It was a rainy Sunday afternoon. Mr. Darcy had just left his apartment and was on his way to his office to take some documents he needed for his closing speech in court tomorrow. His long thin dark-grey coat was soaking wet as were his boots. Somehow his raven black hair was still relatively calm and sleek. As he was passing by the butchery, his attention was attracted by the smell of fresh blood and raw meat. Instinctively, he turned his head toward the shop and his mouth filled with salvia, his stomach rumbled and in his head emerged memories of human screams, knives cutting the still warm bodies and for a second the rain resembled drops of blood on his face.
Suddenly a strong jar pulled him back to reality. A tall red-haired woman mumbled, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you!”. Mr. Darcy didn’t hear a word she said for he was captured by her pure eyes with the colour of fresh spring tree leaves. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. This time he heard it and responded, “Don’t worry about it, Madame”. The woman tried to walk away but then they both realized he was holding her arm. A moment of silence, she looked into his sky-blue eyes and he knew – she was special. He had to invite her to dinner. But how? Why would she agree? He was a complete stranger! Yes, his picture had been in the papers once or twice for winning big court cases but that was it. He was no one. Seconds were passing slowly as these thoughts were racing through his mind. He finally plucked up courage and said, “Do you mind if I…” he took a breath, “would you agree…,” he paused and looked away, his mouth was dry and he could hardly move his tongue to form the sounds. When he met her eyes again, she was still waiting for his question, he even saw a slight sign of anticipation so he finally asked, “May I take you to dinner tomorrow night, Madame?”. The woman smiled as if she was hoping to hear that exact question.
— Why not?! — she said, trying to hide the excitement.
— How about seven, Miss …?
— Coleman, Lilly Coleman.
— So how about seven, Miss Lilly Coleman?
— Seven is perfect! I’ll give you my business card.She wrote her address on the back and handed it to him.
— ’till tomorrow at seven, Mister…?
— Good bye, Mr. Ralph Darcy!
— Good bye, Miss Lilly Coleman!
Only now they realized it had stopped raining, the sun had broken through the clouds and his light reflected in the puddles creating thousands miniature rainbows.
That night Ralph couldn’t focus properly on his work. His thoughts were somewhere else. With Miss Lilly Coleman. He couldn’t stop thinking about her white thin skin, about the wet red curls on her shoulders and most of all – her eyes – greener than green, while staring at them he could almost sense the scent of the freshly leaved trees in a forest brightened from the shining sun after a rainstorm. She was so pure, like an angel. Ralph felt very confused that the memory of Lilly didn’t provoke hunger and thirst in him. This hadn’t happened for such a long time. He tried to dispel these thoughts and continue with his plea for tomorrow. Finally, after midnight, he gave up and went to bed.
His mind had decided not to give him peace even in his sleep. Lilly haunted his dreams. First, he was just about to cut an old man into pieces and eat him when she appeared. Her graceful figure in a light-yellow dress, curls flown by the wind like little flamelets – it all seemed out of place in the darkness of the graveyard they were in. She didn’t say a word, just stood there, watching. Her gaze was blank, there was no sign of reproach, but not approval either. Ralph somehow knew he should stop, deep inside he felt he didn’t want to murder that man, at least not anymore… After that everything started spinning and he found himself in a field under the setting sun. There she was – Lilly, smiling, laughing, dancing and playing like a child in the grass. He felt something he had never felt before, he felt in peace. Lilly reached out but in the moment their fingers touched, Ralph woke up.
The day passed slowly, especially in the court, but after four the time seemed to have speeded up so much that Ralph thought he wouldn’t make it in time. At six thirty he was already in the taxi going to the address from the back of the business card Lilly gave him. He was in his best suit – a navy-blue, which he combined with his favourite claret tie and a white sark. Ralph looked at his Rolex and calmed down at last – he was not going to be late.
When he arrived at Lilly’s house it took him a few minutes to find the bell and to gain the courage to push the button. As he waited her to come, Ralph had time to look at the house. It was three storey building, recently painted beige with dark brown ornaments under the roof. There were two stores on both sides of the front door – one for clothes and the other was a bakery. The door opened and there was she – in a white knee-length dress without sleeves, tight at the waist and flared below, her shoulders were covered with a turquoise bolero. Ralph couldn’t take his eyes off her as she locked the door and came to him.
— Good evening, Miss Coleman! — he said handing her the bouquet of red, white and purple fleurs-de-lis.
— Good evening, Mr. Darcy! — she smiled, — Thank you for the flowers, these are my favourite you know.
He took her to the Bulgarian restaurant “Yamforuna” in the city centre. The restaurant was not big, filled with soft warm light. The host seated them on a table perfect for a first date – in the inner part of the room, aside from the centre, but not in the corner either. The chairs were covered with pale baby-orange to pinkish satin with a matching ribbon in a bit darker shade. The table cover was the same as the chairs’. On it there was a lit tea candle and a fresh white orchid in a tiny vase.
