Twilight

Chapter 1

A Death in the Family

It was a cold day in late November when it happened. Although I was not there myself, I have been told in retrospect that it was grey for most of the day. The weather was probably a-typical, but then again, it's not every day that someone buries their mother.

Bella stood on the edge of a grassy hill and watched the funeral procession drive by. She didn't want to watch the actual burial, she had been through enough. As the rain began to drip down from the sky she would look back on all the good times she had had with her mother. She remembered her fourth birthday, when she had learned to ride a bike. She remembered the day she had tried to make her mother breakfast in bed, but burned everything. Her mother was such a kind woman though, she wasn't angered by this. Instead, she just smiled and helped Bella clean the mess up. Now, nearly eight years later, Bella was alone for the first time in her life.

A tear drop rolled down from her sad, brown eyes, or maybe it was the rain falling on her face. Either way, Bella knew that her life would soon change dramatically, weather it would be for the better or for the worse was still to be determined. Kelsey, her friend from English class, had been texting her on and off throughout the day and had just sent Bella a message that read "Do you know what's going to happen?"

Bella thought for a moment, she did not. As far as she knew, she had no living relatives, and, being under 18, she couldn't live by herself. In a moment, visions of foster parents flashed through her head. She imagined a Lemony Snikett-esque saga of death and woe, but that wouldn't happen. Bella thought about what she should do, and how she could take the situation into her own hands. She would run away, she thought. She could live alone, get a GED and then start some kind of a life. No, that was a stupid idea. She went with a simple "IDK" message and shut her phone off.

The rain was really coming down hard now and Bella produced her umbrella to shield her from the storm. She saw the small group of friends standing by an open grave, the priest reading some words of kindness. She was beginning to regret the decision not to go to the burial. She needed words of kindness. Bella began to walk down the earthen path towards where the cemetery was, as the rain quickened she too sped up her stride until she was almost at a full run. She reached the grave side just in time to hear "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust."

Her mother's coffin descended into the black hole that was before her, Bella watched in mortified silence. The priest dropped the first handful of earth onto the grave and the rest of the group departed one by one, some patted Bella on the back while others gave her a reassuring word, but none of them gave her what she wanted: The love that she had lost, the woman who was being swallowed by the earth. Bella was not one to give in to sadness, she would often hide how she felt, but now she wasn't in the mood. She stood by the grave and wept for the woman who had raised her, and then something strange happened.

Bella reached up to her face and felt a dry patch, she looked up and saw that the clouds had parted and the rain had stopped coming. Then a hand rested on her shoulder, Bella turned around and saw a man that she had never seen before, yet his face was familiar. He took her in his arms and she cried. She cried for so long, but had no idea why. She didn't know why she trusted him, but something inside of her was telling her that he was safe, he was good. He was a part of her.

Several minutes passed, then the man spoke, "Bella… my name is Charlie… I don't know how to say this… but I'm your father."

Bella was stunned, she stared blankly into the face of this strange newcomer. He had a friendly looking smile on his face, and perched on his nose was a pair of reading glasses. Bella had always assumed that she had a father, but her mother never wanted to talk about it. Once, she had told her that he was an alcoholic and that he used to do 'bad things' to her, that's why she ran away with Bella. This was strangely contradictory with what she was seeing now, how could this kind man have caused so much pain?

Time seemed to blur together and before she knew it, she was sitting in a local diner with the man as he tried to explain what he was doing here. Bella didn't actually care where he had been, she didn't care that he was going to AA meetings and she didn't care that he had a steady job. The only thing she cared about was that her daddy was here for her now, and that he would always be there for her in the future. Bella tuned in to what he was saying towards the end of the conversation, just as he said, "and… when I heard what happened to your mom… I knew I had to set things right. Look, Bella, I can't ever make up for what we've missed, but I want to be a good father to you now. Will you come back to Forks to live with me?"

Bella was stunned, on the one hand he was her father, but on the other hand she had a life here. Then she remembered her fantasy from earlier. She didn't want to be chased over the country by a mad man with a unibrow, all she wanted was some stability for her last year of childhood. She looked up at the man and nodded softly. "Yes… I'd like that very much…"

Charlie smiled and gave her a warm embrace; Bella could feel the warmth from his body. It was warming her, bringing her back to life. She remembered that there was still good in the world, and would give it a second chance. Things would get better, things always get better.