"Es un perro es un perro! Woof, woof, woof! Woof, woof, woof!" A light and clear voice sang slightly in the night. "Es un perro es un perro, con una nariz muy grande!" The little girl on the swing giggled as she swung back and forth. Mama would come soon. She just had to wait.

"Es un gato, es un gato! Meow, meow, meow, Meow, meow, meow! Es un gato, es un gato, con una nariz muy grande!" She had to be out looking right now. And she'd definitely come here! They came here all the time, so she'd come back here to look for her.

It had been almost a week since her mother told her to run... A week since those angry looking men had come at them. Was it something to do with Papa? And the people he used to hang out with? She'd see them come over occasionaly when mama was out, and they'd yell sometimes and he'd make them leave.. But... Why did they come here? And why had mama told her to run...

The poor girl was just confused by the whole mess of it.

She wanted to go home and search for her mother really. But she had said don't go home... No matter what, stay away from the apartment.

She began to sing the little song again. One that she had learned when she was even littler that she was now. About the cat and the bird and the fish. It was the only way to make the time pass. She was getting a little sleepy, but she wanted to swing a bit. The night was cool and... Well it was getting cooler...

The dirty faced girl began to swing in silence listening to the breeze and looking up at the stars. They were so pretty.

Rosa had been walking through the park wearing a pair of denim jeans and a loose fitting black t-shirt. She was bored and wasn't in the mood for hunting. It was a cool night, and the stars were out illuminating the black sky. A perfect night to hunt, but she couldn't keep her mind from thinking about Trey. He was a peculiar man, and she just couldn't understand him.

The vampiress believed all men were evil, but Trey...he was an exception. Lost in thought Rosa subconsciously took the path leading to the playground. Something was drawing her there, but she didn't even pay it any mind. Rosa hummed a childhood song that her father had taught her. Then her body was moving to the beat in her head.

Maybe a little time by herself could clear her mind. Then a little girl's voice reached her ears as she came into sight of the playground. She recognized the song as a children's song to teach the names of animals. Moving closer Rosa could hear the girl singing about a fish, a cat and bird. The vampiress had a seat on one of the swings, and thought she could see something familiar in the little girl's face.

As the woman sat down in the swing, the rough looking girl stopped swinging so abruptly that she fell off of the swing and started to scramble away in the mulch, wide-eyed and fearful.

She had to hide! Mama had said to hide from everyone! Unless they were a police officer or her! And she didn't look like an officer.

Scrambling under a little monkey bar set, the girl have a fearful whimper behind her dirty hands.

"Who are you! What do you want! Mama said not to talk to anyone unt-" But the rapid, high pitched spanish stopped after she got a good look at the woman. "Mama?" She blunk a few times, her brown eyes full of confusion.

But... It wasn't mama. Mama would have given her a hug and kiss by now... Not just sit there. But the woman... She had dark hair too. Dark like Mamas. And brown eyes before she changed them. Did the men go away? Could she have long hair again now so she didn't look like a little boy? No... It wasn't mama... Her eyes were different. Strange.

"Who are you?" She whispered again. "Do... Do you know my mother? Is she with you?"

Rosa looked a little surprised as the girl scrambled away from her. True she was dirty, but the girl was beautiful. Her hair was short, and starting to grow back.

With a smile Rosa looked at the girl, and sighed. "My name is Rosa." She said calmly as she saw that the girl was close to running. Taking a second to look into the very surface of the girl's mind Rosa understood what was going on. So the girl thought that Rosa was her mother for a second. "I don't know your mother." Rosa said honestly. Mira Vasquez? That was the girls name, but Rosa didn't say a word about it. "Where's your mama?" She asked concerned.

Then memories of a news report floated to the top of the vampiress's memories. A woman had been brutally murdered by a gang. She remembered the woman's name was Rosanna Vasquez. Rosa dove into the girl's mind again for an image of her mother, and realised that she and the girl's mother looked very similar. She didn't want to tell Mira about it, but sooner or later she would know about it. "What's your name? I know your mama told you not to talk to anyone, but I promise that I won't hurt you." She said sitting calmly on the swing set.

"Rosa..." She murmured. So the woman wasn't her mother... But they... They even had similar names.

