Captured by a Vampire

I was captured this Christmas by a story that really wasn’t meant for me.  It wasn’t created for a woman in her forties, who survives on being a true realist.  Where learning is a compulsion and there is little time left in my day for fantasy.     

To add to the disbelief that I have gotten myself into this dream-like state, you have to understand, for all of my life I have had this fascination with vampires. Not the kind of fascination that would make me long to meet one, if they existed that is.  Quite the opposite!  Of all the mystical, fantasy creatures created by myth and imagination, the vampire seems to scare me the most. 

So when the Twilight series first came out, I stayed far away.  As always, I wanted nothing to do with the story, the characters and especially the image of a blood thirsty vampire biting down on the neck of on some naïve, love-starved girl. 

But over the holidays, one quiet day when my family was out shopping, I curled up on my couch with my cat and puppy, and searched the TV for a good movie.  I was scanning through the channels when an image forced me to stop. 

It was this ominous scene between two young people, just laying outside – together – not speaking - just this haunting image – camera spinning – eyes locked, looking deep into each others souls.  It took me a minute before I realized I wasn’t breathing and that I was watching the movie Twilight.
 
Vampires.
Hum.
I wasn’t sure.

I never read the books.  Never wanted to – vampires?

But I was captured.  I was memorized.  And I know it’s ridiculous.  It wasn’t the actors, or a lost youthful fantasy for Robert Pattinson.  It was the story……

So I watched. 
A vampire story.  
Alone. 
And I loved it.

I was embarrassed to be smitten by such a teen movie so it took me a while to tell anyone I watched it.  But when I casually said “ Hey anyone seen the Twilight movie?” to a group of women in my office, I was quickly bombarded with “Oh my God Yes! You have to read the books!”

So when I opened my new Kindle at Christmas, I knew immediately what book would be my first purchase.  Twilight.  What I didn’t expect was to be taken away over the next week reading New Moon,  Eclipse, and then finally Breaking Dawn. 

In one week – I was captured.  I have been completely and utterly overcome with emotion for this intense, melodramatic and eerie love story. 

I realized that I had to blog about it but the protector in me started to over think it.

I started to think about how I can pull this connection together between how girls are attracted to bad boys.  How I can make sense of the attraction to it all.  How “love shouldn’t hurt”, and “if he loves you he won’t kill you”, and every other slogan we use as we try desperately to keep real girls safe in the real world. 

But then it occurred to me – maybe I should just let it be this time.

Just let the story be a “story” and focus instead on celebrating an epic creation that makes us fall in love again – with love.  And call out to all the other middle aged mom’s out there who have experienced the same attraction to the story. 

So that’s what I’m going to do.  Leave it alone and enjoy it.  Maybe I’m just a silly girl after all. 

I’ll  get back to the crime fighting tomorrow. 

Tags: New Moon, Robert Pattinson, Twilight, Vampires