Using my lightning speed, I ran to Jasper's house. I was too quick for human eyes to see, just a blur on the sidewalk.

The house looked charming; a typical house, with a white picket fence and neatly mowed lawn. Hesitantly, I knocked on the door.

A withered old woman answered. She looked frazzled, with gray hair and sad eyes.

"Hello. Sorry to bother you, but do you know where I can find Jasper Whitlock?" I inquired steadily.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What do you want with my son? He dead now. He die in war."

Are you sure about that? "Where did he die?" I interrogated.

"I don't know. They keep his body. They never give it back to me. They keep an old woman searching forever." She looked up at me. "He have two older sisters. But he was my favorite always. They take my baby."

She was rambling, and yet I could sense the sorrow in her meaningless words.

"Well, I'm very sorry, but do you know where he was fighting? I think I could find him, maybe," I ventured.

Her eyes lit up; she was a young girl again. "You do that?"

"I can try," I vowed.

The old woman gazed into the distance. "He fight in Civil War. He die long time ago. He be very old man now, if he live."

"Where did he - " and then I broke off suddenly. I suddenly saw us meeting, but this time, he was coming to me. It was in a cheap diner, the kind that kept the lights dim so you didn't notice the cockroaches.

I forced a smile. "Thank you, ma'am. You've been very helpful." I turned without further ado and left. Finally, I found the exact spot.

Being a vampire apparently gave me a lifetime of patience. I discovered I could stay in the diner, all of its open hours, for a whole week. The managers didn't question me; I could see they would never.

The vision was still clear and strong, so I didn't doubt it. After ten days the door opened and in walked Jasper Whitlock.

His eyes were different; in my original vision, they'd been scarlet. Now they were as black as night. But I knew for a fact it was him.

I jumped lithely off the stool and went up to him. "You've kept me waiting a long time," I accused.

He hid his eyes. "I'm sorry, ma'am."

Barely believing my own boldness, I held out my hand. "Walk with me?" I solicited.

"Certainly," he said, taking my hand. Although it was irrational, his hand felt warm in mine. I realized that to outsiders, we might have looked like a couple.

I looked ahead, trying to see the future. A face stood out in my mind. He was older than Jasper or I, maybe twenty-five or so. He had smooth blond hair and strange yellow eyes.

Somehow, I knew what that meant. It meant he didn't feed off human blood. It meant he was still human.

Through a different kind of magic, I knew Jasper and I were meant to join him. We would be part of his family.

"I'm Alice," I told him. "I know who you are. You're Jasper Whitlock."

He looked mildly surprised. "Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, ma'am," he added, tilting his hat to me.

"You as well," I returned. "I can see the future."

Jasper smiled wryly. "I sort of guessed," he answered. "Have you always been able to do this, or is a nicely acquired talent since you..." He trailed off, uncomfortable.

"Changed?" I asked. "I don't remember," I mused. '"Everything about my human days seems...black."

He frowned. "That's odd," he commented. "Usually human memories are blurry and unclear, but still there."

I shook my head. "I'm done with the past," I declared. "Let's talk about the future."

Jasper grinned, an amused smile that could melt lead. Or me. "The future?" he asked uncertainly. "What do you know about my future, Alice?"

I'd never heard my name said quite like that before. "I only know what you decide," I responded coyly.

"Well, what are my options?" he prodded.

I grappled for the man's name. "There's a man in the state of Washington. His name is...Carlisle. Carlisle Cullen. He knows a way not to hunt humans."

"And?" Jasper asked.

I took a deep breath. "And I know he'd let us live with him."

"Us," he repeated.

"I'm going. I don't know if you're going with me," I teased.

"Say I am," he prompted. "What is this...Carlisle's secret?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that he's different."

Jasper squeezed my hand. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I'd follow you anywhere."

So that was that. We were going to meet Carlisle.

The two of us ran for God-knows-how long. I knew just where I was going, and I don't think it was a vampire trait.

And that's how I met my new family. That is how I came into my niche. That's how I met the Cullens.