Vampire Days

Chapter 26. Destiny

Champion was home when I returned and he's already snoring so I didn't wake him up. The good and bad news can wait in the morning.

I had a good time with Clifford and Lorenzo. They transformed into three dimensional beings in my mind and I realized that Lorenzo was not as hesitant and soft-spoken as I initially believed he was. He's capable of goofing off like it's nobody's business. Clifford on the other hand, loved his girlfriend and they spend most of their time on social media. They're a Tiktok duo with quite a large amount of followers. No wonder he's "friends with everybody" online.

I sniffed the room out of habit. That odor attack made a dent in my subconscious that just wouldn't let me chill so I made it a habit to inspect all the odors and scents upon entering the dormitory building. It was safe when I stepped inside, the air smelling a mixture of instant food, takeouts, body odors, ejaculations and rotten food from almost twenty five different rooms. Way homely than a concentrated blood bomb.

There's a black tupperware sitting on the table between Champion and my bed and I smelled food, so I took a curious peek and found pork menudo inside. The familiarity of the aroma sent me tumbling down memory lane, back home to my eight-year old self enjoying that particular dish made by a stranger I was very fond of.

"Weird," I muttered. I could clearly smell the food, so I went to Champion's dish cabinet and got my own spoon. "Weird, weird."

My fingers were shaking and I carefully scooped a spoonful of menudo, licked it, taste the salty sweet tomato-based sauce. It was food. Human food. I sucked on my tongue, trying to squeeze out the illusion of the taste. Maybe I was imagining it, but the sour remained there, as well as the meaty aftertaste that leaves you wanting more.

I shoved in a spoonful, expecting to feel the gray inside my mouth but it never happened. It was a burst of colors---flavors that I haven't tasted for what felt like an eternity.  Maybe it was.

I hadn't been eating like a normal person ever since I started senior high school. Maybe it even was the reason why I could go on for days with such a little dose of blood, because back then I chose to live with the constant pain of hunger in my stomach.

I used to starve myself to the point of passing out, finally eating a small amount of food for my body to survive and avoid giving my mother problems if I actually got sick.

The reason wasn't for vanity. I didn't feel fat, I didn't have the urge to hate food because I needed to lose weight. It wasn't related to my self-image. I quite liked how I looked back when I was alive.

For several years, I just felt so worthless that my mind told myself that I didn't need food. Food was for the people who deserved it.

I didn't deserve to eat.

It took dying for me to regret what I've done with my body.

My eyes stung but I kept on shoveling the food into my mouth, sniffing, chewing like I've never chewed meat before. Savoring the potatoes and carrots, the feel of fibrous meat on my tongue and I even ate the red bell peppers, discovering that I didn't hate it as much as I strongly believed I did when I was younger. It was food. I was so hungry. I am so hungry I could cry and I'm crying because I'm actually eating food like a normal person.

"What are you doing?" Champion asked from across me and I almost jumped. I didn't even notice that he's awake, sitting on his bed and gaping at me like he'd seen a ghost.

Just then I realized, I'm eating his food.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and shook my head.