Yesterday I went over to visit the ancient and elderly Vampires Eleora and Tellias. They’re both over 2,000 years old. They look like they’re 19 or 20 years old. They also act like they’re in their 90’s or older. So yeah, nobody knows how old anyone is going to live or what that end of life is going to be like. Some people keep lucid and able until the end, and some don’t. We can’t predict what will happen. Nobody knows how much time anyone has.
I drove down to the farm on the old river road and drove down the long drive to the house. As always, the gate was open. A hawk sat on the gate post and flew away when I turned my car in.
Tellias and my brother Val were on the front porch waiting for me. They could have been dressed for working outside, or on household projects, but I never know. Tellias had on old overalls and an orange log sleeved tee. Val had on jeans, a puffy gray vest, and a red flannel shirt. Again, for those of you who are new here, Vampires don’t always wear formal suits and they definitely don’t hang out wearing red lined capes. That is only in B movies and badly written novels.
Inside Eleora was sitting on a comfortable couch. I have to mention that this couch is a replacement for an old worn out couch that was past it’s prime in the 1950’s. Anyway, she was there, with a blanket over her leg, two old cats were on her lap. Two old dogs were at her feet. I gave her a kiss and without getting up she held my hand and sang me the first verse of an old folk song about a man who went fishing.
“We need to get the plans all settled,” she told me.
“What plans are those?” I asked.
“The plans. You know. The plans for… I don’t know what I’m trying to say.”
“The cats look happy,” I said.
“The plans. Do you know about the plans?”
“I know the cats are very happy here and you’ve been taking good care of them. They love you Eleora.”
“I love them too,” said Eleora rubbing her hand over their old kitty heads.
Over the past two years Tellias and my brother Val have been adopting old dogs and cats at the shelter so that they might have a loving home during their last two or three years. Eleora loves these animals (we all do), and they give her something to think about.
I told Eleora I’d be backed and went to find Tellias, who was now in the kitchen with my brother.
“I’m not sure what to do Juliette. Last night I couldn’t find her. I called out. I looked everywhere. I tried to reach into her mind with my thoughts but there was nothing.”
“Where was she?” I asked.
“Out on the driveway, almost down to the road. She said she was hungry and wanted to go down to the roadhouse bar and find some healthy young drunk men.”
“The closest thing even close to a roadhouse the the marina. That’s about three miles from here.”
“She wasn’t wearing shoes.”
“Oh no.”
“Locking the doors won’t help. Maybe a spell of some sort. I could call someone but…” He trailed off.
“I’ll look into it.”
I thought about all the times helicopters had flown over my neighborhood blaring over a loudspeaker that an elderly person with dementia was missing and to call 911 if we see them.
“It isn’t like I don’t have food in the house,” said Tellias. “We tip Door Dash drivers extremely well, not to mention everyone else who comes over.”
For those of you who are new here, Tellias and Eleora will have people over for dinner. Their dinner.
Nobody is harmed. They take blood, make the donors forget about it, let them sleep it off, then tip extremely them well. It is a win/win for everyone. Sometimes it concerns me, but it is better than having Eleora wandering the streets. Plus, sometimes Eleora and Tellias go driving around and get lost, and it reminds me of the the Fastball song “The Way.”
Val was making black tea with cinnamon sticks. I reached up to get mugs out of the cabinet and saw a curious round object about the size of an orange on the shelf where the teapots are kept.
“Tellias, what is this?”
“A dodecahedra.”
I’d never seen this object before. It is round and has holes in it, and nobs on the outside. It looks like it could be used for knitting socks, or filled with explosives and used as a bomb, or a fish trap, or part of a game. Archeologists have been finding these dodecahedra things all over Europe for centuries, but nobody know what they are.
If anyone knows it would be Tellias. He grew up in ancient Rome.
Tellias took the object off of the shelf. Then he took out a bag from refrigerator.
“One of these was recently found in England,” he said. “I laugh at the news reports because it is so obvious what we used these for.”
Out of another drawer he took a round ball with holes in it, and a red rubber Kong.
“When I was in Britain, about 2,000 years ago, give or take a few hundred years, you know, with the Romans, we always had large dogs with us. Some small dogs too. Don’t think it was much different than it is now. The dogs were pampered. Like now, the dogs would chew through anything. Any toys made with wood, leather, or fiber would be gone within days. So dog treat toys were made of metal. The dogs, of course being smart animals, wouldn’t chew them. They lick out the meat, suet, or other treats. It wasn’t any different as it is now,” said Tellias.
“Some things never change,” said Val.
“Thank goodness for that,” I said.
Tellias filled the new treat holders with kibble and duck jerky, and then took them out to the two dogs sitting at Eleora’s feet.
At least that mystery was solved. I just wish we could solve the mystery of Eleora’s memory loss. It seems like with so many, that all of the file cabinet drawers in her brain has rusted shut, and the information within those drawers has long been mixed up and scattered, or just faded off of the old pages to be lost forever.
As always, take care everyone, and be safe. Hold tight to those you love. Hug your dogs and cats. If you need a new friend check with your local animal shelter. Go to a museum. Plant flowers. Give good tips to delivery folks. And kiss a Vampire. You’ll thank me for it later.
~ Juliette aka Vampire Maman
More about the dodecahedra: https://www.npr.org/2024/01/24/1226575715/archaeologists-roman-empire-dodecahedron-england
Vampire Maman 