She found herself thinking of Caleb’s piano playing, of how beautiful the music had been. It’s notes rang in her ears.
“I didn’t know you could play the piano,” she said softly.
He sighed. “It’s been many years. I’m afraid I didn’t do the piece justice. You should’ve heard Ludwig play it.”
She looked at him, shocked. “Do you mean Ludwig…as in Beethoven?” she asked, dumbfounded.
He nodded.
“You heard Beethoven play that? Personally?”
“Yes,” he said. “Towards the end of his life.”
She was flabbergasted. It shocked her to consider what he must have seen.
“So, then…you met him?” she asked
“Yes,” Caleb said. “He was a close friend. He was one of us.”
“A vampire?” Caitlin asked, shocked.
Caleb simply nodded.
Caitlin wanted to know more—she wanted to know everything—but she could see that Caleb didn’t want to talk about it. Whatever had happened, it held deep feelings for him.
“It must be so incredible to have met people like that. To remember things like that,” she said.
“Sometimes,” he said. “More often, it’s a burden.”
“Why?”
“After time, memories begin to weigh you down. You get so lost in past events, it becomes hard to live in the present. It’s like a house filled with old things. After a certain point, there’s no room to bring in anything new.”
They walked in silence for several minutes. The sun was beginning to set, and it cast a soft light over everything. The waves crashed, Rose yelped as she ran by their feet, and some passing seagulls screech overhead.
Caitlin looked around, wondering if there was any clue, any trace of her father, anything that she remembered. But she couldn’t find a thing.
She heard a loud noise, and felt a breeze, and suddenly, two white horses raced past them. She turned to look, to see where they had come from, but there was nothing anywhere in sight. Wild horses. They galloped right past them, down the beach, running in the shallow water.
Caleb and Caitlin turned and looked at each other at the same time. It was amazing. Unlike anything she had ever seen.
“Wild horses,” he said. “And white. An excellent sign. Let’s catch them!” he said, and took off at a sprint.
Caitlin at first thought he was crazy: how could they possibly catch up with a horse? But then she remembered her newfound speed, and she ran.
Caitlin felt her legs running for her. Before she knew it, she was racing faster than she had ever thought possible. She caught up to Caleb, and the two of them sped up, and within seconds, they were running alongside the horses. Rose ran right behind them.
Caleb smiled wide. “Let’s ride!” he screamed.
He jumped onto the back of one of them, and Caitlin followed suit, running as fast as she could, and leaping in the air onto the back of the other.
She couldn’t believe it, but she was now riding on the back of this horse, beside Caleb. He was laughing, his hair blowing wildly in the wind. The two of them raced down the beach, side-by-side, racing further and further into the sunset. She couldn’t believe that she was able to do this, to hang on. It all felt too surreal.
The horses took them down the beach, for miles. As they went, they got a bird’s-eye view of the cliffs, the rocks, the sand. Caitlin was surprised to see just how huge this beach was. It seemed to stretch forever.
And then suddenly, without warning, the horses came to an abrupt stop.
No matter how much prodding Caleb and Caitlin did, they refused to move.
Caitlin and Caleb exchanged glances, puzzled.
“I guess they want to let us off here!” Caleb yelled, laughing.
Caitlin looked down and saw that the horses were standing in the ocean, in knee-high water.
Caleb smiled wide. “Guess we’ll have to get a little wet!”
He jumped down, landing in the knee-high water.
Caitlin took off her shoes, holding them in one hand, and followed.
The water was freezing on her bare feet, but it only came up to her shins as the wave receded.
And it actually felt refreshing on her bare feet, as did the soft sand.
She looked up and saw the horses galloping away, down the empty beach, towards the sun.
Rose ran along the sand, testing the waves, then running back to the sand again, yelping.
Caleb came over, grabbed Caitlin, and playfully picked her up as a wave came in, keeping her dry. He was so strong, the wave crashed into his legs, and it didn’t even budge him. He was like a rock. He held her close, hugging her, keeping her dry, laughing and smiling, as he whirled her around.
She felt her heart swell.
As he gently lowered her, holding her tight, she looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers.
Their eyes locked. Slowly, his smile faded. His expression turned more serious. Turned to something else.
She saw his eyes change color, from brown to a sea-green. He stared down at her, right back into her eyes, and they both felt the same thing at the same moment.
Her heart pounded, as he leaned in and kissed her.
It was a kiss of one thousand suns. Her body filled with a warmth and tingling unlike anything she had ever experienced. She kissed him back, more forcefully, and soon he was holding her, picking her up out of the water, and walking her towards the shore. He brought her to the dry sand, and they lay down together, on the empty beach, with seemingly the entire world to themselves. Their kisses became more passionate, and she reached up and ran her hand through his hair.
She had been imagining this moment from the first time she met him.
She had never loved anyone as much as this.