"Mama? I... I don't know. She told me to run... Run and hide. She said she would come and find me." She trailed off slightly. But where was she? She was okay right? She wasn't hurt... Those men didn't hurt her did they?

"Mira... My name's Mirabelle... Mama's okay right? She's not hurt is she? Those men didn't hurt her did they?" The girl's voice was trembling slightly, afraid that her mother could be hurt. She didn't think the woman was going to hurt her. She seemed nice enough and knew to stay away... But Mira didn't dare move closer to her, didn't leave the monkey bar dome. The woman wouldn't be able to get her in here, the holes through were too small.

"Please... I just wanna go home... Find Mama and go home... It's so cold out at nights... But I can't go back. Not until she gets me. I want to go home Rosa... But the men might find me. That's what she said. I don't want them to hurt me. I just wanna go home Rosa." But her mother told her not to.

Her little hands gripped at the mulch as her eyes began to water. "I wanna go home..." She whispered. Mira wanted nothing more right now than to be curled up with her mother in bed... Held close in her arms while her mother snored softly, her breath on the top of her head. She wanted her mother... Wanted her home.

Rosa listened to the girl, and knew that sooner or later she'd have to give the girl the bad news. It wouuld crush the girl, but she didn't want to lie either. Mira deserved the truth.

Rosa stayed silent listening to Mira as she asked about her mama and how she wanted to just go home.

Clearing her throat Rosa answered Mira's question about her mama. "Mira...Your mama was hurt really badly by the men." She felt horrible for saying it, and wished she could take it back. "...Your mama died a week ago." Biting her lip Rosa felt horrible about giving the bad news to Mira. "I didn't know your mama, but if you want you can go home with me. Even if it's just for the night."

Mira gasped with wide eye as the woman said that her mother had been hurt... That her mother was dead. Closing her eyes tight she shook her head. "No! No, it can't be true! You're lying to me!" She screamed at the woman.

It wasn't true, her mother couldn't be dead. She couldn't be. Mama was too strong for that.

Squeezing through the bars on the other side she started to run away from the woman. The woman was a lair. Momma wasn't dead. She'd come for her!

As she started to run from the grass over the concrete path, the changing in footing tripped her up, sending her sprawling on the concrete. It was then that the little girl started to cry, and it wasn't the painful cries from scraping up her hands and knees, but a much deeper pain than that.

Screaming and crying for her mother, Mira's dirty face began to be streaked with tears as she cried, curled up on the ground. "I want my Mama!! She's not dead! I wanna go home with mama!! I wanna go home with Mama!" She screamed over and over again in a high shrill voice.

Rosa looked sadly at the girl. The girl said that she was a liar, and Rosa couldn't blame her. Rosa couldn't really believe it herself. Then Mira was off running away from her. Cursing to herself Rosa chased after the girl.

Then she caught up with the girl and knelt down looking sadly at her. "I'm so sorry Mira." She said stroking the girl's short hair. "Your mother died protecting you from the bad people." Rosa knew it wasn't much, but it was all she could really say.

"Can you come home with me? I won't hurt you, and my home is better than living out here by yourself." She said trying her best to smile. "If you don't want to, I'll at least go with you to your home. It's very dangerous for someone to be out by themselves at night." She said knowing it all too well. Horrible men were usually out during the night, and would jump at the opportunity to take advantage of Mira. "Please let me help you." She said soothingly.

"No, no I don't wanna! I don't wanna go home, mama told me not to. I wanna wait for her! She'll come back! She's not dead!" The girl insisted, her face streaked with dirt and tears as she pushed herself up off the ground again. "She's not dead Rosa! She'll come back for me! You don't know her! You're lying to me!"

Mira ran once more, running as fast as she could to get away from the woman, crying all the while. Was it true what she said? Was mama gone and not coming back? Was she really dead like daddy was? She... She couldn't be. but why hadn't she come yet? Why hadn't she found mama looking for her yet?

Running behind a large rock formation, Mira crawled under a bush. This was her little safe spot, her little hiding place. And once there, she sobbed openly, her heart bleeding with every sob as she cried for her mother.

She didn't want this woman to help her. Didn't want this lady who looked and sounded so much like her mother to take care of her. She could take care of herself.

