Vampire's Valentine

by Rosette Bolter

  “Welcome again, Prudence,” a voice suddenly said behind her. “I knew you wouldn’t forget me.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  She whirled around, her heart racing out of her chest. A man was sitting at the table exactly where he had been when she’d first met him – this time reading a book instead of a magazine. But still not looking at her.

  “How have you been since we last spoke?” he asked. “Has life been turning out as you had hoped?”

  “Where the fuck did you come from?” Pru fired back. “There was no one sitting there before –”

  “And yet, here I am.”

  She took a step towards him. “Is it you? Is it –”

  “I’m Bastian Cane. So that would be a yes.”

  “Do you … own this place or something?”

  “It’s as foreign to me as anything else in your little world here,” Bastian replied. He glanced up. “Please, sit down. I have something for you.”

  With goosebumps running up and down her arms, Pru shivered. Then obliged his request.

  “For you,” he said, laying out a bouquet of roses. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  “I can’t accept those.”

  “Why not?”

  “They should be for your girlfriend.”

  “I want you to have them. If you don’t accept them, then I shall be offended.”

  Pru picked them up from the table, and clutched them tightly.

  “I need to know why you’re here,” she said. “The gate was locked.”

  “The same reason you are.”

  “No, that can’t be right,” Pru swallowed. “I just came here with a friend –”

  “You were with friends last time, were you not?”

  “I suppose –”

  “But now you’re alone here.”

  Pru squinted at him. “You haven’t aged.”

  “Of course I have,” Bastian replied. “I just happen to age, very well.”

  He put the book down. “I had hoped I would see you again,” he confessed. “That’s why I went out of my way to wait for you. I can’t tell you how please I am that –”

  Bastian suddenly stopped midsentence. His eyes lit up with a fierce burst of red light.

  “Fuck,” Pru exclaimed jumping out of the chair.

  “Who are you talking to?” a voice said behind her.

  She turned and was taken in her boyfriend Michael’s arms.

  “Pru? Did you not hear me?”

  “I’m talking to Bastian!” she exclaimed.

  As she turned around however, she was horrified to discover –

  “There’s no one there,” Michael said.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Where is he? What have you done with him? Where has he gone? No, Bastian! Please come back! Please be real…

  Prudence woke up with a shrill cry exiting her throat. She sat up in bed, tears streaming down her eyes, and reached out to the place beside her. “Michael?”

  His side of the bed was empty.

  Of course. It was bucks night and he was out with all his friends partying and getting hammered. Tomorrow was February 14, Valentine’s Day. Two years had passed since that crazy night in the maze garden, where she’d started hallucinating. Seeing things that weren’t real. Her doctor and Michael both agreed that the medication was helping since she hadn’t seen Bastian again in the real world, not even when she tried going back to the maze looking for him.

  Her dreams were another story.

  Getting out of bed and walking into the bathroom, Pru recalled how she had always believed she wasn’t hallucinating. The bouquet of roses he’d given her, were still there on the table. She had taken them back with her, but sometime afterwards Michael had found them and taken them away. Thrown in the trash. Or burnt in the yard. She never asked how he disposed of them.

  Something was drawing her back there. She could feel its ferocity.

  But she was committed to Michael. And she loved him. She was getting married to him tomorrow and even bigger than that … she was pregnant. Her daydream in the maze garden was over. But some nights she somehow couldn’t escape from it…

  “Leave me alone,” she whispered crawling back into bed. “I don’t want to dream about you anymore. Please. Please, Bastian. Let go of me…”

  And so she slept.

  In the morning she felt better.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The crowd had gathered around the mirror. In the centre was Prudence, her golden hair flowing over the whiteness of her wedding dress. Everyone was smiling, telling her how beautiful she looked. She was glad of a few things, one being that she was only a month pregnant which meant that her figure still looked good in the dress. She felt anxious though when she recalled that Michael wanted to announce the pregnancy after the ceremony. It all seemed too much.

  And yet it was supposed to be the happiest day of all.

  There were still a few hours before the cars would come to take them away. Prudence spent them mostly outside on the veranda, in the shade. It had actually turned out to be a warm Valentines this year, and with the sun came optimism. Gone were the dreams of what came before. Gone were the illusions and mirages and hallucinations. Gone was uncertainty.

  Gone was the past.

  But just as she was settling in and feeling comfortable, a black car pulled up in the driveway, and a person got out, a person she hadn’t seen in years.

  “Christine?” she called warily.

  Suddenly everyone stood up and clapped their hands together, yelling SURPRISE!

  Pru ran down the steps of the veranda and put her arms around her old friend, hugging her.

  “Oh my God,” she said. “Thank you! Thank you so much for coming!”

  “Everyone pitched in,” Christine admitted. “For the travel fare and everything.”

