ARIANA'S P.O.V
To my precious girls,
If you are reading this, then it means I am gone, and I'm sorry for that. Sorry neither your mother nor me are with you to help you through the changes that are coming. You both are too young to be without either parent. Ariana, I remember you, a tiny, delicate four year old and Zoe, a small and sad five year old. You're mother had just passed on from cancer, and you were both so very torn up about it. She loved you dearly, and she never wanted to leave you. You must leave Australia, get out and go somewhere safe. We have family in Forks, Washington. Go there and you'll be safe, they'll protect you. I can't say what they'll be protecting you from, just know that it is stronger than you, for now. Go to Forks and find the reservation, it's where your family is. Zoe, they might not believe you're Quileute, but they'll trust whatever you say if you say you're Diego White's daughters. Ask around for Billy Black, he'll help you and be the father I no longer can be to you girls. You have cousins and aunties and uncles, who don't know about you yet, but they will, and they will take you under their care and into their homes. Billy has a son, Jacob, who is around the same age as you both, he'll be a big help to the both of you, you must simply tell Billy your name and that you are my children, he'll know what has happened, and, when the time is right, he'll tell you everything you need to know. My girls please remember just how proud your mother and I were of you. Zoe, you are so much like your mother, and Ariana, my little squirt, you are just like me. You have the Quileute look about you, the look of your ancestors. Zo, every time I looked at you, I saw your mother shining through, in your laugh and in your smile, I will always be with you, in your hearts. My spirit is in everything around you, and I will always be watching over you, sending help from the spirits of your ancestors. I am always here for you. I love you, my little wolves. Zoe, look after your sister, and the same goes for you, Ariana. Be there for each other, you're all the immediate family you both have left. With all that I am, and with all my love,
Papa
It's almost as if he knew he would die. Zoe is sitting there with a blank expression on her face; neither of us really know what to do now. I pass the letter to her, after reading it for myself, and watch as the tears start falling silently down her face. I hate seeing her like this, broken and seemingly beyond repair, but we'll get through this, as we always have and always will. Together.
"Zo? Zoe? We have to start packing, it's what Papa wanted us to do."
Zoe just starts nodding, at a loss for words. I get up mechanically, resembling a robot in my movements, and head upstairs to my room. My suitcase is in the top of my wardrobe and I pull it down.
'Pack light' I tell myself, we can't take much on a plane, and I get this feeling we won't be coming back here anytime soon. Packing only the essentials, some clothes and personal items, I leave and go check on Zoe. Zo is meant to be the oldest, but she doesn't handle death very well.
"Zoe?" I say gently, knocking on her door "Can I come in?"
I hear sniffling come from behind the door and just walk in. Zoe is sitting on her bed, hunched over and sobbing quietly.
"Zoe," I say, choking on my words a little bit, "Zo, you need to pack. We have to leave soon, we've got to go to this Forks place and start a new life, meet some new family"
"I- I know. Can you help me pack?"
I smile weakly at her and say "Sure, where's your suitcase?"
"Same spot as yours, top of the wardrobe"
I get her suitcase down as she starts to get out her favourite items of clothing, and putting them in the suitcase.
"Anything else you want to take, besides your clothes?"
"Yeah, that teddy bear Mum gave me when I turned three and the locket Dad gave me for my fifteenth"
"Is that it?"
"Yeah… nothing else really means anything significant to me"
Nodding, I gather all of it together and put it gently in the suitcase.
"We're leaving in the morning, Dad's already got the tickets booked. They're in the box he left us with the family tree and old Quileute legends and stuff."
"I'm going to miss this place," sighs Zoe, "It was really starting to feel like home"
"I know" I look around at everything, "But nowhere is home for long, right?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Why did we move around so much?"
"I have no idea" I tell Zoe.
"Don't you think that's kinda strange?"
"Yeah, I guess so, I never really thought about it much. Zoe, it's late and I'm tired, I'm gonna go to bed"
"Okay, sleep tight, Kenz"
"You too, Autumn"
It's about 3:00 am, and I'm still not asleep, which is not good, considering there's a fifteen-hour flight ahead of us. I feel the bed dip down slightly to my left, and when I look, I see Zoe lying beside me.
"Couldn't sleep either?" I ask her
"No. Do you mind if I sleep in here tonight?"
