Flash Fiction – Hipsters versus Vampires

The vampire had seen many changes over the centuries.

Born a human girl on the vast plains of Hungary in the last days of the Roman empire, she had survived the age of magic and superstition, observed the revival of Gothic architecture, been present at the birth of the renaissance and celebrated the triumph of the enlightenment. She had lived through the steam age, the belle epoque, the jazz age and the disco era, right into the dawn of the internet.

But as she looked around the hipster cafe in downtown Sydney, Australia, her heart sank. Had she finally reached the moment all vampires feared?

From the quirky typeface on the recycled paper menu, to the artisan burgers, quinoa salads and hand-foraged quail eggs, she didn’t understand any of it.

And the clothes they wore! Wild beards for the young men, plaid shirts and drop crotch pants. For the young women tight-waisted dresses, pork pie hats and yellow-rimmed sunglasses – indoors!

The vampire stared at the coffee pot in front of her, a device as elaborate as an alchemist’s alembic. A solitary drop fell into the handleless cup, nothing like the rich Turkish brew Kolschitzky had served in his coffee houses after the siege of Vienna.

Gazing at her velvet coat, that had seemed so smart a few years ago, the vampire chewed her lip. Staring warily at the hipster coffee pot, she poured herself a cup. She must not give up. Like all immortals, she had work to do in this city. It was time to join the new age.

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