The Fortuneteller
- All the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer -
Touching her leg, Esme sighed in contentment. Although there was a small scar on the back of the leg, at least she could walk without stick again. It was good news that as her leg was perfectly healed, there were still lots of flowers outside the house, or she might be extremely disappointed.
The beginning of summer was still appealing enough. Esme smiled at the view outside the house. Nickle-sized pink flowers and green leaves made a perfect match, she thought. Deciding to make a garland for herself, Esme sneaked out of the house while her parents were busying socializing with their guests in the guest room.
She still wore the dark brown jacket Doctor Cullen lent her last winter whenever she was outside, and stubbornly refused to let her mother put it to the closet; Mrs. Platt thought her daughter was strange, maybe because she hit her head badly last year – but the mother could only guess.
Esme wore it simply because it smelled like him, the kind, brilliant, accomplished Doctor Cullen. It had been for nearly three months after their little good-bye drama – On Doctor Cullen's last day in Columbus, she received a bunch of may-you-recover-soon yellow flowers from him and she was so moved by his gift she boldly gave him an awkward kind of hug in return; Doctor Cullen was stunned at first, and then smiled heartily at her reaction (though every time she recalled it, she was shocked by her own boldness.) Wearing this jacket made her feel she was somehow connecting to the kind doctor.
Walking slowly toward the tree she used to climb, Esme decided, this time she'd better behave herself and just sit there, enjoying the summer breath this afternoon.
She was surprised to find a stranger standing on the leafy shade already.
As she came closer, the male stranger came out slightly from the back of the tree, and looked at her curiously. As she saw his face, Esme was speechless for a long while. If she hadn't met Doctor Cullen before, this stranger would have been the most handsome man she had ever seen. His hair was black, yet his face was pale like snow. What amused her deeply was, he dressed like a person came from at least one century ago.
"Who are you?" She asked tentatively, observing this stranger intensely before asking another question. "I never saw you before. Are you a friend of my father's?"
The beautiful man smiled then, in a kind way. Esme blinked her eyes unconsciously.
"Wonderful day, wouldn't you say? Too wonderful for our kind, though," he sighed. The snow-like beauty of him strangely reminded her of…Doctor Cullen. Before she could have a second thought, suddenly, the man came to her in an impressive speed. So quick she could only gasped soundlessly and stared blankly at him. Her heart beat faster in shock.
How did he do that?
"Well, I guess you know what I am," he grinned.
"I'm…sorry?" She stammered, not sure what he meant now.
He frowned. "You don't have to pretend you don't know what I am; I can smell his scent lingering on it," he touched the brown jacket lightly with his fingers and smiled kindly at her. And Esme wondered why he knew this jacket was not hers; furthermore, he knew this was from a man. That scared her a little.
"It is not that strange for our kind to have a human mate, I can assure you." He winked charmingly at her. "But he taught you well; you human should be away from our kind before he changes you, unless you encounter a good one like me, of course," he chuckled softly.
Esme was sure this man was mad. The way he talked…as if he was not a human. She took back a step carefully. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean, sir."
He stared her for a moment before shrugged carelessly. "Well then. But, please at least allow me to stay here until sunset."
She frowned at his weird question. Considering for a moment or two, Esme nodded. The man with black hair thanked her sincerely, and then sat on the grass near her. As she sat herself on the edge of the shade of the tree and picked some flowers, the stranger cleared his throat. Esme turned to him warily; he was still smiling.
"I must say I haven't talked to a human for a long time," he tilted his head, strange crimson eyes sparking. Esme frowned again at his choice of words. "Pardon my curiosity but, how did you meet?"
"Who?"
"You and the owner of the jacket, of course," he said simply.
"Oh," her eyes widened. Esme didn't expect him asking a question like that. She answered him anyway. "I…I broke my leg last winter and…and he saved me," she couldn't help but smile sheepishly as recalling the day they met. "He's…kind, considerate, patient," she described his perfection softly without thinking. "And warm."
To her surprise, the man laughed out loud at her remark. Esme raised her eyebrows in defense.
"Warm?" He shook his head in disbelief, yet looked highly amused. "You are interesting, you know, Miss!"
Not knowing what to said, she remained silent until his laughter faded slowly.
"Well, I don't know if he has special ability or not, but I do have one – I am a fortuneteller," he said proudly in a secretive voice, which made her giggle softly.