But Mira wanted to be held close. She wanted someone to hold her tight, rock her and kiss her forehead... Tell her everything was going to be okay. She wanted her mama to do that. Not someone else... But if her mama was dead.... She was on her own now

"Wait!" Rosa yelled as Mira ran off. She knew that it was very hard, especially for a child her age, but it was the truth. Sad but true Mira's mother had died protecting her.

Rosa took a second to pray for Mira's mother, and ran after the girl. It was pretty easy to follow the girl using her sense of smell, but Rosa stopped at the rock formation where she heard the child sob. "Mira?" She spoke loudly as if she was searching her even though she knew where the girl was. "Mira where are you?" She started walking away from the rock formation. "I only want to help Mira!"

She knew that Mira would need time. Mira seemed like a strong girl, and she could take care of herself, but Rosa felt she needed to take care of this child. Rosa felt that she knew the girl. It was a slim chance, but maybe Mira and her mother were her descendants.

No, she didn't want help. She wanted her mama. Mama wasn't dead, the lady was just lying to her and trying to trick her.

She wanted to see her mama again, wanted to be held in her arms, hear her pretty songs...

"I want my mama... Why can't I see her...." She whimpered through her tears. Did this woman really want to help her? Really want to take her in? Mira wasn't sure. She didn't know what this woman really wanted to do, and she was scared. Mama had told her not to trust anyone. Not to talk to anyone buy her or a police officer. This lady wasn't an officer, wasn't her mother... She could be up here to trick her. Working with the same men who hurt her mama.

What should she do? What would mama want her to do?

Be safe... That's what mama would want...

But what would be more safe? Being with the lady? Or staying out here...

"Why you wanna help me? You're not trying to trick me... Are you?" And did she have food? Mira was so hungry... A hotdog vendor had taken pity on her earlier that day, but that was almost eight hours ago now... She wanted to sleep properly... Sleep in a bed... With her mama holding her. "Promise you won't hurt me? And... I... I'm very hungry..." She murmured as she crawled closer to the edge of the bush.

Rosa had come back to the spot where she knew Mira was, and had a seat while waiting for the girl to come out. She wouldn't force the girl out, and she wouldn't trick her mind. Rosa didn't say a word as the girl whimpered. She had the answer, but she wanted to be a little less blunt.

Then the girl asked why Rosa wanted to help her. "I don't want you to get hurt." Though she wanted to say a little more. "You remind me of myself...I'm not trying to trick you Mira. It's against what I believe to trick you."

Rosa smiled as Mira crawled from her hiding spot, and nodded. "I promise I won't hurt you Mira." The vampiress offered her hand to the girl. "I don't have any food with me, but we can definitely stop at a pretty good diner." She said with a smile. They'd stop by one of the diners on the way back to her apartment. She wouldn't bring Mira to the Coven. It would be too dangerous for the girl. "What kind of food do you like?" She asked smiling warmly at the girl.

"Cross your heart and hope to die?" She murmured as her dirty face peered out from behind the bushes. After all, the woman... She didn't seem to want to hurt her. She wasn't acting like those men who hurt her mama, or the ones who had killed papa.

A diner? Mama always cooked. And she cooked really good food too.

"What about your home? Do you cook Rosa? Like mama did? She made the best lasagna! And she would make really good pancakes and omelet's for breakfast." She said almost excitedly, her stomach rumbling loudly at the thought of food.

She was still wary to take the woman's hand though, and didn't come out of the bush... Not with the woman so close, she could try to grab her when she was coming out.

"I'm so hungry Rosa... I could eat anything. Mama had some leftover lasagna at home... But I can't go home... Mama said the men might look for me there..."

Rosa smiled at Mira. "Cross my heart and hope to die..." Rosa made a cross over her heart. "Stick a needle in my eye." She said backing away from the bush so the girl would feel more comfortable coming out.

It was easy to read the girl's emotions without going into her mind. Rosa nodded her head as Mira asked if she cooked at home. "I'm not very good. I haven't really cooked for myself in a long time Mira." Rosa hadn't cooked for a good couple of hundred years. She'd be lucky to remember how to do it. Then again it was always a good time to remember, especially since the girl was so used to home cooking. "How about we go to the diner tonight. I don't have much to cook with at my home, so I'll pick some stuff up tomorrow." She said with a smile. She felt it could be good.

