MARCH OF THE MONSTERS: DAVID GEMMELL'S VAMPIRES

The boy shivered in bed. Only a slither of yellow light fell over the carpet from the crack of the door. His eyes barely peeped out from under the covers and they darted, terrified, around the room. Each shadow was a potential threat.

Vampires. They haunted him. Even at day sometimes they showed themselves. He wanted the curtains open but his mom had said no, vampires don't exist, don't be silly. She thought she was being sensible and kind, but he knew better. The vampires were there, and at the moment they were just watching him. They could afford to take their time. He was going nowhere, and had never been anywhere. Only one night, a sleep over at a friend's house, had he been free. He had been excited that night, and his friend thought it was because of the fun they had and the movies they watched. But it was the lack of cold cruel eyes that had made him smile.

It had been like this for years. Them, there. Him, here. And only that tiny slit of light saving him from a cold death.

Of course nothing helped. Psychiatrists didn't send the vampires away. Therapists didn't make his blood less desirable, or the vampires less thirsty. What had used to give his mother sad little smiles now made her shake her head and tell him to stop seeking attention. Vampires aren't real. Get over your fear.

As he lay watching the wavering vampires hidden in shadows he heard voices.

"Is he asleep yet?"

"What do you think? It's his stupid vampire thing. All the time, vampires. I don't know what to do.

The boy thought he heard crying and he knew that Gary, his step-dad, was leaning over his mother, comforting her.

"I'll go see him."

"What are you going to do?" but the boy could already hear Gary's footsteps on the carpeted hallway. He shivered down further into bed.

The door burst open. "You know those vampires that bother you?" The boy nodded. "I killed them." The boy looked at him incredulously. "I won't be having with no vampires in my house!" The boy just stared. "Goodnight!" He left abruptly.

Still shocked at that sudden intrusion the boy stared at the shadows. They suddenly didn't seem as threatening. Cautiously, he moved a little higher on the bed, out of the blankets. Nothing happened. He pulled his arm out from under the covers and laid it gently on the sheets. The shadows didn't move. Maybe, just maybe, they were dead.

He sighed, quietly, and closed his eyes. When nothing happened, he relaxed, just a little. He never had a bad night after that.

Also, the idea for this story comes from David Gemmell's life. I read something like this at the beginning of maybe a Waylander novel, or a Skilgannon the Damned novel. Perhaps Druss. That is what happens when you read too much in a short amount of time. It all gets mushed together.

Yesterday could mean memories. Today could mean moments. Tomorrow could mean changes. But really, what do these words mean? Is it enough to say that they're just simply a span of time?

Those words could mean anything or everything. But if for other people they only mean time, for me they already mean life.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow are just some of the necessary words that we living people have to face. Those three words are some of the essential words that we human beings have to live with. But it seems like most of us are sometimes afraid of facing them. Why is this so?

I said 'us' because there are instances that I, myself, am scared of knowing what might or could happen when those days come in my life. I guess that it is the major reason of all the people who encounter such fear.

But now, I've come to realize that there's nothing to be afraid of. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow is naturally a part of our existence here in this world. And since there is existence, we can say that yesterday, today and tomorrow is just a dramatic way to define life.

These words will keep on running just as the world will keep on turning. They may be our enemy at the current state. But yesterday, today and tomorrow has so many wonderful things to lend us. Some of those things can be good, and some can be not so good. Sometimes, we just have to be courageous enough to cross the path of everyday wonders. Don't you think that it's fun to unfold them?

Imagine, yesterday, today and tomorrow can be our nonvisual teachers. Unbeknownst to us, they become a mark in our minds and our hearts and eventually become a lesson for us. They can simply make us nod, or make us think, or deeply, make us understand. But when these marks have stayed long enough within us, it will decide to fly away... Maybe, too far away from us.

Though it's hard to admit, the marks that have stayed within us for so long are so hard to let go. It's because the wonderful feeling that it brought inside us gave us so much contentment. And we people know that contentment is one of the things that we just couldn't release that easily.

If we will only try to look beyond what we thought we have already seen, we'll come to realize that the marks have already made memories in our yesterday, moments in our today, and changes in our tomorrow. And if that happens, that's the time where we could finally say goodbye yesterday, hello today, and see you tomorrow.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow have so many privileges to give us. If we will only be strong and brave enough, we'll understand how important those days are in our lives.

So enjoy living life everyone! Never fail to face those three important days! Who knows, you might get the most colorful life that everybody dreams of!