Eleora.

“Come quick,” whispered the voice on the phone.

“Tellias, what is it?” I asked.

“She is gone.”

My heart shattered into a million pieces. “I’ll be right there,” I told him.

As I drove out my husband was coming in, with a friend who had come over to help with some old stereo speakers (guy stuff).

He asked if I wanted him to go with me. I told him I’d go alone. There was nothing he could do.

Tellias stood on the veranda of the old house on the edge of the river, next to the orchard he’d planted with Eleora so many years ago.

We sat and talked and waited for the people who were supposed to come out to take care of everything to come out.

I’d never be able to hold her hand again, or talk to her, or dance with her, or laugh with her, or have adventures. She taught me so much. She loved me unconditionally.

Despite the fact that I’m an adult now with grown children, I still need her. She has always been with me, and now part of me is gone.

~ Juliette aka Vampire Maman

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From Marla – the one who actually writes everything.

It has been extremely difficult for me to write much of anything this year.

I write about love and grief. I write about loss. This year those things have overwhelmed me. I’ve lost several friends in the past few months, and “Eleora”.

When I first started to write about Eleora and Tellias, the ancient Vampires, I was taking care of my own mother, and I had a child in school, and I was working full time.

Not everything about Eleora and Tellias was based on my own life. A lot of it was also based on experiences friends were having with their elderly parents, friends, and relatives.

Writing about Eleora and Tellias was fun. I hoped to both entertain my readers with hilarious stories, and make them think, and relate to both heartwarming and difficult situations. I hope others have found comfort in some of my words over the years.

October is such a busy time here at vampiremaman.com.

My mother turned 95 on October 7. She passed away on October 10, in her home, surrounded by the flowers and fruit trees she’d planted in her yard over the past 61 years.

October was one of her favorite times. She loved to decorate for Halloween. She helped us make fantastic costumes and then sent us on our way out into the dark, as parents did way back when.

More than anything she loved her children, but most of all loved her grandchildren.

My heart is broken.

As always, I’ll leave you with my usual advice (from both Juliette and me).

Stay safe. Talk to your kids. Check in on those who might be alone or need extra help. Pet your dogs and cats. Be creative. And kiss a Vampire – you’ll thank me for it later.

~ Marla