Vampire of the Church - Chapter 54

Chapter 54 - A Beautiful Sensation

It had been more than six months since we left America, and still I couldn't stop thinking about Arthur. He was in my very thought every single day. Every moment.

"Remember Arthur," Emrys told me once. My life was devoid of light and he seemed to see the depth of darkness that I had drowned into. He told me to remember Arthur, to remember his life and not to mourn his death. He was right. I shouldn't mourn. Arthur wouldn't want me to. But... I just couldn't help it. I was in the dark, I couldn't find the light.

Emrys was nice to me, and him being nice was not annoying and eccentric anymore. I thought I might even get to like him in time. But Amelia wouldn't give him a chance. She didn't seem to feel safe with him being around. She had a good reason for not feeling safe, however. Emrys was a vampire. He would get mad and lose his temper easily and we always had to be careful.

One night while Amelia was in the kitchen busy with chopping onions and I was in the living room changing the TV channels, Catherine Judd, a reporter on the Channel 4 News turned our attention. I turned up the volume on the TV.

"Vampires are everywhere!" Said Judd. "Computer Support Specialist, Stephen Gardener was attacked last night by a masked man in black in Richmond Park. According to witnesses he and his wife, Natasha were attacked by a vampire but Police say it has been nothing more than a petty theft. And although American Government has confirmed the existence of vampires, British council affirm that there is no such thing as vampires, and believe that it's as ridiculous as believing in existence of Flying Saucer." The reporter continued, "Mr. Gardener was found with minor injuries, while his wife did not survive the attack."

Amelia stopped cooking and called Emrys, told him to come immediately.

"Did you kill that woman?" She asked as soon as Emrys arrived.

"What woman?"

"It was on the news. You attacked a couple, injured a man, raped and killed his wife."

"No, I didn't. It must have been a... another vampire... or... a killer... human killer-" He faltered. I looked into his eyes that were filled with some sort of guilt, and wondered. Why was it so easy for them to kill but so hard to lie?

"Are you afraid of us, Emrys?" Asked Amelia.

"Why would I be afraid of you?" He giggled.

"You don't lie unless you're afraid of something or someone."

"I'm not lying."

Amelia gave him a look that said, "You are."

"All right," he giggled, "I killed her. So what?"

That night Emrys confessed to killing Mrs. Gardener, and he looked disturbingly cold and remorseless telling us it had been a long time that he needed to kill someone.

Though he denied the rape. Maybe it was the only thing he didn't lie about. If he had raped that woman they would have mentioned it on the news. Did it make me feel better? It didn't make any difference. He had killed again. Maybe several times in a few months. He was good at dumping the bodies! Except for this time.

He and Amelia had a long argument about whether he was allowed to keep visiting me.

At last, Amelia asked Emrys to leave and Emrys asked me if I wanted him to leave. "I don't want to see you anymore," I said to him.

Amelia told him that we never needed him and that he should leave and never come back. She even threatened him that if he didn't leave England she would not hesitate to call the police.

Emrys had rented an apartment in the same building as ours. In a day or two, he abandoned his place and according to Lorcan who was in touch with him every once in a while Emrys moved to Dublin.

I was glad that I didn't have to see him anymore as he sometimes reminded me of the beast inside Arthur. Although he had tried to be nice to me, his kindness could be just pretense. But then, how could I ignore this question: Why would he pretend? He didn't have to... unless... Oh, I hated it when I couldn't understand a man's intentions. I couldn't understand Emrys. He was as much complicated and mysterious as Arthur.

He left, anyhow.

Amelia was trying not to leave me by myself, and whenever she found me overwhelmed with my dark thoughts she would do anything to distract me. Every time I began to talk about Arthur she was forcing me to go outside and get some fresh air. I didn't know if it was good or bad. Sometimes I did need to talk, but she hated to listen to me talking about Arthur more than she hated to see Emrys.

"You don't belong with those savages," she used to say.

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There were so many beautiful places to visit in London. We used to walk by the River Thames in the night, and visit cultural landmarks in the day time. We had been to most of the museums, gardens, galleries and libraries.

I was living in Amelia's apartment. It was a very small apartment with small rooms and big windows from which I could see one of the most famous symbols of London on the other side of the river: the Clock Tower.

I was working three days a week. Finding a part-time job in a grand luxury hotel while I was pregnant and most importantly an illegal immigrant, I considered myself a lucky person. Amelia's fifteen years acquaintance with the hotel's head chef however, was not ineffective in my employment.

15 August. It was seven o'clock in the morning of a mild sunless summer day and was also my last working day.

I was seven months pregnant, and after a few months working as a maid I had decided to start my maternity leave. I was not sure if they would pay me or even employ me again. I couldn't do anything under the law to benefit from the protections as there was no contract made between my employer and me. I was not a permanent resident.

White grayish clouds were scattered in the sky. It was raining lightly, sprinkling. Nice day for a walk. I always enjoyed walking in the rain. I walked to the bus station. After a few minutes the red double-decker bus arrived.

On the bus, I faced a man I did expect to see. Emrys. Again. He had only been gone for a few weeks.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. "I thought you were in Dublin."

"I was. I got bored, thought I should come and see how you're doing," he smiled wryly while his eyes were fixed on my belly. "So..." He said, "I see you're still... how long will you be like this? I mean when will your child be born?"

