written by MintEnergy on fanfiction.net I just had to read it...and since everything I read is on my phone......here it is!!! :) Hope you enjoy!!!!!
Disclaimer: I make no claim on the Twilight series or its characters. No profit has or will be gained in the sharing of this free work.
P r o l o g u e
Bella
It felt as if I'd been running forever - days, weeks even, by the time I found it. This, this was the house I was searching for. I ran up the walkway to it, barely slowing to admire the clean, ivory exterior or the neat rows of shrubbery with tiny crimson fruit on either side of my feet.
There were toys in the front yard-a rocking horse, a pail, an action figure without a right arm, a doll's pink car that I tripped over royally before hurriedly righting myself on my way to the door. I reached for the knob and threw it open with a small crash, still running as I passed through the hallway and around the corner. There was laughter like music in the near distance and I followed the noise, certain that whoever I was looking for was either the cause for, or the maker of, that amazing sound.
I passed a set of sliding glass doors that led out to the back yard and that's when I saw them. I came to a halt and tried to catch my breath; staring. The view laid out before me was so beautiful it hurt my eyes just to look at it. The sun glinted off hair so dark it shone with blue highlights whenever they moved. Two children-a boy and a girl, and a man. The little boy had a mess of freckles, just a shade darker than his golden skin. He was shaking a small, soap-sticky plastic wand while frantically trying to blow bubbles with little success. His round cheeks puffed in and out, his brows were pushed into a frown of concentration. I instinctively wanted to put my arms around him, rest my chin on his tiny shoulder and help him blow those stubborn bubbles free.
The girl had the sweetest smile I'd ever seen, familiar somehow, and a band-aid across the bridge of her nose. A blue cape was draped across her shoulders as she proudly brandished her plastic sword. She had her other small hand fisted in a shock of dark hair as she threw back her head and laughed again, struggling to maintain her balance on the back of her "horse".
Her faithful steed was the most familiar of all-a tall man in a worn T-shirt, proud and muscular, full of life and love. Now I recognized where I'd seen that smile before. I knew him; knew his name. And yet, I couldn't quite remember...it was just out of reach. Fuzzy and blurred like everything else was here. But he was mine, I knew that much...wasn't he?
I felt a smile of my own spread across my lips as I realized I'd found what I was searching for. I reached out a hand and grasped the handle of one of the doors. It slid aside smoothly on its track and I looked down as I took a step forward, into the sun.
Only there was none. Not anymore. The sky here was light and gray and a chill wind wrapped around my ankles, carrying the crisp sound of dried leaves and coming winters. There were no bubbles, no laughter, no horsey rides and freckles. There was only the cold hard ground and the stone markers that rose up from it. I looked behind me and watched the iron cemetery gate swinging listlessly on its rusty hinges not five feet from where I stood. I shuddered, not understanding. What just happened? Where was I? And more importantly, where were they?
How could it be that I had ran tirelessly for days, searched for so long, only to have what I was looking for stripped from me so easily? I turned in a semi-circle, my gaze taking everything in, still searching in spite of myself. That's when I saw them. They looked different now, standing in a little row of three, and wearing coats and gloves; staring down at the ground. And yet, it was still them, they were still here. My lungs released a ragged sigh of relief.
