September 13, 2005
Esme was out raking leaves in the front yard. Today was Bella's 18th birthday. Esme turned to look back at the house. It had already been decorated for the party Alice had been planning, all decked-out in Japanese lanterns with big bowls of pink roses lining the stairs. Bella had already expressed her dislike for her birthday and gifts for the past week. Alice, being Alice, would not listen and insisted on the party. Esme wanted to try to rein Alice in, but she knew that there was no stopping her raven-haired daughter. Esme shook her head. There was nothing she could do, so she decided to stop worrying about it.
She continued to rake until she saw something that made her drop her rake and rush over to it. It was a little girl with bronze curls and pale skin.
Now, how did the poor dear get there? Esme thought.
She picked up the girl and took her inside. She then laid the girl down on the sofa and then sat next to her. Once her worry went away now that the girl was out of the cold, Esme then noticed strange things about the girl. For one, she not only smelled like a human, but also like a vampire, the combination of which caused the girl to smell good, but not enough to be considered food. Another thing Esme noticed was a fluttering sound. At first, she was confused as to what it was. But, after deciding to inspect the girl more closely, she gasped as she realized that the odd sound was coming from the girl. She also found that the girl seemed to have a temperature. What confused Esme is that, despite this, the girl slept peacefully.
I should Carlisle look at her, she thought. She's certainly a strange one.
The phone ringing interrupted her thoughts. She went over and the caller ID said it was Alice.
Why would she be calling? Could she have had a vision about the girl? Esme thought.
She went into the kitchen and answered it.
"Hello," she said.
"Esme, are you all right?" asked a voice.
It was Edward.
"Yes, I am. Why are you on Alice's phone, Edward? And, what is the problem?" Esme asked.
"To answer your first question, Alice is frantic over here, which leads to the problem. For some strange reason, Alice can't see anything," Edward explained.
"She can't see into the future? Are you sure?" Esme asked.
"Absolutely." Edward replied.
Esme turned to the doorway leading to the living room.
"I wonder," she pondered.
"What is it, Esme?" Edward asked.
"It's nothing major, Edward. I just found a strange little girl while out raking this afternoon. I was just thinking about having Carlisle examine her when you called," Esme explained.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Esme? It could be an immortal child," Edward said.
"She couldn't be, Edward. She's warmer than any human I've met and she doesn't smell like a vampire. Besides, she was asleep when I found her. We both know very well that vampires don't sleep," Esme clarified.
"Hmmm. I'll have to trust you for now, Esme. Be careful, all the same. We'll see you later," Edward said.
"I will, Edward. Don't worry. Bye," Esme said.
"Bye," Edward echoed before hanging up.
Esme did the same and went back to the living room. She found that, unbeknownst to her, the girl had woken up and was now looking around in confusion.
"Oh, dear, you're awake," she said to the girl.
The girl turned and smiled when she saw her. But, then she surprised Esme by saying, "Hi, Grandma. What are we doing in Forks?"
It threw Esme for a loop.
Grandma? I have no grandchildren, she thought.
"I'm sorry, dear. You seem to have confused with someone else," she said.
The girl tilted her head.
"I'm not wrong. You're my Grandma Esme. Don't you remember me?" she asked.
Esme shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but I don't. Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Renesmee, your granddaughter," the girl explained.
That's an interesting name. Sadly, I don't know of any grandchildren with that name, Esme thought.
She was about to answer Renesmee's question when the girl in question held up her hand.
"Wait a minute. This may sound like a strange question, but what's the date?" Renesmee asked.
Esme was surprised by the question, but answered anyway.
"It's the 13th of September in the year 2005. Why do you ask?" she asked back.
Renesmee gasped. Only then did she notice the pink decorations, the presents, the glass bowls, and of course, the cake. She then started jumping up and down.
"My wish came true! My wish came true!" She shouted out happily.
Despite not knowing the story, Esme had to smile. Now though, she was curious.
"And, what wish would that have been?" she asked.
Renesmee stopped jumping and took a quick breath before answering.
