If Sofia lathered herself in sunscreen, covered most of her skin and avoided direct sunlight she was almost ok. Still, her ability to heal could not keep up with the damage sunlight did. Maybe if she was well fed…

Still, it wasn’t quite as drastic as it had seemed, the bigger problem was honestly her vision. With the sunglasses, she could see general shapes but it was still a struggle. She spent the day searching the internet for fancier sunglasses.

They cost a pretty penny but were designed for those sensitive to light. They were curved to cover more area and blocked UV light, something Sofia had a feeling would be very needed. They were also a lot darker than normal sunglasses and reflective enough Sofia hoped they would keep her eyes hidden.

It felt strange to be buying things tailored to the blind but with any large amount of light she was. Or at least vision impaired. Of all things to be dealing with after death blindness was not something she could have ever expected.

She was going to have to explain something to her parents eventually. But one thing at a time.

Sofia was pretty sure she had never been more in love with same-day delivery. The issue was actually getting the packages from the front step.

Jackie was at class which she had reluctantly gone to at Sofia’s insistence. Sofia needed to get used to the new normal, she couldn’t have Jackie waiting on her hand and foot even if she actually would.

She sent her teachers emails about being absent due to partial blindness and being in the hospital. It wasn’t entirely false, it might have been far-fetched but it was a lie she could back up.

Getting a doctor's note just meant walking up to a doctor and removing her glasses. This whole predicament would certainly make the rest of the semester much more challenging. There were only a few weeks left.

She heard back from her parents who once again invited her back home for the summer. An offer she actually might take now. She had come to Toronto for adventure, she had certainly had enough of that. Going to her small town home sounded… nice. Somewhat peaceful. It would give her time to… process.

With her life somewhat sorted she returned to the problem of the packages on the porch. She didn’t know exactly where they were, but the delivery man had come. Jackie had drawn all the curtains before she had left and with her shoddy sunglasses, she could fumble her way to the front door.

Opening it would probably cook her slightly but she could manage… right? Or she could wait a few hours for Jackie to be home. She was comfortable in her room.

Except… now what? Everything had been so hectic and all of a sudden it was calm. It felt weird. Well, not all was calm. She was kinda peckish. A pack of bacon had not held her hunger at bay long. Not like a proper meal would.

Sofia groaned and pressed her head into her pillows. She still had so many questions, there was probably so much more she didn’t even know she needed to ask.

She needed something to eat. Actually what she really needed was to track down Eloise. She had answers no one else could give her. And while Sofia was not happy with the woman, her murderer, a revenge quest would be futile. At the very least Eloise owed her answers.

How the hell was she supposed to track her down?

Eloise had given Jackie an address. Sofia plugged it into her computer. She very much doubted Eloise was living in the Toronto necropolis.

If there was one thing Sofia did have it was time and determination. She started her research. Looking up the club, what she could remember of Eloise. Anything she could think of.

Police investigate the mysterious death of a young Latina woman. Sofia Ortíz, 21, was found dead in the bathroom of the White Elephant club.

“Fuck,” Sofia cursed, reading over the article. “Fuuuuccckkkkk!”

The article had been posted yesterday. This was bad. Especially considering she was doing her best to not be dead. To not freak out everyone in her life.

But her name wasn’t the most unique. She could get ahead of this before it had a chance to bite her in the ass.

Still, she didn’t know many people in Toronto. But if the police had identified her, odds were they were in the process of tracking down her parents.

Sofia called her mom. She might not appear on camera but there was no reason she couldn’t talk to her.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Sofía, shouldn’t you be in class?” Maria answered.

“Good morning to you too, Mamá,” Sofia replied, unable to stop the smile spreading across her face.

“It’s mid-afternoon, what are you talking about,” Maria laughed. “It’s good to hear your voice, mi amor.”

“How is everyone?” Sofia asked.

“Good, your father has taken some more shifts at the landfill. Hector’s grades are getting better. Oh, Miguel got a new job, the farm is putting him to work though,” Maria chuckled. “How are you doing?”

“Good,” Sofia managed to reply, even if she wasn’t entirely certain of it. She hadn’t felt homesick in a long time. Miguel had gone to a local college to work and Hector was still in high school. She was the only one of them that had left home.

Gem Creek had been suffocating. There was barely anyone her age, far too many dirty looks from white folk that weren’t a fan of Mexicans and a critical lack of queer people. Toronto didn’t have such flaws, mostly.

But after realizing just how fragile her life was, she missed home.

“I think I’ll come home for the summer,” Sofia added, realizing she had been quiet for an awkward amount of time.

“¿Qué pasó?” Maria asked, she always knew when something was wrong whether Sofia wanted her to or not.

“Nothing, Mamá, I’m just homesick,” Sofia offered as reassuringly as she could.

Maria made a noise that made it clear she didn’t really believe her but she let it drop.

“Oh,” Sofia sighed, remembering why she had called in the first place. “A girl died a few days ago, she had my name so… if you see an article or something… it’s not me, I’m fine. Or if the police show up or something. I just don’t want you to worry.”

