Alone.
I am alone. I’ve been alone for over three centuries. And the thing about being born in 1695 is the fact that it’s not only hard to adjust to the changing times, but I’m also stuck with a medieval name like Elizabeth.

So I avoid all that complexity by just living on my own in the forest, it’s safer for them, I don’t even know if I can trust myself. There’s a large tree in the center of the forest that I call my home. It’s so high up I could never be spotted by hikers and over the years I have collected enough wood and steel to make my house indestructible. And of course I chose one of those National Forests where no trees are allowed to be chopped down and no animals are allowed to be hunted.

I’ve lived peacefully for an entire century before she showed up.

I was resting on my bed when I heard the shuffling down below with my enhanced hearing. It was midnight, and I knew for a fact that the National Park was closed. I climbed out of my house and glanced down. There was a blonde woman just walking through the forest walking around cautiously. I jumped down to a lower branch to take a closer look at the woman and gasped.

Her shoulder length blonde hair was straight and her hazel eyes looked so sweet and innocent. But aside from her breathtaking beauty she had the most intoxicating scent. I’ve done fine feeding off animals for 175 years, but when a beautiful young girl with an incredible scent walks in here all by herself it’s hard to resist. My fangs popped out with a small click and a growl erupted from my throat. My throat ached with hunger and my eyes darkened.

The girl seemed to hear something and froze in her spot. I clenched my eyes shut and forced my fangs to retract. I was going strong for 175 years and I couldn’t break it now especially with this innocent woman who probably thought I glittered in the sun or some other bullshit.

I slowly jumped off the tree as to not scare her and took another calming breath. Slowly I stepped out into the clearing and said, “excuse me ma’am?”