"No, I was hoping you would, actually. I was lonely. The house seems so huge without Papa here"
"I know what you mean, Kenzi. I was cold and lonely and scared, so I thought I'd come sleep with my little sister"
"Sounds good. Maybe I'll sleep a little better now" I tell her
"Yeah, I might too. What time does the flight leave?"
"Takes off at about 7:00, so we should be there by about 6:00, which means getting up at 5:00, if we want to be ready on time"
"Great, two hours sleep tonight. Our jet lag will be fun"
"You betcha, Zo"
We giggle a little bit before I slowly feel myself drifting off to sleep.
*Beep, Beep, Beep* I reach over and whack my alarm, turning of that extremely annoying sound, that seems to be louder this morning. Reaching over and shaking Zoe awake, I sit up groggily and climb out of bed. It's still dark outside. A feeling of complete bliss and giddiness washes over me, before my mind clicks that this isn't just any holiday, just another one with Papa, no. This one isn't even a holiday, this one is the start of a new life. The sad reality of my life comes slamming back into me with a force so hard; I double over gasping, with Zoe quickly by my side.
"Kenz? What's wrong?!" She asks franticly
"Nothing, nothings wrong. I just miss Papa so much"
"Hey, it's ok, I miss him too, but at least we've got each other, hey? At least we've got each other"
She pulls me close and I snuggle into her shoulder and let a few tears escape, running down my cheek and dripping off the end of my nose. I let her hold me for a minute, before gently pushing away and standing up.
"We need to get ready to go, we don't have long"
"Yeah, I'll go get changed and double check I have everything, you do the same, Kenz"
"Ok, remember, comfortable clothes"
"Yeah, I know"
I go to my wardrobe and grab a pair of loose pants, ones that I like to call genie pants, and a cute little tank top. Pulling on a pair of Converse, I go out and do my hair, it actually looks alright this morning, so I leave it out and put in a flowery headband, deciding that what I'm wearing is comfortable enough, I go downstairs and get some breakfast. Coco Pops are by far my favourite cereal, so I have a bowl of them, making Zoe a bowl as well.
"Zoe, breakfast is ready!"
"Coming" she calls back. When I finish eating, I go to the bathroom and put on some mascara and a tiny bit of blush, not overdoing it at all, just enough so that I don't look like a member of the walking dead. I call a taxi and ask them to come to our house at around 5:30. Dad had all the property and items left inside the house sorted out already, somebody is going to auction off the house and everything else is being sold or given away. All the money made us being sent to Zoe and I when we get to Forks. I hear the taxi pull up outside, so I grab my suitcase and little backpack that I'm bringing with me and head outside to the waiting car. I put my suitcase in the back and turn around to take one last look at the house; the last place Papa, Zoe and me will have made memories together. Zoe comes out and locks the door behind her, puts her stuff in the boot of the car and comes stands beside me. Wrapping her arm around my waist and pulling me closer, she whispers "Goodbye, Papa. See you on the other side"
I smile sadly at her before climbing into the taxi, with Zo following behind me.
O
The taxi pulls up at the airport and I get out and grab the suitcases while Zoe pays the driver. Lismore airport is tiny and doesn't fly internationally, so we go from here to Sydney and from Sydney to Washington, with a few stops along the way. We grab our suitcases and head into the terminal, checking in our bags, we keep walking through into the First Class lounge, Papa really didn't slack off. At least we get to fly in comfort. The nerves start to hit me as I realise that I'm leaving the only country I've ever known to head off to a brand new place with brand new people. Who's even picking us up from the airport? Billy? I don't even know. With an hour to spare, I decide to go for a walk and see what's here. Cafe, McDonalds, Red Rooster, Hungry Jacks, KFC... How about no? I turn around and head back to Zoe, who's sitting there reading a book. I have a few options to pass the time. Read a book, listen to music, use my iPad or read a magazine. Read a book. After reading for a little while and glancing at the clock, I notice we'll be boarding shortly, so I head to the bathroom before coming back to Zoe. A few more minutes pass when they call our flight. "First class passengers first"
Zoe and I get our carry-on luggage and head to the plane. We make our way to our seats and sit down, making ourselves comfortable. Lismore to Sydney takes about two to three hours and then we'll be off for the first stop en route to Washington. After the safety procedure and all that important, yet boring stuff, the pilot takes off. Three hours isn't long, but I decide to take a nap, considering I only got three hours of sleep last night. Shifting in my seat to find a comfortable position, I lean my head against the window and close my eyes, going into the dreamland full of happy times and my papa.