Parvati Bahl was a spectacular child. Anyone who crossed her path fell in love instantly at the sight of the endearing girl. At such a young age, she was already charismatic enough for the people, confidant enough for the stage, and talented enough to perform.
The music was as much a part of her as the blood that coursed through her veins. She was only whole, only Parvati Bahl, when she belted out a song under the spotlight. The awed audience fueled her waking moments better than any amount of sleep could.
Parvati Bahl was going places, everyone could see it. As she grew, so did her audience. She was a musical prodigy, headed for broadway, headed for the Paris Opera, wherever she wanted. The entire world was held in the palm of her hand.
Until the day she died.
It was such an incredibly stupid, human accident. It had been so dark and the road was slick and everything just happened so fast. One second she had been cruising behind the wheel of a brand new 1950 Pontiac, the next she was crashing. She wouldn't be able to remember anything that happened after.
It wasn't long after when Carlisle found her. Though the scent of her blood was strong, it wasn't what pulled him to the wreckage. It was the bright flames that leapt from the crushed metal. A second vehicle lay not too far from the first, yet Carlisle only detected the sound of one faint heart still beating.
It was the sound that lead him to her. Once he had pulled her out onto the damp grass, he noticed the blisters forming from where the melting metal dripped onto her skin. Six ribs were cracked, all in two places. Her right scapula was possibly also injured.
She woke up for the last time that night, struggling to breathe through a pierced lung.
"You were in an accident," was the first thing Carlisle told her, cool hand holding hers. It should've been obvious, but in that moment, she was grateful for his bluntness, his cool reserve. Fear would have been the death of her, before the loss of blood. But with him there, his kind face looking down at her, she felt a strength she didn't know she could have.
But it wasn't enough to keep her grounded. Already, she was fading out again, slowly letting the dark consume her. It was death. A part of her knew it, knew that her biggest fear had come to pass.
"I have a son about your age," he told her gently, hoping to distract her from the intimidating thoughts of what came after death. Let her have any sense of normalcy, he thought. Don't let her dwell on fear of the unknown.
"How nice," she whispered. She broke off into a strenuous fit of coughing, blood splattering her lips. There was a grunt of of pain before she mustered a smile. "Is he as handsome as you?"
"You'll have to meet him and decide for yourself," he told her, knowing that the day would never come. More tears came as she thought about the life she had lost, everything she had gone in one night.
"Do you promise I'll meet him?" It was a pathetic question as she already knew the answer. But she just needed to hear his firm assurance. She needed to pretend for just a second longer that she wasn't a snuffed out flame.
"You have my word," he murmured, laying a hand on her heated forehead. Finally, she could let go. After a few more stray tears, she let her eyes slip closed and prayed for peace.
It wasn't something he had planned. All he had hoped to do was give her some sense of comfort as she passed. There was no time to get her the help she needed. Carlisle couldn't save her life.
But he could give her a new one.
Before the light could completely leave her eyes, he pulled her into his arms, tilting her head back and exposing her neck. "You have my word," he repeated, before sinking teeth into soft, human skin.