Ch. 5: Beneath the Sun's Rays
I opened my eyes, and the cloudless sky outside my window was a bright blue stretching before me.
After breakfast, I found myself walking in the forest within the castle grounds.
Beams of sunlight broke through the canopy overhead.
(This is really pretty…)
(I wonder if there’s a way I can show Jay.)
(If I paint with him again…)
——————–
Jay: “Painting is something that needs light and the shadows that light creates.”
——————–
(Right…this is something Jay will never be able to see.)
Thinking of Jay, I felt my chest tighten painfully.
(At the very least, I want to show this scene to him.)
I rushed back to the room to grab a canvas.
Ch. 6: I Want to Know You
Time passed quickly as I painted.
At the time the lanterns in the garden were lit, Jay had just awoken and still seemed groggy.
Jay: “I heard. You spent the whole day here? You should have gone into town. The white is much more beautiful in the afternoon.”
OO: “I’d only gone out to paint, and before I knew it…”
Jay looked at the canvas.
Jay: “A painting of the bright rays of the sun…”
OO: “Yes…”
Jay: “I wonder how many years it’s been…since I’ve seen the beauty of the sun.”
Jay’s eyes sparkled.
(I’m glad I painted it…)
(I really wanted to see it with him.)
(But I can’t say something like that…because Jay must want to see that scene bathed in sunlight more than anyone.)
I wondered if my feelings were written on my face, and Jay affectionately patted my head.
Jay: “There’s no reason for you to look like that.”
OO: “Sorry…”
Jay: “Geez…to think you were thinking of me so much. …I think you trust me a little too much.”
OO: “What do you mean…?”
Without answering, Jay placed his long, slender fingers on my check.
Then he slowly moved closer to the nape of my neck…
OO: “…”
I faintly felt Jay sigh against the base of my neck.
Jay: “You won’t mind if I do something like this?”
OO: “Eh…?”
(But Jay is so kind, and he said he didn’t need to drink blood…)
Jay: “I’m…a monster after all.”
OO: “Monster…?”
I felt Jay’s breath as he tilted my head back.
Jay: “That’s right…”
He grabbed my shoulder and turned me around…
And his cold fingers slid across my neck.
Jay: “Didn’t I say you were too trusting?”
OO: “Jay…?”
Jay: “This way, I can take your blood…”
OO: “…!”
My heart was pounding in my ears.
(Jay’s breathing is…)
His hot breath on my neck made my body shiver.
Jay: “…even like this, you won’t run?”
Jay’s voice wavered slightly.
OO: “I want to know more about you…”
Jay: “…people like you…”
I heard Jay sigh close to my ear, as if exasperated.
He slowly moved back and looked down at me.
Jay: “Seems I’m no match for you.”
Jay averted his eyes and in the moonlight, I saw his cheeks flush.
(Is Jay…embarrassed?)
(This is my first time…I’ve seen Jay look so cute.)
Jay: “Tonight’s another lovely moonlit night. It’d be good for painting.”
He smiled kindly, as if the reckless Jay from a moment before had gone.
…
……
We painted together again and showed each other our pieces.
Jay: “The me you see always looks so happy.”
What I had painted was a vampire enjoying himself as he painted.
And Jay’s painting was…
Jay: “A smiling angel bathed in sunlight, or something. It’s yours.”
Jay said quietly in embarrassment, and his smile shone brighter than the rays of the sun.
END