Mira giggled and grinned, her teeth bright against her dirty face, as Rosa promised. Crawling out from under the bush she brushed off her already dirty clothing.

"Mama taught me to cook a bit! We can learn together if ya want!" She said cheerfully as she rubbed at her eyes slightly. .

"But I'm hungry! I don't really care where we go... But... But I don't got any money... There... There might be some at home..." But again... She couldn't go home. Not now. "Can we go to McDonalds? I always like their chicken nuggets and their fries!" At the mention of the food her stomach growled loudly again and she gave a small wince.

"But anywhere's fine... I just want something to eat... I'm sooo hungry..." She moaned softly.

Rosa smiled at Mira as the girl said that they could learn together. "I'd love to learn to cook with you!" She said with a smile.

Rosa nodded as the girl said again that she was hungry. "Don't worry about money Mira. It'll be my treat." Rosa smiled brightly at the girl. "Let's go to Mcdonald's and then we can stop by your house tomorrow."

Rosa stood up and offered her hand to Mira. "McDonald's isn't that far away from here. We'll get something to eat, and then we can head to my place."

The vampiress started walking slowly down the path towards the city streets.

Mira grinned again. This time so wide that you could see a missing incisor on one side. "Yeah! Let's get food!" She said excitedly as she took the woman's hand this time. She seemed okay. and she was nice and all...

"And... Um... Maybe... You think you could hold me tonight? Mama... She always held me when I went to bed." She murmured as she moved closer to Rosa, as if for protection. "Could you do that? Hold me..." She asked as she looked up with her large brown eyes. "I've been so scared at night... Thinking those men are gonna come for me... And it's been kinda cold..."

Normally she wouldn't have complained, wouldn't have even mentioned it, but as a breeze kicked up she shivered slightly. Sure it wasn't all that cold, but when you were little, hungry and with dirty tattered clothes, you got cold pretty quick.

Rosa squeezed the girl's hand affectionately as she felt Mira take her's. She wanted to get some food in the girl. Listening to Mira Rosa smiled. "Of course I can hold you tonight Mira." She said with a smile. "I might be a little on the cool side too, but I've always been that way." She said with a slight laugh.

Rosa walked down the city street holding Mira's hand, and stopped by the McDonald's. After picking up a kid's chicken nuggets for Mira they both left for her apartment.

A few minutes walk and they were in an elegant apartment complex. Rosa's apartment was pretty simple, but it had a leather couch, a large plasma screen TV, and a pretty decent sized kitchen area that hadn't seen use since the day she bought the apartment.

There was a bathroom with a bath/shower combination, and the bedroom had a queen sized bed with white sheets. It was her home away from the Coven.

Mira bounced along the streets, occasionally pulling a fry out of the bag and munching on it so that by the time they got back to the apartment where Rosa lived there were none left.

"Auntie Rosa? Can I have my drink please! She asked as she tugged at the woman's sleeve. "I'm thirsty! And I can't eat my chicken nuggets without something to drink!" She giggled as she ran about in the apartment for a moment, taking in everything at once as only little kids could do.

After a few second though Mira was sitting down on the floor in the living room at the coffee table. After all, her mother and she didn't have a kitchen table or a dining table. It was too expensive and too hard to move. They had had a small coffee table that they ate at instead.

She began to eat the chicken nuggets voraciously, dipping them generously in the sweet and sour sauce that she loved. So generously in fact that one had to wonder if Mira could even tasted the chicken nugget at all. And under the nugget box she found a few stray fries which she gobbled up mercilessly, not wanting to waste a scrap of food.

Rosa was carrying Mira's drink and she had left it on the counter, and when the girl asked for it she brought it over to the coffee table. "Here you go Mira! Enjoying your food?" She asked sitting down next to Mira.

Switching on the TV Rosa flicked through the channels until she got to the Spanish Disney Channel. "Is there anything you want to watch?" She watched as Mira ate her food. Rosa herself felt a little envious. She hadn't eaten food for a good couple hundred years.

She smiled as Mira ate the fries. Rosa was happy that she met Mira. It seemed as if fate had brought them together.

