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Jonathon loves the Solstice. He dresses carefully.. new underwear (he does) ... two white, long sleeved t-shirts... black wool socks... black jeans... crisp, meticulously pressed white shirt, topped with black rather form fitting, cashmere sweater, if the night was cold enough, or a fine, cream colored, wool muffler if it was not. On bitter nights he wore both. Then his tailored, quilted, black leather, three quarter length zippered coat. It looks like a medieval tunic. Indeed, he had one like it in his mortal days, but minus the zipper. The dapper night-lord, with only a bit of muffler showing up under his chin. And, of course the carefully crafted leather gloves, plus maybe a warm, knit hat, pulled on just right.
He studied his reflection in an antique cheval mirror. Sarah, finished arranging her own outfit... rather like his and said - This is it. From here on in they get shorter, the nights, I mean..... He struck a three-quarter pose and sighed... She asked - What are you doing tonight?..... Distributing alms. I always give alms tonight. See? - he answered and showed her a small, zipped leather case, resembling a Bible, filled with little, dark blue, velvet, drawstring sacks holding bright, shiny Krugerrands, each heavy coin fashioned from a full ounce of solid gold. Three or four to a sack meant every recipient hurried away with at least five thousand dollars.... He had about fourteen sacks..... Sarah didn't go with him. She went her own way. Vampire couples are like that. They come together to rest during the day. They couple. They bathe. They sleep. But panthers are an independent breed. Everyone knows that.
Jonathon left the townhouse and wandered through a night that was actually quite mild. He sought out the darkest streets... little byways, alleys really, for small trucks to make deliveries, or pick up refuse. You or I, provided we're mortal, would be blind in such places. There were few security lights. The doors, leading to commercial establishments and office buildings were thick, heavy, steel affairs, impossible to open from the outside. I think the fire department had special tools to get in, but no one else did. During business hours they opened from the inside and even then just to accept shipments or throw something into a dumpster.
Night was another thing. People crawled in with their blankets, their meager belongings and their hungers. Some want food and drift in early, the better to peruse the dumpsters. Not to many vermin. New generation dumpsters shut tight. People can get in (maybe two... the lids are heavy) dig around... find stuff... thrown out doughnuts from the staff room... food from the cafeteria (banks have the best). Sometimes they fight. Others snuggle under blankets and satisfy other needs.
Jonathon looks for certain types. His eyes are different. He can see in the dark. Everything looks gray... dark grays... charcoal grays... powdery blacks... no colors. Just enough contrast and demarcation to provide a bit of information. He studies the shapes till he finds a certain type... quiet... away from the others.... happy for a place to just curl up and sleep... Some are women. Some have children.
He'll walk by. They tense. He'll unzip his little, black case, take out a drawstring bag and toss in on the blankets. Hands crawl out to explore the strange, new thing. Gold has a 'feel.' There's a heft. You can almost taste it with your fingertips.
They hold it tight, snug, up under their chins. And in the first weak light of dawn, or almost dawn, they look at it. There's a little note folded into each sack, telling them where to go to sell the coins. Everything's arranged. Jonathon's 'familiars' know what to do.
Five or six thousand dollars, depending on the market, can do a lot...
Look, we were going to tell you more, but 3:30AM came up real fast. And whoever it is we got typing this tonight has to get some sleep. So think of this as part one. Tomorrow evening we'll do part two... hopefully early.
We're sorry, but the trash and recycling trucks come by and they make a real big racket.
We hope you understand...
<more next time>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
to see more Vampire Wonderland click GREY ...
to join whoever it is who types this thing on Twitter click CHARCOAL ...
please comment. thank you.
He studied his reflection in an antique cheval mirror. Sarah, finished arranging her own outfit... rather like his and said - This is it. From here on in they get shorter, the nights, I mean..... He struck a three-quarter pose and sighed... She asked - What are you doing tonight?..... Distributing alms. I always give alms tonight. See? - he answered and showed her a small, zipped leather case, resembling a Bible, filled with little, dark blue, velvet, drawstring sacks holding bright, shiny Krugerrands, each heavy coin fashioned from a full ounce of solid gold. Three or four to a sack meant every recipient hurried away with at least five thousand dollars.... He had about fourteen sacks..... Sarah didn't go with him. She went her own way. Vampire couples are like that. They come together to rest during the day. They couple. They bathe. They sleep. But panthers are an independent breed. Everyone knows that.
Jonathon left the townhouse and wandered through a night that was actually quite mild. He sought out the darkest streets... little byways, alleys really, for small trucks to make deliveries, or pick up refuse. You or I, provided we're mortal, would be blind in such places. There were few security lights. The doors, leading to commercial establishments and office buildings were thick, heavy, steel affairs, impossible to open from the outside. I think the fire department had special tools to get in, but no one else did. During business hours they opened from the inside and even then just to accept shipments or throw something into a dumpster.
Night was another thing. People crawled in with their blankets, their meager belongings and their hungers. Some want food and drift in early, the better to peruse the dumpsters. Not to many vermin. New generation dumpsters shut tight. People can get in (maybe two... the lids are heavy) dig around... find stuff... thrown out doughnuts from the staff room... food from the cafeteria (banks have the best). Sometimes they fight. Others snuggle under blankets and satisfy other needs.
Jonathon looks for certain types. His eyes are different. He can see in the dark. Everything looks gray... dark grays... charcoal grays... powdery blacks... no colors. Just enough contrast and demarcation to provide a bit of information. He studies the shapes till he finds a certain type... quiet... away from the others.... happy for a place to just curl up and sleep... Some are women. Some have children.
He'll walk by. They tense. He'll unzip his little, black case, take out a drawstring bag and toss in on the blankets. Hands crawl out to explore the strange, new thing. Gold has a 'feel.' There's a heft. You can almost taste it with your fingertips.
They hold it tight, snug, up under their chins. And in the first weak light of dawn, or almost dawn, they look at it. There's a little note folded into each sack, telling them where to go to sell the coins. Everything's arranged. Jonathon's 'familiars' know what to do.
Five or six thousand dollars, depending on the market, can do a lot...
Look, we were going to tell you more, but 3:30AM came up real fast. And whoever it is we got typing this tonight has to get some sleep. So think of this as part one. Tomorrow evening we'll do part two... hopefully early.
We're sorry, but the trash and recycling trucks come by and they make a real big racket.
We hope you understand...
<more next time>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
to see more Vampire Wonderland click GREY ...
to join whoever it is who types this thing on Twitter click CHARCOAL ...
please comment. thank you.
