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Silently, Adrian looked at the clothes that were neatly laid on his bed. Isabelle had kept her promise and bought several clothes he liked to wear. At least, before he had become a vampire. After months of wearing black and dark grey, it felt quite strange to see all these colorful shirts, rainbow caps and even a bunch of new rings. Not that he ever lost his old ones. He literally rose out of the grave with them still shining on his fingers. He had been looking forward to this moment, when he could finally start to dress fashionable and lively again. But for some reason, he needed time to get adjusted to it. There had been so many things to adjust to.
Although he had been a vampire when he was "buried" near the Derry church - still a strange idea - at that moment he was still recovering from his transformation. No one had been allowed to take a look in the coffin designed by the undertaker who, in fact, had been Simon Lewis. All of the Mellon family had been present at the funeral. Many inhabitants of Derry had either looked at them with pity or complete ignorance, according to Simon. With the homophobic teens in jail and the demon who had been haunting Derry for so long now gone, the town finally had the potential to become a better place. But it would take time, Adrian knew, and it upset him. Many people in Derry admired him and thinking he was dead - which was at least partly true - they were now busy running an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ people. Don had given the final edge to get that all started. Adrian wished he could have helped him, but he would never be able to fully return to the living. Besides, he had matters to do which were at least as important. And it were those matters that finally pushed him to take off his grey pair of trousers and his leather jacket and to trade them in for some more colorful clothes.
Portland, Oregon, March 2017
It was a sunny day when Adrian walked down the streets of Portland. The snow was almost gone, but it was still cold, which gave him the perfect excuse to wrap a scarf around his neck and wear a bonnet. Not that the cold bothered him that much, but all of his family lived here and he didn't want them to see him. At least, not all of them. When he finally reached the house, he hesitated for a few moments, but then took his courage and rang the bell. Her mouth literally fell open when se opened the door and she went bleak. "Mother..." Adrian said.
"You... you're dead", she gasped. "God... this can't be true. Is... is this a dream or something? Or are you just a joke?" Adrian asked her the exact same question he had asked Don when he had discovered his boyfriend had returned from death. "Were you ever allowed to look into the coffin?" He hoped that would let her think and, maybe, come to the conclusion that he had survived the attack and was never buried. But her eyes got something curious. "I feel... something strange around you. Oh my God, come in. Quickly!" As soon as the door was shut she embraced him. Totally confused, it took Adrian a few seconds to embrace her back. He smelled her blood, felt it pumping in her veins, but he was not hungry.
"Are you one of them?" she gasped. She fell silent and continued. "I know it might seem strange, but there have been people like you during all of my life. People I thought were dead, and then they suddenly appeared again. Your father thought I was going mad, but I certainly knew there was nothing wrong with me. And now you are here. They found your body, but that wasn't you, right?" Adrian became even more confused. Could this be an eidolon demon who had taken her shape? Maybe the demon from Derry wasn't dead? But no, this was certainly his mother, the woman who had worn him in her womb.
"You have the Sight", he muttered. "You can see things other people cannot see. I could neither, but now I can." Should he tell her about all those mystical creatures, like werewolves and faeries and vampires? How would she react to that? He decided not to. She already seemed so distressed. "You are one of those people who come back from the dead, aren't you?" she asked. "Oh my boy, I have been hoping my entire life there would be people like me, but I never expected you to be one of them."
"They take care of me", he reassured her. "It's safe where I live now." Suddenly, she burst out in tears, and he patted her on the shoulders. "Oh my boy..." She looked at him, at his green winter jacket, his face, his ringed fingers. "Will you come back? Most of the people I saw returning only were visible for a short time, but you... will you come back?" At that moment, Adrian's heart almost broke. How could he continue to meet her, knowing that telling her about his life with the Shadowhunters would be too much for her to take? What about her safety? But, there were vampires in Oregon. Maybe he could ask them to keep a watching eye over her.
What was more, Don got his life partner back and was happy with that, vampire or not. Wouldn't it be fair for his mother to have her son again, less or more? Goodbye, dear mother. He could encanto her, make her believe he was dead after all. But knowing what he knew now, that seemed just... cruel. "You're my mother", he said firmly, remembering Don had told him his love for Adrian would never fade. "That means that I will always come back."