As Rosa brought her her drink she took a long sip, sighing as she finished. "Yeah! It's great!" She said as she took a bite out of another nugget. "Usually we don't get McDonald's but on Saturday nights. But I haven't had it for a while now. It's soo yummy!" She took another sip, washing the nugget down.

"Mama says it's bad for me, but I like it anyways! Especially with the sauce! I don't know why, but it tastes even better!"

She jumped, almost startled as the TV came on. It was huge! Bigger than any TV she'd seen outside of a store. "Wow! That's a biiig TV! We just had a small one, and we didn't get many channels at all. Ooh! But what's that! It looks like fun!"

The show that was on was nothing she had ever seen before, but it made her laugh one time so that the orange drink she was drinking nearly came out of her nose.

Once she was done eating though, she crawled up on the couch next to Rosa and curled up against her. The apartment Rosa had was a lot better than hers... The carpets were clean, no burn marks... The walls weren't dirty with chipped paint. The furniture was fresh as if brand new. "It's soo pretty in here..." She murmured with a yawn. "I wanna have a pretty house like this some day... And a really big TV like yours."

Rosa smiled as Mira spoke about the McDonald's food, and how her mother said it was bad for her. "It is bad for you Mira, but it's always good to have some once in a while." The vampiress ran her fingers through the girl's hair.

While they were watching t.v. Rosa laughed warmly and looked down at the girl. She hadn't laughed like that since she was mortal. It was fun being around Mira, especially when the orange drink nearly came out of her nose. Then Mira commented on getting an apartment like Rosa's after curling up against her. "I'm glad you like it Mira, but I spend a lot of money to get all of this pretty stuff. If I'm still around when you're older I'll definitely help you buy one!" She said wrapping an arm around the girl. "Oh, there's something you need to do for me Mira." She said kissing the top of the girl's head. "Please don't open up the curtains during the day. I don't like the light too much." She knew it was a lame reason, but it was one that would hopefully suffice for the little girl. "How about we go to your home tomorrow and pick up a few things for you? I won't let the bad men hurt you if they find us." She wouldn't let anyone hurt the girl that could have a potential connection to her bloodline. Maybe there was a way to redeem herself.

Nearly curled up in Rosa's lap, Mira's eyes were struggling to stay open.

Warm, full, and safe, Mira was slowly loosing the battle against sleep.

"Something? Huh... What's that? She murmured sleepily, fighting back a yawn as Rosa told her not to open the curtains. "Okay... I won't open them... She said with a full yawn now.

By the time Rosa suggested that they go to her old home tomorrow, she was asleep. Her brown eyes were shut lightly, fluttering as she breathed slowly. The exhaustion had sunk in deep... Had taken her off to a quiet world where she didn't have to worry about anything.

She was safe here... In Rosa's arms. Mama would be happy she was safe...

Rosa smiled as the girl agreed to not open the curtains during the day. Then the girl was asleep. Turning off the T.V. Rosa cradled the girl in her arms and walked to her bedroom. The bed was a queen sized Tempurpedic bed that she indulged herself on. Everything that she had was indulging herself. She needed nothing here, she had the Coven, but she didn't want to bring Mira to that place.

The vampiress tucked Mira in bed, and joined her wrapping her arms around the little girl. Rosa kissed her forehead. "Good night Mira." She said before she herself closed her eyes to sleep. She could sleep just like Mira and would wake up when the girl did.

Rosa could feel the sun rising a little while later, and sleep came much more easily to her. She wasn't alone anymore.

Mirabelle was asleep for a good while, catching up on all the sleep she had been missing for the past week.

As she woke up, the clock on the nightstand said ten-thirty, yawning she rubbed at her eyes. "Auntie Rosa..?" She murmured as she lay back down and curled against her. "Auntie Rosa are you awake?" She turned over to see the woman still fast asleep.

Her stomach grumbled slightly and she frowned. "Rosa... I'm huuungry..." She said as she shook her slightly. But still she slept.

Maybe there was some food in the kitchen... She wiggled out from the woman's arms and rolled off of the bed.

But as she explored the kitchen, there was nothing... Nothing to eat, nothing to snack on... No cereal in the lower cabinets, no bread on the counter... But... She had to have food somewhere.

Pulling a chair to the counter she clambered on top and opened a few cabinets with no success. On the fourth though, she hit a gold mine.

