Морган Райс - Loved

At their base was a soft, sandy ocean beach, littered with rocks of all shapes and sizes. Amidst these were occasional boulders, sitting haphazardly on the sand and out into the crashing waves.

They look prehistoric. The entire place like magical, like a beach set on Mars. She couldn’t even fathom that such a place existed.

Rose must have sensed it, too, because she, still tucked into Caitlin’s jacket, peeked out her head and looked, sniffing the salt air.

As they circled the cliffs, slowing, coming in for a landing, something about them struck Caitlin as familiar. She definitely felt as if she had been here before. Yes. This was the place she. More importantly, she seemed to remember being here with her Dad at some point.

She didn’t know if they would find anything, but she felt as if they were exactly where they were meant to be.

The beach was empty, entirely theirs. They set down softly, Caleb gently landing on the sand, and Caitlin let Rose down. Rose ran in the sand, jumped into the water, then ran back to the shore as the water crashed on her.

Caitlin and Caleb smiled.

They walked slowly down the beach, taking it all in. They walked in silence, as Caleb reached out and took her hand.

The beach was dominated by the sound of the crashing waves, and smell of the ocean air. Caitlin closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It felt so refreshing.

Caleb scanned the cliffs, the beach, the rocks. So did she.

“This is definitely the place,” Caitlin said. “I feel like I was here with him.”

Caleb nodded. “It would make sense. This is a very powerful place for our race.”

Caleb looked at him in surprise. “Have you been here before?” she asked.

“Many times,” he answered. “The Aquinnah Cliffs are one of our sacred places, one of the oldest energy fields on earth. The red clay and sand store and discharge ancient energy, which restores us.

“Humans, of course, don’t realize. They have never understood the exact meaning of this place. But we have known for thousands of years. It is a place of power. A mystical place. One created by the ancients.

“It would make sense for your father to bring you here. It is a rite of passage for all vampires. A place where we bring our young, or those who have been turned. Primarily, though, it is a place of love.”

Caitlin looked at him. “Love?” she asked.

“Vampire weddings are very rare,” he continued, “because we cannot procreate, and because committing for eternity is not something we choose lightly. But when two vampires marry, the ceremonies are very elaborate and sacred. They can go one for days. And nearly always, this is the place they happen.”

Caitlin looked around, in awe.

“If we were to come here at night, especially on a full moon,” he said, “you would likely find a vampire wedding ceremony. It is a place of matrimony, as these rocks symbolize eternity. They are among the oldest elements on this planet. It is believed that their energy charges the union with a bond that can never be broken.”

Caitlin felt her heart swell with his words. Although they’d been together a short time, she already felt like she knew him forever. As he spoke of the ceremony, of marriage, she realized that there was nothing she’d like more than to be assured that she could spend the rest of her life with him. It depressed her that her life would end before his, that they were of two different races, that their love was forbidden. That she would be just another memory for him.

She wanted to tell him all this, but she didn’t know what to say, exactly, or how to express herself. And she didn’t know if he felt the same way about her. So she just kept walking, silently.

Everything felt so perfect, just the way it was right now. Why couldn’t things stay this way? She loved this island, this beach. She could see herself staying here, settling here with Caleb. She could see them building a life together, safe from the rest of the world, at peace. Maybe they’d build a small house, high up on the cliffs, overlooking the ocean. They could leave their pasts behind, start over. Was that even possible?

Over the last weeks, Caitlin had felt so out of control of her life. She had felt events happening all around her, felt herself being swept up in everything. But now that things had quieted a bit, now that their trail had seemingly come to a dead end, she wondered if they could stop searching. She wondered if things could actually return to some semblance of normal.

A part of her, deep down, knew that it was impossible. She knew that, no matter what they did, they were both rushing headlong into destiny. Into their fate. And that, very soon, things between them would change forever. It depressed her.

She found herself thinking of Caleb’s piano playing, of how beautiful the music had been. It’s notes rang in her ears.

“I didn’t know you could play the piano,” she said softly.

He sighed. “It’s been many years. I’m afraid I didn’t do the piece justice. You should’ve heard Ludwig play it.”

She looked at him, shocked. “Do you mean Ludwig…as in Beethoven?” she asked, dumbfounded.

He nodded.

“You heard Beethoven play that? Personally?”

“Yes,” he said. “Towards the end of his life.”

She was flabbergasted. It shocked her to consider what he must have seen.

“So, then…you met him?” she asked

“Yes,” Caleb said. “He was a close friend. He was one of us.”

“A vampire ?” Caitlin asked, shocked.

Caleb simply nodded.

Caitlin wanted to know more—she wanted to know everything—but she could see that Caleb didn’t want to talk about it. Whatever had happened, it held deep feelings for him.

“It must be so incredible to have met people like that. To remember things like that,” she said.

“Sometimes,” he said. “More often, it’s a burden.”

“Why?”

“After time, memories begin to weigh you down. You get so lost in past events, it becomes hard to live in the present. It’s like a house filled with old things. After a certain point, there’s no room to bring in anything new.”

They walked in silence for several minutes. The sun was beginning to set, and it cast a soft light over everything. The waves crashed, Rose yelped as she ran by their feet, and some passing seagulls screech overhead.

Caitlin looked around, wondering if there was any clue, any trace of her father, anything that she remembered. But she couldn’t find a thing.

She heard a loud noise, and felt a breeze, and suddenly, two white horses raced past them. She turned to look, to see where they had come from, but there was nothing anywhere in sight. Wild horses. They galloped right past them, down the beach, running in the shallow water.

Caleb and Caitlin turned and looked at each other at the same time. It was amazing. Unlike anything she had ever seen.

“Wild horses,” he said. “And white. An excellent sign. Let’s catch them!” he said, and took off at a sprint.

Caitlin at first thought he was crazy: how could they possibly catch up with a horse? But then she remembered her newfound speed, and she ran.

Caitlin felt her legs running for her. Before she knew it, she was racing faster than she had ever thought possible. She caught up to Caleb, and the two of them sped up, and within seconds, they were running alongside the horses. Rose ran right behind them.

Caleb smiled wide. “Let’s ride!” he screamed.

He jumped onto the back of one of them, and Caitlin followed suit, running as fast as she could, and leaping in the air onto the back of the other.

She couldn’t believe it, but she was now riding on the back of this horse, beside Caleb. He was laughing, his hair blowing wildly in the wind. The two of them raced down the beach, side-by-side, racing further and further into the sunset. She couldn’t believe that she was able to do this, to hang on. It all felt too surreal.