The walls were coming at me, the room was too small, I could no longer stand it, I had to get out.
I fled my room, ran down the set of stairs and grabbed my sweater from the couch on my way to the nearest exit which in this case was the backdoor.
Running past the yard into the first line of trees, deeper and deeper into the woods, my breath quickening and sweat starting to set on my back, my hair tossing in the wind. I was probably looking like such a mess right now...
I checked my wrist for a hair band but didn't see one, well too bad, I don't care, for now.
I started to run slower as the fresh air started to calm me down more and more. Taking over control of my body once more making it easier to breath, see and walk straight, I had no clue where I was but with no wish to return I kept my eyes set on some point on the horizon and kept on going.
My mind wondered to my old friends, when I was little I used to run into the woods as well, the deer running at my sides and in front. I loved the deer, and of course my dear mountain lion pip. I chuckled, only little me could have given a mountain lion the name pip, my legs started to tire and I wondered if pip was still alive, if he would come out if I were to call. As I stepped into an opening in the woods with some large rocks, sighing I sat down on one of them and closed my eyes, thinking to myself it couldn't hurt to try once.
Steadying my breath I started humming a melody, it was old, extremely old, my grandma used to sing it to me when I needed to rest or calm down and it plastered a smile on my face just thinking back to those times.
After some time, not knowing how long had passed I heard some rustling, squinting I opened my eyes slightly, in front of me stood a doe. Light brown, young I thought she, I guessed, could not be older than a couple of months. I stretched out my arm and slowly stroke along her jaw and neckline.
I wondered if the doe could know pip, of course the balance of danger was not different and pip was the natural enemy of any doe, but one could never know. That's when I heard another rustle nearby, and the doe spooked by the sound ran across the void and out of sight. "Hello?" I called softly, looking around, but not finding anything I continued humming the melody, seeing that the amount of birds and squirrels had increased around me.
If pip was coming along he would scare them all away, I chuckled, and that's when I saw him. His slender form crouching closer from my right side, tricking him into thinking I hadn't seen him I kept on humming. With one big jump he was in front of me, "Pip!" I squeaked as he laid his massive head in my hands and I started scratching his ears, his eyes closing as he started making a low growling sound. "I missed you my friend" I whispered, a tear trailing down my cheek, it has been way to long. But our time together was cut short, way too short.
Whatever it was that spooked away the doe was back as Pip started to withdraw from my touch the same as the doe had done. "Pip?" but before I could say anything else he had turned around and had covered half of the open space. I slid of the rock, stumbling as my left foot slipped into a hollow part of the grass, making me stumble forwards and fall flat on my face. I raised my head and saw the last fleeting image of Pip disappearing into the bushes.
"What did just happen….. What makes them so afraid…" I thought to myself while I got up from the patch of grass I had just flattened out with my stupidity. As I scanned the area I saw that indeed all the birds, squirrels and even the butterflies I had seen just before Pip had come had disappeared. Puzzled I looked around but could not find anything out of the ordinary, this was all so strange… I looked for the sun and figured there was about two hours of good daylight left, not knowing where I was made it difficult to determine how long it would take me to get back home. Sighing I started heading into the direction that I had come from before entering the open space, I found my answer as they slid into my sight as I turned around.
I had finished my deer, not feeling particularly satisfied I told my family I would head back and would try to find something else. The heat of the hunt had left a bit, as I started turning, leaving them to finish their deer I heard it. A crystal clear voice, I stiffened completely, it was beautiful.
Esme flitted towards me, "Edward?" she looked at me worriedly, her eyes looking into mine, but then she caught it to, and so did the rest of my family. I felt them all stiffen and look towards where the sound was coming from. "What is that?" Carlisle whispered softly while he appeared next to me, but I started running, intoxicated by the sound, I had to find out where it came from my curiosity spiking.
As I ran the voice became clearer and clearer, the melody was sad, yet calming making me want to close my eyes and listen to it forever. I knew this part of the woods, it was closer to the town yet still a few miles away. I heard my family following me, their thoughts all wondering what it was that was making this music.
I skidded to a stop as before me a I had entered a small opening in the woods and to my surprise a girl, no a beautiful girl was seated on a large boulder in the middle. As I climbed into one of the older sturdier trees I observed her further, she had dark brown colored hair which glowed in the sunlight with streaks of gold, flowing past her shoulders, framing a porcelain colored face with the most captivating green eyes. Soft red lips and a soft jawline completed the painting.
