Ana

As I sit at my vanity table applying eyeshadow, I pick up my eyeliner pencil, look at the mirror, and see a woman old enough to have grandchildren; I remember the first time I applied eyeliner on my own. We were in Barcelona, Spain, with Dad and Gabriel, while John and May remained in Paris at the hotel. May stated that she is too elderly to go around exploring all the time, but we know the real reason was that May loved Paris and especially its flavorful cuisine. We enjoyed traversing the globe; it is a mainstay in our lives. I've traveled to every continent on Earth, always in the company of the most beautiful and captivating man I've ever known. Regardless of where we go, he remains the most gorgeous sight to me.

I have visited small villages. Most people have never seen or will never see in their lifetime. From Siberia down to the Congo. I've been everywhere, and I've done it the entire time next to Gabriel's side, in his arms, or on his cock. Gabriel says I have a foul mouth now, but he says it with that beautiful smirk of a smile. He was right when he said I would rule him one day. We went through a period where Gabriel and I pretty much switched roles. I dominated our sex life and him. Just for a while, because I missed seeing that gaze in his eyes when he embraced the role of the dominant lover, and I missed being the helpless, yearning girl in need. We still indulge in passion, and though we've embarked on some wild adventures, many of which others might deem scandalous, we cared little about outside opinions on our intimate escapades.

I'll never forget the beauty of Australia and the fantastic locations we were fortunate to explore, including holding baby kangaroos during an outback tour. We snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef and saw fish in every color of the rainbow. We had marvelous adventures. Some of the most amazing of those adventures were the sexual encounters that took place inside the villa we were vacationing in outside of Brisbane, and that bedroom will live on in my memory. The amazing sex and sensations we had while attempting new things. It continues to make me smile and tingle in my legs.

We finally got our trip to China; with everyone, May included, diving headfirst into the adventure, it added an extra sparkle to our unforgettable journey. May adored the people, the culture, and the breathtaking landscapes. She even found a kindred spirit, someone with a similar gift, keeping me intrigued. Now, I wouldn't gossip, but during our two-month stay, May, Mr. Woo, and I may have indulged in a few mischievous escapades, but she preferred to keep them under wraps. Mr. Woo was an exceptional guide, accompanying us every step of the way. We even had the pleasure of meeting his family; his daughter-in-law, an incredible cook, always treated me to her delicious dumplings. I embraced the customs wholeheartedly, even though I never quite mastered the language – luckily, Gabriel was there to translate. The entire experience was magical, and the warmth of Mr. Woo's family made it truly special.

That's where Dad met Caroline, an archaeologist. It's incredible to think about; Dad was my age back then, and the attraction between them was instant. Caroline adored his red hair, kindness, and goofy sense of humor. By the time we left China, Dad and Caroline were married. I admired her spontaneity and love for adventure; she was a perfect match for Dad. Caroline shared her remarkable story with us, how she was orphaned as a child and raised by her elderly aunt until she was ten. After her aunt passed away, she ventured out on her own, living independently. She even told us about the week she spent living in the public library basement before a kind soul took her in.

Caroline met a wealthy man who frequently traveled with his partner. They were always on the move, hopping from one city to another, leaving others unsure about their relationship. Caroline described them as father figures, as they took her under their wing and supported her through university.

It was during this time that Caroline discovered her passion for archaeology, or as she fondly called it, "digging in the dirt."
Afterward, she and Dad embarked on a journey to Egypt, while John and Alma accompanied May back home, sadly without Mr. Woo. May and him exchanged letters several times a month only confirming my suspicions.

China was an enchanting experience, brimming with unforgettable moments etched into my heart. Among the treasures I brought back is the jade ring Gabriel gave me; his fondness for adorning me with jewelry knew no bounds. I joke that I lack enough fingers to showcase all the rings he lavished upon me, and my necklaces could rival the stars in the night sky.

