The Harvest of Souls

CHAPTER 40

The events of that night would be something that would forever haunt everyone's minds. Lying down, each in its room, and Fernand uncomfortably accommodated inside a wooden cabin, everyone began to reflect on what had happened. The Soaring Caravel was already entering the open sea, starting to cross the North Sea. Fernand took off two of his coats and spread them on the wooden floor, leaving the food he had stolen in the corner of the room lying on top of the coats.

For some minutes, his memories brought back some pleasant moments he lived with Jeannie; he was worried about the girl, hoping she was well. Despite the age difference, he ended up becoming fond of Vaughan's daughter. Fernand was always very proud of the courage, determination, and greatness that Jean carried with her. Fernand has followed Jean since her childhood. He felt privileged to have followed all the evolution that the girl had gone through. He was there for each uncertainty, each victory, each smile, and each tear. Fernand began to list the number of things he had learned from Jean, the list was long, and he ended up falling asleep before finishing it.

Nair felt a sharp pain in her stomach, an ache generated by Jean's absence. She couldn't get the image of Jean inside the body bag out of her mind. Nair began to blame herself for what had happened. She should have paid more attention to the girl that morning and accompanied her for the manor tour. She remembered the days of innocence, where children ran through the manor; her daughter Scarlet was Jean's first friendship.

Nair remembered how long Scarlet adoption process had been. Anna Auer herself went after expediting the documentation with the charity she collaborated with. Nair was eternally grateful to Anna for having paved the way for her greatest dream in life: motherhood. Nair remembered that day in every detail, Anna visiting the Asturian Manor to break the news personally to Nair, she was going to adopt a little 3-year-old little girl. That very day Anna met a sad Vaughan, abandoning all his hopes, wandering the halls of the manor, and it was at an afternoon coffee prepared by Nair that Anna had convinced Vaughan to follow Nair's example and adopt a child.

Lying on the bed beside Mário, Scarlet couldn't get Jean out of her head. Since childhood, the two were inseparable; Scarlet did not remember a time in her life without Jean. The two had the same fate, were adopted by people who lived in the same house and grew up to become sisters. Scarlet always had Jean as an example of a person; she always wanted to have Jean's courage in life. Jean was her older sister, and Scarlet could not bear that she had lost her sister. Anger began to consume her, tears flowed from her eyes, and Scarlet then thought of only one thing: finding the person responsible for that.

Mário tried to pretend he was sleeping. He didn't know what to do at that moment. Jean had come into his life when he was already an adult. When he started dating Scarlet, he always heard several stories about Jean, how fearless she was, how she had already put herself in various embarrassing or dangerous situations on the island. When he finally met Jean, Mário was impressed by the beautiful woman, with wavy brown hair, dark eyes, and flawless skin. It was easy to fall in love with Jean, she was an adorable person, and in all the difficult moments of her relationship with Scarlet, Jean was always there to remind them that they formed the most perfect couple in the world. Mário knew that Jean was responsible for saving his relationship with Scarlet a dozen times. Jean was not just a friend. She was part of the family: godmother at their wedding and the person Scarlet felt most comfortable with. Mário felt sorry for his wife at that moment; he could imagine how devastated Scarlet must be that night.

Mila stared at the ceiling of her room. She tried to remain calm, counting her breathing and trying to slow her heartbeat. Jean's memories invaded her mind. She could smell, touch and taste Jean's kiss, it was the first time that someone she ended up sporadically dating had died, and she was unhappy. She had lost a lover and one of her best friends. Sometimes she even thought about what it would be like if she ever decided to date someone seriously and get married. Jean would be her first choice. It would be interesting to marry someone her sister-in-law's considered a sister besides the fact that Jean is the person that Mila most respected in her social cycle, whether for her irreverence and bravery or her affection and care.

Marta had a sinking heart, sitting on the sofa in her room. She refused to sleep, remaining attentive to any noise in the hallway. Jean was the age of her children; she was an exemplary girl who always frequented her house. Over the years, she grew in love with the girl. Jean had been one of the great supporters of Mário and Scarlet's relationship and was an excellent friend to Mila. Marta considered Jean, Scarlet, Mário, and Mila her four children, and that night Marta was focused on not letting anyone else hurt any of her children.

Vaughan stared at the ocean waves until the ringing on his door caught his attention. He opened the door to an agent who handed him a packet of sleeping pills. He turned off the lights and went to the window overlooking the pool. The helicopter was no longer flying over the hotel. He could observe with melancholy enthusiasm some people sitting by the pool and others having bright drinks on a terrace that overlooked a beautiful boardwalk. He heard the sound of the waves and could only think of Jean. She was always lit by a golden sunbeam in all his memories, her hair blowing in the wind and a contagious smile.

The idea that he could never sit with her in the TV room and watch a movie, eating popcorn, and drinking soda, was heartbreaking. Vaughan began to blame himself for spending so little time with his daughter, for being too busy with work. When Vaughan adopted the child, she came into his life to bring color and emotion. Little by little, Jean's importance in Vaughan's life had grown, but his closeness to his daughter had been taken for granted, and therefore Vaughan began to physically withdraw from his daughter, who was also following her steps in life. There would always be more time, death was not a near reality, he was a vampire, and therefore the ways to die were limited and unlikely. Jean was young, powerful, and full of life. He could never have imagined that he would have only the twenty-five years he had with her. In his mind, their moments together would easily surpass a century.

Vaughan knew that in every vampire's existence, there came a time when continuing was irrelevant, nicknamed Memento Mori, the time when every vampire stripped of his supposed immortality and embraced eternal rest. For these beings, it was irrelevant to remember death. Death was just a distant companion. When they did, it was usually to seal their fate forever. He had already defined some time ago that he would end his existence when his daughter's heart stopped beating. Jean was Vaughan's last love, a sincere love he had never felt before, and he always knew there would be no more life for him after Jean's life.

Vaughan spent a few more moments observing the happiness of the Hotel guests at the pool and the tables, wondering if they knew how to value those moments. Deep down, he knew that he always cherished every little moment he had with his daughter. Sometimes they were even sitting at those tables on the terrace or floating in the pool or walking along the beach at night and talking about life. Tears began to flow calmly down his thin pale face. He knew his Memento Mori had arrived.

He went into a small room in his suit, a small space with a sink, a coffee machine, and dozens of capsules, as well as cups, mugs, glasses, and a variety of alcoholic beverages. Vaughan took an Old Fashioned Cup and a mini bottle with a clear liquid inside. He took the envelope that had been delivered just a few minutes later and took out the pack of small white pills, then began to calmly remove the tablets one by one from the package and place them in the cup. Vaughan put all thirty pills from the box into the cup and then poured the content of the small bottle into the cup. The pills began to dissolve rapidly, and Vaughan drank the entire glass without a second thought.

The vampire went back to the window and watched the waves come and go until his vision began to blur. He staggered to the bed, sitting on the edge of it and groping to get his boots off, pushing them under the bed. He then lay down on the comfortable bed and pulled the pillow to his side, hugging it with his arms and legs.

"See you in a little while, my beloved daughter," he spoke in a weak voice when his vision was getting dark, and his lungs were losing the strength that was left to continue breathing.