Dear Diary,
I just can't seem to sleep tonight, er ... this morning, as it is about 2 A.M. as I write this. And I doubt that it's just a matter of excitement, though that is part of it. You see, it finally happened tonight. I was killed by a bullet in the chest, but Lilith's blood inside me brought me back as a vampire.

I must admit that this rivals all of my expectations. I'm overwhelmed by my heightened senses. It's almost as if I'd been watching life through a gauzed camera lens; as if hearing it through muffled ears; as if smelling with a stuffy nose; as if feeling through leather gloves; as if tasting with sugar-deadened taste buds; and tonight, all of those restrictions were lifted.

But, I'm not just reveling in improved senses, but enjoying two new senses. The sixth is a realization of what everyone considers "the sixth sense" -- but this is beyond intuition. I can actually sense emotions from virtually everyone I encounter. And sometimes, when the message is strong enough in someone's thoughts, I can "hear" it. With Lilith, I actually have a telepathic link, of sorts. Lilith told me that, eventually, I will even be able to read someone's mind when they aren't "broadcasting", and I'll even be able to influence them ... the way Mary Jane influenced Chris, and The Master in turn influenced Mary Jane.

The other sense I have acquired is the ability to tell fellow vampires from humans. I wasn't sure how I knew, at first, but slowly it dawned on me that I was naturally using my heightened senses to do it. I can hear a human's heartbeat ... it has a wonderful rhythm. A vampire's heart beats as well, though very slowly, almost undetectably. I can also smell the blood flowing through a human. It's a very sweet, salty smell, and it circulates all around and within them. A vampire only smells of blood after he has fed.

As I write this, Lilith's perfume permeates the room and I think I might go mad from the wonderful smell of it. She is here, in my bed, watching me type this in the darkness of my room. I know that she knows what I'm typing, but it doesn't matter because we have no secrets. I write this down here only as a remembrance ... years, centuries from now, I will have this journal to remind me of how I became what I am now. Lilith told me that she regretted not keeping a journal of her own, but seeing me here, writing mine now, has inspired her, I think. Ah, that laugh tells me I'm right.

As for Chris and Anna, they are fine ... a little shook up, but fine. Chris is spending the night at Anna's while Lilith is over here keeping an eye on me. You know, I think this arrangement may be better. Lilith likes the idea. I'm sure Chris wouldn't mind moving in with Anna. In fact, those two have gotten so close in just the last few hours together that I'm surprised he hasn't proposed to her yet.

So now what? What am I going to do for the rest of eternity? Well, besides spending my life in the arms of my beloved Lilith, I've found a job. A night job as bartender at the bar down the street. Michael, the owner, is another vampire friend of Lilith's and he offered me the position. (Did I mention that I helped vacate the position? Jake was his nighttime bartender before.)

At any rate, I don't plan to be a bartender for the rest of my un-life, but in the meantime, I think it will be fun. Besides, for a while at least, I can't go to school. Lilith is sure that I'll eventually gain her immunity to direct sunlight, but she thinks that it could be a month or so. Until then, I'll be sleeping with the sunrise and waking with the sunset. Besides, who wants to put on sunscreen, wear sunglasses and a hat to go to school five days a week. Forget it ... night school, maybe. But, until then, I'm going to enjoy this sabbatical, I think.

You know, this may just be the answer to all of my dreams ... the ones I can remember, anyway. I've got the most beautiful woman in the world, whose love for me, and mine for her, will last forever. I've finally got a reason to get out of school. And, I've finally got a job. I know my parents would be grateful at least for that last part.

Oh my god, that just reminded me of something I saw when I died. Like the old cliché, I saw my whole life flashing before my eyes. I saw that tunnel of light. And I saw my parents. They seemed happy to see me, but they knew I wasn't going to be able to stay. They told me they missed me. They also told me who killed them ... it was the Master himself. When they told me, my anger overcame the moment.

Then I felt the pain. It felt like white-hot pokers ripping through me, burning away every fiber of my being. Then, in a flash of brilliant white light, the tunnel disappeared, and I was pulled back into my body.

Lilith says what I really heard was the Master telling her how he planned everything so deviously, down to the detail of killing my parents so I'd ask Chris to move in with me. But I swear, I saw them. I saw the light. I was there.

She says she believes me, and I believe her. Mom ... Dad ... if I thought it were possible to bring you back with me, I would have tried. Honest. I miss you both so much.

I need a shoulder to cry on now, and Lilith's providing me one. So, I'll talk to you later, Diary.