Darkness The Diary of Samantha Owen

by Ariadna Marrero Saavedra

  Darkness

  The Diary of Samantha Owen

  Ariadna Marrero Saavedra

  To my small family, with all my love.

  Prologue

  Eric could be found sitting at the seashore, his gazed fixed on the horizon, remembering the good moments with his brother, until, just like all the other times he thought about him, the image of him dying in Eric’s arms appeared, unable to do anything to help. He felt powerless and fragile, something completely unthinkable for a son of the night. For this reason, in that instant, he decided to forget all of that suffering once and for all. He convinced himself that he must write a letter, venting all to he who had been his greatest confident up until his death two weeks ago. Words started to sprout in his mind and were being expressed on paper when he heard his new roommate, Gabriel, shouting from a distance. He could not understand what he was saying until he arrived by his side. He was euphoric.

  “I have found her.” He said with a smile that he could not withhold.

  Eric didn´t want to pay any attention to him, he had said the same thing on various occasions and, as far as girls were concerned, he had never got it right yet.

  “This time it is true,” he determined harshly, “I know she is the one.”

  Eric didn´t like him, he wished to be alone. He didn´t understand why he was his new roommate, all he desired was the impossible, to have his brother back and not some stranger trying to save his life in case of danger, as dictated by law. He had been searching for his lost princess for three years, but since he had been with Gabriel five different girls had been brought to him and each error brought with it, its punishment upon the soul. Eric continued to look ahead distracted, while Gabriel went off in search of the love he believed to have lost years ago. Gabriel was strong and distant but when he believed that he had found his true love, he transformed into a different man. He appeared to be bewitched by her charms even though he had only seen her once. He walked through the dark streets searching for the girl he had been pursuing all day, until he found her house and he prepared to remember his splendid love. Meanwhile, Eric secretly followed him; he could not allow their mission to be placed in danger. If it were not the true princess, they would have to return to the kingdom and he had no desire to return to that ill-omened place from which he only wished to escape. He saw Gabriel enter through a window and stealthily close it. He retreated and hid so as to remain unseen, he felt frustrated for having the burden of this young man and his insane acts. He seemed bored and too suspicious of him from events in the kingdom. But when he saw her appear under the light of the moon, his negative thoughts vanished, falling enchanted by the sweet look of the girl that his cursed mate spoke with.

  “She is the same angel,” he whispered to himself.

  He could not take his eyes off of her; she had hypnotized him as no one had before. Seeing them come out to the street, he stayed hidden in the shadows, observing the beauty of the innocent young girl as they moved towards the sea.

  DARKNESS

  The Diary of Samantha Owen

  Chapter 1

  I had always asked myself what is there in the darkness. Recently I found out and I would like to share it with you. You all have the right to know what is behind the shadows.

  One hot summer’s day I found myself sitting at my desk, in front of the window, enjoying the light breeze that came in from the sea. Glued to my laptop, as the whole previous month, I searched for information on myths and legends. Every day I looked at the same pages, hoping to find something new that I had not seen on my last visit, but it never happened. For as much I spent hours online, my searches were reduced to sporting myths and legends and very little more. I never found what I was looking for. It was so difficult to find something related to the shadows and the darkness of the night, myths of fantastic personages… I began to believe that they only existed in my imagination, but I was sure that there had to be something more, something like me. I did not consider myself to be normal, although I would never say that to anyone. My eyes were already red from looking at the screen when a page appeared, its title in the header: Legends of the night. It caught my attention and I was about to open it when I heard a noise close to me. I looked straight forward and saw a completely white cat with blue eyes staring at me. Since I had started my search for information, I had seen this cat every day, looking at me, as though he too wanted answers. I moved slowly towards it and lifted my hand to try and stroke him, but it displayed so much fury that he scratched me, leaving my hand bleeding. I ran to the bathroom to wash myself. I lifted my head and looked at my reflection in the mirror, I had to get out of here, I had spent too much time locked up. Anne had punished me, but I am not the most obedient. So I decided to go for a walk to clear my mind…

  I arrived home at night, ready to get into bed. As I lost my gaze on the ceiling, I analyzed the day and the strangeness of my feelings. I remember having had the sensation of being followed at all times, but when I turned around to see who was there, the presence disappeared.

  The light of the moon entered through the window, right in front of my bed. When I fixed my sight on the desk below I could see something. “What I am seeing?” I asked myself. I was being to feel afraid. I remained very still without knowing what to do. But when my eyes adapted to the dim light and I could see well enough, I discovered that the question was not what, but who? I froze, stupefied, amazed and almost intimidated to see how this being was looking at me. He was sitting on the table, with his hands resting on it, looking intensely at me. He inspected me up and down until his eyes found mine. I felt frozen, this was absolutely astonishing. And all this in darkness!

  He was dressed completely in black and his t-shirt marked every muscle that surrounded his body, entirely defined and strong; prepared to fight, if the circumstances required, at any instant. His face had perfect lines and his hair was as dark as his clothes. He seemed to me as a banished angel from heaven; somber, yet attractive at the same time. All of a sudden he spoke as if he knew who I was:

  “What are you looking at with such eagerness?”