Yet, for Gabriel, it wasn't about the extravagance but the joy it brought him to see me open and wear the beautiful tokens of devotion. His love was the most precious gift, and being in his presence was all I ever truly desired.

We traveled around the European countries, seeing sites and towns, and I finally convinced him to take me back to Romania to his home, Transylvania. So many years had passed, and I told him no one knew him. The people he was related to had already had children, who had children who had children. Still, he was a bit nostalgic when he got there. We didn't stay long; we merely just passed through, and then we enjoyed the rest of Romania, which was breathtakingly beautiful. He showed me the castle where Vlad, the Impaler, or Dracula, lived. There was a rumor that Vlad was the original vampire. Of course, it is not true Gabriel was a much older vampire.

It was during our time in Romania that he opened up about his atrocities, as he called them. He told me as a fledgling; he took five or six lives accidentally learning to feed. Gabriel explained to me how the bloodlust was very intense as a fledgling. I honestly was expecting him to say he slaughtered an entire village with the guilt he carried. Of course, I still loved him, but hearing me say I still loved him made him feel less guilty. We met other vampires during our travels. Each of them showed extreme respect towards Gabriel, seeming able to sense his power, and some even seemed in fear of my sweet, loving husband. We even ran into Mr. Devereaux again on a visit to the French countryside. He was caught off guard initially, maybe thinking Gabriel was after him. Mr. Devereaux said he was no longer in the United States and had broken all ties with his associates in New Orleans.

Gabriel was very possessive and protective of me but never made me feel weak or incapable like I've seen so many other men do to their wives, but he did make sure his kind knew I was his wife and not just a random human woman. Over the years, I watched his vampiric powers grow stronger, and he became more accepting of his identity. He was ultimately able to read almost anyone's thoughts. He doesn't want me to think he's invading my thoughts, but I told him he can invade them all he wants; they're always about him and his cock. He could turn a room full of chaos into peace, sending out a wave of relaxation and practically a slight euphoria.

Everything about him is spectacular, and how he still looks at me after all these years melts my heart.

I get a bit older daily, but I swear on a stack of Bibles that this man becomes more beautiful yearly. I finish my makeup. Looking in the mirror, I see that sixteen-year-old girl still glistening in my eyes as she stares at a fifty-year-old woman.

Enjoying my memories, slipping into my pink lingerie, fastening my hose to my garter belt, and slipping on heels. I go to the bed where my husband, lover, and best friend sleep.

Standing over him, I wonder how someone can be so beautiful. Naked on his back, one arm over his head, accentuating his abdominal muscles, I admire his chiseled perfection. He has one leg slightly bent, and his cock lays flaccid on his thigh like a sleeping python. I lick his cock and put my mouth around it. His cock begins to grow firm, and I feel Gabriel set up slightly. He's now on his elbows, watching me smiling with that sexy smirk. He tells me, "By all means, please don't let me stop you".

Taking as much of his cock as I can, I feel it against the back of my throat, and I swallow and suck him hard. He moans with pleasure as I fuck his cock with my mouth, never taking my eyes off of his. He strokes my hair, runs his fingers down my neck, grabs a handful of my breast, and squeezes; he pushes my top down enough to find my nipple, and he rubs it, making it hard. I give him a few slow, deep thrusts into my mouth. I am about to climb on top of him to straddle him. Before I know what is happening, my legs are in the air, and this beautiful man on top of me passionately kissing me. The metallic and oddly sweet taste of his blood covers my tongue. Even now after all these years his thick, huge cock is just too much when he lets loose. He works down my neck, kissing softly, then sinks his fangs into me, slowly sucking, taking my blood sip by sip. I gasp as I feel him thrust deep inside me all at once—no warning, just how I like it.
                                                         

***

Gabriel

"I love you, Ana. You look stunning."

I increase my pace. She comes for me long and hard, her body still trembling. I flip us, and she straddles me with my cock deep inside her. I take her by the ass and hips, and I am working her up and down my cock, watching her gorgeous face.

