Our Lullaby
This is a one-shot about Bella and Edward. Bella is 99 years old and has been living in a nursing home for about three years fighting cancer, nearing the end of her life. Her husband, Edward died 12 years earlier at age 86 of melanoma skin cancer and the only thing she has left of him was a music box that played the song he wrote for her when they were first dating in high school. This is AH. Thank you Joanie for the idea!This one-shot is dedicated to my twifriend, Joanie (Princess Mishawaka), who lent me this idea and her husband, Norm who was recently diagnosed with skin cancer. Please keep them in your prayers.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except the grandchildren.
Bella Cullen's POV
My great grandson, Charlie and the nurses were wheeling me down the hallway to my bedroom. I had just gone to another one of my annual check-ups I've been having almost every week this month. They all said that it was getting better, but I knew they were lying. I had been fighting lung cancer since I was 80 and I was old, frail could barely move myself along, it was going to kill me sometime.
My great grandson, Charlie, named after my father and his wife, Leslie were here visiting me today with my one year old great grandchild, Taylor. I was so glad I had lived to see the day my great granddaughter was able to look at me with her big blue eyes and smile. It was a great feeling. Edward would've loved her. I had to take a deep breath when I thought of him. Even after all these years, I still couldn't bear to think of him. We were in love for so long through everything it was going to take a century for either of us to get over each other.
"Here we are," Nurse Mindy said to me with a smile as Charlie turned me into my room for the billionth time.
He wheeled me to the side of my bed. Nurse Mindy went to the other side of the bed to click on the button that lowered it so I could be easily placed inside of it. Charlie pushed back the covers and lifted me out of my wheelchair and placed me in the bed. Nurse Mindy slowly lifted the back, so I could sit up to see everyone.
"Would you like anything, Mrs. Cullen?" Nurse Mindy asked.
"No thank you, Mindy. I'm fine," I answered with a smile.
She smiled and left the room, leaving me with Charlie, Leslie and little Taylor. Leslie sat in the chair across the room with Taylor in her lap. Charlie paced at the foot of my bed looking down at the floor. I was sure he knew something I didn't and tried to hide it. It wasn't hidden from me, the deteriorating old woman.
He paced some more as Leslie watched him with sad eyes. I could tell what was hurting him was hurting her as well. It seems that happens with every marriage. One's pain is the other's pain, twice as much. I knew it was the fact I was going to die soon that had him this way. It pained me, too.
I looked away from him and turned Leslie and Taylor. Leslie gave me a smile as she rocked Taylor in her arms. It reminded me of when I had Nessie and those first few years she had as a baby. Taylor and Nessie looked so much alike. It must've been a submissive trait that had been hidden for years. I'm glad it survived.
Charlie finally broke the silence. "Well, I think we've got to go, Mammy. That appointment took awhile and was late to begin with. It's almost 8 now and Taylor needs to go to bed. Sleep well tonigh, Mammy!" He said, giving me a hug and kiss.
"Goodbye, Charlie! Drive safely," I answered in my crackly voice.
Mammy. I always laughed inside when I heard that name. When Nessie gave birth to William, he always had trouble saying Grandma or Nana or any of those common Grandmother names and always said Mammy. I didn't know where he got Mammy, but the name stuck. He called Edward, Granpy, which also stuck.
Leslie came over to me holding Taylor's carrier and her purse. "Goodnight, Mammy," She whispered to me, as she gave me a hug.
"Bye hun!" I proceeded to lean over towards Taylor's carrier. "Goodnight Ms. Taylor," I giggled silently and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She squirmed a little then went back peacefully to sleep.
Leslie walked over to stand by Charlie, who was holding onto Taylor's diaper bag looking at his blackberry. I waved them one last goodbye and they left.
I sat back into my bed and smiled. I knew I was going to die soon and I was so proud of the legacy and heritage, Edward and I had created. Our family was so caring, selfless and successful. It was great to know that we started it, the Cullen/Swan legacy. It was hard not to smile knowing that I had grandchildren on top of grandchildren to continue our hardwork. If only Edward was here to know this.
I looked over to the other side of the room, where the only thing I had left with me of my husband, the music box. On that day, when I first met Edward's family, a time when I lived in Forks, Washington, he had played me the song that he had written for me. Edward played the piano since he was in diapers and had just begun writing songs when I met him. He wrote one for me and he gave me the official composition as a gift. After we got married, I sent it off to get it made into a music box for his birthday gift the following year. He played it every night from then on to us when we went to bed. We called it "Our Lullaby". Nobody really knew about what exactly that song was for, but us, though Edward played it a lot. When, he died, I immediately made sure to take the music box from our house when I was forced to move to assisted living. I've kept it with me ever since.
The box was specially made for me. It was regular box about the size of two adult hands an inch away from each other. It was painted with golden spirals that led to bright red hearts. The edges of it were painted blue, his favorite color. The crank was wooden, since I asked it to be authentic and simple to our love. It was very stiff and took a lot of strength to make it play. It would open automatically and inside were two figurines a man in a fine black tux and a woman in a blue ball gown twirled around a small track.
