Summary – Death was not usually so peaceful in D's presence. "Stranger, convey my last words to the great Vampire Hunter known as D, and give him the object you will find under my pillow," the blind, old, dying man requested.

Inner Summary – A 'what if' story – what if D were to pass through a certain town on the fringe of the Frontier one more time during Polk's lifetime? Humbly written with Mr. Kikuchi's writing style (as displayed in the translated novels) in mind.

Disclaimer – This fanfic is one writer's inadequate attempt to show her gratitude for the characters, world, and situations of Mr. Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D. I do not own and do not claim to own anything of Vampire Hunter D – except for a great appreciation for the marvel that it is.

Polk's Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep

The old man's voice was somehow hollow and musty as it drifted around the room like dead, brown leaves on a drear autumn day.

"I knew it would end like this. I knew I'd wind up bein' alone, dyin' alone. Some lives are just like that, you know? Mine was one of 'em fated that way. I'm just an ordinary person, born in an ordinary, mostly forgotten, town out here in the Frontier. We was lucky enough, I guess, to grow large enough that some of them lesser critters'd leave us alone and pick on weaker prey. About the only ones who'd really mess with us were some of the larger dragon types, and of course, vampires. They mess with anybody.

Yeah, vampires. Much as I hate the bastard bloodsuckers, there's a part of me that hates my own townsfolk even more. At least with vampires, you know what you got. Th' townsfolk look all wholesome and all, but in their hearts, there's just as much darkness as in the vampires'. It's just packaged prettier, I guess. Or, if not prettier, at least in a way that don't scare the piss right outta one right away. Be wary of the townsfolk 'round here. Trust me, they are bad news.

Hmm? Vampires? Yeah, I know a bit about 'em, too. I kept it a secret long enough, didn't want the folk 'round here to get so creeped out that I was 'tainted' that they'd kick me out, too, but...

Y'know that story 'bout the kids taken by vampires, must've been nearly, or just over, a hunnerd years ago? I was one of them kids, back then. Funny how some things just stay etched with the sharpest edges in my mind. I've forgotten how to do a lot of things that used to be second nature t'me once, but my memories of those days are sharper and brighter than the most power laser welder I ever did see.

Yeah, why not? 'Bout time I told someone the whole tale of it... If you stay until I – until I die, I might find I have the strength to tell the whole of the tale. A tale I never told anyone. In exchange, if I complete my story, do a dyin' old man one favor. If I make it to the end, I'll let you know what it is. If I don't well, you'll have a half-finished story and the knowledge that you made a lonely old man's passin' just a bit easier by listenin'. Stupid blindness, stealing my sight here on my last day like this. There's just two things I wanted to lay eyes on once more before leavin'. The blessed sun's one of 'em and the other – we'll see if I make it far enough to tell you the other one."