Midnight’s Embrace: The Curse of the Crimson Moon

I never imagined the moonlight could feel so...heavy.

The silence between us stretched like a thread about to snap. I stood there in the middle of that quiet street, barely able to hear my own breath. Her gaze pinned me to the ground—sharp, delicate, unreadable.

I didn't know whether to run, speak, or just keep staring at her glowing crimson eyes.

She was standing a few feet away, her long silver hair shimmering like it was made of winter itself. The same girl. The same vampire. The same beautiful monster who had bitten me that night.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My throat was dry, my heart louder than ever.

"…You followed me again," she said softly, but her voice wasn't cold like before. It trembled.

"I didn't mean to… I just… always walk here," I managed to say. "I didn't know you'd be here again."

Lie. Of course I knew. I *wanted* to see her again.

She looked away. "You should hate me."

"I don't," I whispered.

Her head turned sharply, and her eyes widened. "You should. I drank your blood. I hurt you. That wasn't something you forgive."

"But I do," I said, louder this time. "I couldn't stop thinking about you. Not because of the bite… but because you looked lonely. Just like me."

Her lips parted slightly. For a moment, she looked like she was about to cry—but she didn't. Instead, she laughed. Quietly. Bitterly.

"You're a fool," she said. "A kind, stupid fool."

I stepped closer, even though my instincts screamed not to.

"You're always here at midnight… aren't you scared I'll bite you again?"

I smiled, just a little. "Maybe I want you to."

She blinked.

There was silence again. Not awkward—just thick with something neither of us knew how to name.

Then, her voice came, barely audible.

"…Do you know why I bit you?"

I shook my head slowly.

"I was starving. I hadn't fed in five nights. My blood was thinning… my powers weakening. I saw you walking with your hood up. I thought you wouldn't even notice. But when I bit you—"

She paused. Her fists clenched at her sides.

"—Your blood was different. It wasn't just sweet. It *hurt*. It burned through me. I saw things—flashes of your pain, your loneliness, your memories. I felt what you felt. Do you understand what that means?"

I swallowed hard. "You saw… my life?"

She nodded. Her eyes looked distant.

"You… lost someone. Or maybe… you never had someone to begin with."

That was when I realized—this vampire girl, who I thought was heartless—she carried pain too. Maybe more than I did.

"…I'm sorry," I said.

She looked up, startled. "Why are you apologizing to *me*?"

"I don't know. I just… I feel like you needed to hear it."

She turned her back to me. Her hair danced in the wind, swaying like snowflakes caught in moonlight.

"…I don't even know your name," I said.

"Neither do I know yours," she replied, her back still turned.

"…Ren," I said. "My name is Ren."

She was quiet.

Then she turned halfway, and finally spoke.

"…I'm Seraphina."

Seraphina.

That name would echo in my head for days after. Soft, beautiful… and cursed.

Just like her.

---

As the clouds moved across the sky, hiding the moon for a brief moment, the streetlight flickered.

And in that flicker—she was gone.

Vanished.

---

But she had left something behind.

A single snowflake. Still warm.

Falling slowly from the sky.

Or maybe…

it was a tear.