It was a classic case of young love. Mortimer met Cindy and they fell in love. The only problem with this was that she was one in a long list of lovers. Mortimer had been moving from one girl to the next. He had no intention of stopping.

His mother had tried to reason with him.
“Remember you have sisters. You won’t want any man to use them then go.”
He pretended to listen but her warning went into one ear and immediately out the next. His mom even used extreme means.
“Boy that girl could be dangerous. People say she and she family are bloodsuckers.”
Mortimer grinned. Not even that story would deter him. He had made up his mind.
Mortimer was twenty four. He was handsome, smart and smooth talking. Even the girls he had abandoned still tried to rekindle old fires. He would have none of that.
Cindy lived with her mother, grandmother and great aunt at the back of the village. She was beautiful, smart and full of life. She liked Mortimer the moment they met. She too had made up her mind. She would have this man.
Mortimer spent many evenings out with Cindy. They went to cinema, limed on the seawalls or sat on some benches in a small park in the centre of their small village.
Their village was small but beautiful. The environment was clean and litter free. People lived in harmony with each other. One thing that affected the small community of White Lilly was the fear of old Haigue. A number of residents had shown signs of being sucked. There was some amount to tension that accompanied the fear.
The two lovers sat on the bench in the dark secluded park. It was a popular retreat for couples who wished to have some privacy. They were locked in each other’s embrace and enjoying the quiet nature of the evening.
Mortimer looked at her and remembered the warning his mother had issued earlier that week. He could not picture her hurting anyone. That was his department. He had broken a number of hearts. She smiled and kissed him tenderly.
Again his mother’s words came to him. He tried to shrug it off but they kept coming back until they obscured his plan for the evening which was not carefully thought out. Tonight he wanted to make his move. As the words kept eating away at him he decided to use some simple diplomacy he hoped would put the question to rest.
“Cindy I got a confession to mek.”
She looked intently at him with a slightly puzzled expression.
“What!”
“Please don’t get mad at me. I feel ashamed to tell you about it.”
She hugged him warmly pulling him closer to her.
“Don’t worry I won’t.”
Mortimer paused for effect then looked her straight in the eyes.
“All my family does suck blood. I is a blood sucker too.”
He expected her to spring up in fright and run home screaming. To his shock she remained calm squeezing him even tighter. Just then the moon pushed its way from behind a cloud and the small park was transformed from opaque black to transparent silver. Cindy too seemed to change. For one thing she had gotten stronger and was holding him in a vice grip. Her face also looked different. The silvery moonbeams seemed to peel off years and she looked older than usual. She smiled and her eyes made cold shivers traverse his spine.
“Don’t worry Mortimer. Me family is blood suckers too. It pass down from generation to generation. I is the youngest.”
Mortimer could have died in fright. He wanted to bite his tongue for uttering the stupid thing he had just said.
Cindy leaned towards him smiling. For the first time he noticed her pronounced teeth. His body trembled in terror but he was held immobile. Her kiss on his neck became a sharp painful, then soothing sensation. Suddenly he felt liquid trickle down his neck. Blood! He screamed at the top of his lungs.
When he opened his eyes he was soaking in sweat. His mother rushed into the room.
“What’s the matter Mortimer?”
He was about to divulge his nightmare when she uttered some words that almost caused him to blackout.
“What is dat mark pon yo neck? Like she give you hickie last night.”
Mortimer’s mind was in a daze. Was it a dream or did something really happen. He rubbed his neck and felt slight pain. He headed for the mirror in the next room.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Somebody at de door a going an see is who.”
His mother walked to the front door and opened it.
“Mortimer, look Cindy come to you!””
No answer.
“Mortimer!” Silence.
She headed inside and noticed the backdoor flapping in the breeze. The house empty, Mortimer had fled.

(By Neil Primus)