It was a cloudy day. Then again, most days were cloudy in La Push and Forks. I was left alone that day, I sat out by the creek behind the house, playing with my ratty old Barbie doll. Dad was inside and Jake was out at the beach with friends or something. He wanted to stay inside, and help Rachel and Rebecca with dad, but dad made him go out and have fun. While my older sisters took care of my paraplegic father, and my big brother was having fun with friends, I, the youngest member of my family, the baby, was left to my own devices.
As I contemplated throwing the bleach blonde doll into the creek, I heard a voice calling my name. It was a familiar voice. Then another joined in calling me, also familiar. I turned to face the direction they were coming from. I saw my brother's two best friends, Embry Call and little Quil Ateara. But my brother wasn't with them. They smiled at me and waved. "Millie!" Quil shouted. He beckoned at me to come to him. I got up and ran over to them. "Hey guys, what's going on?" I asked them.
Embry smiled. "Hey Millie, Jake told us how much you like your dad's stories about the wolves." I nodded, I did. The two older boys shared the smirk of co-conspirators. "Well, what if we told you we know where to find them?" My eyes widened and wondered how they would know. I'd thought that all the wolves, the protectors of our tribe, were all gone, disappeared a long time ago. "Y-you do?" I questioned. The boys nodded.
"We can take you if you want." Quil smirked. I began nodding quickly. They agreed to show me the way and we took off toward the edge of the forest. When we reached the point where my backyard ended and the trees began, the boys stopped. I asked them why they had stopped walking. "The protectors don't like too many people to come at once. You have to go on on your own." Embry explained. Since I was eight years old and gullible, I believed them and started into the woods. The sunlight filtered green through the trees, making the air look as green as the leaves. It wasn't just my youth and naiveness that made me believe my brother's friends. It was also that, I had always felt the forest was magical. Whenever I crossed into it, it seemed as if I was in another world. It was like when no one was looking, fairies and mythical beasts walked and flew about.
After an hour, I felt like I was going in circles. I had no idea which way was home, and I hadn't found the wolves. This was when I stopped believing their words, and the words of the legends. I started tearing up, scared that I would never find my way home. That I would never see Jake, or dad, or even Rachel and Rebecca, ever again. I began to get tired, crying and walking sapping my energy. I stumbled between two trees and into a meadow. The green light was gone; it was now yellow. It was perfectly round and filled with colorful wildflowers in soft yellows, whites, and purples. Too bad I couldn't take in the beauty. I sat down in the middle of the meadow and sobbed my eyes out.
A few hours later, it began to get dark. I was still in the middle of the meadow, curled up in a fetal position. I had cried myself out and now just waited for one of the beasts of my nightmares to come and devour me or something. There was a rustling at the edge of the meadow; I closed my eyes tightly. Here it comes, I thought. I readied myself for pain or the warmth of a creatures' jaw around my body. But instead I heard a voice, as smooth as velvet. "Are you okay?" It asked. I thought it was my imagination, and didn't answer. It sounded like the source of the voice was right behind me. I felt a cold hand on my arm; it turned me over and I was looking into the face of a teenage boy. He was incredibly pale, even paler than most of the white kids in Forks. His hair was a bronze color, and messed up perfectly. He had dark purple circles beneath his eyes, like Jake had had when he decided to try to break the record for the longest time without sleep, and failed. But the most unusual thing about him was his liquid golden eyes. He asked me if I was okay again. I shook my head no. "Here, give me your hand." He held his own hand out. My parents had always told me not to talk to strangers and not to go with them, because they could hurt me. He chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," the boy told me, as if he had read my mind. I finally took his hand and he pulled me up to my feet.
Soon I was on the boy's back, and he was running at a very high speed through the forest. My heart raced, I half feared he was going to run into a tree. Eventually, we were back at the edge of the reservation. And when I mean we, I mean just me. The bronze haired boy was no where to be found, it was like he had disappeared into thin air. "Millie!" I heard Jacob's voice shout. I turned toward the houses of the reservation. "Millie!"
I opened an eye. My brother was standing by my bed, looking at me. "Millie, wake up. You'll be late for school." He said, and went back to his morning routine. I groaned and slid out of bed. I hadn't thought about that day, that awful and strange day, in seven years. But I didn't have time to think about it now. I had to get ready for school.