I hadn't played the music box in a year, since they confined me to a wheelchair. If I got up to move without I would immediately fall on the ground and probably have a seizure from my wooziness. Though, I needed to hear our song one last time, desperately. I was starting to have one of those coughing fits you get a lot when you have lung cancer. This one hurt a lot more. I put my hand onto my chest, as I coughed more. Suddenly a dark liquid landed on my tongue. I was coughing up blood. I hit the button that alerted the nurses that I needed help.
After a few seconds, the door slammed opened, in ran Nurse Mindy, Nurse Caitlyn and Nurse Beatrice followed by Doctor Knecker. I was coughing really hard now and the blood was coming out more rapidly. They all put on face masks and went right to work. I immediately opened my mouth as Doctor Knecker shined his tiny light into my mouth. The nurses set up a mask that pumped air into me through my nose. They put it on me just as my coughing slowed. He gave me a cup to spit the blood out in case I coughed up an infection or a tumor. They gave me some more of my medicine so I wouldn't wake up in the night.
"Are you alright, Isabella?" Doctor Knecker asked.
"Yes, I'm fine; please call me Bella, Doctor Knecker. Just another bad coughing spell, I'm sure I'll live through another night," I said pushing out each breath.
"Well, we'll leave the mask on so you can breathe better. You can breathe normally through the night. Get a good night's rest, Isabella," He told me.
"I will," I lied, trying to ignore the fact that he continued to use my full first name and trying to telepathically push them out of my room.
"Okay, goodnight Mrs. Cullen," The doctor told me, which was followed by simultaneous "'nights" from the three nurses.
They walked out, shut the door and turned off the light, making sure I would go to bed. I strained my hearing hoping to hear their footsteps or voices as they got further away from my room. When, I heard nothing at all, I pushed the cover off myself.
I used my weak, fragile arms and slowly turned myself to the right-side of the bed, where my wheelchair was. I proceeded to try and push my legs into the seat of the wheelchair. When I finally got them fully in, I closed my eyes and gave myself one mighty push. I thought I was about to fall to the ground, when I found myself sitting in the chair. I breathed a slow sigh of relief. I got more faith in myself and rolled myself over to the sink, where it was sitting on top of all the paperwork for me, hidden under my vitamin case. When, I finally got to the sink, which was very low compared to a regular sink and most rooms in this hospital. I easily reached up and grabbed it.
I smiled with glee. It has been so long since I've touched the fine craftsmanship of Edward's music box. I moved my hand along every edge, crack, point, and side to make sure it was real. It was one hundred percent real. In its prime age, it still felt brand new. I moved my hand over it one more time, when I brushed my hand over something thin. I stopped and pulled out a tiny scrap of paper. I turned on the light above the sink and began to read what it said:
Dear My Amazing Bella,
I'm sure by the time you have read this, I will be dead. I leave you with this music box as a symbol of our love. With this box, I will always be with you, no matter dead or alive, in sickness or in wealth, this will keep us together forever. Every time this is opened, our youth will shine through. So I instruct you to play it and don't stop it for any reason! Dance and hum to it, so I know you read this letter.
Love you forever,
Edward
My hands were shaking so much, I'm also started hyperventilating. Tears were streaming down my face. Edward had written that. It was probably the last thing he wrote. In twelve years I hadn't been able to read this. I could only do but one thing, listen to Edward; my one and only love, my soul mate.
I turned the crank twice, since it was a lot stuffer and harder to crank. The box opened with a snap, which I thought meant it broke, but it still played. I put it back on the sink counter and started swaying to the music. I closed my eyes hummed along with the song, until I noticed I had gotten out of my chair. I didn't know how the heck I was doing this. My arms, not under my control, lifted out to the air one above my head, as if touching someone's shoulder and the other near my waist, as if I was waltzing with someone.
I swayed around like that for about a minute when someone grabbed my hand and put one hand around my waist. I reached out to where I think their shoulder was and touched human skin. I opened my eyes to find a man, in his late teens or early twenties with golden blonde hair and dark green eyes holding on to me; Edward. He was here, but how? He was dead, rotting in a coffin. I must be hallucinating or having some messed-up dream. I let go of him and took a step back. He moved forward towards me.
"Don't fret, Bells, just stay in the moment with me," He said smiling my favorite crooked smile of his.
I stepped forward and started dancing again. I looked down at my feet and noticed that my skin was perfectly soft and smooth, as if I had dipped it in the fountain youth, then I noticed that I was completely wrinkle free. I stiffened and Edward smiled.
"I told you, 'our youth will shine through' every time it is played," He said in that dreamy and beautiful poetic voice of his.
I truly knew now it was Edward. I looked up at him and continued to waltz with him. Time ticked by at an alarming rate. I didn't know if it was morning, night or noon just that I was dancing with Edward. I figured out that I was wearing a long blue ball gown in co ordinance with Edward's tux, which are both the outfits worn by the figurines in the music box. I couldn't see anything around me, just the beautiful man that I call my husband. This was one of the greatest moments, I've ever experienced. I couldn't let it go. That box would never stop.
