When she felt a sudden shove, the merchant’s daughter pulled away, her eyes glazed as she stared up at her dark lover.
Confused, she groaned and begged for more, but rather than sate the young woman’s needs, the Gypsy only smiled as she
pushed Anecita’s head back, then held the young girl firmly as she lowered her head. In a split second, the mortal woman felt
the excruciating pain against her neck. She cried out at the sharp sensations that dug into her flesh, and then, like a drug
induced dream, she felt her spirit slowly dissolving away. Her heart, her soul began to disappear until she thought her life
would end. The moment before she died, her Gypsy lover pulled away, her lips dripped with Anecita’s blood as her
unearthly smile held the dying woman mesmerized. As the dark Gypsy held her wrist against Anecita’s lips, it was then that
the young woman knew her life would end. From somewhere in her mind, she heard the strange call beckoning her near. If
she had listened to her instincts, she would have pulled away, refused to drink, and allowed herself to die, but she did not.
Rather, she wanted to be a part of this Gypsy woman. She longed to be touched by her again. The nearness of her death
sent a desire to taste the Gypsy, to drink her, to become one with her in all ways.
Anecita did not realize that this marked the end of her mortality and the beginning of her everlasting life. When she awoke
from the haze of nightmare images, she found herself alone. Although weak, she managed to pull her clothing on and make her
way home. The fever that later consumed her made her delirious. It caused her to call out for her Gypsy lover, to beg that
she be taken again. From somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard her father’s deep voice, his words of anger for the
Gypsy curse that had been placed upon his house. That night she felt the aching hunger, and the never ending pain dragged
her from the mortal life into complete darkness. And then she knew no more.
She woke up in the dark, confining space. The hunger spurred her need for freedom. Using every strength in her body, she
clawed her way from the wooden box. She broke free of the dirt and rose into the darkness of the night. The all consuming
hunger that was with her in the last hours of her life stayed with her when she awoke to the new life that lay before her.
Anecita quickly learned that it was a hunger that demanded more from her than she felt willing to give. Yet is was a hunger
she eagerly embraced
From that moment on, Anecita Zaragoza began the greatest adventure of her life. After being chased away by her mortal
family, she sought out and stayed with others like her. She never saw her gypsy lover again. Since that time she had been
with many women, some mortal, some immortal, yet never once found the one whom she would choose to become her equal
– her lover through all eternity.
Anecita hoped that her lonely search would soon end. She prayed to any god who would still hear her plea that her current
lover would choose to follow in her path. Although Anecita did not want to admit it, she placed her entire trust in the single
form of a woman named Rayna.
Rayna was mortal in every sense of the word. From her Mestizo features that the mortal inherited from her ancestors in
Mexico, to her raven hair, brown eyes, and earthen complexion, Anecita found the beauty of this woman captivating. The
intensity of her eyes welcomed Anecita home. Each time Rayna’s soft smile was cast in her direction, Anecita felt as if her
heart skipped a beat. At twenty-eight Rayna had seen many things, but nothing that compared to what the immortal woman
had experienced. In her innocence, compassion and beauty Anecita found refuge.
With her mind on Rayna, Anecita woke from her slumber. She rose from the safe comfort of her sleeping chamber. The
sound of Bjork filled her studio apartment as she walked to the shower. Even after so many years of immortality, showers
were unnecessary. Her scent, she was often told, was constant and unchanging. Like an aphrodisiac, it wafted to the women
nearby, calling them like bees to a flower. Despite this, Anecita enjoyed the luxury of showers. Closing her eyes against the
warm cascade of droplets, she sighed as she partook of this single act of humanity. When she was done, she toweled herself
off, then went to her closet.
Her clothes were always the same. Simple white bra under a white tee shirt. Silky, soft bikini panties under tight blue jeans,
white socks and black motorcycle boots, topped off with a black leather jacket was her favorite choice of clothes for this
era. As Bjork’s voice sang the words to Human Behavior, Anecita hummed softly as she dressed in her familiar clothes.
Once dressed, she shook the few droplets of water from her long, black hair, then absently turned off the small cd player.
