Chapter One – Forks
Bella
THERE IS A SMALL TOWN LOCATED IN THE HEART OF OLYMPIC PENINSULA, Washington, named Forks. Population – three thousand five hundred and forty-five. Aside from the rain forest that surrounds the town, thick fog covers the streets and gray clouds hover above it. You can never see the blue sky here. The place is gloomy but it is not completely lifeless because of the green mosses that wrap almost everything – the tree trunks, rocks, and even old houses. The wind and constant rain that seems to be in musical chorus gives life to the place.
Charlie, my dad, grew up in Forks. Charlie is the Chief of Police. He doesn't express his feelings very well, but I know that he loves me. He has been friends with Billy Black, Quil Ateara IV, and Harry Clearwater ever since he was a boy. Charlie used to feel like an outsider to his friends during their teenage years. Bill, Quil, and Harry were forbidden to tell Charlie about a secret of their tribe but they became close friend nonetheless.
Charlie wanted to go to college, but he couldn't leave his parents whose health began to deteriorate. His father, Geoffrey, was limited by arthritis. It also affected his father's mobility. His mother, Helen, suffers from an early stage of Alzheimer's. Charlie did everything that he could to help them.
He met my mother, Renée, when he visited Billy at the reservation and she was camping with her friends at La Push beach. They have an instant connection with each other. During her absence, Charlie realized how much he's fallen in love with Renée. When she visited back to Forks, Charlie quickly proposed and being the romantic Renée is, she accepted. They were married at a courthouse in Port Angeles in Washington shortly after. Charlie bought a small, two-bedroom house down the street from his parents' home. They were young, they were happy. They were even happier when they found out that my mother is pregnant with me. Everything was good but both of Charlie's parents' condition worsened. Charlie was needed by his parents' everyday. This event didn't help Renée, depression took a toll on her. She asked him to leave Forks with her but he couldn't because of his parents. A few months after I was born, she left our home, leaving my dad devastated. Charlie didn't contest the divorce or child support.
Four years later, his parents died. Charlie was alone, except for my visit every summer. He devoted himself to his work and he became chief of police. His friends, Billy, Quil, and Harry were there to support him through the divorce and death of his parents. I visit Forks and Charlie every summer when I was a kid. I used to hate the place because I never liked the wet or the cold so when by the time my parents acknowledge my choices I put my foot down. Charlie visits me in California few times year.
I moved here from Phoenix when I was seventeen. I wanted to make my mom happy. Although I hated the town before, I've grown to love Forks. It is part of who I am now and I became closer to Charlie. The rain and the cold don't bother me anymore. I now appreciate the mystery of the forest that surrounds us. It is mythical and magical. And for someone like me, this is the place where we can most be normal. Humans are not the most fascinating creatures that lives town. Down at the beach resides a tribe. Young members of the tribes shift into a huge wolf when a threat comes to their land. They are interesting species, magical almost. There is a home in woods that is occupied by the strongest, most beautiful, most dangerous creatures you will ever see. I am one of them.