Chapter 7 – Mother & Daughter
Renesmee and I lived in the Amazon for 25 years. She loved it there, hunting the large prey. Anacondas were her favorite and panther was mine. Our first year wasn't easy. It was hard making the transition from living in a house to living in the open. After a month, Renesmee and I took to wearing animal skin clothes, hide vests and form-fitting pants. Our pants were held together by leather ties that went up the sides of our legs and thighs. For our home, I built a small hut for us. I wanted a dry place for her to sleep. Living in the jungle, Renesmee and I were like children. We had no worries or concerns. We ran and swung through the trees. There were times when we played hide and seek for days on end. She loved running away, pretending I was trying to hunt her down. We swam in the river together, but I always went first. I didn't want the piranhas coming after her.
Huilen was enchanted by Renesmee. Renesmee showed her our lives before we came to the Amazon. Huilen told Renesmee stories of hers and Nahuel's history. "Bella, she is such a sweetheart," she told me after she put Renesmee to bed. At night, with Renesmee and Nahuel slept, Huilen and I would talk all night. On one of our hunting trips, Renesmee and I came across three more vampires. They were three women, who were sisters. Their limbs were enlongated and they wore the same clothes as Huilen and Nahuel. Their names were Kachiri, Senna and Zafrina. They knew my diet by color of my eyes. Zafrina told me that she was friends with another group of vampires that had the same diet as I did. She asked if I was ever interested in meeting them. I had a feeling who she spoke of, so I playfully stated that there was no rush. We had an eternity to meet her friends. I explained how Renesmee was my biological daughter. Zafrina was the talented one in that coven. She saw my own potential and she helped me develop it. Like Huilen, the trio was enchanted by my baby.
For twenty years, my daughter and I lived in the jungle. At twenty years old, Renesmee stood at 5'3", an inch shorter than me. She looked exactly as me, but our eyes and hair were different. Her eyes were brown and mine were gold and her hair was jet-black and it hung down to the middle of her back. We had taken to wearing our hair in braids down our backs. We loved our jungle and Nahuel and Huilen. They helped us greatly in our adjustments to living in the jungle. With Huilen's help, I was able to teach Renesmee much about her development. Her growth spurt slowed as she got older, but at the age of seven, she looked as if she was seventeen years old. Since her seventh birthday, she hadn't aged physically. For her first birthday, which was a week after mine, I lured an anaconda for her to hunt on her own.
Nahuel and Huilen asked why we chose to not hunt humans. I explained that I knew a previous coven and they were the influence behind this decision. They tried to sway us, but Renesmee and I enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. Renesmee stated it was more fun for her to hunt animals. When it came to me, I didn't speak much about my own past; it was still too painful. I was hurt and broken, and I ended up hurting more people. As Renesmee grew up, I notice Nahuel taking an interest in her, but she did not reciprocate. She made it clear that she saw Nahuel as more of a brother, but he still tried. One night while they were hunting, Renesmee spoke to me about it, "Momma, I love Nahuel, but he can't seem to understand that I'm not in love with him. Why does he keep pushing it?" I smiled, "That reminds me of my friend, Mike Newton. When I first went to the school, he was the one brave enough to ask me to the school dance first, but I turned him down. And when I was with," I sighed, "him, Mike wasn't happy. Even after he left, Mike still tried. Hell, he even tried while he and I were together. When he was away for the weekend and grampa went away for a fishing trip, Mike came over with several movies. This was when my leg was broken. Mike said he didn't want me to be home alone."
Renesmee smiled, "What happened?" I got up and got the journal that I kept to remind myself of my human memories. I sat on her bed and read, "Ok, Mike and I watched the movies all afternoon. When he went to make some popcorn and the doorbell rang. He went to answer the door and there they were; him and my best friend. Mike's smile fell and he scowled at Mike. I bit my lip nervously; this wasn't going to be good. He hated Mike, because he could hear what he was thinking. Mike left defeated and I spent the rest of the evening with them." I edited out their names when I read the entry. She knew that I was in love once and that he left me. She saw it hurt for me to talk about it, so she never pushed for more information. After another few weeks, I began thinking it was time for Renesmee to see the rest of the world. She and I discussed it, Renesmee was reluctant to leave the jungle, but she was curious about seeing the world. "Momma, where do you want to move to?" I deliberated, "We'll discuss it in the morning."