  He showed a hint of a mischievously perfect smile. I hadn´t realized, but unconsciously I had sat down on the bed and was inspecting him with great curiosity. Of greatest impact was the fact that I had not felt afraid at any time, he seemed familiar to me.

  Seeing that I didn´t respond to his question, he asked another.

  “Would you like to come with me?”

  “Yes”, I replied, without doubting.

  That instant we could be found climbing through the window that led to the sidewalk of my street. He started to walk and I followed him.

  With the light outside I could see more clearly. Tall, fair skin, perfect shoulders, I hadn´t seen his eyes yet. And just at that moment, in my mind, sparked up a debate and a series of questions.

  What was I doing there, in the darkness, walking behind a complete stranger who had entered into my room without my permission, which hadn´t even remotely worried me, something which should have been alarming at three o´clock in the morning? Somehow I knew that he was not normal, his physique was convincing, he seemed to be human, but I knew he wasn´t. Nonetheless, I was fascinated, I was not afraid of him; on the contrary, I was attracted to him. I wanted to speak to him, I was curious to know who he was and all about him. My only desire in that moment was to follow him.

  He stopped suddenly in the middle of a dimly lit park and sat on a bench. The streets were deserted, but I didn´t care, I sat beside him and I looked him straight in the eyes.

  It could not be. I almost fainted when I saw his eyes. They were violet with shimmers of green; precious, pro
found and intriguing.

  “Who are you? I asked.

  “Do you not know who I am?”

  “Are you an angel?”

  “No”, he replied between laughs.

  “So, what is your name and what were you doing in my room?”

  “My name is Gabriel Shepard. I was only observing you.”

  He was pensive, as though he could not believe that I didn´t know him.

  “Where are you from?”

  “I live in a place faraway”

  “And, what are you doing here?”

  “Well, you see, you caught my attention this morning and I wanted to meet you.” He lied.

  “So, you have spent the whole day following me. It was you?

  “Exactly.”

  “But, who are you?

  “Too many questions for one night”, he laughed pleasantly.

  “Come on!” I said with a displeased look. “Let´s see, you are not a wizard, nor do you look like a vampire, nor a werewolf, so what are you then?

  “You will find out later.”

  “Why have I not seen you before if you have been following me all day?”

  “Because I hide in the shadows, darkness is my ally.”

  He said this in a sinister tone, so I didn´t ask again, but albeit it tormented me the idea of not knowing what he was. He invited me to walk and we arrived to the beach. It was a perfect summer’s night, warm and this month of august I had not had the time to enjoy the sea. Curiously, as though he had read my mind, he whipped me up into the air and started running towards the water until plunging into the water like two small children. We came out of the water laughing. It was extraordinarily comforting, but it was very hot. I took my shoes off in order to feel the fresh sand between my toes. I turned to ask if I was crazy and bumped into him. He was five centimeters from me, too close, I thought.

  He started to ask me questions, as if he wanted me to remember something.

  “Where are you from?”

  “How do you know that I am not from here?”

  “Well, if seems as though you are from here, although you appear to be from nowhere”.

  “Because I am not from here, I guess. As long as I can remember I have continually changed city or country until arriving here. My adoptive mother, Anne, is the executive director of a multinational so we are never in one place for much time. Sometimes I long for some of the places we have lived in, but the place where I really felt at home was in New York. There, you can always find people to share your interests and your dreams with. Although Santa Barbara wasn´t bad either. I liked it for the diversity that you can find in the street, but Anne never let me go out alone at night, I hate that.”

  I turned my head to one side, thinking of all the people I had left behind and the opportunities that I could have made use of and didn´t. I had diverted from the subject and when I returned to apologize, he was only two centimeters from my face. He surprised me, he caught me off guard. He was very concentrated, searching for something in my eyes when he said.

  “Why don´t you remember me Elizabeth? It is me.”

  Before I could answer and tell him that that wasn´t my name, he kissed me. It was an intense, lustful kiss, it seemed to absorb me, but I could not withdraw from him. It was so sensual, so vicious, it was like having something forbidden in your possession, knowing that it was wrong but even then, continuing for the simple reason of wanting to. I had never felt anything like it. It lasted until he separated from me, waking me from that mischievous dream. I opened my eyes and he was no longer there. He had gone, leaving me in my uncertainty, with thousands of questions unanswered.

  I looked around with the hope of seeing him, but I didn´t find anyone. It was just me on a deserted beach, drenched from head to toe. Around about five I arrived home, with a thousand doubts, trying to find logic behind everything that had happened during the night, but there was none.

  The following day I felt like something had changed inside of me; the night seemed like a distant, surreal dream.