“What happened?” The frown was evident in Maria’s voice.

“I don’t know, my roommate was worried when she saw it so I thought I would mention it just in case.”

“I’ll say a prayer for their family then,” Maria offered sympathetically. “How is Jackie doing?”

“Still trying to get me to let loose,” Sofia laughed nervously.

“You behaving yourself, mi hija?” Maria teased sternly.

“Yes, Mamá.”

“Quallate, Hector! I’m talking to your sister!” Maria yelled before putting the phone back to her ear. “Your brother is blasting music, I swear that boy.”

“I should be getting back to class, Mamá,” Sofia offered with amusement, she wasn't sure her heart could take much more of this.

“Oh, okay. Take care of yourself. Te amo muchísimo,” Maria replied, the disappointment was clear.

“I love you too, Mamá. Say hi to everyone for me. I’ll talk to you soon.”

As Sofia put down the phone she felt like she should be crying. Unfortunately, her body didn’t seem to be able to do that anymore, despite how hollow she felt. Everything was fine, everything was good, yet it still hurt so much.

----------------------------------------

Sofia was growing increasingly restless as the day continued on. Being cooped up inside her room was not fun when she couldn’t leave. She had gotten nowhere on tracking down Eloise. With only a first name she hadn't had high hopes. Especially since there wouldn't be any photos.

“Sofia? Did you order stuff?” Jackie called after the front door opened.

Sofia shut her laptop excitedly. Once it got dark she would put up the blackout curtains, then she would be able to actually move around the apartment. She was more looking forward to the glasses. Even being able to see a little clearly during the day would be a massive relief.

“Yup!” she called in response.

Jackie stopped at the other side of Sofia’s bedroom door. “Do you want me to slip them in?”

“Please,” Sofia replied and braced herself. Her bedroom door opened, and she turned her face away from the light as Jackie slid two packages in and closed the door again. “Thanks!”

“No problem,” Jackie replied, she sounded tired. But Jackie went into her room before Sofia could check-in.

Sofia tore open the boxes and pulled out the sunglasses triumphantly. They were clunkier than expected but she figured that was a good thing. She slipped them on, the room almost actually seemed dark. Considering her night vision and the dark room that was saying something.

She pulled her large hoodie on and pulled up the hood and a pair of winter gloves she had found. Then she slipped into a too-small pair of rain boots. She looked very stupid but she was now ready to brave the afternoon light.

With a deep breath, more a gesture of habit than anything else, she opened her door and stepped into the apartment. She squinted her eyes open. She could see… somewhat. It was by no means perfect, she imagined it was like her father without his glasses. Still, it was leagues better than before. She could actually function this way, more or less.

She had upgraded to really bad eyesight rather than being blind, at least in their window-scarce apartment in the early evening.

Sofia was going to have to just accept that daylight wasn't going to be a very productive time for her.

She was about to go knock on Jackie’s door to show off her cleverness when she paused. She could hear… sniffling. Was Jackie crying? That wasn’t good.

“Jackie?” She called and knocked on her roommate's door.

“One sec,” Jackie replied, “Ok, come in.”

Sofia opened the door, Jackie saw her and burst out laughing. “Oh my god. You look like the killer from My Bloody Valentine.”

Jackie didn't seem to have been crying. But Sofia was also pretty sure she hadn't mistaken what she had heard. “You ok?” she asked.

“Yeah fine, why?” Jackie frowned.

Sofia shrugged. “I don't know, but if you need to… talk about stuff. You’ve been nothing but helpful to me, I’m happy to listen.”

“Thanks,” Jackie smiled.

Sofia could sense something was off. “You wanna do something tonight?” Sofia asked instead, she was bored out of her mind from being cooped up. Jackie might actually meet her goal of getting Sofia to let loose, just maybe not… how it was expected.

“I’m kinda exhausted from class. Sorry,” Jackie offered.

“You sure? I was thinking we could go over to the national park or something and just walk around,” Sofia suggested.

That was apparently not what Jackie had expected her to suggest. “Uh, actually sure. Um… you’re kinda cooking,” she winced, pointing to her own cheek.

“Shit,” Sophie cursed, stepped back into the hall, clutching her face,

“I'll let you know once it's getting dark,” Jackie chuckled.

Sofia retreated to her room in frustration. Her hunger was only making her more agitated. Some fresh air would do her good. So would something to eat.

How exactly she was supposed to get blood she had no idea. Raid a blood bank? Eat a squirrel? How the hell did Eloise do it?

Considering that night Sofia was pretty sure she actually knew. But it was one thing to have a little nibble, another to leave corpses in a public bathroom. Would that be her one day? Totally apathetic towards human life? She really hoped not.

But God she was hungry.

She didn't blink at eating beef, lamb, pork, or fish. It was all just food to her. But people were on the menu now too, apparently a delicacy. The superfood of the undead. Was it even possible to retain her humanity? Or would time strip her of everything until all she was just hunger? An existence like that sounded like a curse.

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all,” she repeated to herself. Except she had no idea how to live anymore. Everything had changed. All thanks to fucking Eloise.