OBSESSION WITH VAMPIRES

Jean's childhood

On a warm afternoon, a six-year-old little girl was sitting in a public chair by the side of the road, she was fed her favorite cake that she rarely got. The girl was wearing her favorite clothes that she rarely used. In his head was the bando he had been craving. Amongst the visible happiness, his face was silent expressionlessly, he was pensive as if trying to enjoy the moment of mouthfuls from the uncle sitting beside him.

“Jean, here comes the last feed”, the uncle told the little boy.

Jean's blank gaze was now turned to look at her uncle, her round cheeks rising up and down chewing the cake slowly. In his eyes he sees the uncle smiling awkwardly, reminding Jean to one year ago when the uncle cried as much as he could at the funeral of Jean's parents who had an accident. At that time the uncle hugged Jean tightly while saying that since then, all Jean had was her, her uncle. Today's uncle's smile and his cry back then, both contained sadness and worry. But what sets us apart today is regret.

“Uncle, Jean is really grateful for everything until now”, Jean said after swallowing the cake in her mouth. Jean's eyes are filled with thoughts that should not be suitable for thinking of a 6-year-old girl.

“What do you mean.”, uncle Jean chimed in his nephew's greeting with a floating mutter.

“Ah, Jean you haven't had a drink. Wait a minute here, uncle went to buy a drink briefly”, said his uncle who rose from his seat while rubbing Jean's head.

Jean looked at her uncle who was passing behind her closely, she looked at her uncle's back which was slowly moving away. The sight carried memories of the time when many times his uncle's back could only go frozen when his wife berated him for economic reasons. The passed back reminded Jean of the back of her uncle who could only lower his shoulder when the boy complained while crying because he always had to share with Jean amid limitations.

There was no Jean in the family in the first place, and now that she has to disappear, it's not a problem. Jean felt so grateful for everything this past year to her uncle, that's what Jean thought. Before finally the uncle's back disappeared, fear strengthened as the light disappeared. Jean just kept holding back the tears, sitting there hoping for her uncle to come back.

Two days passed, during which time people simply asked about the whereabouts of old man jean and then passed by. That afternoon Jean stood walking towards the garbage can with a body trembling with hunger. Jean eagerly searches for the bag of food scraps she sees dumped by a passerby. Something that wasn't bone, plastic or paper, something that he could chew, a crumb of dry dough left there.

Bando who is still attached to the head of little Jean no longer looks new, tangled hair that is infested with flies, his favorite clothes that are slum filled with dust, and the, a small, vibrating body walks back to a public street bench, two young women are seen seeing Jean from afar while talking about something like social services.

A bright afternoon changed into twilight, a reddish-yellow light lit up along the way. A middle-aged woman patted Jean's small back.

“Nak.., Nak wake up. Where are your parents?”, Jean who no longer has the energy just fell silent, responding with a glare that had difficulty opening her eyes. The middle-aged woman in uniform carried Jean in her car.

Somehow long trip that night, Jean is now sitting in the administrative room chair of a parlour.

“He only shook his head when asked about his family, and there were no clues to investigate because the area did not have any CCTV.”, in the middle of the conversation of women in uniform with the caretaker, in the center of the house, Jean focused only on the bread in her hand, she devoured the large bread greedily. His eyes flowed a little, only this time he felt the bread is very good than his favorite cake that he ate 3 days ago.

The hand of the uniformed woman rubbed the wet hair of Jean after she bathed slowly, it was a good-bye to Jean, but at least Jean is now left in a warm home with many friends.

Two weeks passed, Jean began to get along with her substitute friends, especially Clara and Beny because they had a relatively similar age. That day the three of them were sitting next to each other in the front hall of the nursing home. That day the Panti did a routine health check every month, and that day was the first for Jean.

“Hihk, haaa, this pain sakii.it”, the door of the examination room opens followed by the exit of a 5-year-old child who cries while in the arms of a caretaker.

“Relax, do not cry, let's buy your favorite ice cream, okay”, entertain the caretaker who holds the child as it passes.

“It didn't hurt at all, Leo cried just so the managers bought him ice cream”, Clara insisted as she held Jean's nervous hand.

“Don't cry! , let's bet the pudding ration tomorrow”, Clara said as she passed leaving Jean in the waiting chair.

20 Minutes later the door of the infirmary opened, Clara came out with puffy eyes and trembling lips holding back tears.

“I..this does not hurt, just a little scary”, Clara chanted while out of the room.

“Come Jean and Roni enter”, the officer said with a cry after seeing Clara's behavior.

Jean came in and was told to sit on the examination bed, another child sitting on another bed that was blocked by the curtain. Jean held her breath as a needle pierced her hand which was tied to something like a belt, blood flowing filling the medical bag. While Jean closed her eyes and just focused so as not to lose her pudding ration tomorrow. In that room a doctor guided two other nurses who were doing quite busy tasks.

“Eat more vegetables okay, do not forget to take vitamins that are always given by the caretaker”, said the doctor to Jean after removing the needle from her small hand.

Jean walked out of the examination room without caring about the blood-filled sac she had thrown into the cold chest containing the blood of her friends. All Jean thought about was that her pudding rations were safe tomorrow.

Three months passed, the garden behind the orphanage filled with the laughter of children.

“I will start counting!, 1..!,2...!,3.!”, shouted a boy who closed his eyes while facing the wall. All around him, children were running around looking for a place to hide.

Jean ran quite far from her friend, looking down the open hallway between the two dormitories in the parlour. Jean felt that the undercarriage was a very nice place to hide, and then immediately hid there without a second thought.

Jean, hiding in the hallway, was silent, but suddenly the feet of a young boy landed there, right in front of Jean's sight. The shocked Jean thought it was the child who was looking for the children who were hiding a reflex to close his mouth trying to stay calm. But Jean realized, the clothes the boy was wearing was not the uniform of the home, but the clothes that looked very nice and clean.

“Meet!”, said the boy as he tilted his upper body to look at Jean. His pale white face and red eyes were too conspicuous not to remember Jean. The black-haired boy smiled at Jean.

“Enveer!, where are you?, let's hurry we have to go home now!”, the boy's eyes turn towards the direction the sound comes from, then look back at the confused Jean.

“I like the smell of mu”, said the boy who then stood up straight.

“Wa.. scented?”, Jean murmured in wonder.

“Contents you exactly like my favorite snack fragrance”, concluded the handsome boy while jumping up the open aisle where he jumped before.

Jean who felt that she did not understand what the boy meant only then ignored him without a care.