1. The Photo

The Photo
When Tony appeared at breakfast on Saturday morning, he immediately sensed that there was something unpleasant in the air. At first everything seemed to be normal: the table was set, there were fresh rolls in the basket, music was playing on the radio, and yet…

He sat down, began to spread butter on his roll, and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. His father cleared his throat and said, “Tony, we need to talk to you.”

“Talk to me?” Tony said nervously. He tried to pour himself some milk as if everything were fine, but actually his hand was shaking and he ended up pouring half of it onto the table.

“Can’t you be more careful?” his mother exclaimed, annoyed. Tony fetched a cloth.

“So…,” his father began again. “It’s about your strange friends.”

“Which friends?” asked Tony.

“Anna and Rudolph!”

Tony blushed as he always did when the conversation turned to his best friends—the little vampire, Rudolph Sackville-Bagg, and his sister, Anna.

“What about them?”

“Here, look!” His father pulled a red envelope of newly printed photos from the inside pocket of his jacket.

“What?” said Tony, shrugging his shoulders. He wasn’t the least bit interested in his parents’ photos.

“Just take a look at them,” said his mother curtly.

“Okay, if I have to,” Tony replied. He pulled the stack of photos out of the envelope and looked at them reluctantly. The first ones were exactly as he’d expected, boring shots of houses, trees, clouds.

But then Tony froze.

It was the picture his father had taken of him and Anna the previous Saturday. Tony recognized the scraps of paper on the carpet, the overturned flowerpots, the messy sofa… only there was no Anna. She wasn’t in the photo, even though she had been standing next to Tony when it was taken.

He could still remember vividly how the bright flash had frightened her and how she had screamed and covered her face with her hands.

While he was looking at the photo, amazed, he heard his father say, “So, what do you have to say about that?”

“About what?” Tony asked.

His father replied, annoyed, “I know for a fact that I took a photo of you and Anna. So, why isn’t Anna in the photo?”

“W-why are you asking me?” Tony stuttered.

“Because they’re your friends,” his mother cried, “these—vampires!”

It was the first time she hadn’t used the word “vampire” in a mocking, derogatory way. Now it suddenly sounded serious, even threatening—as if she believed in vampires. Tony was too confused to say anything. Of course he knew that vampires had no reflection—but he had no idea that you couldn’t capture their image in a photo either.

“I, uh… You probably didn’t frame her in the picture properly,” he mumbled.

“Didn’t frame her in the picture!” his father repeated, indignant. “Look carefully at the photo!” Tony did, and he saw something completely incredible: a book seemed to be floating in midair. He turned the photo so he could read the title of the book. It was Romeo and Juliet, the book Anna had been reading on Saturday.

It floated exactly where Anna’s hand should have been. Only, her hand wasn’t there!

It seemed impossible. But Tony had the proof right before his very eyes. He noticed his parents watching him. What could he say?

“The book,” he began, “it looks like it’s dropping to the ground.”

“No, it doesn’t,” his mother said, shaking her head vigorously. “It looks like someone’s holding it.”

Tony quickly picked up his glass of milk to hide how shaken he was. As calmly as possible he said, “How is that supposed to work? The person would have to be invisible.”

“Or a vampire!” his mother added, looking at him sharply. “Vampires don’t have reflections, do they?”

“Um…”

“And if you don’t have a reflection in a mirror, you won’t show up in a photo, either.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in vampires,” Tony remarked.

“Up until now, I didn’t, but since I’ve seen this photo…” After a pause she added, “Your father and I have been invited to Dr. Dozey’s for dinner tonight. We’ll ask her about it.”

“About what?” asked Tony, uneasy.

“Your relationship with these”—she hesitated as she searched for a suitable word—“with these beings.”

Tony felt himself go cold. Things were getting a bit risky for him, for the little vampire, and for Anna. He objected timidly, “Why? What’s Dr. Dozey got to do with it?”

“You let us worry about that,” his mother replied coolly.

Tony’s father added, “We’ll talk about it again tomorrow morning.”

Tony pressed his lips together and remained silent. What else could he do? He could only wait and hope—wait and see what Dr. Dozey would say and hope that the little vampire would come see him tonight.