She worries that she's aged but to me she is sheer perfection. Watching her breasts jiggling up and down on me, she orgasms hard; her moans flood my ears, only increasing my animalistic needs. I don't wait for her trembling to subside or for her to breathing to regulate. With her body mid-orgasm, I just continue pumping her up and down on my cock. My gaze completely focusing in on her eyes. I soak in her passion and pleasure, and she works me until I am calling her name in deep moans that grow into shouting "Ana, yes don't fucking stop!"

She smiles at me, and I feel her grip my cock tightening around me, and I cannot contain the pure ecstasy this feeling brings me and I explode deep inside her.

Laying there and looking at her, I whisper, "You're a Goddess, Ana; never do I want you to think for a second about the thought that went through your mind just now. I tried to avoid invading your thoughts, but this one was loud and full of emotions. Ana, you are as flawless today as you were the day I married you. Your inner beauty is angelically perfect, and your outward appearance still turns heads when you walk into rooms. The thoughts that run through men's minds are full of lust, and many women's minds are spewing jealousy over your perfection; those people do not even know your inner beauty. I do, and I find everything about you gorgeous and flawless."

She curls up beside me as I lay on my back; she wraps her leg over me, and her hand strokes my face. She has tears in her eyes, she whispers. "Oh, Gabriel, you are welcome inside my mind, heart, and anything else you want."

She says the last part with a little giggle, lightening the mood, and then she says, " I'm so happy with you. You've made every single second of every single day incredible. I couldn't even imagine having never met you. The thought is terrifying! I love you with all of my heart and our soul!" she winks after saying, "Our soul."

Tomorrow, we make our way to Ireland. She wants to see some distant relatives that she hasn't visited since the death of her father.

So much has changed with the people that we love and care about. John and Alma, of course, got married and have five children, who have given them three grandchildren. They're beautiful and rambunctious toddlers, and they keep John on his toes. Dove finished her medical degree and taught gross anatomy at Harvard for a few years.

That's where she met her husband. He was one of her students and was twelve years younger. When Dove realized she was in love with him, she did what she thought to be the proper thing and resigned from her position. Daniel moved back to North Carolina with her. Daniel and Dove tried for several years to get pregnant, and she pretty much gave up the idea of ever having a child, but at forty-five years old, she gave birth to her daughter, whom she named. May Ruby Morning Talltree-Thomason.

Dove said she had to keep with the tradition and give her daughter more names than her best friend. They called her Ruby, and she is an absolute gem. Ruby is a wonderful and brilliant child, and she has inherited her grandmother's abilities, as well as those of John's eldest son, River, who read thoughts and could do small acts of healing.

When Charles passed away he had left the ranch, and quite a substantial amount of money for Dove, and John. John and Alma ended up building a home on the ranch as well.

We visit there anytime we're in the States. My Anna loves city life and shopping. She loves going out at night to dance, listen to music, and taking in a show. Ana lives every single day with passion and an absolute love for life. I make her see a doctor regularly and keep up with her health, but the doctor jokes around and tells me that she is healthier than I am. Still, I am always reassured when I hear this. I could technically take care of her myself, but it's nice to have that reassurance from another doctor.

Sometimes, no matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, and no matter what lengths we go to, we're unable to keep things in our control. Sometimes, we're unable to have power over anything. I realized that during the week that I watched Ana become sick, it was influenza, and her body was strong, but this virus was stronger.

I gave her my blood and attempted to keep her fever low. She was wrapped in my arm; when she wasn't coughing, I took her to every doctor, but the entire city was infected with the flu. Hospitals were overburdened and understaffed, so nothing could be done for individuals infected. It's difficult for me to put all of this into words, but I believe I need to remember every detail. I recall her and I going to an opera in New York, and she was wearing a lovely red dress; I believe this is where she contacted the flu. It's funny Ana was unsure whether she should wear that dress because she feared it would clash with her red hair. She looked amazing.