A box of Corn Pops!

With a grin she grabbed the box and began to munch on them as she sat on the counter. They were a bit stale... But they were edible and she was hungry.

Rosa woke up with with a groan as Mira got up to look for food. She hadn't bought groceries since a few weeks ago, and she'd gotten rid of most of it because it was expired. "Mira?" She called out as she stumbled out of the bedroom into the living room/kitchen.

She needed to pick up groceries while they were out, and she wanted to go and grab a few things from mira's apartment, including the girl's clothes. "What do you have there?" She asked rummaging through the refrigerator and grabbing herself a beer. There wasn't much in the refrigerator, but she thought she had some juice that wasn't expired. Grabbing the juice and a glass Rosa poured a glass for Mira. "Why don't we go to your mama's house tonight? We can pick up a few things for you, and I'll get some groceries!"

Opening the beer Rosa took a swig of it and sighed. "You're not allowed to have any of this Mira. It's an adult drink." She didn't think Rosanna would've let Mira drink, but who knew?

Still sitting on the counter Mirabelle grinned and held out the box for a moment before taking it back and once more munching happily.

"Go back? Mama said that it was dangerous to go back. That's why I was staying in the park, where the men couldn't find me." She said between bites and swallows. She took the juice gratefully and drank at it greedily. "If we do go... Can we go now? Lats time... they came at night... I don't wanna see them again... They were scary..." She said as she frowned over the glass.

"Can we find mama? I wanna know where she is. I wanna see her. Please can we go find her today? I really really wanna see her." She looked at Rosa pleadingly.

Rosa rubbed the girl's head and smiled. She saw that the cereal was expired, but she'd get something for the girl too. "I'm sorry Mira...I can't go out in the sunlight. It hurts me." She said with a smiling sadly. "Even if we see the bad men, you have me with you! I won't let anyone hurt you Mira."

She knew that Mira wanted to see her mother again, but it wasn't possible. Rosanna was dead and there was no bringing her back. "We can definitely look for your mama Mira." With a sad smiled Rosa took another swig of the beer. "You know what?" Rosa stood up and grabbed the laptop she bought a few weeks ago, and turned it on. If it was raining out or pretty damn cloudy she'd be safe to walk out today. Looking at the weather for Demaitre Rosa sighed. It was the end of summer, and not a cloud in the sky. There was no way she could go out. "I'm sorry Mira, but I can't go out today. I want to, but the sun'll hurt me."

((Okay, I'm tired of doing all the color things... Mira is always speaking spanish, just assume :-P ))

The little girl cheered up significantly as Rosa said that they would go see her mother. Her smile was bright, though her face was still dirty as the rest of her. But... But then they couldn't? Why... Why couldn't they go?

Being cooped up here all day? The thought of that idea made Mirabelle frown. "But... But Mama might be out looking for me. I don't want her to think that I'm hurt, or in trouble Rosa." She nearly whimpered.

"Please? Can we find Mama? I really really wanna see her. I miss her soo much Auntie Rosa, I wanna see her again." The box of corn pops now forgotten, she moved to Rosa's side. "Please please? I just want her to know I'm okay..."

With a sigh Rosa looked sadly at the girl, and shook her head. "I'm really sorry Mira, but I can't go out in the sun. It hurts me a lot." She said looking at the poor girl. She finished the beer, and she threw the bottle into the trash. "I'm really sorry, but I'm really sick and can't go out in the sun. It'll hurt me a lot..." She thought about it, and knew that she couldn't go out. Even if they were to ride in a car the sun would get in, and she'd die. Not exactly the most pleasant thing, but she also hated to see Mira like that.

"Please understand I can't go out until it's dark." Or a miracle happened and a massive rain storm suddenly came, but that wasn't going to happen. The closest thing to that was going to be a few days. "Hmmm...Do you want to do some grocery shopping with me to pass the time? I can order my groceries over the computer!" She was starting to feel thirsty, but she'd wait a while.

Rosa stood up and went back to her computer, and then brought it to the kitchen area. She turned it on and used the internet to get to one of the major grocery shop websites, and started scrolling through the lists.

