literature

Bitter Medicine

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goldshroom's avatar
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Literature Text

My blood tends to drink itself. No, I'm not joking.

When your mother is a vampire (and I'm talking Dracula kind of vampire, not a member of the Cullen family) and your father is a straight-up, no-nonsense human being, the effects are... interesting, to say the least. "Hemophagocytic syndrome" is the common name for my condition, but I prefer to call it "Renegade White Blood Cell Syndrome", because then it rolls off the tongue (by comparison).

What was I going to talk about, again? Besides the fact that I'm a vampire (well, half-vampire, but nobody would see the difference if I start sucking your blood), I'm a pretty decent (an exaggeration) runner and total scatterbrain. Half my thoughts are best expressed in parentheses (like this thought) since they tend to be uncontrollably tangential (like right now). Nothing to do with my condition, mind. Just my personality - the run-of-the-mill class-clown jock-geek (runners at my school often blur the line between social divides) bookish writer with a dark, mysterious past that could win over the ladies (if I play my cards right).

Ugh, there I go again. What I'm trying to say is that I have some actual motivation to, like, drink blood every now and then. Not that it tastes particularly good. It doesn't. I seem to have inherited my father's taste in blood, but not for anything else. He likes country music, I like alt- rock (and I hate when alt-rock converges with country, which to me is like pouring oil onto pancakes). We still get along, though. I mean, he even knew my mother was a vampire when... okay, I don't really want to think about that. Do you ever think about your parents' sex life? Well, you're doing it now, and I don't finds such thoughts to be very pleasant. Could be worse, though (grandparents - that is all).

Hmm, I think I'm actively trying to avoid telling you this. As if I have reason to be ashamed or something, but I don't. I was born this way. Can't do much about it. Antibiotics are only a temporary solution for my problem, so I basically need to drink human blood. Or die. Which would work, too, but I don't think anyone wants that (except anti-vampirists, which is probably a large majority of human population now I think about it).

Now, before you get out your medical textbooks, let me remind you of my vampire heritage (apparently our lymphatic systems take on some extra, more interesting roles). Yeah, I know that sounds like "lampshade hanging" (Google it if you don't know what it is, because schools don't teach plot devices enough these days) or some other excuse to make you believe me, but hear me out. Please. I haven't been able to talk openly about this to anyone, ever. Not even my parents, because they just don't want to think about it. When my mother comes home with my bitter "medicine", the rule of thumb is to not ask questions I don't actually want the answer to.

Yeah, I haven't really embraced this whole vampire business. Kinda like my mother, I guess, but I can never quite get a read on her. She never says much about her past. Or how she met Dad. But I probably won't like all the answers to those questions, anyway, so it's all good. Anyway, I haven't been out hunting people, because being raised (mostly) by pure-blooded humans makes me think of such actions as "stalker-ish" and "criminal". It doesn't jibe with my moral system. Too bad my moral system doesn't jibe with certain other important systems of mine.

I'm sick of it all, ultimately. Sick of being different. Sick of being sick. Sick of taking my bitter medicine, then going to school, hanging out with friends, and acting like everything is okay. I can't express myself, be honest, or hardly get close to anyone. I sometimes wonder if the problem really is me, or society in general. I guess that's why I gravitate towards alt-rock, because there's so much angst I can relate to (and best of all, some angsty-hopeful songs that an underdog like me can take to heart). 

So, in conclusion, donate blood! Somebody probably needs it.

What? I can't end this on a somber note. I'm too nice for that. And I wouldn't be surprised if niceness were to be the death of me.
Change of pace, change of plan. My goal for the weekend was to do something unexpected, and I think the results are promising.
© 2013 - 2024 goldshroom
Comments11
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ab1indassassin's avatar
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Overall
:star::star::star::star::star: Vision
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Originality
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Technique
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Impact

First off, GREAT WORK! I really enjoy the works I'm reading when I can hear the person speaking, which happens rarely anymore. But you! you made it happen! I could hear a male voice, probably 17 years old, talking about how he hated being a half vampire.

I can't commend you on plot or technique as english was never my strong suit, but what I can tell you is that you make the words on the page have personality, they have a voice and emotion and everything we as humans feel or hear.

Thank you, one for being original in your own way, for taking a well liked subject, and making it your own. Thank you for showing us who the character is, because I not only was able to hear him (I assume it's a him because of the ladies comment) but also to SEE him, sitting at the desk in his room and writing this down, as if he had to write a paper for school or something. I'm glad that someone out there has this ability.

Please, whatever you do, don't stop writing things like this! it was amazing!