Comedor De Memória

Chapter 2. The First Prey, Miss Alma and the Music Box

Ah, damn that Memória. It's true that preying on memories has a surprise in it. Beginning to become a predator of memories, I met a woman from a village near a dark forest. The sweet scent of her body was so obvious, that without warning I grabbed the girl's tiny body and then I fiercely bit her neck. Blood spurted as the fangs pierced the skin of the woman's neck. 

The woman's body wriggled. However, a few moments later his body weakened. Her screams were muffled by the stab of my fangs in her veins. Strange, I was only able to suck a little blood from the woman's neck. The blood that just came out of the fangs was sweet, but I could only suck out the initial blood because the next blood didn't taste sweet anymore, instead it was very fishy. I vomited a second stream of blood. It feels really sickening. 

The woman's body slipped from my embrace. Then a chuckle came from a cloaked figure wearing a hood. I turned to the person who was laughing at me. He hovered behind me.

"Shit! Why is the second taste of blood flow so disgusting?" I said, spitting blood from my mouth. 

“You're in a hurry. If you had been patient waiting for my more detailed explanation then you wouldn't have acted rashly like now,” said Memória with a chuckle.

I want to protest. However, suddenly my body swayed. I fell to the ground. In my eyes flashes of terrible events that appear suddenly. I witnessed the massacre of a village, where a vampire was blindly pounced on every human in the village. Wait a minute! That vampire, I kind of recognized the figure. Gosh, that's myself. Yes, the flash that appears is the scene when I massacred a village a week before the priest G*****a framed and stuck a stake in my heart.

Horror, panic, fear and sadness mixed in a flash that suddenly popped into my head just like that. 

"W-what is this?" I knelt hysterically while holding my head. Terrible terror, fear that is very, very well in the chest.

“Memória, what is this?” I shouted, "Why did I see myself destroying the village a week ago? Then, what do I feel? It hurts so much!" 

"Ho, ho. Painful feelings? Looks like you've turned into a human, Senhor Vampiro?" Memória's laughter grew sicker. 

“I'm not kidding, Memória! What is this?” I shouted in panic. 

I fell down still holding my head. The painful flashes of watching my bite victims die were horrific.

I felt my hair being pulled. My head was lifted by Memória. "How? It's terrible, isn't it?" said Memória,"this is how the humans you terrorized, Senhor Vampiro felt. Feelings of threat, fear, panic and hopelessness are mixed into one memory. You are currently witnessing the memories of the woman you bitten just now." 

"Then why do I have to go through this? Didn't I ask for death?" I said I didn't accept it.

"Tsk,tsk,tsk, Senhor Vampiro. This is the one task you must do after getting the curse from me." Memória wiggled his forefinger left and right. 

"That curse is actually the proper way of punishment for an overly violent bloodthirsty being like you." Memória slammed my head roughly. 

He floated close to the body of the woman I had bitten. Memória touched the bite wound on the neck of the woman who was lying on the ground unconscious. With one swipe, the wounds and gushing blood disappeared instantly. The woman moved her eyes, she came to her senses. I thought the girl would scream hysterically when she woke up and then look at me with her mouth full of blood. But my guess was wrong. 

"Where is this?" murmured the woman who rose from the ground. "Ah, who are these gentlemen? Why am I suddenly here?" 

"You were found unconscious on the outskirts of the Dark Forest, Miss." Suddenly Memória had transformed himself into a man in peasant clothes.

"What happened?" she asked. 

I'm surprised. She should be scared to see me covered in blood. Uh, wait! The blood stains on my collar and the drops in my mouth suddenly disappeared. I turned to the figure of Memória disguised as a farmer. He furrowed his brows repeatedly, giving a code I didn't understand. 

"I don't know, we don't know either. However, you'd better go home soon, Miss. It's getting late, it's not good for women to wander around at night without anyone to accompany them. Danger!" Memória warned the woman. Ah, to be honest his face in human disguise is really annoying! 

"That's right. I should go home soon. Besides, I forgot what I wanted to do to come to the edge of this forest," said the woman, still confused. 

"Do you want us to take you to your house, Miss?" bargained Memória friendly. 

Meanwhile I glared at Memória's offer to the village woman. 

"No need. I know my way home. Thank you for the offer… um, thanks for helping me too, gentlemen. I'm sorry." The woman turned down Memória's offer and hurried off, leaving the two of us alone. 

“Don't be surprised if the girl doesn't remember when you grabbed her and bit her neck,” Memória said openly. 

I didn't answer. It's just that I'm still wondering what magic Memória used to make the blood stains on my clothes and mouth disappear just like that. 

"Haha, it was easy for me to do all that. Bloodstains, your bite wounds and even I know your future, Senhor Vampiro!" said Memória who read my mind. He also returned to his original form, a scary five-winged creature. 

"Stop calling me that! My name is Claude De Alucard!" I hate being called Senhor Vampiro. It felt like the call was demeaning me as a vampire.

"Listen! After this I will let you roam around helping humans who want their memories to be erased. The sweet taste of blood that smells from memories as a sign that humans need your help. form and healing magic to help you in the future." Memória explained the curse it gave me.

"Enough of my explanation. From now on you work alone, but if you need me just call my name. Then I will appear before you. Até logo, Senhor Claude!"

Then, Memória left me by simply disappearing without a trace. I also wandered around the world smelling memories that humans want to eliminate in their memories. 

Hundreds of years after this incident. I have helped many humans in various places almost all over the world according to the assignment from Memória. And now, I am confronted with a woman from England who I accidentally met when she was looking at an object in a souvenir shop window. 