Tears were beginning in Mira's eyes the more Rosa spoke. "No! I wanna go see mama! Please!" She begged as she tugged at the woman's shirt. "I wanna see she's alright, and I want her to know I'm safe!" She nearly sobbed. Why did the sun hurt her? It didn't hurt Her mother or her, or anyone else she knew. But it kept the bad guys away.

"NO!" She screamed as Rosa asked if she wanted to go grocery shopping. "I wanna see my Mama! I wanna go see her!" She cried out. If they could go shopping, why couldn't they go see her mother?

"I wanna see Mama! I wanna go see her!" She sobbed as she tugged harder and harder at Rosa's shirt. "Please!"

But then she ran off screaming and sobbing, crying for her mother as she dove under the bed.

Rosa looked at Mira and wanted the girl to understand. She wanted Mira to know that her mother was dead. Her mother wasn't coming back. There was no way. She looked at Mira as she pulled on her sleeve.

Then the girl had run off. Standing up Rosa ran after the girl. "Mira!" She called out running into her room. "Mira..." She knelt down and found the girl underneath the bed. "Mira...I'm sorry...Can you come out for a second? I need to show you something."

Rosa knew it was going to hurt more than anything and that it'd probably terrify Mira, but it was worth it if the girl understood her situation. Taking a deep breath Rosa pulled back the heavy curtain in the room so a small sliver of sunlight came into the room. Taking another deep breath waited until Mira came out enough to see what she was doing, and pushed her hand into the sunlight. Her skin blistered and burned almost instantly as the sun touched her skin. After a second the skin revealed meat, and the smell of cooking meat filled the room. Clenching her teeth bloody tears started to form, but she wiped them away almost immediately. Then after a second Rosa pulled her hand away letting out her breath. The pain was so great that she nearly screamed, but she didn't.

She cradled her badly burnt hand in her arm, and collapsed to her knees. "Do you see why I can't go out in the sun?" She asked looking at Mira as the hand still felt like it was on fire. "It hurts me a lot. I'm not like you and your mother." She said with a shaky smile. "I can't go out in the sun like you." She hoped to God that Mira understood. She didn't really want to do it again. The hand would heal in time, but she needed sleep to really make it heal faster. Rosa stood up leaning against the wall, and then moving to the master bath where she wrapped her hand in gauze. It hurt like hell, but it'd hide it slowly healing from Mira. Mira didn't need to know that she also had abnormally fast healing. "Don't worry...it'll get better fast." She said wincing as she felt the gauze against the cooked meat that was her hand.

Sniffling and sobbing still, Mira crawled out from under the bed, poking her head out slightly. "What?" She murmured.

But she blinked slightly as the sun came from behind the curtain. What was going on though? What did she need to watch?

Mira's eyes widened first in surprise, but then in fear as she watched Rosa's hand cook in front of her. "NO! Stop it!" She screamed diving under the bed again.

What happened to her? Why did her hand burn like that?! It was almost like that movie... The one she watched by accident... Where the ladies with bat like wings... They... They burnt in the sunlight! Just like Rosa did! They were burnt to ashes!

Mirabelle began to tremble as she curled up under the bed, was Rosa like those evil women? Was Rosa going to kill her? Drink her blood and kill her? She began whimpering as she curled up there, her eyes shut tight, begging God that the woman didn't hurt her and...

She didn't want to die! She promised Mama she'd be safe! She promised her that she'd be okay and they'd find each other again. She began to pray softly, murmuring under her breath quickly.

Rosa took a shaky breath and looked under the bed again at Mira. "Mira it's alright." She said laying on her side. She saw the little girl praying, and realized that she must've seen some stupid vampire movie like Blade or something by accident. She didn't blame the girl for being terrified, if they had switched positions Rosa was pretty sure she'd be quite surprised.

She knew that it was going to take a hell of a lot of explaining to do, but she wanted to rest so her body would heal faster. "Mira...come on out I won't hurt you." She said as she laid on her side. "I promised that I wouldn't hurt you. I didn't mean to scare you, but you need to understand...I'm not like you and your mama."

Then Rosa backed away and sat against the wall. "Does it remind you of some movie?" She asked curiously. "Did I burn like one of the monsters in the movies?" She did her best to keep the hatred of those movies out of her voice. "I'm not like them...I only hurt people who hurt others." She still believed in the fact that men were evil, just not all of them. "Please believe me Mira...I won't hurt you." She cradled her bandaged hand on her lap. It wouldn't heal that quickly, and it still felt like it was on fire. That feeling wouldn't die until her hand healed. Even then her hand wouldn't be the same. She felt that there would be some phantom pain even though she was a vampire.

