Turmoil [Emmett Cullen] (3)

[1- Paradise]

Indescribable. Ironically, that was the only way I could describe South America. Indescribable.

Words like 'beautiful' and 'breathtaking' paled in comparison to the wonder that was our adventure. The entire trip was surreal. I had to pinch myself on several occasions to make sure I wasn't imagining it.

Our trip had a long start. We flew from  Seattle to Atlanta. From Atlanta we flew to Buenos Aires in Argentina and then we took a smaller plane down to Ushuaia. Ushuaia was on the southern most tip of South America and the launching point for our trip.

Patagonia was probably my favorite place we visited. Winter was considered the off season for this area so we basically had the entire park to ourselves. Seriously. I didn't see another visitor the entire time. We spent three weeks trekking on glaciers, climbing up snow covered mountains, and swimming in freezing cold lakes. It was extraordinary. The vastness. 

A close second favorite to Patagonia was Easter Island. Easter Island was a six hour flight west of the Chilean coast and considered one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. It had been on my bucket list since I watched a documentary on it more than ten years ago. As I got older, the cost of travelling there dawned on me and the dream was just that, a dream. But now, with a practically unlimited bank account, my dream became a reality.

We spent a little more than a week exploring, particularly the 1000 enormous statues, called Moai that the island was famous for. Emmett particularly enjoyed walking around volcano crater.

We rarely ventured into small towns because of the unwanted attention. Perhaps if we went at a busier time of year, we wouldn't stick out as much. On the occasion we did decide to wander around a town, I loved surprising the locals by speaking in fluent Portuguese and Spanish. Learning about their culture by interacting with them, using the skills I've perfected was thrilling.

Our style of travel was nonstop, always moving to a new place, mostly because I was too impatient to wait to visit somewhere else. By September, we had travelled from Patagonia to Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil. Esme and Carlisle owned a small island off the coast of Rio that they offered to let us stay in whilst we were in Brazil. But since I wasn't fond of beaches, we passed, though I was curiously as to what a private island looked like.

Currently, we were in south-central Peru, staying in a relatively large city called Ayacucho. It's main attractions were the absolutely stunning colonial churches. I took lots of photos, knowing Esme would love the architecture.

It must have been three in the afternoon when my phone started ringing. I was surprised since usually Emmett and I would call back home to give updates, simply because most of the places we visited were remote and cell reception was sometimes non existent.

"Hey Alice," I answered.

"Where are you now?"

"Ayacucho, Peru. Don't take this the wrong way but you probably already knew that so why are you calling?"

"Intuitive." I smiled, Alice always had ulterior motives.

She continued, "I have a proposition for you. On Tuesday the 13th it's Bella 18th birthday. I want to surprise her by flying you two in. Plus, everyone has really missed you, especially Esme and Carlisle."

"Alice, I want to but it's in a little more than a day and we're in central Peru. I'm not sure there's enough time."

"I'll take care of the logistics. It will work, trust me."

I turned to face Emmett who had been listening to the entire conversation.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"It wouldn't hurt to go back, even if it's just for a few days." I let the idea simmer in my mind. Going back wasn't a bad idea. Don't get me wrong, I love South America, but a high speed internet connection wouldn't hurt. And I missed driving my Lamborghini.

Plus, despite being on separate continents, through email, Bella and I had become close. It was nice to be able to talk to someone that was born in a similar time period. Amongst the Cullens, Emmett was actually born the closest to me in 1915, even though there was more than a 50 year difference. Not that I didn't connect with my family, it's just that speaking to Bella was refreshing.

"Alright, lets do it."

"Your flight is already booked. From Lima, you fly to Dallas and then up to Seattle. See you soon."

When Alice hung up, the reality of what we needed to accomplish in order to make it to Forks by Tuesday evening sunk in. I hated spur of the moment decisions. I was one of those people who needed a premeditated plan; a to-do list, maps, etc. The only thing that stopped me from becoming completely overwhelmed and losing my mind was that Emmett was by my side. To say he was the calm, relaxed one in our relationship would be an understatement.

The fastest way to get to Lima was on foot so we ran to the airport and made out 11 pm flight with half an hour to spare.

Jasper picked us up from SeaTac on the cloudy Tuesday afternoon. Since Alice was still in school but he technically graduated, Jazz was going to stick around Forks for the time being. I knew he didn't enjoy being separated from Alice during the day, but at least he was away from humans.

Before heading down to Forks, we made a quick stop at an electronic shop in downtown Seattle. For her birthday, Emmett and Jasper decided to buy Bella a new radio for her truck, though the decision was primarily Emmett's.

"Fair warning, Alice went overboard," Jasper slyly cautioned as we turned onto the driveway. Internally I braced myself, trying to imagine the amount of decoration needed for a small family birthday party. And of course, Alice exceeded my expectations.