In two months, I thought. My child was going to be born in two months, though I did not know the exact date, nor did I know if it was a boy or a girl. I hadn't been to a clinic or a doctor. I was afraid to get caught. Amelia had a few friends in London. One of them happened to be Miss Kajal, a Bengali middle-aged moody midwife. I had visited her for a check-up three months before and listened to my child's heartbeat for the first time. Amelia had got her phone number so that we could call her in emergencies.

"Is there any way you can get rid of it?" Emrys asked.

Stupid vampire! I just waited till the bus stopped. I got out. Emrys followed me but I told him to stop following me. One second he looked annoyed and the next he vanished like he hadn't been there at all.

I spent a normal working day cleaning the rooms with nothing more important on my mind than leaving the hotel and going home to have some rest.

Amelia had gone to visit a friend in North.

As soon as I arrived home I threw off my shoes and got out of my gray and ugly uniform, and sank down in the couch eating the mushrooms stuffed with spinach and artichoke. My favorite food. One of my coworkers had brought it from the Hotel's restaurant.

"Special meal for our pregnant maid!"

While eating, I watched Doctor Who, which had become one of my favorite television series.

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Feeling a pain in my stomach I woke up at seven-thirty in the evening. I had slept on the couch for about half an hour. The pain was strange and scary. It was like monthly pains but much more unbearable. I went into the bathroom to look for some pills but I didn't find anything useful. As the pain grew more unbearable I called Amelia. I knew that she was about two hours away from London and I hated to worry her but I had to. I had no one else.

"Are you bleeding?" She asked.

"No. Isn't it too early for labor pains?"

"Yes, it's early but it's okay, honey. Sit down and don't move. I will call Miss Kajal," she sounded very, very scared. Her scared voice scared me too. Was I going to have another miscarriage?

Miss Kajal was not answering her phone and I was in so much pain. Amelia told me to call 999 or she would do it. I begged her not to. I told her that I would call the neighbors and seek for help. As I dialed the number of our nice and old neighbor who lived alone and was always home, the pain seemed to lessen gradually and I was relieved a little. I stopped dialing the neighbor's number and instead I called Amelia and told her that the pain was gone and everything was fine.

A few minutes later I felt the same pain in my stomach. I tried to contact with Miss Kajal but she was still not answering her phone. So I grabbed Amelia's car key and intended to go to the midwife's house. The pain had weakened me but I made it to the car. I couldn't open the car door. Someone took the key from my hand and before I dropped on to the ground he held me tight from behind.

"Emrys," I said as I turned my eyes to look at him, "Take me to Miss Kajal. She lives in Whitechapel."

He helped me in to the car and we drove fast onto the street. My stomach pained so much I lost all sense of direction.

When we arrived at the district of Whitechapel I tried to remember the address and showed the way to Emrys. Finally we arrived at the right alley. We stopped at the midwife's house. I walked slowly to the front door and knocked. Nobody answered. I knocked again. But no answer. The outside and inside of the house were dark. There was nobody home.

Emrys got out of the car. "Is she home?"

I placed my hands against my stomach and bent a little. The fear caused the intense and prolonged pains kept recurring.

"We should go to the hospital."

I shook my head. "I can't. I can't go to the hospital."

"You don't look well."

"Oh, God!"

"What?"

"I think my waters broke."

"Your waters? It's not good, is it?"

"I'm losing my child."

"No, you're not gonna lose it." He walked me to the car.

I lay on the rear seat, moaning in pain. "I don't wanna lose my baby. Please help me."

"Tell me what to do."

I looked at Emrys and he looked back at me.

"Emrys," I said after several moments' pause.

"What? What is it, love?"

Love? He was so confused. I could see confusion in the way he was staring at my parted legs. It was funny I had never seen him so scared. I didn't know if I should laugh at him or cry out in pain.

"It's too late," I said. I was going into labor. "I need your help."

"No, no," he shook his head. "I can't do this." He looked around. "There must be somebody in here to help us. Damn London alleys. Always quiet!"

I tried to stop myself from crying out but the pain was too much. It was too much, I pushed and breathed and pushed again and again until the contractions stopped and there was no pain anymore. All of a sudden I was painless.

Then I heard my baby breath for the first time. It was the sweetest thing I had ever heard in my entire life.

I was only in labor for half an hour. It was not a difficult delivery as the baby was smaller and lighter than it should normally be.

I never imagined I would have my baby on the rear seat of Amelia's car. Never imagined Emrys would be the first one holding it in his arms.

He was a great help. During my labor he didn't stop drinking from his big bottle of whisky as if he was in pain himself. Was it so hard for him to watch a human come into this world? It couldn't be harder than watching someone leave the world and die in his hands, could it?

He looked down at his blood-stained hands and at the tiny human being, and said nothing as if wrapped in wonder.

"Emrys?"

"It's..." he said at last, "It's human."

"Is it a girl?"

He smiled as he said, "It's a boy!"

I stretched out my hands and reached for my child. Emrys gave him to me. He took a knife out of his jeans' pocket, washed it with whiskey and cut the umbilical cord.

"Have you thought of a name yet?"

"Arthur. It's my little Arthur," I whispered softly and kissed my son on the head.

Nothing could describe the way I was feeling at that moment, holding an incredibly beautiful being in my arms, a little human that had emerged from me, from my body. My son. My own flesh and blood.

I had become a mother.

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Hi,

My friends! Thanks for all the comments. I got more than thirty comments, all encouraging and useful. I'm so thankful for having you all as my fans. Your comments and even seeing your names on my page means a lot to me. Thanks again. I hope you will like my last chapter (Chapter 55).