By Suzanne Carré
Vampire love is a pure emotion, separate from the body, and independent of sex. The important thing about a pure feeling is that it has no cost, especially emotionally. We suffer when, because of the love we yearn, we have to pay for this love at the highest cost. In tragic romances, the most demanding price of love is the ultimate sacrifice, and this only confirms the human belief that there is no greater cost than love. But if love is pure, and all things mythical, it’s worth it. Vampires see love as worth everything, but they don’t pay for love, and certainly they don’t suffer of love with self-sacrifice.
Keep Love Free
Call it giving to receive. If the pure emotional love of vampires begins in the heart, prepares the mind, forgives the body, and radiates beyond us, then it doesn’t matter if we set this love free. Love, unlike other feelings we generate is not taxing to the mind, and doesn’t require energy to create, so we are not draining ourselves emotionally by letting our love out. The vampires believe love requires instruction so they begin by demonstrating love. Teaching love is easier if the learner sees how the love works so they can copy.
In my novel, Vincent patiently teaches Marie love by showing his love for her. She doesn’t know what love is, and of the hints she supposes is love, she hesitates to experiment with. Her greatest obstacle is her uncertainty with love and to admit and say she loves Vincent. In his vampire wisdom, he knows that helping her to develop love inside is the only way to free her love.
No Expectations
We expect to be loved, “paid” or “compensated” with love, in return for our love. The vampires do not see love as a commodity so that love is not earned by some measure of transaction. If love is free then the trade of love is impossible. Vampires consider all the negative feelings generated in the expectation to reciprocate love is what we identify as unrequited love.
Unrequited Love
We like to think of unrequited love as suffered by the victim of a love affair having an unresponsive partner. To vampires the lacking reciprocation of the distant partner may be their ignorance of love or plain disinterest. The pain this form of “desertion” generates in the victim, according to the vampire manuals of love, is derived by the belief that an investment of love requires repayment. Vampires see the only solution for this condition is to cure the lovesick, by instructing in love, so they no longer suffer the (imagined) loss.
No Demands
If love is reciprocated then we believe that love must be mutual and of equal intensity between the pair. Vampires see these demands on love as illogical. Pure love cannot be measured and as such has no gauge for quality and quantity. The vampires believe that placing demands on your partner to love you more demonstrates you don’t understand love. Insisting on love creates an environment where love cannot develop. Love vampire style requires culturing not criticism. Nurture the love you have and it will grow.
Balanced Love
There is no way that unconditional love can be unequal between a couple, but in the earliest stages of the relationship, if the progress towards attaining pure emotional love falters, encourage the proliferation of love with more love. Vampires know that changing the conditions of the bond, so the couple question their love critically, or don’t respect the rules of love, may destroy the love they have. Questioning the love introspectively increases the strength of the love, but the effort comes from inside, and the demands are not on the love to prove its worth.
Unconditional love is priceless—it is completely free of emotional demands. Vampires insist then the lovers must not place demands on the love. To cultivate love in a relationship, the love needs space, but just how much room does love need? The answer is next.
