Charlie Swan

Forks has been my home all of my life, as it was to my mother, as it was to her mother. Over the years, I have been there to see some of the kids I grew up with pick up and go to college, only to come back to settle here, the same way that I have watched some go to never return, and even some that have no family here come to make of this little town their home.

One of the advantages of living in a small town is the added weigh that small populations give to the word Community. It is because of the interest that we all show for each other that life in this town is as safe as it is. People that keep secrets are not to be trusted, my grandma taught me that.

She always talked about how important it was to relay on your community, they are your friends. She taught me that sometimes people don't know how to share their good news without being rude or that they are unable to see beyond their own pain to talk about the bad news, so it was ok to help them out. Others should be happy for their neighbors' good fortune, and know when to offer support for their misfortune.

Today, we have elected a new Sheriff. Charles Swan. Charlie. I remember when he first came to Forks. No one even knew that he had bought the old Williams' place, until he drove through town straight to the house, parking his fancy Jeep in the driveway.

Ms. Stevens, next door, swears she was the first to see him, I guess we can't ever know for certain. She told me later that he only had one suitcase and a box with him, and that he had the old Williams' furniture in place when she went knocking at his door that afternoon.

I remember how wary I was when Ms. Stevens told me how polite he was, but she had ended up leaving with no answers to her questions. I had my suspicions, for Ms. Stevens was not the only one to mention such phenomenon, but they were confirmed when I met him at the grocery store that week.

He was definitely polite, but he answered every question with another question, and bluntly ignored every prompting I gave him for him to share. I didn't trust him at all. What was he hiding? Why wouldn't he tell us where he was coming from or anything about his family? I simply didn't trust him.

I was my dear husband John that told me he had seen him asking for a law enforcement job. John's cousin Robert was Fork's Sheriff back then, following in his father's steps. John's uncle Thomas inspired not only his son, but John as well, but it was Robert's military record that got him the job as Sheriff at the end.

Even so, Robert never treated the rest of the deputies or even his cousin with less than complete respect. He was a good Sheriff, and people knew it. Everyone was sad to see him pass.

I remember John telling me back then, how Charles Swan simply stepped into the place and asked to talk to the Sheriff. The closed door of Sheriff Mathews' Office prevented anyone from hearing that conversation, but John said Robert seemed to offer him the job out of utter respect.

According to Melissa, he had some kind of military training from some base in California, one of those with the pretty elegant uniforms. Melissa still has a desk job at the Station, and had taken a peek at Charles Swan file when no one was looking. Maybe that was why the Sheriff had been so keen to have him in Forks. Robert Mathews had also been a military man.

And that's how the newcomer became Deputy Swan.

It wasn't until that trouble with the bears happened 3 years later, and he ended up saving my John's life, that I started to trust the man. He had come at get me, and still wearing his dirty uniform had dragged me out of the house and to the hospital. That was the day I started calling him Charlie.

Charlie stayed with me at the hospital all night. It wasn't until John woke up in the morning, right after Charlie had excused himself to get some coffee, that he told me that the bear had caught him when his shotgun jammed and Charlie had taken a thick branch to the head or the bear to get him off my husband before he shot him.

Charlie Swan had taken my husband and rushed him out of the woods and to the hospital without a moment's doubt. I owe that man my husband's life, and that's why I was happy that today he has been made Sheriff.

I am certain this town is safe in the hands of Sheriff Swan, even if he never did answer my questions, I know he is a good man.