Folktale

Chapter 22

Muriel's P.O.V

1840...

That bastard... That cruel, inhumane bastard. Not even in death could he let them be together. I stand back, muffling my sobs with my hand as he carries that poor girl's body into the woods after what he did to that poor boy. He gently lays her body next to a tree, cradling her body with as much care as he can before letting go completely. I watch as he pulls a strain of her hair from her face and stands up. He leaves with his head up high, like the proud man he is and leaves without looking back.

As soon as he is out of my sight, I rush to the poor girl, taking her wrist between my fingers. No pulse. I look at her... and I don't see what that man saw. I don't see a monster looking to destroy what they've worked so hard to build. A don't see the monster he saw trying to destroy his reputation and humiliate his son. I saw a young girl, an innocent young girl who was forced to live a life her family had planned for her before she was born. A young girl whose only sin was wanting to live her life the way she wanted. The way many disapproved of.

I wipe my tears and gently lay her hand on her chest. That's when I felt it. That tiny little presence. It was a pure, innocent energy that pulled me toward it. It came from within her... from her womb. I gently placed my hand over her womb and there it was, the innocent lost life of a child. Her child... their child.

"I'm so sorry," I sobbed, stroking her hair. "You didn't deserve this. You... you and your child didn't deserve this."

My mother before she died had once told me vows held no meaning if they went against what you believed in. And that night, I found everything I thought was right, very wrong. Why did two people who fought to their death to be together had to lose for others to continue their sick way of living? Why didn't Edward, Isabella, and their child deserve a chance?

I stood with purpose. I knew exactly what I needed to do and what I had to do to make sure it happened. I walked down the cliff with a goal in mind. When I reached the road, the carriage Father Tobias had set up was gone, as well as James. There is no doubt in my mind Mr. Newton found him. The sight of Father Tobias' body lying on the other side of the road was more encouragement for me to find the book my mother buried. The reservation was holy land, more than a perfect spot for the book to be buried in. It didn't take much for me to find it, buried close to First Beach under a beautiful oak tree. All the ingredients I needed came from nature itself and I needed something that bounded Edward and Isabella together, and the child she carried in her womb was more than enough.

I laid her body on the dirt as I chanted the spell over and over again, touching every inch of her body to cleanse her. As I chanted, the heavy began to blow, increasing with each passing word. I could hear the waves crash against the bottom of the cliff harder, angrier. I could also hear within her, her dead heart trying to beat. I needed it to beat, at least once. One beat was more than enough for a second chance for her and Edward. For their child. I chanted harder, letting the wind blow harder and the sky roar with thunder when it happened. My eyes were opened.

At that moment, I saw them. I saw Edward and Isabella in what appears to be a different era. I saw them smiling, holding hands as they walked through what appeared to be a crowded hallway. I saw them dressed in yellow robes, smiling as people cheered at them. I saw Isabella dressed in a beautiful white lace dress, walking down the aisle to where Edward waited for her. I saw them in a home, happy. I saw them looking at themselves in a mirror as Isabella cradled her growing belly and then I saw him... their baby as it laid happily in the arms of his mother as she smiled at Edward. I saw the life they could have lived... had they been given the chance...

Now...

I knew he wouldn't understand. This whole time he thought his Izzy had survived that night, that she had been forced to live a life she did not want, only to find out the outcome had been much worse. To know that the man who claimed loved her so much was the one to pull the trigger. I tried to explain to him what happened shortly after Izzy died, but the headlines spoke for themselves. The reservation named the cliff at First Beach Swan Cliff in honor of Isabella and her family opted to not bury her in the cemetery. I never knew where her final resting place was. Shortly after what happened, Mrs. Swan became pregnant with her second child but due to her late age, she died giving birth.

Edward has not moved from his spot on the ground for thirty minutes now. He's stopped crying twenty minutes ago and stopped chanting it didn't happen ten. When he looked up, his eyes bloodshot red from his tears. It hurt me to see him this way, but there was no way we could change what happened.

"So... so you're saying this spell you cast on her... it was a reincarnating spell..."

"Yes."

"So her body was born again. The image of her was born again, that's why Bella is here. She's Izzy, but not entirely her..."

"No, Edward. You don't understand." I kneel beside him and take his face between my hands. "Bella and Izzy are one person. My reincarnating spell brought her back, but have you heard what they say about your past life?"

Edward nodded. "Yes... you don't remember it."

I nodded. "Yes. Bella is your Izzy, she just doesn't remember her past life with you. I don't know why it worked the way it worked with you, but it brought you back to be with her."

Edward pulls away, wiping his tears away, nodding to himself. "Bella has a birthmark on her chest, it's a half-moon mark that resembles a bullet wound. Her grandfather used to tell her she was a soldier in her past life-"

"That would be her scar," I say. "The scar from where Micheal shot her." I get myself comfortable on the floor beside him. "After that night, I did the eternal youth spell on myself. I needed to know if it worked, it just seemed so easy. After Father Tobias's funeral, I left town. There never was a funeral for Izzy. I searched the Swan tomb to see if she was buried there, but I never found it. I came back to Forks in 1887 when word got out that one of Charles Swan's daughters, Isabella Swan had gotten married. But when I saw her, she was a completely different person, not Izzy at all. Neither of his daughters resembled her and his son didn't have any daughters. I came back periodically, meeting every Isabella that came to that family... until 2014 when a 13-year-old Isabella Swan came to town after her mother died. Seeing her was like seeing a ghost. It was like being back in 1840 and I was looking right at her at the marketplace. That's how I knew the spell had worked."

Edward leans forward. "So what happens with you now? You did this spell to ensure it worked... And now you just live forever?"

I chuckle to myself and shake my head. "No. This kind of spell has an expiration date. When I did it, I ensure to tie it in with the spell I did on Isabella." I pull my sleeve up to my elbow, revealing my rotting skin. "When I began aging and when my body began to get ill, when my cuts stopped healing the way they used to, I knew it was done. The spell had worked."

"You're dying." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. His eyes never tore away from my arm.

"Happily," I assure him. "I get to die knowing now you two have the chance you never got. I've seen it, Edward, the life you two will have together. Bella may not remember 1840, but the future you were supposed to have then is the future you will have now. Embrace this new chance you have and love her with everything you have."

Edward smiled, taking my hand in his. "Thank you, Muriel. I was so horrible to you and yet you gave us this chance. I can never thank you enough." We sit in silence, looking through the rest of the articles I collected for them to see.

We read through the announcement of the reservation naming the cliff after the Swan family for their loss. The announcement of Mrs. Swan's pregnancy and later her death at child birth. The announcement of Micheal's wedding to Tanya Denali and later Mr. Newton's death.

"How did he die?" Edward asked.

"He hung himself," I answered. "I can only hope the guilt was too much for him, he decided to end his pathetic life."

Edward didn't answer. Instead, his phone began ringing. He pulls it out of his pocket and Bella's name flashes through the screen. A smile creeps on my face. I give him a gentle squeeze on his arm, mouthing to him that I'll be on my way. He nods, watching me as I gather the folder and start heading to the door.

"Muriel," he calls out.

"Yes?"

He smiles. "Thank you, for everything."

"Don't thank me," I tell him. "The only way you're allowed to thank me is by living your life at it's fullest. Please, be happy Edward."

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~Joan0324