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Shunned for Eternity
#WritcoStoryPrompt45

Sylvia put the book away. Her sister had suggested it. It was the best way to stay connected with humanity without exposing their lineage.

Vampires had to be very careful. No matter how hard they tried, their eyes gave the truth away.

Each member of her family had a peculiarity about their eyes. Her's were a dark shade of red, just like the wine in the glass next to her right now.

She picked up the glass and noticed her own reflection luminated on the shiny surface against the fire burning a few feet away behind her. She loved the heat. It felt comforting against her cold, white, flawless skin.

She hadn't tied her hair in a flawed bun today. She wanted to let go and dive deeper into the new book. An autobiography of a woman philanthropist from her state.

The book had had a diminishing effect on her positivity. The little streak of positivity within her that she struggled to keep alive.

'Humans think fighting for cleaner energy resources is the biggest fight of all? What about the fight to survive without being shunned by all?'

'What about being shunned by the one you love?'

She couldn't help but wonder where Gabriel would be now.

'Would he have married by now? To a human? Would he have one of those.....human children?'

'Will they be as scared of me?'

It had been six years that the man she fell in love with for the second time in her 1200 years of existence, freaked out on uncovering the truth about her.

'You are a monster! I can never be with a monster, let alone love it!'

What hurt her the most was being declared a thing. His last words...let alone love it...never left her. They still hurt as much as the day they were thrown at her.

Her first love seemed like a long lost dream now. It happened a millennium ago.

All Sylvia craved for was being accepted as a living being, well almost. She had desperately wanted humans to understand that vampires were just another creation of nature, just like them.

Drinking human blood had been banned in her family nine generations ago. It had been millenia that a Dreschden vampire slaughtered a human to satiate their hunger. It was forbidden. They survived on animal blood.

Her mind wandered to the cries for help that surrounded her every time she stepped out in public. For some reason, kids weren't afraid of her. It was their parents and other adults. That is why her family lived at the Fresca Hill top, 150 miles away from humanity.

Her chain of thoughts was broken by Katerina when she entered the room.

"There you are. I was searching for you everywhere."

"Oh..you need something?"

"Yes, to pass the time, lady! I finished two autobiographies since yesterday. Wanted to check if you could read yours and what you thought of it?"

Katerina was livelier than her. Her sunset amber eyes made her an object of awe for anyone who saw her. Slyvia always wondered how she survived the challenges that life threw at her 800 year old sister.

Katerina could see Sylvia lost in thoughts. She gestured at the book to bring her back to reality.

"Umm...yeah, it's nice"

"Just nice? I read great reviews for that book! Surely you will have some feedback to give?"

"Katerina, I am losing my interest in human beings; in the significance of their lives and their actions. Someone has said it is better to study one man than ten books. I want neither books nor men; they make me suffer."

"Just because two men made you suffer doesn't mean every creature in their species is bad."

"No, it is the whole of humanity. I wonder how you stay cheerful even after being shunned by the majority of creatures on this planet."

"That's where you are wrong, big sis! Why concentrate on things that didn't work out? Can you imagine your life without me? What if I wasn't turned into a vampire 800 years ago?"

"Then I wouldn't have had someone to bring me all these horrible books!"

"Hey! I am sure you would have found these horrible books all by yourself! You have a bad taste in books. Worse than anyone in our family. And, men too.."

Sylvia gave her the look from the corner of her eye.

"Sylvia, I am sure you will find true love that will last a lifetime. Human or not. Remember, I didn't despise you even when I was a human?!"

"Half a human. Remember, your father was a vampire?"

Mention of her father, who was shunned and killed by humans wiped the smile off Katerina's face. Her amber eyes glistened with moisture. But only for a moment.

"Yes, but I still maintain, not all humans are bad. You just need to come out of the deep abyss you have created for yourself."

Sylvia realised she had to give it a try. She had suffered enough. Staying indoors was no way to make the world accept you.

'They will accept me when I accept myself.' Katerina had told her many times.

'When this girl who lost her father because of humans can accept them, why can't I give them another chance. It is high time. She was human, one of the very few who weren't afraid of our kind. Her mother was a human!'

Sylvia excused herself and went to her room. She dressed up in a very human attire of jeans and t-shirt and pulled out sunglasses to mask her velvet red eyes.

Finally, after six years, Sylvia decided to step out.

"Would you like to come with me, Katerina?"

Katerina looked up at her from her book and smiled in surprise. Her amber eyes lit up.

"What changed your mind? I have been trying to encourage you for so long now"

"I guess I just got fed up with being shunned by myself."

© Ishita Nigam Garg