  I spent the day wandering through the streets where I had been with Gabriel. Like any other Saturday morning, I went to the park full of children, but I found no trace of him having been there. I strolled along the beach of crystal clear water where my life had changed that evening, in one last effort to demonstrate that what had happened to me was real, yet still I found no signs of his presence. On my way along the beach I sat on the sand. With a lost gaze on the horizon I let my mind wander, considering my destiny, the importance of the earth, what I would do when I finished my studies… No profession called my attention. I only ever wanted to go out at night and look at the star filled sky in search of answers. However, that day I had more questions than usual. Without more delay, I got up and went home, prepared food for Anne and called my friend Lucy to go to the movies. I had to distract myself or my head would explode from thinking so much about Gabriel.

  She accepted and for a change wanted to see a scary movie, I didn´t understand them myself, all those special effects, but she came out from them with more adrenalin than she needed. To my surprise, the film lasted longer than expected. “Better for me”, I thought. However, it was now nine o´clock in the evening and I had nothing to do. I was lying in bed with my gaze lost on the ceiling whilst I listened to music.

  I don´t remember how, but I fell asleep. I was wakened by the gentle breeze that came through the window. It was open and the light of my bedroom off. I called Anne, she did not respond. A little later I got up and saw her asleep on the couch; she always arrived tired from work. I assumed that she had switched the light off.

  I returned to my room ready to put the light on, but when I was reaching out with my hand to flick the switch I saw a young man sitting on my bed. I stood paralyzed, I quickly thought of Gabriel.

  “It hasn´t been a dream” I determined. But it wasn´t him, he was similar yet totally different at the same time. He was looking with a squint smile that was a pure reflection of mischief.

  “Are you going to stay there?”

  “How have you entered?”

  “Through the window, if not the window wouldn´t be open?

  That was something that I hadn´t thought of when I saw Gabriel. The previous night the window was closed.

  I sat on the bed, ready to dream as the night before and do it well.

  “What are you called?” I asked.

  “Eric.”

  “Do you mind if I turn the light on to be able to see you?”

  “If you like,” he answered without stopping smiling.

  I turned it on. I had a strange sensation when I looked at this face, very different from when I saw Gabriel for the first time. I knew that they were the same, but when Eric fixed his eyes on mine for the first time I knew we were connected.

  His skin tone was darker that Gabriel´s, his hair was messier and its color was a light brown with blond tones. He was strong too, dressed in black the same as Gabriel. He had fleshy and seducing lips. However, the most amazing feature was his eyes; they were green with glimmers of silver, more captivating and deeper than the other boy. He had a wild catlike stare, but sweetness could be seen inside his pupils.

  After this, I didn´t know what to say. I think I thought I was hallucinating or something similar, but I wasn´t. Eric started to speak.

  “So I can see that what I have been told is true.”

  “What have they told you?

  “How beautiful you are.”

  “Thank you,” I replied, but “who told you that?”

  “Everybody.”

  “What?”

  “Don´t tell me that Gabriel didn´t tell you anything.”

  “I don´t understand.”

  “You see, Gabriel and I are not like other people and well, you are like us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Have you ever felt different to others? Have you felt that you don´t belong in any place of all those you have been in. That you are auto sufficient, you
don´t need other peoples company, you love them but you quickly forget them. You like darkness, the night…?

  “Yes.”

  “That means that you are not like them, you Samantha are not human.”

  “My real name is Samantha? I prefer Angelina,” I answered smiling.

  He left me some time to absorb and the truth is that I didn´t feel so bad after all. I had always felt the way he described.

  “But if I am like you, why don´t I have eyes like you or Gabriel?”

  “All in due course, first you have to know many more things.”

  This said we went outside into the street. The truth is that I loved going out at night, although I didn´t do if often for the rules imposed upon me by Anne. I followed him the same way I did Gabriel the previous evening and as we walked I observed his graceful manner of walking, I found it sensual. This time we headed to a different place.

  I was about to ask where he was taking me when he stopped.

  “Here it is.”

  “Where are we?”

  This is the house of a being that will show you everything, who better than Rutherford to explain the situation to you.

  “Is he like us?” I asked nervously.

  “No, but he helps us a lot,” he smiled satisfied with his answer.

  We were on the corner of a narrow, dark alleyway, in front of a house with tall, richly ornate wooden doors and ivy all along the wall. He knocked on the door and seconds later it opened. A man dressed in a black suit jacket appeared, he was about 50 years old.

  “Come in kids, how are you Eric?”

  “Captivated by this beauty.”

  “Samantha! please Eric that is no way to present a lady and even less, this lady! I thought you were coming with Gabriel, said the man with the grey beard and light-colored eyes who was before me.

  “Hello, how do you know my name?” I wanted to know.

  “Darling, all the world knows it, but come in, don´t stay out there.”

  We entered in to a welcoming two floored house. Passing by the wooden staircase we were lead to a small room where there was a large sofa and three smaller armchairs. I sat on one of the smaller ones and Eric in another one by my side. The ceilings where high and the wood made sure the place felt comforting. The house did not have excessive decoration; there were no paintings on the wall. Only chairs, a small table and a heater. I remained looking at the professor for a moment, his large and strong body contrasted with his face that made him look older than he was. And his small grey beard was out of tune with his elegant way of dressing.