Elixir of Flesh

  * * *

  Lina went to the door of Asha’s room to speak with her. Carved onto the surface of the door was a lion standing on all fours looking directly at her, its mane bristling with pride. Lina knocked on the door, and a voice told her she could enter.

  Inside she saw Asha naked, face down upon her bed while two vampires hovered over her, kneading her muscles with their hands.

  “What do you want little Lina?” Asha hissed, still lying flat, without opening her eyes or turning her head, her face remaining buried in her mattress.

  “What are they doing to you,” Lina innocently asked.

  “Is that what you came here for? They’re massaging my muscles. It relaxes me and feels very good. If that’s all you want, then you can leave me.”

  “No, no,” Lina hastily interjected, “I wanted to ask your permission for something.” The act of asking for something from someone else—even just asking permission—made Lina uncomfortable, and she hesitated as powerful internal restrains came to the fore. “I want to go up to the surface,” Lina said.

  Asha opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Lina. “Why do you want to go outside?” she asked, “It’s daylight out now, isn’t it?” Lina nodded, and Asha said, “I hate going out in daylight. You want to go out now?”

  “I do, yes,” Lina hesitantly answered.

  “Why? What do you want that for?”

  “I miss seeing the sun. I miss being out,” Lina said.

  “You’re a creature of the dark now. You must get used to it,” Asha vehemently asserted.

  “I want to walk around in the fresh air. I want to do something. What do you vampires do all day? There’s hardly enough work for me to fill a day.”

  “So you’re bored? Take up a hobby. They taught you how to read in that convent. See if you can find a book to read. Do something creative. If I let you outside, what will you do there?”

  “I don’t know,” Lina shrugged her shoulders, “Walk around.”

  Asha brought the massage to a stop by raising her hand and sitting up in her bed. Her naked body was exposed to Lina temporarily. Lina looked up at Asha with a distinct look of envy, but she quickly lowered her eyes when Asha noticed her stare. Asha put on her light indoor clothing and dismissed the two vampires from her presence. They left the room and waited in the hall.

  “You wish you were beautiful like me, don’t you?” Asha said, “You will be someday. Be patient. You’ve already become more beautiful since you came here. I can tell.”

  Lina blushed shyly, not because she was embarrassed by the compliment, but worried that Asha might infer her secret.

  Asha continued, “Though I wonder why you would want it. It serves us no purpose anymore. As you may know, we vampires don’t mate. In fact, I was quite beautiful even when I was a young human, but it was not a blessing, I assure you. You don’t know what it’s like to be beautiful. Being beautiful means always being seen, always being noticed. It can be quite oppressive to have eyes on you all the time.”

  “No worse than never being seen,” Lina replied. This caused Asha to emit a slight laugh.

  After some silence, not knowing what more to say, Lina reiterated her request, “Will you give me permission to go outside?”

  “I will give you permission,” Asha said. Lina turned, ready to leave, but Asha stopped her, saying, “But I want you to hear a story first. I want you to hear about my life as a human.” Lina turned around and looked at Asha, who smiled in that arrogant, domineering way she always smiled and said, “It’s quite instructive.”