All these memories rushing back to me is almost overwhelming. I remember when we were in Brazil, and the area was so beautiful. I had rented a small island, and we had it to ourselves. There were all sorts of exotic birds. One of them had taken to Anna daily. It would fly straight to her, and they became closer and closer. I remember how she cried when she had to leave this Cockatoo; she had me hire a local man to go and make sure all of the birds were fed weekly.

I remember one time when we were outside of Italy, and a small child, maybe five- years -old, walked up to us asking for money, saying that their papa had died and that their mama worked and worked and still didn't have enough money for her or her younger siblings. I had to translate the entire thing.

Ana insisted on word-for-word with the child and she had me ask where the child lived. The girl said up the road, and I had to pick her up, and we walked towards their home. As I picked up the small, underfed, dirty child and held her against me, stroking her hair and telling her everything was going to be okay now, she cried with relief. We walked to where the little girl said their home was. It was minimal. She took us inside, and there was another child, maybe about the same age as this one, with one year old and a baby old enough to set up. They were all cold, underdressed, and hungry. We asked this small girl.

"Where is your mama?"

The girl replied, "She is in town at her work."

Ana had the two smallest girls bundled in her own jacket, holding them, and had me carrying the other two. It wasn't that cold, but she insisted that they had to be freezing because of how thin they were.

We found their mama. She was covered in flour, her hands, and dough she was running the entire small restaurant and bakery combination single handedly. The woman, whose name was Estelle, explained that she and her husband had opened this restaurant and bakery, and it had been thriving. They were doing very well, and they actually had lived in a house right down the road, but then her husband became very ill and wasn't able to work. They couldn't afford their home, so they left it, moving to the smaller one they were in outside of the city. She still worked in the bakery every day. The small child who approached us, we found out her name was Angela. She was five and a half years old, and her sister Sophia was four; the next child, Nathaniel, was two, and the baby, Marcel, was nine months old.

Angela watched all of them while their mother worked, and the father slowly became sicker and sicker until he finally passed. She told us that her husband was buried in a pauper grave, and she could not afford a headstone. Initially, when we walked up with her four children, she thought we were there to take them away from her, and fear racked her. I sent a wave of calm which swept over everyone, and I began interpreting for Ana. I told her that they would never have to worry about money again, and they never did. Ana and I bought their original home and signed the deed to Estelle. We paid the loans that she had on the restaurant. We set up money and accounts for each child to be able to attend school if they chose to participate.

Ana and I ended up staying in that village for a little over seven months, and all four children thought of Ana lovingly and were taken to her immediately. Estelle told the children that Ana and Gabriel were angels and that their father had sent them. Every time she saw us initially, she wept with happiness. We ate at the restaurant almost every night. It was a magnificent restaurant, with her cooking being some of the best Italian food I had ever eaten, and Ana, the lover of all foods, was in complete bliss. We would take care of the children initially while Estelle worked until we could find people to come and work in the bakery kitchen and the restaurant. After a few weeks, Estelle began to feel more comfortable with the success of the bakery and the restaurant. The young man we had hired was named Giovanni, and I believe he was smitten with Estelle, even though he was five or six years younger.

I saw romance begin to bloom between the two of them. He was a very handsome and brilliant young man, and he immediately feel in love with all the children. After a month or two, he began to show up at dinner. By the time Ana and I had left, we were confident they would be together; there was no doubt they were in love. It was so bittersweet for us. I had grown close to all four, especially Angela. She was a magnificently young girl. She was fascinated with medical books, and I bought her many she could read, but most of the words in these books were way beyond her education level. But she said she would read every single one of them and grow up and become a doctor just like me. All of them, Giovanni, all four children, and Estelle, said bitter farewell at the train station, and in our car, Ana wept over, leaving them. She was racked with grief.

I just held her and kissed her, knowing there was more behind the reason she wept so sadly. She finally broke down and apologized to me for never being able to bear children. I kissed her, held her, and reassured her. I knew she truly believed me when I said that she was the only thing I needed in my life.

