Night falls over the City of Ottawa, Ontario. Ismail Aden sighed deeply as darkness descended across the frozen Canadian Capital. Rising from his bed, he turned on the light and walked up to the fridge. Grabbing a pint of blood, he poured it into a cup and warmed it in the microwave. The minutes ticked by on the timer. Five minutes later, Ismail grabbed the cup and drained it. Hmm, nothing quite like human blood, even if it's the kind that one purchases through dubious means.
"Oh yeah," Ismail said to himself. Pulling back his thick dark curtains, he peered outside. Snow blanketed the Glebe neighborhood of Ottawa. Perfect night for staying inside. Centuries ago, in the environs of Hargeisa, Somalia, Ismail was quite the vampire. Yeah, in his heyday, Ismail roamed from Somalia to Yemen, from Libya to Morocco, and beyond. The people of Sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Africa feared Ismail and his ilk. Of course, that was before the Pact. In the year 1877, a Pact was signed between the Princes, the rulers of the vampire world, and the Authority, the secret cabal that rules the nations of the world.
From that day forward, the vampires swore to stop hunting humans, and the humans tolerated their presence as long as they were discreet. The Princes established the Network, which provides fresh blood for vampires willing to pay for it. The Network is global. It is the hidden power behind the various blood banks. Ismail, having left Somalia for Canada, is well-acquainted with the Network. They've got an Uber-style delivery service for the hungry Undead. Still, as convenient as existence has become for the modern vampire, Ismail misses the old days.
Turning on the TV, Ismail watched the evening news. The boyishly handsome and progressive-minded ruler of the frozen northern hellhole has lost favor with the public. On the southern side of the frozen northern hellhole, a black woman and an old white man vie for power. Ismail licked his fangs before switching to something more fun. Pretty Little Liars rerun? Nah, seen them all. Classic horror shows like Buffy and Angel? Ismail knew all the episodes by heart. The Boys? Ismail loved it and couldn't wait till the upcoming season. So what's a bored vampire to do?
Ismail stepped into the shower, and got cleaned up. The Undead have no scent, but that's no excuse for being dirty. Under the warm water, Ismail hummed a song that was old when America and Canada didn't yet exist as fully fledged nations. The Somali vampire lathered himself with soap, scrubbed and then scrubbed some more. Some of the Undead are neat freaks and Ismail is most certainly one of those. Stepping out of the shower after turning off the hot water, Ismail looked at himself in the mirror.
A tall, dark-skinned man with faintly luminescent brown eyes and short dark hair stared back at Ismail. He didn't look a day over thirty and would remain unchanged forever unless he was slain. So goes the existence of the vampire. Ismail hadn't aged since he became one of the Undead, centuries ago. Yeah, one night, while roaming his hometown of Xuddur in the southwestern Bakool region of Somalia, Ismail ran into the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. What followed was a night Ismail would never forget.
" As Salaam Alaikum, cutie, I am Ismail, what is your name?" Ismail asked the lovely lady as he approached her in the marketplace. Dusk had fallen mere minutes ago, and the marketplace of Xuddur was still open. The tall, dark-skinned young woman in the flowing blue robes and stylish azure hijab did not come from the villages. Of that much Ismail was sure. Ismail visited places like Mogadishu and Somaliland and knew that the ladies in those places, where the strongest tribes ruled, carried themselves differently.
"Walaikum Salaam, brother, I am Habiba," said the mysterious beauty. Ismail's heart skipped a beat as he looked into Habiba's eyes. They were a very pale brown, almost yellow, like the eyes of a leopard Ismail once encountered in the wilderness outside Kismayo City. The young Somali woman smiled at Ismail, flashing teeth that were too damn white and too sharp. In spite of this, Ismail was drawn to Habiba. He approached her with a smile, clasped his hands in front of him and bowed his head gently.
"Pleasure to meet you, Habiba, you must be new in town," Ismail said, and Habiba nodded. In deeply traditional and proudly Islamic Somalia, lovely young ladies like Habiba did not wander the marketplace at night all by their lonesome. Islamic tradition and prudence demanded that Habiba be accompanied by an adult male family member such as her father or brother, assuming she didn't have a husband of course. Observant Muslim women did not touch unrelated males, so Ismail was surprised when Habiba held out her hand. After a brief hesitation, Ismail shook her hand.