a/n: since no one told me what city Edward lived in as his time as a human, I decided to improvise and picked Chicago. It's a big city, and not unlike the one described in the book. Come to think about it, was the city Edward lived in ever named…? Please review! I don't care if you write one word…REVIEW!!

The buildings really were a sight to behold. They were mammoth things, many stories higher than any buildings I had before witnessed. Our carriage was flanked on both sides by cars - things I had never seen before. I stared at the man riding to the left of us. The car was moving all by itself, and I could not help but feel very country. No one back home had owned cars, or had wanted to. Horses were much stronger and could help plow fields or transport corn. But here in the city, everything was jammed in closely together, and no one would need any animals to plow a field. I glanced over at my mother, who was also enjoying herself watching the unfamiliar scenery. She felt my eyes on her and turned to look at me. She smiled, and I smiled back, realizing that this was the first time I had smiled since…

I didn't let thoughts of Elizabeth come, for I knew that if I did, I would no longer see the city the same way. Instead of a sprawling metropolis full of opportunities, it would be a suffocating place of confusion and self-pity. I needed something to take my mind off of the subject and started speaking.

"Mother, for what reason did we come here, exactly?" I asked. She paused, searched my face, and replied,

"Like I said, Edward, I needed a change of scenery. And you did too," she said a bit sternly but not unkindly. "You've had a lot on your mind, lately, and you need somewhere that you can heal. What better place than Chicago, the windy city?"

"Why do they call it windy?" I asked, wondering if the answer could be so obvious.

"Well, because it's windy of course! And because of the politicians, but mostly because of the wind they get here. I hear it's quite something, squeezed between all of these buildings." As if on cue, a gust of wind entered our coach through the open windows, ruffling Mother's and my hair.

"It's reading our mind!" said Mother as she smoothed her hair back into a bun. The carriage began to slow and pull over to the side of the road, bumping and jostling all the while. We were in front of a couple of buildings, not unlike those I had seen throughout the city.

"Here we are," said the driver, jumping down from his perch. "The Snapping Turtle Hotel. Pretty nice and not too much to pay." At this he held out his hand toward Mother expectantly. She reached into the bag she had been carrying on her lap for the entire trip, and extracted three or four paper bills and some coins.

"There," she said counting the last of the change, "that should be enough." Without even checking how much there was in his hand, the driver shoved it into his pocket and climbed up the carriage, tossing down luggage.

"Be careful!" my mother shrieked as he reached her small, light blue parcel. "There's valuables in there!" He was about to toss it down, but instead climbed down, heavily sighing, making us aware that it strained him to climb down and back up. He delivered the luggage to my mother, who held it firmly in her hands until her threw down the last bag. I looked at our luggage – it wasn't much.

"Come, Edward," my mother said turning towards the door. "Hurry!"

"I picked up the remaining bags and began tottering to the door, when out of nowhere a man ran into me. He had been moving quickly, very quickly, and I hadn't seen him until he had run into me. Bags went flying and the man stopped, bewildered, obviously trying to figure out when and how he had just run into me. I quickly got up from my place on the street, and began to pick up the bags that were now lying under people's feet, but by the time I had picked up on, the mysterious man had picked them all up and was handing them to me.

"Sorry," he said in a soft voice that still held authority through its hushed tones. "Here." I took the bags from his hand, and as soon as I did, the man turned and continued with the flow of traffic up the street. I walked toward my mother, thinking the encounter was a bit strange, but nothing more. My mother stood in the doorway, staring in the direction the man had walked, her eyes squinted a bit in thought and perplexity.

"Mother," I said, bringing her back to the present. Her expression evaporated immediately, and she smiled.

"Ready?" she asked. I nodded and walked into the hotel behind her. How odd, I thought.