Grabbing her jacket, helmet and keys, she moved to the door of her apartment.
With a casual glance over her shoulder, Anecita looked over her spartan dwelling, then closed the door behind her. As she
locked the studio apartment, she lifted the zipper of her leather jacket and pulled the collar securely around her neck. She
was thankful that her small apartment was situated in the back of the apartment complex. Although her neighbors were not
nosey, she was grateful for her ability to come and go without being noticed.
As Anecita fastened her helmet over her head, she felt the beginning of the nagging pain. It registered deep within her soul
first, then migrated to her belly. When she straddled her Harley, the pain increased as a reminder of the hunger that would
soon take control. With little else to do, she started her motorcycle and drove into the dark city streets.
Anecita knew how the night would be. First her hunger would have to be sated. Then, as if nothing had happened, she
would go to Rayna and spend the night. After making passionate love, they would lay entwined in each others arms. Anecita
would hold Rayna close and listen to the softness of her breaths, basking in her lover’s mortal warmth. She hoped that
tonight would be the night that she would initiate Rayna into her world.
Filled with a purpose, she drove up the boulevard, her Harley Softail purring under her control. Although she convinced
herself that she liked the motorcycles performance’s, she had to admit that she had a fondness for the name. As her mind
began to wander, Anecita found herself reverting into a hunting mode. While riding her bike, she unconsciously searched the
faces of those passing on the street. She noticed the homeless stranding idly by the bus stop and watched as an elderly
woman pulled her grocery cart through the neighborhood park. Only when she crossed the major thoroughfares did she find
the ones who would fill her needs.
She heard their thoughts before she actually saw them. Angry young men intent on damage, they sat frozen in their car at a
red light. When she pulled up beside them she heard their mutual thoughts like daggers of hate.
“Hey, look at the dyke!” one shouted from the car.
Without sparing them a word, she turned her helmet-covered face toward them. The first thing Anecita noticed was how
young they were. Then she noticed their short, cropped hair and Nazi tattoos. With an inward grimace, she recoiled at the
memories that flooded her senses.
The woman of the night remembered the Nazis as if it were yesterday. From the time of their beginning, to the end of the
war, Anecita had fought to end the hatred that this group set loose over the land. Despite all that she and the Underground
had accomplished, the racist, repressive ideas had managed to escape into the world of mortals to infect weaker, frightened
minds.
One was all she needed, but more would be a feast. Despite their young age, Anecita felt their hatred boiling up inside. If
given the choice she would not chose ones so young. Yet if she had to decide between ones like these, or older, innocent
mortals, she would choose to sate her hunger with these young men.
With purpose in mind she gunned her motorcycle back down the street. She felt them following close behind. Anecita turned
onto a smaller street and made her way back toward a deserted road. The screech of their tires and their cat calls and howls
of laughter were not far behind her. At the intersection of the quiet road, she pulled her bike under a street lamp and crossed
the barren road on foot.
She felt the all too familiar exhilaration of the hunt course through her veins. Like an animal being chased, she felt her
adrenaline rise as she made her way over the deserted hill. She heard the boys car screech to a stop on the road. From her
vantage point she watched as they huddled together and spoke in hushed tones. Then, when one began to make his way over
the hill, the dark hunter smiled in satisfaction.
‘So it was to be an initiation,’ she thought as she made her way over the familiar dirt trail.
The trials that young men put each other through never ceased to amaze her. The extent that they would go to prove their
manhood was always fascinating to Anecita. But like the others, these man-boys would learn what it meant to be mortal. In
the past, many had underestimated her. This child would not be the first to think that he could win a match against her. Nor
would he be the last, she reasoned as she moved toward the shadows of the underbrush.
In a familiar fashion she removed her black helmet and placed it gently on the dirt path. Off in the distance she heard the
current of the river against the wet embankment. As she waited for her prey, she unconsciously unraveled her long black
hair. From the depths of her soul she felt the nervous apprehension that always preceded a kill. Before her impatience took
control, she smelled the man-child’s scent drifting in the wind.
