The first autumn chill had just settled over campus when

I got the news. I was in the library, surrounded by towering shelves of books,

the scent of old paper mingling with the faint aroma of coffee from the cafe downstairs.

The text on my phone glowed in the dim light: "James is coming home."

Three years had passed since I last saw him. Three years

since he kissed me goodbye on a warm summer evening, the sunset painting the

sky in hues of gold and crimson. He had promised to write, to call whenever he

could. But war has a way of severing even the strongest of bonds, and soon the

letters and calls became sparse, then stopped altogether.

I clutched my phone, heart racing. I had imagined this

moment a thousand times, dreamed about it in restless nights. But in my dreams,

James returned whole, unscarred by the horrors of war. I never imagined he

would come back a vampire.

The day dragged on in a haze of anticipation and anxiety.

Classes blurred together, my professors' voices a distant drone. My mind was

filled with memories of James – his infectious laughter, the way his eyes

crinkled at the corners when he smiled, the warmth of his embrace. I wondered

how much he had changed, and whether he was still the same person I had fallen

in love with.

As evening approached, I walked to the place where we had

first met – the old oak tree by the lake. The setting sun cast long shadows

over the water, the air crisp and cool. I pulled my coat tighter around me, the

anticipation almost too much to bear.

And then I saw him. Standing by the lake, his silhouette

framed by the fading light. He was taller, broader, his once boyish face now

chiseled and mature. His eyes, though, were what struck me the most – they were

the same deep blue I remembered, but now they seemed to hold an otherworldly

depth, a hidden sorrow.

"Ashley," he said, his voice barely more than a

whisper. He took a step forward, his movements graceful yet hesitant.

"James," I replied, my voice trembling. I

wanted to run to him, to throw my arms around him and never let go. But

something held me back – the knowledge that he was no longer the same James I

had known.

He reached out, his hand cool against my cheek. "I

missed you," he said, his voice laced with a vulnerability that took my

breath away.

Tears welled up in my eyes. "I missed you too,"

I whispered. "So much."

For a moment, we just stood there, wrapped in the silence

of our reunion. It was James who broke the silence first. "There's so much

I need to tell you," he said, his voice trembling. "So much I need to

explain."

I nodded, my heart heavy with the weight of his words.

"Let's go somewhere we can talk," I suggested, my voice barely more

than a whisper.

We walked in silence, the sounds of the night enveloping

us. The campus was quiet, the usual buzz of student life replaced by the soft

rustle of leaves and the distant hum of traffic. We found a secluded spot by

the lake, a place where we used to sit and talk for hours, lost in our own

world.

James took a deep breath, his eyes locked on mine.

"Three years ago, during a mission, my unit was ambushed," he began,

his voice steady but tinged with pain. "We were deep in the forests of

Eastern Europe, cut off from any support. That's when we encountered...

them."

"Them?" I asked, my voice barely more than a

whisper.

He nodded. "Vampires. At first, I thought they were

just a myth, a story to scare children. But they were real, and they were

powerful. They captured us, and... and they turned me."

The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. I

struggled to comprehend what he was saying. "Turned you?" I repeated,

my voice trembling.

He nodded again, his eyes filled with a mix of sorrow and

determination. "They made me one of them, Ashley. I'm a vampire now. I

don't age, I don't feel the cold or the heat. I have strength and speed beyond

anything I could have imagined. But there's a darkness that comes with it, a

hunger that never truly goes away."

I reached out, my hand trembling as I touched his face.

"James, I... I don't know what to say," I whispered.

"You don't have to say anything," he replied,

his voice soft. "I just needed you to know. I needed you to understand why

I couldn't come back to you sooner."

Tears streamed down my face as I listened to his words.

The man I had loved, the man I had waited for, was standing before me, changed

in ways I could never have imagined. But he was still James, still the man I

loved.

"I don't care," I said, my voice firm. "I

don't care what you are. I love you, James. I always have, and I always

will."

He looked at me, his eyes filled with a mixture of relief

and gratitude. "I love you too, Ashley," he whispered. "More

than anything in this world."

We sat there for hours, talking about everything and

nothing. James told me about his experiences, the battles he had fought, the

challenges he had faced. I told him about my life, the mundane and the

extraordinary. We laughed, we cried, and slowly, we began to bridge the gap

that had formed between us.

As the night wore on, I realized that this was just the

beginning of our new journey. There would be challenges, obstacles we couldn't

foresee. But I was ready to face them, as long as I had James by my side.

Together, we would find a way to navigate this new world,

to build a future despite the odds. Our love was strong, stronger than any

darkness that threatened to tear us apart. And as long as we held onto that, I

knew we could overcome anything.