NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”I said, you both are bloodsucking leeches. You are vampires! Did you think I wouldn’t know?” Mrs. Perkin paused and let out a loud laugh that echoed across the quiet street. She suddenly stopped and glared at Perdita and Marco acting like someone who was suddenly possessed.

She yelled, ”You two are damn bloodsucking leeches! Damn, vampires!”

Perdita exchanged looks with Marco and burst out laughing. ”Oh my, Mrs. Perkin. I didn’t know you are this funny. I must applaud your sense of humor. Hahaha.” Perdita spoke in between her fits of laughter.

Still laughing her heart out, she turned to Marco and derided ”Isn’t Mrs. Perkin funny saying we are vampires? First, she accused us of being responsible for her missing husband. And now, she is saying we are vampires. I can’t help but say she might need to see a doctor. Perhaps she might have some loose screws in her brain.”

”I can’t help but agree with you on that. Mrs. Perkin is acting quite humorous and strange today. Maybe the lonely nights without her husband must have deeply affected her.” Marco responded with a chuckle.

The last sentence from Marco made Perdita laugh more loudly than before.

She continued to taunt Mrs. Perkin ”She should have told us her problems and we will gladly help her out. But rather, she came accusing us of things we don’t know of. I can’t believe I even helped her before.”

”That is how people repay kindness now, sis. I asked you not to help her but you insisted. Now, look at what is happening. Tch.” Marco clicked his tongue in annoyance.

”If I had known she will bring us trouble. I would have listened to you.” Perdita sighed in regret as the words of Sthena that day replayed in her head, ’If helping someone that will be the death of you someday will make you a soft-hearted person, then I think soft-hearted shouldn’t be the word here. I’ll rather call the person a dimwit.’

She had to agree with Sthena now. She was a dimwit. A big one. Why didn’t she see the signs before? If she did not help Mrs. Perkin to get released, maybe this problem wouldn’t have surfaced.

Though Perdita was laughing and taunting Mrs. Perkin, her heart was frantically beating in fright of what might happen if Mrs. Perkin left their house and told the villagers everything she knew.

In addition, the profound evidence Mrs. Perkin had been talking about, they still don’t know what or where it is so they can destroy it.

Mrs. Perkin became more hysteric as she flared up in anger when she heard Perdita and Marco labeling her a mad woman. Her blazing furry eyes shot a death glare at the siblings as she screeched loudly again ”I am not mad! You are the mad ones. I know what I’m saying and I’m sure of it!”

”What are you sure of? We being vampires or we being responsible for your missing husband?” Marco asked with an interrogating gaze.

”Both! You two are responsible for my missing husband. And also, you are vampires.” Mrs. Perkin asserted ”I don’t know why I’m wasting my time with you two. I should be on my way to the head warden so I can report and expose you two. You are bad omens in this village. You will be killed once and for all!”

Perdita let out a tired sigh. She rubbed her eyebrows in frustration ”Mrs. Perkin, stop talking like a drunk woman. You have known us since we came into this village. Neither you nor other villagers have seen or heard we are vampires.”

”If you don’t know the characteristics of a vampire, I’ll gladly educate you on them so they will stick to your old brain. Firstly, vampires are always identified by the color of their eyes which is red. And as your two black iris can see, I am blessed with beautiful green eyes and my brother with handsome black eyes. Tell me, do you see another eye color that is not what I mentioned in our eyes?”

Marco couldn’t help the smile that tugged on his lips at his sister’s description of their eyes. Such narcissism.

Perdita continued, ”You didn’t see red right? Now, another feature to identify vampires with is the appearance of fangs in their mouth.” She crossed her hands over her chest as she spoke ”Don’t worry, we will gladly bless you with a nice view of our white perfect human teeth.”

She turned to her brother, ”Marco dear, please show this woman your teeth and prove to her she needs to see a psychiatrist medicine man.”

Marco complied with Perdita’s request and opened his mouth to show Mrs. Perkin and Perdita did the same.

