My family and I had always been from Columbus, Ohio. In the winter of 1907 my grandmother fell ill and we stayed with her until the spring of 1907 in a small town on the Ohio border. When my grandmother passed, we returned to our home in Columbus. I was fourteen at this point, and noticed no new changes to the town over the last two years. Nothing ever changed here.
I had always been 'mommy's little girl'. I looked just like her, and we spent every waking second together. She was without a doubt my best friend. We used to lie on a blanket in the front yard at night and watch the stars. We would point up in the air and laugh at the pictures we were able to imagine together. Columbus wasn't a generally sunny town - it seemed the sky was only ever clear at night.
The summer's heat in 1909 was never ending. I was stretched out on a blanket in my yard at 2am staring up at the moon. The silence was incredible, and I let my mind wander on as I gazed at the stars. The moon lit the area around me; putting me in the spotlight for some unknown private audience. I could almost feel my skin glow from the moon's energy.
I saw a flicker of darkness pass over my moonlit spot, like someone's shadow had drifted over my own body, though there were no footsteps. I lay perfectly still, slightly alarmed and scared to look up, squeezing my eyes shut. I held my breath and was so still that a statue may have appeared to be alive in comparison.
I felt cold pressure on the side of my neck and opened my eyes wide, seeing a man squatting beside me with his hand at my throat. I gasped and sat up quick as he pulled away from me, raising his hands.
"I apologize," he whispered. "It didn't look like you were breathing.
I held my throat with my hand, trying to warm the area he had just touched "I wasn't breathing - you scared me half to death," I inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm myself, "May I ask… who are you?"
I looked into his eyes and got caught in them somehow. I had never seen anything like them - they were a bright, fiery, liquid gold. I stared into them in complete awe, almost missing the answer to my question. "Dr. Carlisle Cullen," he stated proudly. I creased my forehead for a moment, finally breaking my eyes away from his. Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I hadn't heard of him before, nor had I known that the previous physician had left. The switch must have occurred while we were away with my grandmother.
He held out his hand and smiled at me reassuringly. I took it and flinched at how cold he was as he shot me a concerned glance. "Esme Platt," I whispered, letting go of his hand.
He shifted his position slightly, still kneeling in front of me, and I noticed him giving me an odd stare. He was smiling and looking all around my face. I wasn't sure what he saw, but it seemed to have him hypnotized. I felt a smile slowly creep across my face and bit my lip, looking down at the grass to avoid letting him see me blush. He let out a laugh that sounded as happy as wind chimes and stood quickly, taking the warm summer air with him. I smelt something then that was just like summer rain and fresh cut fruit. A smell that, once it's gone, you find yourself craving more of it. So strong it leaves a sweet taste on the tip of your tongue. I looked up at him slightly stunned only to find that he was looking down at me sadly, as though I had been caught doing something I shouldn't have.
He took a deep breath and bent down, putting his hands under my arms and lifting me effortlessly to my feet. He grabbed the blanket and shook it for a brief moment before taking a step towards me and draping it over my shoulders. I stared blankly at his face as he did these things, watching him smile as his hands moved about.
I grabbed the inside of the blanket and hugged it tighter around myself, looking up into his topaz eyes. "I think it's time you went to sleep, Esme. It's past 2am, and I doubt your parents would be happy to know that you're out here alone."
I smirked and whispered, "I'm not alone."
He took another deep breath. It looked like he was trying to concentrate very hard on something... like he was fighting some invisible force as hard as he possibly could. He slowly shook his head, smiled and whispered, "Goodnight Esme Platt." He took my hand out from beneath the blanket and gently kissed the top of it before letting it fall back to my side. I smiled up at him and he grinned just before nodding, turning, and walking away. He disappeared down the street in seconds, leaving me smiling alone in the moonlight.
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