Quite a bizarre title, right?
I know...
This woman sitting next to me is giving me looks of disgust, the very same looks that she gave at our first meeting. But, let's not rush here and start from the beginning...
Hi, I am Aneesh Ray, your guide for the tale ahead. My relevance here? Well, the story kind of revolves around me, so that might clear some haze. Anyway, without further ado, let's get going.
It was the spring of 2018. My parents had decided to shift my schooling from NOIDA to Delhi, for some reasons too irrelevant to be mentioned here. Thanks to that, I was in Modern School, Barakhamba Road (Naam to suna hi hoga). MSBR is more of an iconic landmark than a school, and folks there behave in a similar manner. No doubt, for the first few days, I had no friends. Now, MSBR also admits a lot of International Students. Ironical? I know, right. Schools with international names don't host any international students, while those who don't have it in their names do. One such student was Bianca Ricci, as the name suggests, an Italian. Well, I may not appreciate the Italian cuisine, but Italy is love. This does not mean that I am attracted to Italian girls... okay?... Let's not form opinions here ;p.
When I first saw Bianca I felt something strange about her. She had this really badass look, boyish haircut, sharply cut face, toned body; it felt as if Alita, the Battle Angel, had come to study at MSBR. But, contrary to this, she had a very serene personality. You felt a sense of warmth when you were around her. I don't know if others noticed this, but I found this rather unusual. However, I never had the guts to go and ask her why this was so. Thus, this was another dilemma that I had to live with.
I am now going a bit off-topic, but the big schools in Delhi have a really great cafeteria, and MSBR was no less. I found myself buying something every other day. Similarly, one day I bought a large cup of Orange Smoothie and then, as all other friendless kids, went and sat in the loneliest corners of the school, The Auditorium. MSBR being the environmentally-conscious school that it is, turned on the power supply only when needed (to be honest... they didn't want a 6 digit electricity bill). As a result, I was there sipping my smoothie in darkness. As soon as my eyes began adjusting to the dark, I saw a figure moving towards me. Before I could even think of reacting, the figure drew up close to me, so close, that I could feel its breath on my face. The figure, in a feminine voice, said, "Is this an Orange Smoothie?"
"Ye...Yes," I replied.
She took the cup from me and bit it on the sides. BIZARRE!
"You could have just pulled out the straw instead," I said, trying to catch my breath and calm myself down. The head slowly turned up and looking at the face, I got chills, eyes glowing green, mouth wide open with an inch long fangs dripping of orange smoothie. But, the face appeared familiar.
"Bianca?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"Hi Aneesh", she replied, returning to her normal self.
This was followed by a brief pause, where I was trying to process what really had happened in the past three minutes.
"Are you a vampire?" I asked, trying to control my excitement.
"I know you have a lot of questions, and I'll answer all of them, but first, let's just step out. Darkness doesn't really suit me." She said, advancing towards the exit.
'Darkness doesn't suit her! What kind of a vampire is she?' I thought, following her lead.
We went out and sat down on a bench under a peepal tree. This also was an isolated place but not as isolated as the auditorium, but then I was no longer alone, so never mind.
The conversation begins:
Me: So, are you a V---?
Bianca: Yes, I am a Vampire. Not the usual vampire, but a fruit vampire. I was bit by a fruit bat when I was a kid. That led to me contracting an incurable disease, and after my death, I became a fruit vampire. I suck juices out of fruits to sustain life.
...I smiled a bit...
Me: How old are you?
Bianca: *Rolling her eyes* I am 194 years old.
Me: *amazed* Woah! So, do you have blood flowing in your veins, or is it mixed fruit juice?
Bianca: *chuckling* It's blood. My fangs are connected to my digestive tract and not my circulatory system. Let's not get into the biology of this. It's pretty boring.
Me: Okay... Whatever you say... Not gonna argue with a vampire.
Bianca:*giving looks of disgust* Good!
Me: Umm, you are not a normal vampire... So do you have some special powers, like shape-shifting, improved senses or flying?
Bianca: Well, I don't have as cool powers as the vampires do. *disappointment clearly visible on my face* But, I can shapeshift into rodents, I do have improved senses, I can heal a wounded human, and I understand the language of winds.
Me: Language of winds! What the hell is that?!
Bianca: You might have heard in stories that trees can speak. Actually, they cant. It's the wind that speaks, and trees use the wind to convey their messages. This giant peepal behind us doesn't just rustle its leaves in vain. There is a meaning behind it.
Me: *pretty shocked*Woahhh! That's cool... I would like to know more about this, but how do you heal people?
Bianca: You see, I survive on fruits, so I have an excess of all the vitamins and minerals. When a person is wounded, his body usually has the reserve of energy, fats, carbs etc... It's the vitamins that help facilitate the regeneration process. So, if I share my body fluid with anyone, then all their wounds will heal.
Me: *mumbling* I wish you could heal my heart too...
Bianca: *grinning* Maybe I can.
Me: Yeah, whatever...*changing the topic* Why did you bite the smoothie cup? Can't you just gulp it down?
Bianca: *smiling* Yes, I can... But I like being dramatic. I may not be a vampire, but what stops me from acting like one? *she laughed*
Me: The fact that soft-hearted people might get a heart attack!
Bianca: Oh, really! Then why didn't you run away?
Me: Firstly, I am not soft-hearted. Secondly, I love vampires.
Bianca: Then what's the problem if I act like one?
Me: Fair enough! *smiling at my defeat* Well, as far as I can understand, you are a good vampire... then why did you come to India? Did people find out about you, and are they behind your life?
Bianca: *almost yelling* NO! It's not like that. Being a fruit vampire, I repel from meat, just like normal vampires repel from pure silver. So Italy was not really the place for me. Apart from this, the only place where people don't doubt you when you are living off just on fruits is India. Therefore, I came to India.
I nodded, trying to process all the new information that I had just heard. Then the bell rang, and the break was over. "Well, I guess we'll have to go now," I said and got up. She caught my hand and said," Hey, Listen---"
"Don't worry, your little secret is safe with me. I won't tell anyone," I said, looking into her eyes.
She got up and said," Thanks for the smoothie... I know you won't tell anyone." This was followed by a tiny speck on my cheek, and I was smiling in all the following classes...
I guess that's all for today. I will tell the rest of the story someday later (maybe...)
Until then,
Addio