“You’re freezing,” Rachel said with a quiver. “Why are you so cold?”
Benji looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. “I already told you.”
“Benji, I really do like you, but I can’t be with someone who doesn’t tell me the truth. You didn’t tell me the whole story.”
“I tried to tell you, Rachel, I did. But you didn’t believe me.”
Rachel waited and then looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry, please tell me again.”
Benji took both of her hands and held them close to his body. He could feel her pulse begin to go faster and faster. He looked deep into her eyes and said, “I’m a vampire. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” he said as he felt her hands pulling away from his.
He continued to hold onto her hands and said, “You have to trust me. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
The look on Rachel’s face grew softer and she tilted her head in confusion. He could tell she was thinking something.
“I don’t believe in vampires, Benji.”
“You’re the only person I’ve ever told this to and you swore that you wouldn’t tell. Did you keep your promise?”
He waited anxiously for her to respond. He hoped that during all the questioning by the police she didn’t let it slip. Although he knew she was skeptical of him anyway, so she probably wouldn’t have said anything.
“I swore to you that I wouldn’t tell and I kept my promise to you. I will never tell a soul.”
“Do you believe me now?” Benji said as he gazed piercingly into her eyes.
“I think you’re crazy!” Rachel said with a laugh. “I’m not sure if I believe you. Prove it. Prove you’re a vampire.”
Benji thought for a moment about how he could prove himself to her. He knew he couldn’t go kill an animal in the bushes— that would be too gruesome. He also knew it wouldn’t be wise to show his superpower strength again, especially at the movie theater. So, he reached into his pocket and took out a shiny, gold, kaleidoscope and handed it to her.
“What’s this?” Rachel asked, looking down at it, as he placed it in her palm.
“If you look inside it, you will know I am real,” Benji said with a smile.
Rachel looked back at him, and then put the kaleidoscope up to her eyes. She looked through it and turned it with her fingers and then pulled it away from her face. “I don’t see anything except some dull colors,” she said in a disbelieving tone.
But when she looked up, he was gone.
Vanished.
Chapter Thirteen
When Rachel got home that night it was late, and all the lights in the house were off. She snuck in without getting caught, and then went up to her room to get ready for bed. She began to undress and get into her pajamas when she heard a loud bang.
Rachel looked down and saw the shiny golden kaleidoscope that Benji had given her, rolling around on her wooden floor. She picked it up and looked through the hole, hoping to see something, but saw nothing except some muted colors inside that moved around as she turned it. As she sat there examining the kaleidoscope, she noticed some small writing on the side, it was an inscription, and it read: Paris 1731. On the other side of it, in small letters, it read: Lyndvia Castle.
She placed it carefully on her bedside table.
Rachel felt so torn inside. She so desperately wanted to be with Benji, but she didn’t know if she could trust him.
Lyndvia Castle. It sounded familiar, and Rachel couldn’t help but wonder about it.
She decided to tiptoe down to the family computer and Google it. Within seconds, thousands of images popped up on the screen. She read article after article about the castle—they all mentioned that it was an abandoned castle in Westchester, in the town of Tarrytown, on the Hudson River. But none of them said anything about vampires living there.
Rachel snuck back to her room, and as she lay in bed with her eyes shut, all she could do was think about Benji. She wanted to kiss him desperately and tell him how she felt, too. She wanted them to be together. As much as she tried to convince herself she was over him, she couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable love for him.
After hours of tossing and turning, Rachel drifted off into a very deep sleep.
Rachel walked through cobblestone streets in the foreign city, wondering where she was. She knew she had never been to this place before, and as she looked around, she realized everything was different. Historic. The buildings, built low, looked hundreds of years old, and along the streets there walked people dressed in the most old-fashioned outfits. The sound of horses on cobblestone could be heard, and as she turned her head, she noticed a horse and carriage walking down the street. It was twilight, and all around her, the street was lit by gas-burning lamps. As she looked up, snow began to fall, landing in large flakes on her cheeks.
Rachel knew she was in another time and place. In some other century, in some other country. It looked like Europe to her, like pictures she had seen online of historic Paris. Rachel wondered how she had gotten here, and what she was doing here.