Ralph didn’t take long to order - he rarely had something different than the usual underdone wild boar stake with no garnish and a glass of wine. He decided not to experiment with the food now, but was determined to try the Bulgarian wine the waiter offered him – “Pэrsona Mavrud”. Lilly on the other hand thought carefully what to order as she didn’t want to make a bad impression. She usually chose her favourite green salad with tuna, croutons and red pepper potato crisps but now selected the traditional Bulgarian “Shopska salad” and a bottle of mineral water.
The conversation went smoothly under the sounds of classical music. As they were getting to know each other Ralph realized he was falling in love with Lilly. The way she smiled, the way she spoke with her soft bell-like voice, how her curls moved and bounced when she laughed, and her honest deep eyes... It was all so enchanting!
— You’ve barely touched your stake, Ralph! — she noticed.
— I don’t think I’m hungry, — he said, although it was a lie. The truth was he didn’t want to eat it, the taste was different now - like slime in his mouth. Only then did he realize something about Lilly changed him, he didn’t feel the urge to kill and eat neither human, nor animal raw meat. Was it that dream from last night? Was it her eyes? These thoughts occupied his mind for the rest of the night, up until they were back in front of Lilly’s house.
— I had a really good time tonight, Ralph. Thank you! — she said
— The pleasure was all mine, Lilly.
— I would love to see you again soon, — she whispered as if she had read the unsaid question in his mind.
They stared at each other for a minute but no one gained the courage for a kiss. A strong gust of wind drew them out of the rapture. Lilly shivered
— You are cold, probably it is best if you get inside, — Ralph suggested
— ‘night, Lilly! — he said as he followed her with glance while she unlocked the door and went inside.
She took a gander at him right before she disappeared from his sight.
Barely did they knew their lives were about to change forever.
A few days passed before Ralph saw her again. Each next date was closer to the one before it. Soon they became a couple. Their love was overwhelming. But something was still missing for Ralph. He still couldn’t understand what made him stop feeling the need for raw human flesh, but it was not it. It was the sense that he wasn’t close enough to Lilly, not even when they made love. He desired, he needed to coalesce with her. Her purity, her angel-like character, the goodness, the happiness and the brightness she filled his life with – he wanted more of it. When he was embracing her, he could hardly resist the temptation to squeeze her so she would penetrate his body until they become one. Of course Ralph knew that was physically impossible. He had to find another way to make it happen.
With time this feeling, this thought was becoming more and more obsessive. Until, one night, he woke up and knew what he had to do.
On the next full moon Ralph invited Lilly to dinner. He had arranged everything by himself. He chose an almost round meadow in the woods near the city, surrounded by old oaks. He decorated it with thousands of small lanterns as if the air was filled with fireflies.
Around seven thirty, everything was ready for Lilly to come. She arrived dressed with long free silk carribean-blue dress and white ballet flats, her hair was clasped on one side with a white flower hairpin. The sight of her stance was breath-taking and left Ralph speechless.
He kissed her and invited her to the table, pulling back the chair.
— What would the beautiful lady like to order? — he asked facetiously.
— Whatever the specialty is, – Lilly answered in the same manner with a slight hint of pretentiousness.
He put a plate of Lemon basil risotto balls and a bottle of mineral water in front of her, and for himself he served a plate of Ricotta gnudi and a small glass of absinthe. For dessert he had chosen bite-sized fruits with whipped cream and champagne, which they consumed on a blanket close to the table.
When they finished it was almost midnight. Ralph thought, “It’s time”. He turned up the volume of the music, sounding from his portable cassette player and invited Lilly to a dance. At the end of the song he kneeled and pulled a small red velvet-covered box from his pocket.
— My dearest Lilly Coleman, will you marry me? – he asked in a quiet but clear and confident voice
Lilly’s eyes filled with tears and her lips formed a wide smile.
— Of course I will, Ralph!
He put the white-gold diamond ring on her finger, embraced her and lifted her off the ground. He was now convinced – Lilly truly loved him, she wanted to be his for eternity. He could proceed.
A moment later he pulled out a knife and stabbed her. She slumped in his arms and her soul left her body through a quiet sigh. “She didn’t feel anything, I was fast,” Ralph thought trying to persuade himself he hadn’t caused her pain. Then he gently took out her heart and eagerly sank his teeth in it sucking the warm blood. He finally felt complete.
From that day on Ralph was not the same man. He never harmed another living being – didn’t feel the need to. Rarely did he feel Lilly’s absence either. Strangely as it sounds, his ritual seemed to have fulfilled its role. Lilly indeed had become a part of him. She was the sacrifice necessary for turning on the light in his darker than darkness itself heart.
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