The sweet scent of the memories in his blood made my desire rise. The woman I guess was about 40 years old was standing in front of the shop staring at an object, shaped like a black box, decorated with gold carvings. Can't stand the sweet smell, made me greet him first before making him a victim. Ah, should I call him a victim, if his memories are to be erased? Stupid, I don't care! The sweet taste of her memories makes me thirsty. 

"Good evening, Miss. What are you doing in front of the souvenir shop on this beautiful afternoon?" I greeted politely. 

The shoulder-length wavy brunette girl turned around. The look on his face showed disdain for a stranger like me who greeted him. She looked away and left me without saying a word. Tch, I failed. Damn it! The hangover from smelling the sweet taste of blood with unwanted memories made me dizzy. 

I turned to the window. The gold engraved box on display there. What box is that? Out of curiosity, I entered the souvenir shop. Ask the waiter to take the box on display in the window. Turns out, the box is a music box. When I opened the lid, I heard the sound of Ludwig Van Bethoven's classical music Für Elise. What memories does the girl have with this music box? That's the first thing that crossed my mind. 

It is not difficult to find the woman who a few days ago was standing staring at the music box on display in the window of a gift shop on the outskirts of London. At the same time, in the afternoon, the woman returned to the gift shop, to stare at the music box that was now in my hand. When the woman was standing in front of the souvenir shop. Her expression changed when she found out that the music box she used to stare at had been sold. 

The look in her eyes was so sad when I saw the woman in the shop. Knowing that the object that usually displayed in the window was gone, the woman turned and left the souvenir shop. I quickly followed her. She walked unsteadily. Fifteen minutes after I followed, the woman stopped in front of the flower shop. A shopkeeper greeted her warmly, "good afternoon Miss Alma."

Turns out her name is Alma. She was seen buying some lily stalks. Then continue her journey. Alma continued walking down the sidewalk. She headed for the cemetery. Alma momentarily stood in front of the cemetery gates. Before long, he entered the cemetery. Meanwhile, I followed him carefully.

Tombstones bearing the names of the humans who died were lined up neatly at the cemetery. Some headstones use decorations in the form of a statue of a winged angel. Alma stopped at a tomb with a white headstone decorated with a statue of an angel spreading wings. On the tombstone was engraved the name of a girl. Christina Oswald, died on June 30 when the child was six years old. I watched Alma from a fairly close distance. 

Only five gravestones were blocked without her noticing. Seen Alma squatting and placing lilies on the tomb. There was a low cry. Alma apologized while mentioning Christina's name. "Christina, i'm sorry."

I approached with the calmest steps possible and stood right next to Alma who was squatting looking at the gravestone in front of her. Sensing someone suddenly appearing beside her, Alma gasped. She sat in front of Christina's headstone.

"Y-you, you're the one who a few days ago greeted me at the souvenir shop. What are you doing following me? You stalker!" Alma cursed at me. While I just stared at her coldly. 

I showed an object in my right hand that made Alma's eyes widen. 

"That music box… it belongs to Christina. Give it back!" shouted Alma. 

She rose from his seat. Then tried to snatch the music box in my hand. However, it was not easy for her to snatch the music box. Until she gave up and offered some money to redeem the music box I was holding. 

"Please! whoever you are. Return the music box. It belongs to my late daughter," said Alma pitifully. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'll pay you whatever you want. As long as I can get the music box."

I turned my gaze from Alma to the music box I was holding. "I don't need your money, Miss Alma. But I want to offer you a favor."

Alma was stunned for a moment. "Help? For what. I don't need your help." 

"Are you sure? Actually you have memories that you want to erase from your memory. I don't know what those memories are, for sure those memories make you unable to live your life so far," I said in a flat tone. 

Alma took a few steps back. His face looked shocked. "How do you know, I have memories that make me unable to live my current life?" 

"I don't need to answer your question. It's just, do you agree or not." Alma answered with a nod of his head. Without wasting any chance, I asked permission to hug her body first. 

"Let me hug you. Don't scream!" I calmly hugged Alma's body. 

Her body trembled. She was scared, but held it in for the music box. I brushed away the hair that was blocking her neck. I tighten my arms so that Alma doesn't struggle too much. Then with one bite, my fangs managed to pierce Alma's neck.

Alma's body struggled, asking to be released. But the tight embrace made her helpless. Alma screamed as soon as I covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream. A few seconds later Alma's body weakened and collapsed. I held her then put her body near Christina's grave. 

I prepared to receive a wave of flashes of memory by leaning on a gravestone. I closed my eyes feeling a very excruciating dizziness. Then I saw a sweet child. The child looks lonely. She asked her mother, who is always busy at work, to spend one day playing with her. However, her mother ignored her, as a single parent, Alma had to find living expenses for himself and Christina. So she doesn't really think of her daughter's wishes as a priority in his life. 

Until one day her daughter asked for a birthday gift in the form of a gold engraved music box at a souvenir shop for her birthday. Unfortunately, Alma as his mother did not take her daughter's request seriously. And a regret that is very much experienced by Alma. 

On Christina's birthday, the child was hit by a car while crossing to go to a souvenir shop. Alma, who knew that, felt a lament. She lost her daughter on her birthday and couldn't even fulfill her wish to buy a gift in the form of a music box that Christina wanted. Alma could only stare at the music box, without buying it. She was too afraid of the guilt for her daughter. I opened my eyes slowly. Sweat soaked my body. I got up to heal the bite wound on Alma's neck before leaving the cemetery. I put the music box that Christina wanted near the lily flower without waiting for Alma to wake up.

"Hopefully the memory of losing your daughter in a tragic way will bring you back to life, Miss Alma."