Beauty

"I am living for over a hundred years in this world filled with inconsiderate warm-blooded human beings. I've seen everything during my stay here. And I keep hiding in the dark, waiting for the arrival of my next target. A target that will satisfy me for the whole night."

I circled my eyes around and saw every reaction on my readers' faces. Their full attention was on me, and they listened carefully to the passage I was reading in the book. I wrote this book and read it several times until it was released on the market. I thought many people would not like it, but I was wrong.

Here I am, in front of the people who love my masterpiece. One or two readers are okay with me. But this amount of people, it's pretty unexpected for me.

"The sight and smell of blood fuels the urges in me. I tried to control myself, but it wasn't enough. I know I have to do something, but it's already in me. This me. I am a cold-blooded being of the dark. I am a vampire, and this is my story..."

I smiled when I finished reading that short passage in the book I wrote. Everyone clapped. Some stood up and gave a joyful round of applause. I thanked everyone in the room, including my agent and editor.

After some conversation, everything went on with the book signing, which was the main event. As my readers form a straight line in front of me, I can't help myself but look at the moon. It was round and very bright. I have no idea what's on the moon. But I stopped and stared again at the moon as if I was talking to it.

Is it tonight? The moon phenomenon that I've been waiting to happen. A trifecta of lunar occurrences can be the key to proving that vampires do exist. That's where my gaze was focused until a staff approached me.

The signing has already started, and there is a reader in front of me.

"Hi! What's your name?" My friendly question was immediately answered by the reader standing in front of me.

"I'm a fan of your works, Ms. Beauty!" The smile on my lips widened when I heard what the reader in front of me said.

"Thank you so much!" I said in the same excitement length as hers. When I got her name, I wrote it on the book, signed it, and put some dedications. I did the same to the following readers who signed.

"Do you need water?" I heard a question from my side.

"Maybe later, Matt." I looked at the man at the end of the queue. He seems mysterious in black, and the moon behind him beamed all over his body. I blinked, and he was gone.

He's gone.

"Are you okay, Beau?" I immediately looked at Matt, but my eyes returned to where I had seen that man earlier.

"I'm okay. I'll finish this up so I can go home now,"

Matt nodded, then walked away from me. I continued signing and talking to readers until I finished it.

I breathed deeply and focused my eyes on the moon again. I couldn't help but notice the thick fog outside. I know that this rarely happens, especially here in Manila. It gets wider as the minutes pass by. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and took a picture.

"Beauty, there you are!" I immediately turned to the source of those sweet words. It's Gilbert, my book agent. "Please meet Nina, and she's going to ask a few questions you,"

"Gil..." I said tiredly, but that didn't waive Gilbert.

"It's just a few questions, and we're done. You can lock yourself inside your room after."

"Okay, but a few questions only," Gilbert assured me, and he and Nina brought me to the side for us to talk.

"Okay, congratulations on your book's huge success, Ms. Beauty. I am curious about why vampires and paranormal novels?" Nina curiously asked,

Why this genre?

"Curiosity had me and wrote one while thinking inside my room." Stephanie Meyer came to mind. "I also got inspired by Stephanie Meyer's works."

Nina wrote down everything I said that I thought was okay with her. There's more reason, but I won't speak to anyone.

I scratch my right temple and glance at the window. There, I see another man in black covered with fog. I frowned, and it was gone when I blinked my eyes again.

"Your parents -"

"I'm not going to talk about them. I'm sorry." I left and called Matt to come home. I'm done for today and have also done my part. Part of showing myself, proving that I am a breathing human. "Why do they keep on asking about my parents?"

I took a picture of the moon. I have a journal about moon appearances hidden underneath my bed. I also studied that until the phenomenon I was waiting for came.

"Curiosity? You said ten years ago that it wasn't a wild animal that killed them. That statement is still going on on the internet, making everyone curious because it happened you're also writing vampire novels."

I breathed in mockery and glanced at the moon again. The fog is gone, so the cars are almost out again. But no traffic can heat the head of each motorist on the road. That's when I remembered that man I saw inside the bookstore and in the middle of the fog.

"Did you happen to see a man in black a while ago, Matt?"

"Will Smith?" Matt chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. "Kidding, but no. I remember every one of your readers. None of them wore black."

I didn't ask again. I believed in Matt, and he has been on my side since my parents died. He raised me as his little sister and supported every goal I had in my life. He is also my bodyguard and driver.

No, he doesn't want to let me go out alone or drive. I'm his baby, and for others, it sucks, but to me, it's not. I enjoyed Matt's company, and his wisdom is what keeps my feet on the ground.

"I hate the moon,"

"It still shines the brightest even if you hated it, Beau..."

***

I parted the black curtain on the wall, revealing my parent's picture pinned on it. Their dead body photos, the bite marks on their necks, and the evidence is seen at the crime scene. Also, a picture of the police who investigated is there. This is why I am curious about vampires and their entire race. I've been plotting a revenge plan since I turned eighteen. I also found myself ridiculous when I concluded that it was a vampire who killed my parents. But as time passed, I slowly realized that my childish hunches were solidly based on the evidence I possessed.

I posted the photo of the fog. Next, I glued the picture of the moon to my journal. The fog's image is similar to the one that my father took before they were found dead in the woods. I am as curious as my parents, so they went out to prove that vampires exist. That's what I want to prove, but the whole city was quiet for ten years. And the place where my parents were found is also at peace.

That's weird.

"You're here again, Beau," said a soft voice that woke me up. When I turned around, I immediately saw Helene. "How was your book signing event?"

I smiled and closed the curtain again, blocking the information I had gathered about my parent's deaths.

"It was okay," I replied.

"That look on your face is telling me another story."

I took a deep breath before speaking. "Okay, it's about Gilbert's new girl. She asked me about my parents, and you know how much I hate talking about them, right?"

Helene took a deep breath and gently grabbed my hand. Aside from Matt, Helene is also important to me. Both of them keep me always at my best, but they hate the plan I've made to haunt down my parents' murderer.

"What else can we do with a business-minded guy like him?"

I groaned. "Business-minded, my ass." Helene laughed and patted my hand. "You can go out with Matt tomorrow if you want. And I will be okay here alone in my room all day and all night."

"Can I give you some advice?"

"Sure, and I will take it wholeheartedly, Helene."

She laughed again before speaking. "On a serious note, Beauty, you must let go of everything. Let's move on and have a life, a normal one."

I shook my head. No matter what I do, my life will never be normal. After the interview I had ten years ago, it is hardly typical. People think I am a lunatic for assuming that a vampire killed my parents. And now, I was one of those who fantasized about those cold-blooded beings of the dark.

"Okay, if that's what you want, Helene, it will go."

I have to convince Helene so I can continue my research about vampires in secret. I won't let them know because they don't want me to live in the past. I love my parents very much, and only Dad's obsession with vampires messed up our lives. Not that I blame Papa, but I did blame him at some point. If only he didn't get so curious about them, they're not dead, and I'm not plotting a revenge plan.

"Sleep now, Beau. You have a long day today, so rest, hm?"

I smiled at her and glanced outside. Everyone knows I can't just move on. I can't do it until I find those cold-blooded murderers who killed my parents...