My heart, if it had still been beating, stopped at that moment as I sucked in a breath. She had bewitched me right then and there, my family who had done the same as me sitting in trees next to mine looked at me, as they heard me suck in my breath. As for not only her beauty had struck me but the sweet smell, tinged with a floral hint had entered my system, making my throat throb painfully.
Her blood, it sang to me, not like her crystal clear voice but it sang and it was costing my almost all of my strength to not go down and sample a taste of the sweetness that was so dangerously close. "Edward?" Carlisle said in a tone so low no human could have heard, he looked at me, worried as his thoughts were trying to figure out why I was reacting this way. I shook my head slowly, as I was to baffled by everything that I saw, what I was smelling, she was still stroking the doe in front of her.
Wait what! My brain had not comprehended that piece of information, she was in fact stroking the jawline of the young doe while maintaining her humming. However the wind changed and the doe caught up our smell and got spooked running off to the right side of the open space disappearing into the woods. "Hello?" her soft voice rang, while she scanned the area, not seeing anything she chuckled and continued her humming of the melody.
"Oh Lord!" I heard Esme's low worried voice call out and in her thoughts I saw what had made her say it, a huge mountain lion was crawling along the floor of the woods coming closer to the girl. Emmett soundlessly lowered himself a few branches ready to kill the animal in case it would hurt the girl. That's when I heard her voice change a little as if while singing she was laughing, and I motioned for Emmett to wait.
As the mountain lion suddenly leaped forward I felt a pang in my chest as if I had just made the wrong call. Jasper felt fear too, and Alice was preparing for the worst, as I leaped from tree forward to limit the damage. "Pip!" the girl squeaked in a high voice and stopped my assault clinging to another tree branch. Once more I was gaping at the scene that happened in front of my eyes. The girl had stretched out both of her arms and was now cradling the lions head while scratching it's ears while the lion in turn started making purring noises. I heard all of my family members hiss out the air they had all kept up in fear, and they were all trying to figure out what was happening "I missed you my friend" the girl whispered softly while lowering her cheek towards the lions head.
At which Emmett let out a low grumbling laugh, "She has a nice choice in friends" he laughed in a tone too low for the girl to hear. Unfortunately the lion had slightly better hearing and had picked up on Emmett's voice as it suddenly started backing away from the girl "Pip?" but our scent in combination with Emmett's voice was enough for the lion to run away and leave the open space even quicker than the doe had done.
In an effort to chase the lion the girl had slid down the boulder that she had occupied but had stumbled forward when her left foot had become stuck in an hollowed out part of the grass. We all descended from our trees, still struck with curiosity regarding the unearthly creature that was now looking at the sun, she let out a low sigh and turned around. Upon seeing us her face turned to one of shock, to shame and finally embarrassment as probably she was hoping that we had not heard her sing just now.
"Hello" she said softly not knowing to whom she had to look. Immediately I heard Carlisle's thoughts, he liked the girl, no.. more he was intrigued by her. "Hello" he said in return "Are you lost?" She blushed heavily and a wave of her scent washed over us, Jasper stopped breathing and Alice grabbed his hand clutching it reassuringly.
She looked at the ground "Well, it has been a while since I have been here, so honestly I'm not exactly sure Mr…" she looked at Carlisle questioning. "Cullen" he replied with a soft chuckle. "Please call me Carlisle, you must be Isabella, Charlie's daughter" She looked at him with a face full of surprise, which honestly I felt too. "Bella" she retorted "how… how do you know my name Mr Cullen? Are you a friend of my father?" she looked at him in a puzzled way. Now I had to chuckle too, so this heavenly being was the chief's daughter, quite the contrast that gave.
"Not exactly but we have to work together often I'm afraid" She smiled "Wait! Are you a doctor?" Bella half shouted in surprise, smiling broadly as if she had just made a connection between two pieces of a puzzle. Carlisle chuckled "Yes I am, has Charlie told you about me?" his mind betrayed his curiosity to me, he was entranced by the girl in front of him. He wanted to know how it was possible she had the ability to call animals to her, he was fascinated by the fact. Bella blushed at his answer "Indeed, he did. He told me about a very skilled doctor that worked in Forks. He was joking that I would be in good hands if I were to trip again someday" she rambled as her cheeks reddened a little more, flushing us with another wave of her scent.
That's when Jasper's perseverance failed.