I AM MY OWN CREATION

They sat there and communicated. Renate 'spoke,' but her lips did not move. Oh, she smiled from time to time. She sighed. But she never shaped words, not physically. Her mind did that. And it all seemed so natural. Large moths with soft, earth-toned fur, danced about her head like a crown, as the Resurrected John Lennon absentmindedly hummed tunes. Small, thin, cherub-like creatures scampered out of the underbrush to listen. Sarah said - Excuse me, Lady Renate, but what are they? We have cherubs at home, yet these are different..........Only a bit - 'said' Renate. They too were asleep in the wombs of new born vampirinas. And when the mothers crossed over, these little ones made the journey as well. But they craved freedom and tore their way out of she who carried them, seeking independence among the cool, mossy darkness of the wild places. Wise Women in these part called them 'imps, ' or 'fairies.'.............Can they fly? - asked Sarah.......Of course - smiled Renate........And she clapped her well-formed hands, sending them leaping up into the air. Our Philadelphia vampires watched, as this miniature ballet  filled the ether with grace and whimsy.........What function do they perform? Who do they eat?/ - questioned Jonathon.................They dine on innocent children burdened with disease. Their little drinks hasten the passing from this world to the next - said Renate..........Sarah asked if such children could not be saved. And Renate told her these young ones had drifted too close to the heavenly frontier, breathing in the perfumes of paradise. A return to fleshly mortality would be cruel, so the 'fairies' appeared to sever the ties and send them sailing free. ...........What do the children say when this happens? - asked Jonathon.............They say 'thank you' - said Renate.

Then they spoke of the John Lennon person with them. Was he a vampire? No. Well then what is he? Renate laughed and said - He is his own creation............The former Beatle nodded, thenn rocked back and forth in delight, as the 'fairies' dashed off to play tag with the fireflies.........Sarah turned to him and said - Please tell me. What do you 'do' sir?..........The creative musician answered - I 'do' very well.............And he fished a silver harmonica from a pocket, breaking into a tune. I believe it was Muddy Waters with maybe a small peppering of early Bob Dylan.

Jonathon wanted to know if the Lady Renate was, in fact, still a vampire. She complimented him on his powers of detection and said - What you know as the vampiric state is but a stop on a journey. Moths were once plump caterpillars. Every soul changes. Every life grows. Some follow one path, some another. I wandered down a different lane long ago, soon after creating your father. He could have changed by now too, but stubborn, that one is. Who knows? Perhaps you'll be able to show him.

Then she told them of events yet to come, when they passed through to the spiritual navel that mankind knoows as Jerusalem........ And the one known as John Lennon sang 'Imagine'.......

CELEBRITY IMPERSONATORS ON GRASS

Jonathon and Sarah fellt the power. Was it threatrening? No. Could it be resisted? No. It filled the space beyond the entrance to the cave. It occupied the sky and the land. And it was Renate. Now, if you follow this truth-telling, you know who she is. Renate is the eldest one. Was she the first one? Don't be silly. Who can know such things. But she is the oldest one alive on Earth today. Human shaped, I mean. Some tell stories of surviving Neanderthal life-eaters. And yes, they are human too, after a fashion. But fashions change. What you call 'modern humans' are different. You, yourselves are different. And Renate comes from  the time of your inception. Where she was born, I do not know. Who gave her the 'night bite,' I cannot tell.

She caused a flickering of the ether. That's why it was possible for the naive Vienese hiker to stumble upon our spiritual travelers. Could mortals feel her. No. To them, she was as nothing. But when Jonathon stepped out of the cave to taste the newborn evening, he sensed her. How could he not? His vampiric father was her son and consort. The female, Sarah, saw his apprehension. She whispered - What's wrong? What is it?.......She's here - he said. Renate, we're, we're...within her.........He drew in a great breath, held it, then slowly let it out, while whispering her name 'Renate.' (Brick, from IN THE MIDDLE, could not have done it any better)

The twilit sky looked different, more violet and infinitely deeper, as evening  birds traced ornate loops and twirls through the firmament, calling to each other in exotic, unknown languages. And then, one heartbeat later, all was normal. His eyes cut through the newborn darkness, detecting every detail. A cunning, little vixen and her bright eyed cubs. The dried, dessicated hand of a murder victim.  Repulsive insects eating dung.

But one thing was not  so normal. One event stemmed from a  differennt reality. On the surface, it did not seem that out of the ordinary. A man walked toward them, average height (perhaps a little more). He wore glasses, not so different from the ones Doctor Franklin prefered. His hair was long (brown, streaked with a little gray)  annd his voice was low and mild.....Hello, my name is John - he said...........And our 'John,' or rather 'Jonathon' shook his hand......Sarah stared transfixed. She knew him. She knew this man. Not personally. But she knew him.....Are you John Lennon? - she said..........The man smiled and told her that he was. At first she didn't believe him. But then he took her hand and let her feel the bullet holes. She gasped. He smiled and said - Come, there's someone I want you to meet. So they followed him into a shadow thicket and into the presence of Renate.

At first they saw nothing. They felt nothing and heard nothing. Sarah put out her hand, attempting to explore this  void. And for the tiniest fraction of a heartbeat, she detected something. But then it  was gone, as a female voice said - It's not nice to fool Mother Nature (then she laughed).......Moonlight and her weaker, distant, star-born cousins tricled down into a small clearing, gillding the four beings seated there. One was Jonathon. Another his 'bride.' The third, a former Beatle. And the forth one was more than thirty thousand years old. Some claimed she was almost forty thousand. Yet if I had to describe her to you, I'd say she looked like another somewhat 'rock' star. I'd say she looked like Cher (from her post Moon Struck days), though anything even remotely resembling fishnet stockings was nowhere in sight.

I've come to talk about your Quest - she said, as the musical member of the group began to hum a little tune... And even the crickets joined in.............