Summary: Set before the epilogue in Eclipse. Someone from the past visits Bella unexpectedly and changes the course of her future. AU, BellaxJames.
I do not own Twilight or any of the Twilight characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Prologue
At sunset, a man lounged noiselessly on the limb of a massive tree. One leg dangled off the branch, slowly swaying back and forth. Aside from this subtle motion, no other signs of movement came from the figure as he reclined against the tree trunk with his eyes closed. A sudden drop of moisture on the man's face seemed to startle him into awareness. Curiously, he touched his cheek. Glancing up, he noticed the water dripping from the higher branches.
Releasing a deep sigh, he straightened up and reached into the pocket of his ragged jeans. Lifting his hand to eye-level, he gazed at the single strand of hair held delicately between his fingers. Even in the fading light, the ginger hair shimmered, almost as though it was burning as he twirled it around his fingers. As the final beam of sunlight finally disappeared below the tree line, he took in a deep breath and swiftly clenched the strand in his fist, shutting his eyes. His hand began to lower, but paused just before reaching his pocket. Opening his eyes, he let out the breath he was holding and unclenched his hand, allowing the wisp of hair to slip from his fingertips. He leaned over to watch it drift leisurely downward, catching on branches every so often. When it finally touched the ground, he climbed to his feet, balancing agilely on the tree branch.
With a slight smile on his lips, he effortlessly dropped the hundred feet to the ground and started running.
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AN: This is my first fanfic, so please review and bring on the criticism. If you notice any discrepancies from the books, grammatical errors, or badly written dialogue, PLEASE let me know and I will do my best to make changes. While you're at it, go ahead and let me know if the story is just plain stupid.