  Pru turned back to the people on the porch. “Thank you so much!”

  More clapping and cheering. Christine introduced her husband to Pru.

  “This is Raymond.”

  Raymond smiled, taking her hand and kissing it lightly. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

  Prudence felt dizzy. It was all too surreal. She was about to faint.

  “Pru?” Christine said, grabbing hold of her. “Are you okay?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Pru steadied herself on the edge of their car.

  “Sorry if I gave you a fright,” Christine said. “I’m sorry we haven’t been in touch that much of late. But congratulations and everything.”

  “Huh?” Pru stammered.

  “For getting married.”

  “Oh. Oh, of course. Thank you.”

  “You look very beautiful,” she added. “He’s going to adore you.”

  “He better,” Pru replied.

  “So, shall we go inside then?” Raymond asked.

  “Uh…” Pru hesitated. “Can Christine and I take off for a little?”

  “What do you mean?” Christine asked.

  “So we can catch up properly. For like half an hour or so.”

  Raymond looked back to all the people waiting for them. “It’s your day today. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

  “Are you okay with that?” Pru asked Christine.

  “Absolutely,” Christine smiled. “Where do you want to go?”

  “I have somewhere in mind.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Oh my God,” Christine exclaimed as they pulled into the car park. “I remember this place. We were here for … something…”

  “It was Valentine’s Day,” Pru reminded her. “You were still with Dane then.”

  “Those were the days,” Christine laughed. “What are we doing here now?”

  “Stop the car. Then I’ll tell you.”

  They parked.

  Christine went into her glove compartment and pulled out a pair of shades. She slipped them on.

  “Can I ask you a question, Pru?”

  “What?”

  “Are you having sec
ond thoughts about today?”

  “You mean…”

  “Getting married.”

  Pru exhaled. “No. I mean, that’s impossible. I can’t. I’m … locked into this.”

  “God, you are having second thoughts.”

  “No, I…”

  “Pru look at me.”

  She looked.

  “What the fuck are we doing here?”

  “Okay… Well, I’ll try and get this out quickly. Do you remember how I said I met up with this guy in the centre of the maze…?”

  Christine shook her head. “No.”

  “He asked me to be his valentine?”

  “But you were with Scott. Now him, I remember.”

  “Scott was chasing me. We’d broken up. And I ran back into the maze.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Do you remember?”

  “Vaguely. What about it?”

  “I met this dude in the middle of the maze. He was … so weird.”

  “So what?” Christine blurted out. “Did you see him after that?”

  “Michael forced me to come back here a couple of years ago. It was Valentine’s Day again. But it was night time. And I wound up going into the maze…”

  “So?”

  “He was there. That same guy. Bastian. He was waiting for me.”

  Christine stared at her. From beneath the sunglasses, her eyelids twitched.

  “Why was he waiting for you?” Christine finally asked.

  “He had roses for me,” Pru said. “It all happened so fast but … Michael found a way in and then he just disappeared. Michael said I was crazy, imagining things.”

  “But have you imagined anything else?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Have you been having any other psychotic episodes?”

  Pru sighed. “I don’t think so.”

  “So what’s the big deal then?”

  “What if he was real? You believe me, right? That he could be real. Because you were there when –”

  “Pru, darling. He’s just some guy. Real, not real, it doesn’t make a difference. If you love Mike then that’s all that matters.” She paused. “Do you love him?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can’t hear you.”

  “Yes, dammit.”

  “Then case closed. Go marry Mike and forget about this.”

  “I just have this weird feeling,” Pru said. “Like … what if he’s still there … waiting for me?”

  “After how many years?”

  “Would you come with me? To see if he’s there?”

  “God, you’re serious.” Christine turned her attention towards the maze. “He’s in there, is he?”

  Pru nodded.

  “I’ll go with you, sure. Why not?”

  “Okay. Cool. I just need a minute. Let’s not rush this.”

  “I must ask though,” Christine began, “what happens if we do find him? Are you going to skip your wedding today to romance this stranger?”

  “I just need to see that he’s real. And I didn’t make him up.”

  “And you’ll still marry Mike?”

  “Yes. I have to.”

  “Why do you keep saying that?”

  Pru touched her stomach. “No reason.”

  “I think I’m starting to worry about you,” Christine said. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you really shouldn’t go through with it if you’re not sure. It doesn’t mean you have to break up with him…”

  Pru suddenly felt angry. “It was his fault.”

  “Who’s fault?”

  “Michael’s. His fault for bringing me back here.”

  “Do you want to do this then? Get it over with?”

  Pru took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m ready.”

  And as they got out of the car and sun shone down on them, Pru realized that she was glad to be back here, and glad to be with Christine.

  So much time had passed.