”Are you clear and satisfied, Mrs. Perkin? Or do you need more enlightenment? Do not come here spouting rubbish that can lead you into trouble you won’t be able to get out of.”

”No,” Mrs. Perkin shook her head in denial ”You are lying. I know you’re lying. You have my husband in custody somewhere here and I’m going to find out about him and expose you two!” Mrs. Perkin barked and suddenly rushed inside Perdita’s house.

”What...what do you think you are doing?” Perdita shouted and immediately chased after Mrs. Perkin with Marco.

”I know my husband is somewhere here.” Mrs. Perkin said as she rummaged through the house of Perdita and Marco.

”You bloodsucking leeches took my husband. For what?! Did you drink him dry?! Or did you kill him because he discovered you are vampires?”

Perdita and Marco stood at the door watching as Mrs. Perkin scattered their house in a bid to find her husband. If not for Marco, Perdita was more than annoyed and all she wanted to do was hit the woman’s head on the wall, her blood spattering everywhere.

After a while of having a fruitless search, Mrs. Perkin gave up and turned to the siblings breathlessly. The little search and her frantic behavior served as a little exercise in the cold weather as beads of sweat appeared and trickled down her forehead.

”Where is my husband, you damn vampires!” Mrs. Perkin grabbed her hair and screamed.

Perdita banged the door shut and her face hardened. She stared at Mrs. Perkin with an angry gaze ”You want to know what happened to your husband right?! Fine, I’ll tell you what you want to hear.”

”We...” she paused and pointed at Marco and herself and continued saying ”...we did it. Everything you have been saying is true. We are responsible for your missing husband. And also, we are vampires. Isn’t that right? This is what you wanted to hear. You wanted us to accept it. Now, what are you going to do?”

”Tell me! Aren’t you afraid of what we might do to you? You barged inside our house. Inside the house of vampires. Why? Are you willingly offering yourself to us?” Perdita’s questions flew and pierced fear into the body of Mrs. Perkin. She fearfully moved back each time Perdita took a step towards her.

Perdita’s eyes slowly changed to red with a crazy smile on her lips. She lowered her voice and spoke dauntingly at Mrs. Perkin ”Why are you running, huh? Are you now scared? Didn’t you just offer yourself by running into our den? Don’t worry, I’m not choosey and I don’t waste food. I’ll make sure to savor every drop of blood from you. I bet you’ll make a tasty meal”

”Don’t you dare take a step forward. Get away from me! You’re a crazy woman!” Mrs. Perkin hysterically continued to move back.

”You don’t order me in my house. You invited yourself in and I’ll do you the favor of drinking you dry.” Perdita licked her lips as she spoke. Her sharp clean fangs came into view ”The heavens must have taken pity on us and blessed us with warm food in this cold weather. Don’t worry, I’ll soon send you to your husband though I won’t guarantee it will be a quick one. You know, I love taking my food in small bits.”

”G...get away. Don’t come n...near me!” Mrs. Perkin stuttered as her eyes searched the room for something to defend herself with. Her eyes landed on the knife on the table in the room and she rushed to take it. But before she could reach it, Perdita snatched it from her.

”Did you think this would kill or do us any harm?” Perdita tilted her head in question. ”Even if I cut myself with this a thousand times, it won’t affect me. Let me show you,” As she said, Perdita used the knife to cut her arm.

”Perdita, don’t!” Marco frowned at what Perdita did. Even if the cut wouldn’t cause her any harm, he didn’t like the idea of Perdita using the knife on herself.

”Don’t worry brother, this is just a small cut. I want to show and imprint it on Mrs. Perkin’s head that she is never going to get out of here today.” Perdita chuckled in the end.

”I’ll cut you! I’ll run a stake through her heart. I’ll kill you, vampires!” Horrified, Mrs. Perkin shouted and made to snatch the knife from Perdita.

Perdita swung the knife and positioned its tip at Mrs. Perkin. She warned ”One more step and I’ll do to you what happened to your husband when he tried the same thing.”