"Oh. Tell me my future, then?" She challenged, not certain if he was serious or not.
"I can't." Esme was both surprised and confused by his confession. He shook his head, still smiling like a wizard from ancient time. "However, I can show you. I can make people - well, technically I should use words 'our kind', but never mind – see what will happen in their lives by hypnotizing them. After all, I was a hypnotist before I was turned. I haven't used my gift on human before, though." He said thoughtfully.
"You don't have to if it is too complicated for you, sir. I - "
He narrowed his eyes, "No, not at all. Besides, I want to thank you for allowing me to be here." Before Esme opened her mouth again, the stranger continued. He looked into her eyes with a more serious face. "Now, close your eyes."
And she found herself can't help but obey his order.
~ ※ ~
She was sure that she was dreaming. As opening her eyes, all Esme could see was trees. Lots of trees. And she realized she was in a rather big forest. It was still morning, yet the sky above could hardly be seen because the trees around her were blocking it. Esme blinked, tentatively turned around to see where she actually was.
Then she saw her.
The scene before her almost made her yelp. There was a woman standing near an edge of a frightening cliff. She looked thoughtful and confused, as if there was something bothering her deeply.
Esme was worried that she would jump off the cliff, therefore she decided to stop her before it was too late. She walked cautiously toward the woman. And, before she opened her mouth, she heard there was someone coming closer to where she was.
"You are here," said a male voice. Esme was surprised to hear this familiar voice. A second later, the blond angel was standing behind the woman. Esme stared at him in disbelief. She didn't expect to see him here, but it seemed the doctor didn't notice her, neither did the woman. Esme saw him take one step toward the woman. Tentatively, Doctor Cullen touched her elbow with his fingers. The look on his face was desperate.
"Would you...would you please stay away from here?"
The woman chuckled a little bitterly, then. Her voice sounded like sad lullaby, soft and strangely soothing. But suddenly she stopped chuckling, turning to look at Doctor Cullen. She was beautiful, Esme thought, the woman reminded her of the princess from her books. But the color of her eyes were horrifying; they were bright red, inhumanly beautiful, like scary dragon's.
"I think I still can't get used to my new voice," she swallowed hard. As she noticed Doctor Cullen's guilty face, she sighed again. "I'm fine, Carlisle. I just want to be here for a while." She paused before talking again. "How was your day?"
She was avoiding him, Esme could tell. Every time she wanted to avoid something or someone, she would ask the opposite side "How was your day?"
Clearly Doctor Cullen was clever enough he was not fooled.
"I thought you were going to throw yourself off the cliff again," he whispered.
The woman stiffed, so did Doctor Cullen.
"You did consider it, didn't you?" The quiet voice from the doctor colored with pain. The woman was silent, and he tightened his grip on her elbow.
The beautiful woman turned her head away, lips trembling. "You see, I...I have nothing left behind." She bowed her head in grief. "And I miss him, Carlisle, so much. All I can think now is my son. If death means I can see him again, then I'm happy to die."
The woman looking down at the ground couldn't see his face, but Esme could. He looked as if his worst nightmare had come true. They froze like that for a long time, finally, Doctor Cullen swallowed and tried to say something.
"Stay," he said softly. His fingers touched her face lightly. "Stay and see if there is still something or...someone worth living for. Give yourself more time, please."
After a long silence, the woman sighed heavily. A sign of surrender. The doctor smiled sadly at her reaction, looked as if he was about to sob. Gently, he took her small hand in his.
"Let's go home, then."
~ ※ ~
"I told you she's here!"
The voice from her little cousin woke her up, and Esme was not surprised at all that the second she opened her eyes, her mother wasted no time scolding her. Mrs. Platt was angry that her daughter had been napped under the tree the whole afternoon, that, of course, was not proper for a seventeenth young lady.
But Esme was thinking about the strange dream. What a shame she almost couldn't recall what she dreamed about - she only remembered she'd dreamed of Doctor Cullen again (Esme was not surprised though, she'd dreamed of him for several times.) Suddenly, She looked around to find the stranger, but he was nowhere to be seen, now.
"Esme! I'm talking to you!" Her mother scolded.
Esme sighed, and shook her head, deciding to let the stranger and the dream go.
That was just a dream, after all.
This crazy idea came to my mind while reading an article about hypnosis. XD
Hope you enjoyed it! Oh, and Happy New Year!