Here Comes the Sun: A Vampire Tale

by Rick R. Reed

In the hushed solitude of a desert mountaintop, Asa Beck, a centuries-old vampire, perches on the precipice of his existence. With the horizon aglow, heralding the impending sunrise to the east, he grapples with a lifetime burdened by immortality and the shadows of a tormented past.

As the first rays of dawn paint the sky in amber and gold, Asa's thoughts drift back to the origin of his immortal curse—the twisted path that led him to embrace the darkness within and the relentless thirst that etched deep scars upon his soul.

Yet amid this bleakness, there remains a flicker of bittersweet memory—the one man Asa dared to love, a beacon of light in his endless night. Their love, forbidden and fleeting, lingers as a poignant reminder of a human heart that once beat within his chest.

With the sun's ascent looming ever closer, Asa confronts an existential crossroad. Should he continue his existence as a creature of the night, forever haunted by the echoes of his past and the insatiable hunger that defines him? Or does he dare to seek redemption, to find solace in the eternal slumber that awaits with the breaking dawn?

As the first rays crest the horizon, casting long shadows across the barren landscape, Asa Beck, the immortal wanderer, finds himself at the brink of a decision that will define his eternal fate.

23 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 20, 2023

About the author

Real Men. True Love.

Rick R. Reed is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than sixty works of published fiction, spanning genres such as horror, psychological suspense and love stories. He is a Lambda Literary Award finalist and a multiple Rainbow Award winner.

Entertainment Weekly has described his work as “heartrending and sensitive.” Lambda Literary has called him: “A writer that doesn’t disappoint…”

Find him at www.rickrreedreality.blogspot.com. Rick lives in Palm Springs, CA, with his two rescue dogs, Kodi and Joaquin.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short, quick vampire story. I wouldn't say it's a new favorite but it was really good. I enjoyed this brief look into this vampire's thought at the end of his life. I liked the writing style and would like to read more from this author.

[Cindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asa Beck is contemplating what led him to where he is today – on a mountaintop awaiting the sunrise that could end his lonely existence once and for all. The question is this… does he allow the sun to turn him to dust? Or does he continue as he has for the past two centuries?

The reader doesn’t know until the very end, so I hope other reviewers don’t give it away.

This is classic Rick R. Reed. The story is short, but a lot is said in those few pages.

Full review can be found at -

[Maryann Kafka · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the year 1853, Asa Beck, age forty, was a Professor at Oberlin College in Ohio. Oberlin was an important college for it’s liberal admissions policy. Oberlin was the first to admit (Afro-American) or at that time the word Negroes was used. The college was the first to admit women, also.

Life changed for Asa when he met Louis Abbott a beautiful and dangerous man who loved the quiet and poetry. What they had was new and beautiful. Louis taught Asa everything he needed to know about being a creature of the night and then Louis left him.

Asa has become tired. He’s walked the earth for two-hundred years. He also spent time in Europe and South East Asia always looking in hopes to find Louis. When Louis left Asa’s life changed again. He had to face the horror of his reality in order to survive. He physically didn’t change, becoming a vampire freezes you in time, it doesn’t make an individual beautiful. Asa hoped to find his end at the top of Araby Trail in Palm Springs.

Rick R. Reed creates a poignant story of a vampire with “Here Comes the Sun.” It’s by no means fluffy, it’s dark and also sad. The author presents the contrast of how vampires are portrayed as beautiful, with amazing lives but Asa’s undead-life is filled with darkness and horror. Asa has seen so much of the world and how things progressed but not for the better in many ways. I felt the story was very well written and has the feel of being told poetically. It’s has clear descriptions of Asa and Louis, how their world became different and the horror and cruelty that Asa has to face about himself.

The author talks of various writers from the past: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Lord Byron, and William B. Yeats. There are also a few lines from Browning’s “A Musical Instrument.”

I highly recommend “Here Comes the Sun,” it may be a short story but it’s words are very powerful about a man who has no other alternative then to end it or keep living. I found myself with much sympathy for Asa. It’s also a very thought provoking. Well done, Rick R. Reed!

[Heather York · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a lot of Rick R Reed's work I haven't read yet but everything I have has never failed to entertain. Here Comes the Sun has a very dark feel, it's vampires right? But there is a very internal darkness about Asa Beck that puts a vamps life in perspective and you can't help but feel for the poor soul. That moment of truth is held till the very end and I won't spoil it, just know my heart could have went either way. Again, a story short on quantity but full to the brim on quality. Perfect read for this time of year but great anytime.

[Harrison Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise from one of my favorite writers, but it doesn't quite pay off. I would have rated the story a strong 4 until the ending, which is more than abrupt- I'm actually a bit suspicious that a paragraph or two might have gotten chopped off from my download. That said, this story almost demands more- it could make for a very interesting novella or novel.