"NO! I won't!" She said with a trembling voice. "You'll just drink my blood! Kill me! I don't wanna die!" She whimpered.

"Leave me alone! I don't wanna be eaten!" With a frightened scream she moved as far away from Rosa as the woman lay near the edge of the bed. "Stay away from me! You're like the monsters in that movie! The one with the werewolves! Those evil women who killed people! They tried to hurt everyone!" Mama had told her they weren't real! She had said they were just make believe! Why was Rosa one? She couldn't be one, she just couldn't! How was she so nice? Was it all a trick.

"No! They're mean! You hurt people and drink their blood, you eat them! I don't wanna be eaten!" She sobbed, now crying in fear this time.

Rosa looked at Mira as she was yelling at the vampiress. The girl said that Rosa was going to eat her. The vampiress stayed silent as she sat against the wall. "Mira I only hurt bad people like the guys that are looking for you." She said with a sigh.

Then Mira mentioned the movie. She couldn't help herself but laugh. "Vampires like myself are much more different than the ones you see in movies Mira. We can't turn into those ugly things, and even if we did I wouldn't want to." She leaned down and smiled at Mira. "I swear that I won't hurt you Mira. I'm not going to kill you, your mama would be really upset with me if I did." She looked sadly at the girl. "Please Mira..." She looked into the girl's eyes, but didn't use any of her abilities. "I won't hurt you. You can come out." She said calmly. Rosa wouldn't trick Mira with any of her powers.

"Why do you care! You're a monster!" Mira sobbed as she shut her eyes and covered her head and face. "No! Leave me alone! I don't wanna be here!"

The monster was just tricking her. She was just trying to lure her out so she can... So she could suck her blood.

Why had she been so nice before? Why was she being mean now? Wanting to eat her, wanting to be mean and hurt her. She shouldn't have come. She shouldn't have come here to trust this woman.

Mira was sobbing and crying like she had the night before. She was so afraid that she was going to be eaten, that she wasn't going to be able to see her mama again. But the stress on her body and mind wore her out quickly, and a few minutes later she fell still... Silent...

Curled up under the bed, she was asleep again.

Rosa listened to Mira cry and scream at her. Rosa let Mira accuse her of being a monster. True Rosa was definitely no human, but she wouldn't hurt Mira at all. She let Mira sob until she heard the girl breathing softly. With a sigh Rosa moved to the bed, and gently pulled her from under the bed. The vampiress tucked Mira back into bed. Rosa decided that she'd sleep out in the living room. Grabbing a pillow and a heavy blanket she closed the door to her bedroom, and tried to get comfy on the couch.

Falling asleep Rosa slept soundly for a good seven hours waking up right after the sun set. After waking up Rosa unwrapped her hand and found that it had healed. Hopefully Mira was awake, and had realised that Rosa wasn't going to hurt her.

But the little girl was utterly exhausted from fear, worry for her mother, and desire to go home.

Her dreams were not nearly as sweet as they had been the night before as Rosa held her. She was so alone... So scared in her dream. There were so many shadows that were after her...

All through the day, and even into the night she was tossing and turning, crying and whimpering in her sleep. She called out for her mother, for her father... She cried for someone to save her, but no one was coming.

Everything began to get darker... Her tossing and crying grew louder. She was so afraid of the darkness in her dream... There was something in it that was going to hurt her. She knew it. And no matter where she ran to, the darkness followed. "Mama..." She whimpered. "Mama, help me." She choked out as she jerked quickly in her dream, only to start tossing and turning again.

Rosa heard the little girl tossing and turning, crying for her mother. Each cry for the dead woman felt like being shot. She felt terrible, but Mira knew that Rosa was a monster. She didn't want to hurt the girl, but listening without doing anything was hurting the poor girl.

Walking over to the bed Rosa laid down next to Mira and held the poor girl in her arms. "I'm here Mira." Rosa said kissing the girl's forehead. "It's alright." The vampiress tried to comfort the poor girl as best as she could.