Ciro used his time as a passenger to catch up on some much needed beauty sleep. The roads were smooth, and a comfortable temperature, allowing him to easily remain in comatose for the night. When he awoke, he was fairly surprised (though relieved) to see that his whole body was covered by a thick blanket, blocking the sunlight. He lifted up the right edge of it to look for Cecilia, but found no one in the driver’s seat.

“Cecilia?” he called to the empty car, squinting as he looked around without letting his skin touch the ubiquitous sunlight.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Cecilia took a seat on the warmed leather. “Oh, you’re awake!” she was smiling and cheery as usual, though her under eyes were dark and it was very apparent that she was incredibly tired. Ciro knew the kind thing to do at a time like this would to advise her to find a hotel and rest before continuing, but a selfish eagerness forced him to keep his mouth shut. “We’re almost there.”

“Where are we?”

“France. A couple more hours and we’ll reach the coast. There we can get a boat to Southern England.” she explained, yawning between sentences. “Do you have a way to get out of the car?”

He nodded, then realized that he couldn’t be seen underneath the blanket. “Yes.”

“Good.” she said quietly. “And-” she put on a goofy smile as she giggled, “I came up with some vampire puns while you were sleeping.”

“Oh, god, please no,”

“What do you get when you combine a teacher and a vampire?”

“I’m honestly not sure I want to know,”

“A blood test!” she cackled. Ciro unable to even respond, sighed as he bitterly sat under his blanket. Cecilia wiped a tear away from her eye and said through laughter, “I have more,” she took a moment to collect herself, then said, “Ciro, would you say you make people rednecks?”

Ciro paused as Cecilia waited for a response. “That doesn’t even make sen- I just got it.” He turned to the door of the moving vehicle and jokingly put his hand on the handle. “There is no torture worse than this.”

Cecilia laughed as she quickly turned on the door locks with a click. “When I haven’t slept in over 48 hours, I start to get creative,”

Their enthusiastic back and forth continued until they reached a small dock, where they could get on a boat to England. Ciro put on many clothes used for blocking the sun with the help of Cecilia, then they exited. They arrived at a lucky time for no preparation, and were able to easily and quickly get transport.

Ciro was unhappy to discover that he had a frightfully bad case of sea sickness, and spent the majority of the ride lying on his back under a heavy tent of the blanket on him in the car and his curtain which he was keeping in his trunk. Cecilia doted over him, frequently offering to fetch him water or assist him in anyway she could, though all she managed to do was get on his nerves.

Finally, the boat came to a stop as night began to fall. Cecilia looked as though she may fall asleep standing up and Ciro suggested, “Maybe we should stay at a hotel or something for the night,”

Cecilia hesitated, “...A hotel?”

Ciro nodded, “You look far too tired to be of any help with finding a new place. I think it would benefit both of us for you to get some rest.” If Cecilia was less tired, she might have noticed Ciro’s obvious intentions to leave her, however at the time, she was painfully oblivious to the idea.

She gave her classic, ditzy smile, relief at the thought of sleep rushing over her, and nodded, “Let's do that,”

Ciro paid for a taxi to the nearest hotel, and the two got a room. It was a fairly nice place, with every decoration being a pearly white, and curtained windows hiding a view of small town. There was a single bed, though Ciro offered it to Cecilia, saying he would wait for her to wake up. He wouldn’t. Cecilia easily fell asleep on the lush foam pillows and mattress.

Once Ciro was confident Cecilia would wake up from her slumber no time soon, he rose from his seat and carefully went through her purse. He was disappointed to find that he felt no guilt as he snatched her wallet,thinking it would be best to have some cash in case anything goes wrong (after all, it was her fault). Then, left the room quietly with his wooden chest and began his journey for a new home.

His own fear prevented him from getting any property around people, and decided it was best to find somewhere to live in a more rural area. The lack of food wouldn’t kill him, though it was an inconvenience he would have to solve another day. For now, his primary concern was getting there.

Ciro was from an age before technology, and even maps were something he was not accustomed to when he was a human. As stubborn as he was, he never really changed his ways and remained for the most part a wanderer who explored rather than finding exact locations. This was to a certain extent, a pleasure of his, and one of the few things he found pleasure in. There was an indescribable feeling of freedom to not know where he was going, to just nomadically travel and end up somewhere, and lucky for him, just as the sun was about to rise, he ended up somewhere perfect.

He assumed from the nature and lack of people that he was in a very rural part of England, and somewhere where people were unlikely to travel. He saw only lush green grass and the occasionally shrubbery up until the horizon line, with the exception of one worn building. He ran to it feeling a new burst of energy at its sight, and got a closer look.

It was a very large house, he assumed i was a mansion in its prime, however time was not kind to it. It’s brick exterior had seen far better days, and many pieces of the walls were cracked and crumbling. Ciro’s optimistic side dismissed it’s flaws as something that could be fixed later. There was a thick layer of dust on every window, and many cobwebs had formed over years of no use. Ciro’s chest grew warm with contentment for the first time in years as he found it’s wooden door.

He reached for the knob and… locked. He was surprised and impressed with the locks ability to withstand time, though was not pleased by this barrier delaying his entrance. In most situations, he would not do what he was about to, especially because he can not enter private buildings without invitation, however his certainty that the place was empty gave him no other choice. He took a couple steps back, then charged at the door foot first, aiming for the knob area.

Ciro was not weak. He has dedicated every New Years resolution for the past 380 or so years to improving his body. Naturally, his dedication to this yearly tradition ended around February, but 380 months of exercise is still more than most humans do in a lifetime. The door broke open with a booming “CRACK” and a small splinters of wood sprinkled onto the ground, the door swung open, a welcoming gesture for Ciro.

The inside of the house was just as outdated as the exterior if not more so. Despite the cobwebs and dust, however, it was in shockingly good condition. It was like a portal back in time. Ciro didn’t even notice the tears start to form in his eyes as the ancient furniture brought him a nostalgia of the time before he was immortal. The hand-crafted, wooden chairs, tables, and cabinets that were all untouched by time reminded him so strongly of his father’s home that he felt himself overcome by a wave of emotion so strong it brought him to his hands and knees.

Various insects crawled away from him as for the first time in almost a century he cried. A small puddle appeared on the dusty tiles as his tears fell, but there was no stopping soon. Feeling no pressure to move and a crippling amount of self-pity, he stayed on his new foyer’s floor crying until his sadness drifted into fatigue and he collapsed (much like a toddler) into a deep sleep.