Dear Diary,
Day is predictable and kind. It's night when suspicions rise and blood boils. Though day reveals our darkest secret, while night keeps it safe. Day is what our kind usually fears. We're often referred to as "creatures of the night" because of the way our kind avoids the daylight. Our kind is looked upon as mythical creatures that are made up for entertainment and parents comfort their children saying we don't exist. Well, we do.
It's ironic though, here in the little town of Forks, Washington lie most people's darkest fears. During the day we join the living, we're mostly just lost in the crowd. One of the main traits that separate us from mortals is hidden by the constant overhanging clouds. Here in Forks, the rainiest place in the continental U.S., here we are, hiding cleverly in the midst of everyday people. Nobody would ever suspect, by our looks, that we weren't normal humans.
Except my mother, of course. She had grown to understand what exactly my father and the rest of the Cullen family were. Vampires. My mother, Bella, was very curious and did extensive research on the old Quileute legends, there in the midst of old fairy-tales and myths lie the answer to what we really are. She was stunned, but she knew something was special about my father, Edward. She soon realized that my father's pale skin, dark circles under his color changing eyes, cold body temperature, incredible speed, and impossible strength showed him for what he really was. It was clear to her then and there that the Cullen family, similar yet different, were without a doubt vampires.
Well, we're not a clan of your traditional mythical vampires, yes we drink blood, but that's about where the similarities end. There are so many kinds of fake stories and legends that don't make sense at all, but people like it better this way. The old scary stories were just made up by Hollywood for entertainment. No, we don't burn in the sun, we sparkle, we don't have to avoid garlic, holy-water doesn't affect us, and a stake through our heart wouldn't even penetrate our marble-like skin. There are no mansions with motes, and don't get me started on the coffin theory. We don't sleep in coffins; we don't even sleep at all. And if you're bitten by one of us, you'd get more than just two small holes in your neck because we don't have fangs, just sharp venomous teeth. And we do NOT transform into bats and fly, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of! No, we're not your average vampire, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
We Cullen's are even more unique. In my family, or "clan", we have a total of nine people or vampires. We're easily one of the largest vampire clans to exist. Most clans are about two or three people, but my family is too closely knit, that we couldn't just leave each other. That's not our only difference though. We fit in more with humans than anyone else of our kind. We own a house, go to school, get jobs, and mostly live a fairly normal life. You'd think people would catch on to the dramatic decrease in the population due to our eating habits and size of our clan, but as I've said before, we're different. While most vampires are hunting humans, we hunt animals and live happily off their blood. No it doesn't fully appease our hunger or thirst, but it keeps us healthy and satisfies us for the time being. This unique lifestyle makes it easier for us to settle down more permanently. We hunt animals because we value human life and look at them as our slightly luckier equals. Other vampires think we are odd and are either intrigued or disgusted by our strange eating or rather drinking habits. Unlike other vampires, we still have a moral code, and no matter how hard it is to live by, we try our hardest. We think of humans as more than just food, so were looked down upon and have it harder. All vampires long for human blood, that much is true, but you can survive off of animal blood. My father relates it to being a vegetarian, just living off tofu, and not eating real meat, satisfies your hunger, but doesn't really quench the craving for meat. Once you start to drink human blood it is very hard to stop. In order to transform someone into a vampire, you have to just bite them and let the venom spread, but be sure not to drain them. They all think it is odd that we put ourselves through that kind of torture, but we don't think it is right to kill humans just because we're thirsty. Of course we sometimes fall off the wagon, and drain a human, but we try not to. It takes a LONG time to become almost immune to the marvelous scent human blood gives off, Carlisle is over 300 years old, and he finally became immune. That is our difficult way of life. That's why we stand out in the vampire community.
I'm even more unique. You see, vampires don't age, so women can't have children. That makes it almost impossible to have a real family. That's why my aunt Rosalie doesn't like being a vampire, she had always wanted a big family with someone who loved her, but she was changed the night she would have otherwise died. So, children are out of the question for vampire women, but with men it's different. You see, my mother was a human; therefore she still could carry a child. It was extremely risky, and wasn't planned, but she conceived a half vampire child. My father figured out a way to safely, or somewhat safely deliver me. Yes my mother died, kind of, my father had transformed her into a vampire before her heart had stopped. So, through a series of very unique and completely unforeseen (even by Alice) events, I am here, alive, well you get the point. I am about six years old, but I physically look about 15. I age extremely fast, and it is slowing down the older I get, until I become a full adult, then my vampire half will either dominate or at least become more prominent and I will stop aging like the rest of my family. I have about a year or so until I'm fully grown, so I'm gonna make the best of it.
-Renesme Cullen
