“Oh, how odd,” a transparent witch with purple eyes marveled as Noël’s attention was snapped away from his reverie. “I wonder what they were like; I would have loved to meet them!”

A stray leaf carelessly fell into the small puddle reflecting a whole world that neither Lila nor Noël were part of.

“Have you ever met their parents?” Lila questioned earnestly.

Noël shook his head. “They had no parents or kin to speak of.”

“Hm, maybe they were of fae blood?” the purple eyed witch pondered, floppy brown hat moving around as it was sloppily placed atop her head. “Heavily diluted, I think, if you weren’t able to figure out exactly how they could remain alive with you for so long.”

“That is a possibility,” Noël mused. “They could have had enough magic in their blood to be around me, but weak enough to be inept with spell work…”

“All I know is that they were terrible exorcists,” the ruby-eyed vampire flippantly remarked. The sun was slowly starting to set beyond the horizon as the graves peppered about the cemetery were casting long shadows along the earth. “I had to kick them out of countless exorcisms!”

“Oh right, why did you stop working as an exorcist?”

“Too risky, and I met Aunt Delia a few centuries later…”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“But…how were you able to feed again?”

Noël shifted uncertainly away from the puddle as he fiddled with oversized woolen sleeves. “Aunt Delia took care of everything.”

“You…conducted exorcisms as a way to gain human energy without killing them,” Lila plainly remarked. “How was Delia able to accomplish that without suspicion?”

“Aunt Delia never let me around humans.”

“Ah yes, I remember. It’s a shame I could never speak with her as well…”

“She was really quite lovely and kind.” Noël sadly remarked, nostalgic once again for those long since gone from this realm. “Humans were always so wary around me. Always violent and quick to lash out…”

“Not that I could ever blame them,” he offhandedly mused. “They must have detected being near my general vicinity would bring them nothing but misfortune.”

“Instinctively?” The witch stared at the horizon, noting just how dark the world was becoming.

“Most certainly,” he morosely remarked. “At the very least, they’d know something was amiss as soon as a corpse was discovered. They’d always be moody, but it would always be worse for them the longer I stayed. Humans become more irritable around me as their energy is depleted.”

“It’s sad but unavoidable,” Noël blandly stated. “Maybe…this is why I left home……”

“That strange demon, Annabelle, she’s the first one I was able to speak with in so long besides you and Auntie.”

“I truly adore you two, but…I must admit it was nice to meet someone my age……even one as eccentric and excitable as her.”

“I perfectly understand,” Lila replied, pale reflection barely visible as night slowly descended upon the solitary graveyard. “Loneliness can be a welcome friend, but everyone needs their space…even you.”

“Apologies, Lila. I never meant to insult you—”

“Enough of that, my dear.”

Closing her eyes and humming softly, Lila merely waved her hands in lieu of the vampire’s apologies. “Anyway, as much as I would love to continue this conversation, it’s getting late.”

“What will you do now?” Lila questioned, now completely invisible. The only remnants left of the witch was her soft, light voice.

“Isn’t it obvious, Miss Lila?” Noël responded, a hollow smile plastered on his doll-like face. Crimson red eyes dimly glowing, he appeared otherworldly at that very moment.

“All I need to do is find Annabelle if time permits…”

“But, I will never waver from my goal.”

“I will find whoever killed and buried me in that coffin so long ago—”

An even larger grin grew on his face as Noël gazed up at the starlit sky. “When I do find them, I’ll demand they finish what they started.”

“They’ll never refuse…”

“Afterall, our interests are nigh one and the same.”

“I’ll march up to them, and demand that they—”

“Kill me.”