A Scent to Remember

A warm, sweet, familiar scent wafts into my nostrils and immediately consumes my entire being. My mind goes into overdrive as my senses flood with a single purpose — to hunt and taste. I shut my eyes tight and inhaled incessantly until my lungs hurt. Not losing the scent trail was crucial, since humans had the tendency to walk quickly through my woods. They call it "hiking", but it was rare for anyone to hike this time of year. I continue the search. My chest aches as the scent grows fainter, slithering out of my grasp. There was no time to waste. I follow the strongest trail, my soul leading, taking quiet steps to ensure that I do not startle this weak human. The rain was unrelenting, as if the gods were trying to thwart me from my goal — as if they were begging me to spare this poor human soul.

I could care less about humans and whatever they are, though I do envy what they can achieve within the span of mortality. Very feeble and foolish, yet I find myself inexplicably drawn to them.

The scent gets stronger, and I almost feel that it is within my reach. Only a little longer before I get a taste of that blood. I have been deprived for far too long, and this bloodlust is exhilarating, giving me life and purpose again. It is as if the fog in my mind has cleared, and now I see the light at the end of the tunnel. No one understands how difficult it is to find blood that just drives you crazy, and I am determined to do whatever it takes to have it. It will be mine. Perhaps my determination swayed the gods, as I open my eyes and look before me.

There it is. The human. My heart leaps, and my breath falters as I try to will it to be still. One mistake, and this could end badly. I could die if it finds out who I really am — or maybe what I actually am. I took a step back and then three deep breaths.

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Final inhale, final exhale, long and steady. Slow and calculated. Then, I lunged.

“Meow.”

The human shudders at first, before turning its back slowly to find the source of that meow. “What was that?” Her voice trembled with fear. She pursed her lips and swallowed, as her eyes darted left and right. It seemed like she could not spot me. Perhaps I was a little too far for her inferior vision. I inched closer, making my steps heavier so the dead leaves and twigs beneath me crackled as I made my presence known for the second time. She looks down, and the tenseness in her shoulders immediately melts away.

“Oh hey kitty! It’s just you! Silly me, I thought that someone was following me or something, and I was ready to make a run for it.” I must have been careless this time. My excitement got the better of me, and she actually sensed that I had been following her from the start. Not my best moment, and hopefully the last. She bends down, and her hand reaches for me, likely to touch me. I do not just let her. I lean into it as if I have been starved of pets for centuries. Her fingers dig into the top of my head as she rhythmically scratches, working her way down to my chin. I tilt my head up to let her know I am enjoying this very much—and I’ll enjoy her blood even more after we are done here.

Her eyebrows furrow as she glances up into the sky. The rain has eased, but it does not smell like it will stop anytime soon. She stood up abruptly and undid the zipper on her jacket. “I don’t think the rain will stop anytime soon. You can’t be out here alone. I heard some wolves howling last night.” Just as she finished talking to herself, she swooped down, grabbed me, and zipped me up in her jacket. I am completely immobilised aside from my head sticking out. All of it happened so fast that it took more than two heartbeats for my senses to return. A human is cradling me. The wolves better not know about this, lest I hear no end of their teasing. I panic and wonder if I should just make a run for it, give up on this scent and hope that within the next century a human like this will randomly step into my life again. As I protract my claws, a sudden realisation hits me that maybe all of this was not so bad after all. Maybe the gods are telling me to be patient and to wait for an opportunity. I retract my claws as I feel her arms closing in on me as she pulls me closer to her chest. Her warmth envelopes me and her scent lulls me into a delicious nap.

---

I sense her walking and coming to a stop. I was unsure how long I had been asleep, but it felt like a long time. “I think we will make camp here,” she said as I heard the sigh of relief as she finally put her bag down. I peered, and I saw her stretching her arms upwards, and then I slowly felt myself slipping out from the bottom of her jacket. She noticed, and quickly cupped her hands beneath me to push me back inside. “Sorry, my back felt like it was going to break if I didn’t do that. I’m sure you’ll understand because cats do that all the time.” Yeah, right. After that, she unzipped her jacket, and I hopped onto the ground, making sure to land gracefully.

It was dusk, and I could feel the moon rising. The human starts to make preparations for the night, like making fire from wood and a flimsy-looking house out of cloth and twigs. For a moment, you could have fooled me into thinking humans could wield magic like us. She tried to offer me food, and I only pretended to eat it by incinerating the bits when she turned around. Never in my life do I ever want that abominable “granola” in front of me again.