We continued to dance and talk. I told Edward everything that has happened while he has been gone. I told him about Taylor, Charlie and his wife, the list continued on and on. It was great to talk to him again. He was such a good listener and I could always tell he hung onto every word as if it was uniquely meaningful to him in some way.
As the song slowly got lower and softer, we stepped away from each other to see other clearly. Edward was just as he was in his youth years, just the right touch of muscle topped with beauty in his green eyes, marble-like skin and shiny, golden hair. He was the most beautiful creature, I'd ever seen and I'd almost completely forgotten about how inhumanly beautiful he was. I looked at the ground and found myself looking into a mirror. I gasped. I couldn't believe I was looking at myself. I was glistening in the mirror as if gems were in my skin. My brown hair came down in soft curls. My skin was a pearly white and my eyes, a creamy, chocolate brown. Then, to finish it off, my dress, the satin blue gown that gracefully swept across the floor. It was a perfect fantasy.
"You are so beautiful, Bella," Edward said, breaking the silence.
"Me? Edward, you are the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen," I told him back.
He chuckled. "You were always so selfless, Bella, it's always very flattering, but it's not true, I pale in no comparison to you. You are the picture of perfection."
"I have to say the same about you," I said with a laugh.
"Do we really need to fight over, who is more beautiful? Just believe it, Bella, believe it," He told me, elaborating on the last two words.
I almost melted at those last words. "I will, if you do the same in return," I responded.
"As you wish, my love," He said with a grin.
I began to believe that I was beautiful. It really felt good. I still felt conceited, but I was doing it for Edward. I would do anything for Edward. He was my sun, the moon and the stars. He was the air I breathed. It was almost impossible for me to live without him, as I survived for so many years. I loved him with my whole being. Nothing could separate us, "Till death do you part" meant nothing to us. Our love was forever.
I was overtaken with these feelings and I ran up to him and jumped into his arms. I came into him and pulled him into a kiss. This kiss was like no other kisses. Through this, I could see our life together flash before my eyes. I saw us lying in the meadow, our meadow, deep in the woods behind Edward's parents' house. I saw us throwing our graduation hats into the air. I saw us splashing water into each other's faces at the beach on Isle Esme. I saw us in the hospital, with baby Nessie in my arms. I saw us, as Edward left to fight for our country across the world and Nessie and I waving could goodbye. I saw every great turning point in our life leading up to the last conversation we had before he passed on. I held the kiss longer and longer hoping to keep him here, when our lullaby stopped and he was gone.
I fell back into my wheelchair, my legs not being able to hold me up with the music box in my hands. I was no longer wearing that beautiful gown. I was no longer the beautiful beauty queen. It had all melted away with the music. Why did it have to end? Why did Edward have to leave! Why? Why?
I began calling out his name. "EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!" I continued to call out his name rolling around my room, tears coming down my face when Nurse Beatrice, barged into the room. She held me down and tried to calm me down, but nothing could. I was too distraught. Then, she resorted to the last thing she could do and covered my mouth.
"Mrs. Cullen, please stop yelling, and I will move my hand then tell me what happened," She told me.
I nodded and she let go. "I had just danced with my husband, though like 70 years younger and I was 70 years younger. We were dancing and I told him everything. It was so beautiful… he was so gorgeous… I was so gorgeous… Awww… I…" She stopped me. "Mrs. Cullen, your husband had passed away 12 years ago. You couldn't have danced with him. It was just a dream. Please go back to sleep…" I ignored her and yelled back. "It wasn't! It was all real!" She began wheeling me back to my bed. "I actually touched him and we kissed. It was so magical!" She lifted me off the wheel chair and placed me in the bed. "You should've seen him, he was so handsome then, it was inhuman! Aww…"
She started pulling the covers over me and took my music box and put it on the side table. "That's great, Mrs. Cullen! Please go to sleep!" I knew, she wasn't going to believe me, but I needed to see Edward again. I couldn't think of anyway to have him back with me and gave in. "Okay, can you please play my music box, Nurse Beatrice?" I asked.
She answered with a smile. "I sure will."
She turned the crank and then it opened up and started playing our lullaby. I slowly drifted off into what I would find out to be the greatest sleep ever. As the blackness blocked my vision, suddenly a light burst into my eyes and I found myself in front of a gate. Edward was standing right next to me.
"Hello Bells," He said to me.
"Edward, I've found you again!" I ran into his arms, he swung me around and I landed back on my feet.
"Come on!" He told me and we ran through the gates.
A/N: I hoped you enjoyed that! Thanks so much for the idea and the inspiration to write it, Joanie! Alright, so I'm not a doctor or a nurse, so I don't know how it all works, so don't judge me on how they took care of Bella. Please leave me some nice reviews and constructive criticism if you have any.