After she went to sleep, I took out my letters from my parents. I still wrote to them and I arranged for a post office box for them to send my letters to. My letters took a long time to get me, because my fake address was in Northern Canada. In his last letter, my dad wrote that after Billy's death, he moved to Poughkeepsie, NY. He said he wanted a change of scenery. Forks had become too painful a place for him to stay. My mom actually moved to the same town, because Phil got a job coaching the baseball team at Vassar. So my parents lived close to each other and saw each other often. My dad and Phil had even taken to watching the baseball games together. Maybe it was time for them to meet Renesmee. In their letters, they never asked when I was coming back, they knew I was still coping and, according to my letters, Renesmee was busy with school.
I discussed it with her and she wanted to meet them too. So, we were moving to New York, but we remained closer to the mountainous areas. I made the arrangements for our move. While I made the arrangements for receiving my mail, I opened several accounts in local banks. The money that was left over that I took from Alice was divided into several accounts and it hadn't been touched in over twenty years. I made the arrangements, including getting our false records, and we're be ready to leave in a week. Huilen and Nahuel weren't happy to see us go, but they understood. They belonged in the jungle, be my daughter and I didn't. I arranged for a small town house in West Hurley, New York. The town was similar to Forks, deep in the mountains and under thick cloud cover.
When we moved into our new home, Renesmee was timid around humans. She was so used to living in the jungle around other vampires; it was hard for her to limit herself to look human. She understood that she had to keep our family's secret, including the secret of our world. For our public story, she was my niece. Physically, I was two years older than her, so she would call me Bella in public, which she found amusing. I got a job as a secretary in a local law firm and Renesmee attended school. While in the Amazon, I got several books for her to read, so she had some education. She kept to herself and did not enjoy school much, though she was one of the smartest children in her school. After moving back, we had to complete a very difficult task, we had to see my parents. On the drive there, I was very nervous. They would notice my difference immediately. My skin was paler, harder and colder. For that, I wore gloves and long sleeves. As for my eyes, I would tell them I had contacts.
When I arrived at my dad's house, I saw the two cars in the driveway; my mother and Phil were here too. Renesmee duplicated my anxiety, though she was also excited. We went to the front door and my dad answered. Renesmee stood behind me. "Bella?" my dad spoke. I smiled, "Hi Dad." We embraced each other and I felt my eyes sting, I wanted to cry. "Bella?" she called coming to the door. "Mom," I whimpered. Her eyes were red as she hugged me. "Hey Bells." I smiled, "Hi Phil." I hugged my parents and held my hand out, "Everyone, this is Renesmee, your granddaughter." She smiled timidly, "Hi." Tears streamed out of my mom's eyes, "Oh my gosh, she's beautiful." Renee hugged Renesmee, who began to cry too. No one questioned my new face, we were just all so happy to see each other again.
The visit went great and we did it every other weekend. Renesmee and I stayed in West Hurley for 6 years, then we moved closer to my parents, in Clintondale. I began to attend Vassar with Renesmee. I was too happy to have my parents back in my life. Even though I hated it, I ate dinner with them often. When Renesmee and I were home, I had to throw up all the food. I even took to cooking again, making everyone happier, especially my dad and Phil. We stayed in Clintondale for another 7 years, with the both of us earning graduate degrees. While we were there, my parents passed away. At their funerals, I spoke at all three funerals, not being able to compose myself. Renesmee was my only comfort, making even more thankful that I had her. After New York, Renesmee and I moved from area to area. We lived in Canada, Russia; we went back to the Amazon for another decade, New York City, which was Renesmee's favorite place. She loved the theaters. We moved to Africa, but only stayed for a year. There, we truly lived as vampires, only coming out at night. Neither of us cared for it much.
During our years, Renesmee and I had an incredibly close relationship. Though there were times we fought, we were like sisters too. While we moved, I alternated from attending school and working. In my life, I worked a lot of odd jobs to support myself and my daughter. Though Renesmee and I were their sole benefactors of my parents, I invested the majority of our investment. When we were undecided on where to move to, we lived in my dad's house in Poughkeepsie. When we lived in New York, Renesmee and I would spend the weekends in city, going to clubs, theaters and museums. She had a such thirst for knowledge that she wanted to satisfy. She enjoyed school, mostly when I attended school with her. She and I were used to the human boys and men staring at us, but we ignored it most of the time. To us, there was no one else in our world. Though we know there was a whole world of vampires out there, it didn't matter to us. To Renesmee, the world ended with me and I felt the same way about her.
I hoped to myself that I hoped she would find someone to love her and take care of her in a way I never could, but I also feared that as well. I knew all too well that when you loved someone, they could also pain you beyond all reason. Renesmee never showed interest in finding love, but I knew one day she would. I knew that having her mother would not be enough for her, but she never waivered. She said she loved only me and there would never be anyone else in our lives.
