A lifetime of joy, an eternity of solitude

Even though the crescent Moon already took its place in the sky, the last of the Sun’s light was still quite visible in the far west. Over the snow covered mountain tops, red and orange danced with violet and yellow in order to create a rhapsody of colours, as a last tribute to a now passing day. It was an exquisite display of Mother nature’s beauty and grace. Pair of immortal eyes tried it’s best to savour every moment of her magnificent performance...

As the darkness, slowly but inexorably, crept westward, another set of lights joined the summer night stage. Stars came out in great numbers, effortlessly drawing their constellations on a cloudless sky and even the sickle of the Moon decided to shine a bit brighter, well aware of its important role in tonight's play. It was a night to behold and a shadow wearing figure had every intent to do so. Sitting on a large boulder, surrounded by thigh-high grass, Metetre allowed himself a satisfying sigh. His enhanced senses made it possible for him to perceive the night far better than any mortal could have imagined. Even the most distant stars shone brightly in his grey eyes and the gentle breeze was full of intoxicating smells. Even those, ever silent night creatures, that took pride in their stealth, were easily detected by his supernatural hearing. He was fully aware of his surroundings and he truly enjoyed every part of it.

He remembered an old human saying, that at the hour of one's reckoning, his whole life would flash in front of his eyes. Interesting thought, but still he dismissed it with a faint smile. Considering the amount of time he dwelt on Earth, he sincerely doubted that this night would be long enough, even for the highlights of his life. Yet still, as this was his last night alive, he could not fight the urge to relive some of those ancient memories once again.

And they were ancient indeed. His memories extended as far as 6000 years in the past. He served as chief steward for the king and queen of Kemet, a country that would later become known as Egypt. Memories of those times were now, at best, vague and indistinct but he knew he was quite happy back then. Through personal effort, in just a couple of years, he raised from a position of servant to that of a chief steward. His intellect was a powerful tool in that rapid success. With his new position came a certain amount of power and wealth but most importantly, it gave him an opportunity to meet the love of his mortal life. While orchestrating preparations for the king and queen’s anniversary of rule he met Dedyet who was just taken in the queen’s service as one of her chambermaids. In the next couple of months, they fell in love and got married in a ceremony where the king and the queen personally signed their wedding contract as witnesses.

It struck him as somewhat strange how he could not recall her face anymore, not even vaguely, but still, even after all this time, he could perfectly remember the smell of her hair. Even now, the scent of almond oil would produce knots in his throat. It was a blissful time indeed. A blissful time that abruptly came to an end when an ancient evil spirit overtook his queen turning her into the first of their kind. Soon after, once peaceful rulers of a prosperous empire, turned into ravenous beasts carried by an insatiable thirst for blood. Dedyet, as a queens chambermaid, was one of the first whose blood was drained in order to satisfy their otherworldly hunger. In a desperate attempt to avenge his wife, driven mad by grief, pain and horrors he had witnessed, Metetre single-handedly charged the once respectful rulers. Even though he failed miserably, as the power of those abominations was far too great for any man alive to face, his last thoughts were happy as he knew he would soon be reunited with his beloved Dedyet. Unfortunately, the afterlife was not meant for him.

Transition was not pleasant. In one moment he was dying, writhing in pain, in the next, he was force-fed the queens blood. And then the real agony began. He shivered remembering those first minutes. Her blood coursing through his veins, killing him over and over again, and at the same time healing him. It was a surreal experience, where pain, blood, life and death intertwined in order to create a new undead.

Those were unpleasant memories and he did not want them staining his final moments. He stood up from his rock, stretching his legs and focusing on the beautiful summer-night once again. The moon was high and the hour was dark, but he knew that the first signs of sunrise would soon appear on the eastern sky. Despite his resolve to take a step back from distant memories he found it hard not to think about the past.

The first several centuries after turning passed rather slowly. He spent his time serving his masters and hoping he would be given an opportunity to exact revenge for the murder of Dedyet. He did not become completely brainwashed and obedient vampire fledgeling they expected. Centuries turned to millennia before he succeeded in his quest. They say revenge is best served cold but his revenge came in a torrent of fire, burning the monstrous king and queen and most of their coven in a couple of minutes. Nasty thing that Greek fire!

As the centuries passed, he noticed his thirst for blood was lessening. He was never a mindless monster as his previous masters and their other “children” were to begin with. He thought it was Dedyet’s credit. As he was being turned, everything that made him human gathered around her image and stood strong before the invasion of demonic forces took over his body. He kept his sanity, even though his body became dependable on human blood to live. A strange combination, a human mind trapped in a vampire’s body. Yet, he had to admit, his sense of morality and ethic had softened a bit, he didn’t find it too hard to feed on blood, yet he would usually pick criminals for his meals. Now, as he had grown older and much, much stronger, he could go for months without tasting blood. He was near his limit now but it didn’t matter at this point, as he had already decided this would be his last day on Earth.

After living for 6000 years, he finally decided it was enough. It was not a spontaneous decision, but something that slowly sprouted in his mind over the last few decades. It was not that the world was changing too fast for him to adapt, he just didn’t want to adapt anymore. And truth to be told, he did feel worn out. 60 centuries can sure take its toll on one’s psyche.

He thought of humans next. He didn’t consider himself a human anymore, those days were long past, but still he felt an affection towards them. And not just the kind of affection humans feel towards a good hamburger. Yes, they were a source of food, but they were also so much more. To a certain degree, he actually envied them. Even though their lifespans were so absurdly short, they still managed to do so much with their given time, no matter how insignificant that time was. They were like a plague on Earth, destroying everything and anyone that stood in their way. In a mere century they polluted the whole planet and wiped out countless species. Globally speaking, he hated their guts. But when he watched them on an individual level, he would find them capable of compassion, love, altruism, art and so much more it made his head spin. And those were the feelings he missed dearly! Lately, more than ever before, he would catch himself longing for simpler times, when he was just a steward in the kings service, when he was just a normal man with a loving wife. Now, he was just a relic of a time long forgotten. Powerful and immortal though, but still a relic. He often thought how his masters took a lifetime of joy from him and in return gave him an eternity of solitude. And he grew tired of being alone, he grew tired of scheming, hiding and killing, he grew tired of endless nights. He wanted to live, he wanted to feel the warmth of the Sun on his skin, he wanted to laugh, to be sick, to get better, to be sad, to be happy, to be surprised, he wanted to be human again. But above all else, he wanted his Dedyet. Nevertheless, the curse of an undead body made his wishes impossible to achieve.

Dawn was breaking and his immortal eyes turned towards the east to greet the Sun for the first and the last time in 6000 years. He expected pain and agony, followed by the smell of burnt flesh, but the Sun’s touch was as gentle as a lover’s caress, warm and welcoming. Wisps of grey smoke rose form his body and he felt light and free as his essence finally escaped from the curse’s grasp. And, just like that, with a gust of wind that scattered wisps of pale smoke, the oldest of the undead was no more.

Later that day a hiker who happened to pass nearby would tell his friends about a most unusual experience he had during his early morning walk. A gust of wind rose out of nowhere and he could swear he heard a soft voice echoing through the valley: “Dedyet, my love, I’m coming...”

This is my short story entry for the #tellatale contest hosted by @tpkidkai .

Image sources:

http://diarioveaonline.com/2017/12/14/unique-wallpapers-for-desktop/awesome-unique-wallpapers-for-desktop-23/
https://cilindr0.deviantart.com/art/Ancient-Egypt-Dreams-114997756
https://pixabay.com/en/glass-wine-drip-red-wine-drink-3077869/
https://pixabay.com/en/barley-field-sunrise-morning-solar-1684052/