ignorance, totally unaware and not having a care about the dangers of the world, simply accepting everything, as a baby would. I will raise this baby with the church, and protect it as much as I would protect my flock, Father Nathan thought.
    “To show the faith that you might hold of this generation, your name will be Hope. In these coming years, your name shall serve you well.” Father Nathan took the baby up to the second bedroom and placed the sleeping bundle in the bed, covering it with more blankets. Making sure it was secure; he left Hope in her room and went to sleep himself, dreaming about what the future might bring.