At the break of dawn, the fire started to go out, so I got up, slowly and started walking outside when I noticed there was blood on my pant leg. I panicked, assuming, somehow, Noemi had been stabbed. I raced over quickly and threw the furs off her.
“Hey! What are you doing? It’s freezing,” she said and tried to pull the furs back up, but I yanked them back down.
“You’re bleeding, you must be hurt, see!” I pointed to blood stain on my pant leg.
She looked under the furs and her face grew red and she began to chuckle, the burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny? Are you hurt or not?” I asked, concerned.
“I’m fine Roldian, I’m just bleeding from between my legs.”
“Why? What’s wrong with you, do you have something in there trying to get out?” I said, confused.
She laughed even harder, “Stop laughing, what is going on?” I asked.
“My mom told me a long time ago, that this is part of being a woman. It happens all every thirty days or so.”
“You bleed out from between your legs every thirty days? How long does it last, will you be okay?”
She laughed some more at me, I was genuinely concerned I had never witnessed such a thing, “Yes I will be fine, it’ll stop when it stops, I just have to clean up more often than not. There’s really nothing to be worried about,” she said and tried not laughing again, “I’m sorry I got it on your pants.”
“You can’t control it, no need to worry,” I said. I was just glad she wasn’t hurt. I learned something knew every day with Noemi.
This is how we lived our lives. We stayed together for over eighty-five years. Sabor and her horse died long before that and we had to train our new horses, which we didn’t name. I watched as Noemi aged slowly, I think due to my blood, but aged, nonetheless. There came a time when she could no longer get on her horse. She stayed in the tent most time while I killed the vampires. No matter how old she got though, she never stopped walking around the tent naked. Her body was failing her no matter how much she had taken care of it in her previous years and I felt for her.
One night, I had gotten back from hunting for food for her, we were near the Poppigay River in upper Russia, it was beautiful and even though summer, still a little cold for Noemi. There were mountains behind us and the river in front of us, it was breathtaking to see. She called out to me.
“Roldian, you know I’m dying,” she said her voice crackled with age.
“Nonsense Noemi, you are gong to live forever,” I smiled at her, but this time she didn’t smile back.
“My time is coming; my time should have come a long time ago. I’ve always wanted to see the sunrise from the top of the mountain, even though with my eyes, I wouldn’t see much, I would like to try.”
I didn’t want to face the fact she was dying, if I knew then, what I know now, I would have given more of my blood a long time ago, she’d still be with me, “I will take you,” I said and got up. I scooped her up, her back, curved from age, popped a little when I did.
I carried her outside and used my speed to get up to a mountain quickly. I was careful though, both before and while I climbed the mountain. I can’t say that I climbed it, but I leapt up it, each time I landed Noemi let out a small “oomph!” She was a warrior though and held me tight as I made one last jump to the summit of the mountain.
We waited a few hours, the whole time she shivered from the cold and took deep breaths, her time was truly upon her. I looked off in the distance and could see the sun rising, “Here we go Noemi are you watching?”
I got no response, I looked down and the sun had just kissed her face, she was gone. Tears fell from my eyes and when they hit her face, they crystalized. My Noemi was gone and so was a piece of me.
I brought her body back down the mountain and set her in the tent. I packed up my furs, and surround her with all her stuff. I walked to her horse and patted its head, the quickly snapped its neck. It was her horse and even though, only having it a few years, she deserved to take it with her. I dragged the horse into the tent and put it beside her the best I could. I went out and gathered up all the wood I could find, I came back dumped out her collection of oils, all over her and the horse’s body. I built the fire and threw on pieces of wood after pieces of wood. The fire started to blaze, and I made my exit as the smoke started to roll out the front of the entrance. I grabbed my horse and walked away. I stopped a few yards away and watched as the tent went up in flames.
“I will miss you Noemi,” I said then heard an old familiar voice.
“Trouble seems to follow you!”
I turned around and there stood Lucifer in his human form. He was wearing clothes from that time. He had on beige, baggy pants and just a matching vest.
“Well, I am your son, we haven’t exactly fared well have we?”
“True you haven’t, but now I fear someone else’s son won’t fair well,” he said and stepped around me.
“Why