She turned to look into a shop window, and as she did, she was suddenly startled by a presence beside her. She turned and was shocked to see, standing just inches away, was Benji. He was dressed in an old-fashioned, black suit and overcoat, with high collars that went up to his ears. Rachel looked down, and noticed that she, herself, was dressed in a long petticoat and girdle, and that she was holding a parasol in her hand.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Benji said.
“Where am I?” Rachel asked.
Benji smiled back at her. “We have been together for lifetimes,” he said. “Don’t you remember?”
Rachel slowly shook her head, trying to understand what he was talking about.
Just then, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a long, shiny object. She reached out her hand, and he placed it in her palm. The metal was cold to the touch.
She held it up and examined it. She was amazed to see that it was the kaleidoscope. The same kaleidoscope he had given her the night before at the movies.
Benji reached out and placed a hand on hers. He stared down at her with intensity. “Look in it, Rachel,” he said. “That’s all you have to do. Look in it. And believe.”
Rachel woke up, sweating and out of breath. She patted her clothes to see what she was wearing, and was surprised to feel it was just her pajamas. She was no longer wearing the petticoat and girdle.
She darted out of bed and fumbled around to find her kaleidoscope, but she couldn’t find it. She knew she had placed it on her bedside table, but it was nowhere to be found.
She picked up all the dirty clothes on the floor, and emptied out her purse from last night, going through the heaping mess on the floor. She sat there looking around her room, when all of a sudden she looked back at her nightstand and sitting there, untouched, was the kaleidoscope, right where she had left it.
She walked over and touched it with one finger. It didn’t move. She grabbed it with her whole hand and held it up to her eye. All she could see was blackness.
She turned on her lamp and then looked inside again. To her surprise, the blackness turned to bright, vibrant colors swirling around and around. Then, as if by magic, the kaleidoscope began to change.
The image inside parted and as she sat there looking into it, she saw an image of two people. She couldn’t make out who they were at first, and then she shook the kaleidoscope and looked again.
In it, she could see herself and Benji, wearing their old fashioned clothing, on the cobblestone streets of historic Paris. As she turned the kaleidoscope, she could see them walking, hand-in-hand together down the street. She kept turning it and she could see them smiling at each other, and then, all of a sudden, the kaleidoscope went black. The image was gone.
Rachel put down the kaleidoscope and sat on her bed in complete shock. He was telling me the truth, she thought to herself. She had to go find him.
Chapter Fourteen
Rachel jumped up from her bed, threw on her clothes that lay on the floor from the night before, and ran into Sarah’s room to tell her what she was about to do. Sarah was startled when Rachel burst into her room, and let out a scream. Rachel quickly shushed her and put her fingers to her lips. She started whispering to Sarah about her dream and the kaleidoscope without telling her what exactly she was talking about. She wanted to let her sister know she was in love, but she wouldn’t dare bring up that she was in love with a vampire. Rachel would take that secret with her to her grave before ever telling anyone, especially now, now that she knew it wasn’t a lie.
“I have to go find him,” Rachel said, still whispering.
“Find who?” Sarah asked.
“Benji. Haven’t you been listening?”
“Ok, but what’s the urgency? It’s Saturday morning.”
“I just have to see him,” Rachel said. “Can you cover for me again if M & D come looking for me? Tell them I’m still sick in bed.”
“Err, I can try,” Sarah, said back with uncertainty.
“That’s good enough,” Rachel, said as she ran back through the bathroom and tiptoed downstairs and out the front door.
As she got outside she felt the cold, fall air hit her face. She was surprised how cold it had gotten and realized she should have worn a heavier jacket; but there was no time to go back, she had to find Benji.
As Rachel walked out of her driveway, she headed into town. She knew there were always taxis waiting at the Bedford train station.
It was about a fifteen-minute walk, but to Rachel it felt like hours. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, as she was so anxious and excited to see Benji. She couldn’t wait to see his face when she told him what happened with the kaleidoscope. It was all coming together for her. She was finally starting to see the real Benji, and she couldn’t wait to tell him she believes in him now.
As she got into town she could see the bustle of people going into the stores in town. The bagel store had a line out the door and the there were many grownups and kids walking along the sidewalks. Rachel saw Liv standing on line at the bagel store but didn’t stop to say hi. She walked quickly, to avoid making eye contact with her, and turned down the road towards the train station. She could see a train entering the station, the loud horn blowing as it approached. She continued walking and saw the line of taxis waiting for passengers to arrive.