We traveled to towns and nations, Ana and I becoming recognizable humanitarian figures across the globe. Now, we're back where I first met her in North Carolina, in our own bed where we first made love. The home I proposed to her in the same house where our love grew like a wildfire. She lies on me, her head on my chest, her chest against mine, her breathing labored and ragged, her body burning with fever, and periodic chills sweeping through her, causing violent shaking and a week of coughing. I never left her side, and on Sunday, as the sun began to rise, her fever seemed to break. We lay there, talking.

My Ana spoke to me with such sorrow in her weak voice, she whispered. "My love, my absolute everything. I'm so sorry; my heart is breaking, and I know I'm about to leave you alone. I don't want to leave you alone. I don't want to go; I don't want to be able not to see your face, not to be able to kiss your lips."

Each breath, each word was a struggle for her. I looked into her eyes as I stroked her and reassured her that it was only temporary, and the both of us knew there were more lives yet to come for her and me. And I would find her no matter what I had to do. I would see her in one of her lives, and I would love her and cherish her the exact same as I always have.

"Ana, you have brought me life; you made me whole. I have been happier and have felt true goodness, true love, and true happiness every second, every minute, and every hour of every single day since I first saw you. When I saw that beautiful girl with mesmerizing green eyes, they captivated me the moment I locked. If I could go back and change anything because someone granted me a wish, there's absolutely not a single moment I would change. I love you, Ana. I will always love you. I will always find you.."

"I love you too, Gabriel. I love you so deeply..."

She was trying to say deeply, and I finished it for her. I lay soft kisses on her face and her lips. I held her against my body. I sent wave after wave of calm, so the only thing she could feel was peace, and as she took her very last breath, I whispered to her.

" I will find you; I will always find you. I love you. Our love is inseparable."

I held her in my arms as tears broke free from my eyes that kept them imprisoned and flooded my face. I don't know how long I was there. I couldn't let her go. Tears would not stop streaming from my eyes. I had held them back this entire time, only wanting her to see happiness and calm and no fear or anxiety, and now everything was set free. My emotions were ripped and torn into bloody pieces. My entire body lost the happiness and joy in life's meaning.

It wasn't until that evening that John found us; he wept. He knew she had been sick, and towards the last day or two, he and Alma knew she would not make it. I think he had been grieving secretly so that Ana couldn't see his sadness.

"Gabriel, I'm so sorry. I know words are meaningless right now, but please know you have all of our love and all of our condolences. We are here to be strong for you and to help you. We are here and will always be your family. Gabriel, you are like my brother, and Ana has always been my sister."

He walked to me and allowed me a moment to kiss her lips. She was cold. John helped me wrap her in a blanket. Then he picked her up with his strong, massive arms and carried her like a baby. He carried her out of the room just as he had carried her into my office the day I met her. The next few days seemed to run together. Dove arrived with her husband and family. Other family members and friends began to show up as well.

On Wednesday morning at the ranch, John performed a Navajo ceremony to send her soul to peace. Still, he made sure he included that the ancestors guided her soul swiftly back to me. I had white roses placed inside the coffin. I insisted that her ring not be removed.

I had dressed her in a light blue dress, one of my favorites. We had bought it during a trip to San Francisco just a few months earlier. John placed several items for peace and guidance for her transition that were deeply connected to Navajo traditions in the coffin along with her. After the ceremony, by the same tree, we were married at, John and I dug her grave. It was right beside her father, between her mother and May. I laid on top of the ground and talked to her for several days. I don't know for how long. It rained and became cold. The family came to comfort me, but there was no comfort to be found.

On Saturday, I showered, shaved, and dressed in Ana's favorite suit. I said goodbye to Dove, John, Alma, and all of their children. I told them I would see them again, telling everyone I had to start looking for her. I had to find clues to ensure our souls would meet again.

I placed an order for her headstone as I left town.