My story begins, as do many previous, with a loss. My fair Marie was but twenty when fate snatched her from me. Marie, her voice alone spins webs of enchantment that ensnare me still.

She possessed no unusual fairness of manner or face, but I could write a sonnet about her eyes; bright orbs of cerulean blue that told a story of hardship and sorrow. And her hair, spilling like silk onto my flesh as I rested my weary head upon her swelling breasts.

My love for her was like a ravenous beast; devouring that within, though its hunger could only escalate and never be sated. Alone I stand now; adrift in a nameless sea with no hope of rescue.

So now I walk the four corners of the earth, searching for that which was taken from me.
Heart, soul, what do I know of these barren instruments wrenched from me with her smile.

Now, I find myself in a strange land. Neither food nor liquid has passed my lips since landing and I am weak. I fall into a ditch and feel the brackish water pass my cracked lips.

I long only for Death's sweet embrace, but is this to be denied me also?

Apparently so, for before the chill numbs my senses eternally a girl with the glow of an angel descends upon me. I see her eyes; the same as my beloved Marie's and then my world is blackness.

I awake as water passes my lips and soothes my fiery thirst. A smooth cloth passes across my brow and I feel softness beneath me. The air here is warm and scented with an unfamiliar perfume.

My strength is a little renewed and I am able to open my eyes a fraction to examine my surroundings. The light is dim and shadows reign freely in cobwebbed corners.

I see white skin and pitying eyes and adjust my view to include her. As she moves closer to me I inhale the scent of roses and the subtle aroma of freshly scrubbed skin. She wipes my mouth in a gentle movement before speaking.

"My name is Cara and you are in my house."

"Water," I croaked feebly.

She gently supported my head and allowed me only a few tentative sips before taking back the glass. I took the time to study her closely. She was not beautiful, but her countenance was pleasing to me.

A slight smile came and went on her full lips as she observed me. I knew she saw the olive skin and dark hair that were my heritage and it seemed to captivate her.

Finally, she stood and moved towards the door. I felt sudden alarm as I contemplated solitude and reached for her. Cara permitted me to take her small hand within my own.

"Won't you stay?"

A sudden distress came upon her.
"Alas, I cannot," she said, "but I shall return tomorrow."

And then she departed and I was left alone with my emotions that raged within my like a tidal wave. I spent the night in the sort of feverish despair seldom found outside tropical diseases.

I remained prone upon the bed for a long while and was content to allow my thoughts to consume me until I finally slumbered. I was roused from the same fitful slumber without explanation.

Some moments later I realised the chill of my flesh had something to do with a rapid drop of temperature within the chamber, in which I reclined. Some inner instinct provoked me to look to the door an instant before a gentle rapping was audible upon its wooden surface.

This curious occurrence prompted me to rise from the bed and approach the door upon which the knocking was slowly beginning to increase in both volume and ferocity.

My hand seemed possessed by some outside force as my sweaty fingers reached out and wrapped around the knob. I rattled it and discovered that the door was locked and I was trapped.

I fear some madness overcame me at that moment, for I attacked the door. I beat myself upon it and rattled the knob and made a dreadful commotion. It was only when I came to the conclusion that the thing outside was as eager to enter as I was to exit that I was able to desist.

I paused and listened, disturbed by the ragged breathing emanating from the deserted hallway beyond my chamber.

It seemed as though it came from a creature far beyond human motivations. I no longer wished for my freedom and on legs which suddenly proved unsteady I retreated to the bed.

Here I drew the cool sheets high until they brushed my trembling lips. Now I could hear the creature slowly pacing, as though awaiting my presence. I was certain its eyes could pierce the plaster and view my huddled form as it would an appetiser.

I pictured it licking its bloodless lips while thinking of my supple young body and the warm elixir it contained. My teeth chattered with such force that I feared the creature must surely hear them and my heart beat against my rib cage in the manner of a startled bird. I felt as though terror itself had hold of me and was slowly squeezing me tighter until I should burst.

I had the notion I should escape through the window located on the opposite wall and hastened towards it with the clumsy steps of a long-term invalid.

There was no sound from the creature and somehow I knew it was listening to my movements. My fingers grasped the heavy velvet curtains and yanked them aside.

The sight that confronted me then almost stopped my heart.

A bloated, bloodless face was pressed to the pane, its thick lips drawn back to reveal its white gums and sharply pointed teeth. Its eyes were twin black souless orbs and I concluded that to look into them would result in a permanent loss of all mental clarity.

I retreated to the bed a shivering mess and resolved to remain awake so I could observe Satan's creation until dawn.

A sudden fury came upon me that I should be held prisoner by a creature of such malevolence and I fear some other madness overcame me, for I picked up the poker and ran at the window, screaming my defiance. The creature did not have time to move and the weapon penetrated the thin glass and entered the thing's breast. Thick red blood bubbled to the surface and with a hiss it was gone.

I passed a sleepless night in a sort of delirium and a little before the sun rose I departed my bed and despite the sickness that lingered still resolved to quit the house as soon as I had bid my hostess goodbye.

I went to search for Cara after unlocking the door, but could find her in none of the ornate rooms I surveyed on my journey. Finally, there was but one room that remained un-viewed and with trepidation
I opened the door.

The room was empty but for a wasted creature that lay in the centre of the polished wooden floor. I moved to its side with a mixture of emotion and looked down upon its face.

Cara's beautiful, haunted countenance stared up at me with those black soulless orbs still dominating her face. It was then I realised the truth of the matter. Cara was that evil demon who had lured many men here to satisfy her strange appetites, and now she was dying due to my attack the previous evening.

I had no wish to hear her explanation and though it shames me now I left her there in that small wooden room with blood on her lips and tears in her eyes. I know not what became of her, but sometimes I fear the answer.

Now my fortune has changed and I find myself a rich man, with every comfort I could wish for. But still I find my nights remain torturous things, for as the wind whistles through the trees outside I imagine a bloodless creature creeping to the window in wait of food.

Nights are not welcome things any longer.
They are always sleepless.