"I wished to know what had happened on my mommy's 18th birthday. It's today, you know," she said.
Esme would've started pondering about what Renesmee had said if a light bulb hadn't went off at that moment. She gasped. Things were starting to add up. Renesmee had called her 'Grandma'. Her skin was pale, her hair was a familiar bronze color, and, now Esme looked at the girl, her eyes were a particular shade of brown. She had come from the future to learn about her mother's 18th birthday, WHICH WAS TODAY. The question that now came to Esme's mind was, 'How in the world was this possible?'
Renesmee tilted her head again.
"Grandma? What's wrong?" she asked.
Esme calmed enough to ask, "Renesmee. Be honest with me. Who are your parents?"
Renesmee's eyes widened.
"You've figured it out. All right, I'll tell you. My parents are Edward and Bella Cullen," she said.
So Edward and Bella get married and have a child, Esme thought.
But, there was still one problem.
"But, wait, Renesmee," she started.
"Call me, Nessie, Grandma. Everyone does," Renesmee interrupted.
"Oh. Well then, Nessie, care to tell me how you're Edward and Bella's child? Vampires can't have children," Esme asked.
"Male vampires can have children with human females. Sadly, the mother almost always dies in childbirth," Nessie explained, the last sentence bringing a frown to her face.
Esme gasped and fell to her knees with her head in her hands.
"Oh my God. Poor Bella," she whimpered.
"Oh, but Mommy's not dead. Daddy managed to change her in time," Nessie clarified, frantically trying to reassure her grandmother.
Esme gasped and then hugged Nessie.
"Thank God," she sighed in relief.
She felt Nessie's temperature again and had to ask.
"Are you feeling okay, Nessie?" Esme asked feeling Nessie's forehead.
Nessie smiled.
"I'm fine, Grandma. Don't worry. I'm always this warm," she said.
"Really?" Esme asked.
"Yeah," Nessie confirmed.
Esme couldn't hold it off any longer.
"Please don't be offended, Nessie, but what are you exactly?" she asked.
"I'm not offended, Grandma. Anyway, I'm half-human, half-vampire. A 'dhampir', if you will. Though, I like 'hybrid' better," Nessie explained.
Esme gasped. She didn't think such a thing existed. But, then again, Carlisle has mentioned some legends involving such creatures in the past.
"Are there others like you?" she asked curiously.
"Only a handful of them, I think," Nessie said, "The only ones I know of are Nahuel and his half-sisters in South America."
That's where all the legends originate from, Esme thought.
Nessie raised her hand.
"I can show you what he looks like if you want," she said.
"Show me?" Esme asked. "How?"
"You'll see. Now, get down so I can reach, please," Nessie asked politely.
Esme complied and knelt down in front of Nessie. Nessie placed her hand on Esme's face. Esme gasped as she started seeing images of a darker-toned young man, who looked no older than 17 or 18 and yet seemed much older. The images stopped as Nessie withdrew her hand.
"What on Earth was that?" Esme asked.
"That," Nessie explained, "was my power. I can show people my thoughts and memories. The person you saw was Nahuel. He was at least 150 when I met him."
"150?" Esme asked in surprise.
"Yeah," Nessie said, "That's one of the things about us hybrids. We reach full maturity at about age 7 and stopping aging then."
"If that's true, then how old are you, Nessie?" Esme asked.
"Only 11 months, believe it or not," Nessie said.
Esme's eyes widened.
"You age that quickly?" she asked.
"Yes," Nessie said simply.
Before Esme could ask any more questions, she heard a car coming towards the house.
I wonder who that could be, Esme thought, It can't be Edward, Alice, and Bella already.
Her answer came with a voice.
"Hey, Rose, you smell that?" the voice asked.
"Yes," answered another, "It smells… weird."
Then, the door opened to reveal Emmett and Rosalie, no doubt home for Bella's birthday party. Esme was about to greet them, but Nessie got to them first.
"Uncle Emmett!" she cried as she ran to him and hugged his waist.
This, of course, caught Emmett and Rosalie by surprise.
"Mom? Who's this girl?" Rosalie asked.