  But the heart never forgot.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Valentine’s Day Annual Contest

  Find the trophy in the centre of the maze and visit the teahouse to claim your prize

  Christine stepped away from the poster outside the maze’s entrance. “Guess they’re counting on couples not showing up two years in a row.”

  “I think it’s sweet,” Pru said.

  A young couple moved by them into the maze, eyeing her dress.

  “Going to a wedding later,” Christine said.

  They smiled nervously and moved on through.

  “That wasn’t him, was it?” she asked.

  “What?” Pru murmured. “Of course not. He’s much older.”

  “Not too much I hope.”

  “He would be now. It was funny how he didn’t appear to have aged last time I saw him. Michael said that was evidence of him being in my mind.”

  “Michael’s probably afraid of him being real,” Christine said. “Because then he’d have some competition.”

  Pru laughed, and caught herself by surprise. It felt good.

  “Shall we then?”

  Pru bowed her head and they entered the maze.

  Soon they were at near the birdbath.

  “Oh my God,” Christine said. “Remember how Elliot was trying to move that thing?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s not coming today is he?”

  “I invited him, but he didn’t respond.”

  “That asshole. Wonder why. Thought he’d love a good wedding.”

  “I heard he’s big in the theatre now,” Pru said. “Probably doesn’t have time.”

  “For an old friend, you make time,” Christine said. “Hell, I wasn’t even in the country.”

  “Do you like it over there?”

  “I do actually. Everything feels closer together over there. Here … it’s all spread out.”

  “And being married yourself?”

  “It has its ups and downs,” Christine admitted. “Raymond’s very career orientated as well, so I’m left home alone a lot of the time.”

  “Don’t you have a job? Or do you still go to school?”

  “I’m into self teaching. I don’t like doing courses or handing in assignments. But I learn things, you know.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’m just looking at projects. Stuff I might do. But … I get bored a lot.”

  “Sounds boring.”

  “Well, what do you do that’s so special?”

  Pru shook her head. “Not much really.”

  “You should come visit me. There’s a lot of cool places over there.”

  “I’d like that. Maybe.”

  They both smiled. It was clear how much they missed each other.

  And now they were at the dead end.

  Or otherwise, the false dead end.

  Pru put her hands into the leaves. “Are you ready?”

  “Okay,” Christine beamed.

  But then Pru’s fingers sank further. And she touched a wall.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “No!” Pru cried out. “It was here!”

  Christine reached out trying to find a way through the hedge. “There’s a wall behind it.”

  Pru whirled around. This was the right place. She was in the right place. Why couldn’t she get through here? Had they changed it?

  “It used to be here,” Pru protested. “It has to be here!”

  She through her arms into the nearby hedges, only to find the same wall blocking her.

  “Well, that’s that then,” Christine muttered.

  “Give me a boost,” Pru said.

  “What?”

  “Help me to see what’s on the other side of the hedge.”

  “Are you sure you want to –?”

  “Yes!” Pru cried. “Please!”

  Christine sighed and got herself into position. She hoisted Pru up so she could see over the wall.

  “Well?” Christine called to her.

  Pru couldn’t believe her eyes.

>   The colorful flowers. The small pond.

  The table and chairs.

  It was all gone.

  Just flat gravel laid bare. As if their garden had never existed at all.

  “I don’t understand,” Pru said climbing down. “They said we had to find the maze’s centre.”

  “Maybe they changed it.”

  Pru walked past her friend, and forced her way through the rest of the maze. Before long they came to an archway with roses hanging over head. There was a wooden table in the centre of the clearing and a middle aged woman was sitting behind it.

  “Hello,” she called. “Yes, you found it. Come here and take a trophy.”

  They went up to the table where she gave them a sheet of paper each which had a picture of a trophy printed on it. There was some further information about discounts and specials to be received on meals served up at the restaurant.

  “Excuse me,” Pru said.

  “Yes?” the woman nodded.

  “We were here a few years ago. You … used to have a different centre of the maze then. One with a pond and … flowers everywhere.”

  “Wow, you found that did you?” the woman said with surprise. “Hardly anyone found that thing. It was too well hidden. We got a number of complaints.”

  “So it’s all gone then?” Pru whispered.

  “Sadly, yes,” the woman said. “It was rather nice, wasn’t it?”

  “Ask her,” Christine said. “Ask her about your friend.”

  The woman leaned forward.

  “There used to be a man in the garden there,” Pru said. “His name was Bastian Cane. Did you ever meet him?”

  “No, I never…” the woman trailed off. “Oh, I think I know who you mean. Tall fellow. Very pale in the face. I saw him here a few Valentine’s Days. Now, he knew where the centre was. He said he was waiting for someone. He always looked so sad. But … that was a really long time ago.”