Before long, she started to yawn. That is the classic human sign of being tired, and I know that she will want to sleep any moment now. She turned towards me. “I’m really tired right now, kitty. The sleepy monster is calling me to my bed.” She rose and headed towards her flimsy house. Before she entered, she looked at me with droopy eyes and tilted her head toward the opening. “Come sleep inside.”

I peered from outside of her “house” as she quickly settled into her cocoon, or should I say “bed”. I watched her blink a few times, each blink slower than the last, before her eyes shut. Her breathing slowed as her chest rose and fell steadily. She is finally asleep, perfect timing. This was not just tiredness she had been feeling from hiking all day, but rather a spell I had cast. Since there was a full moon tonight, my powers were only stronger.

Making sure no other humans were around, I returned to my original form. Alas, I am free from my small but useful cat body. I am far too sensitive for the sun, but shapeshifting into an animal helps make the daytime more liveable. Of course, being a cat has definitely helped in making contact with humans, given how they find them cute. Though today’s escapade is much different from my usual approach. I look not much different from humans, but I am far superior in strength, stamina and speed. It felt like we had walked for an entire day, but this was still within the vicinity of my woods. The trees even looked the same.

I crouched closer to the human, taking in her scent again. I could hear the blood coursing through her veins, circulating her very being, her very soul. The human tossed and turned to her side, unsheathing one arm from her “cocoon”. This is incredibly convenient. I took out my vial from my pocket. This was a special vial I made just to taste human blood. Yes, taste, not drink. Humans, in their feeble minds, have made up horrendous stories about vampires and how we are bloodthirsty monsters who prey on innocents. Well, at least they have got the shapeshifting right, just not into an ugly bat.

My vial was made to extract only the purest form of human blood. Centuries after centuries, I have refined this apparatus to what it is today, able to adapt to my body when I shapeshift, so that I may use it in the likely event of finding a human of interest. It would be a death sentence for our existence to be discovered by humans, as their minds would be unable to comprehend the existence of magical beings. They would likely think that I want to sink my fangs into their napes, not knowing my sharp teeth are just a feature of the vampire race and actually serve no purpose. It is not sharp enough to bite through human flesh, let alone kill anyone. Plus, while we do enjoy human blood, it is not enough to fill us. It is insulting to know, having existed for centuries, that humans still hold on to the same thought that vampires cannot enjoy food.

I channel my magic through the vial, swirling my index finger in a circular motion. The vial serves as a conduit for my magic, as a steady stream of blood from the human’s wrist enters it. The blood loops around the golden, elliptical valves I have constructed inside, before collecting at the bottom. I stop as soon as the vial is half-filled. Uncapping it, I take my first sip of her blood.

The sweetness hits me first, and as I swallow, the taste of iron coats my throat. Then, my mind is transported to another world.

I see tall, castle-like structures, not like the ones our kind lives in, but more angular and gargantuan, somehow reflecting light in every direction. I see carriages of all kinds, except there were no horses pulling them. I see trains, except they look a little different now. People everywhere, holding an illuminated, rectangular object, sweeping their fingers repeatedly over its surface. They also seem to have something stuck in their ears, though I know not why. With so many people, this must be a city, but it looks so different from what I knew a century ago. I feel my sentience slipping back into the woods, so I take another sip.

I am strapped into a seat now, and I feel incredibly light. I peer out of what seems like a window and see clouds drifting by. Then I am in another place that smells completely different from the city before. It smells like the sea. It is unbearably hot, and I feel my skin singeing from the sun’s rays. Strangely, people all around me lie on a cloth, and I cannot fathom why they would want to roast themselves. Surely, there are better and faster ways to die. Then I see angular structures again, though not as vast as those in the city. They are colourful and plentiful, just like the seashells scattered across the sand. I feel myself drifting back into the woods again, but this time I let myself.

I blink a few times, making sure that I am back. Fascinating. So much has changed just over a hundred years. This is an advancement that I did not expect, and dare I say I am pleasantly surprised by what I just saw. I cap the vial and place it in my pocket. I will save some more for next time, or perhaps I’ll let others see, as describing my otherworldly experience would be too fantastical and unbelievable.

As long as I live, my want for human blood will never cease. And I wonder what the next hundred years will bring, and whether I will ever be satiated or bored with what they offer next.