Editor's Note:

For those of you who loved the ending, that makes us tremendously happy. For those of you who didn't, we question why. You say it makes it less romantic or that it was a waste of three stories. People have even said that it ruins the story. Granted, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I felt it was time to give you mine. Hopefully, after reading this, you will have a better appreciation for the trilogy, especially the ending, and not view it as an "easy way out".

First is the issue of it being less romantic. Please explain how? Waking up from one of the most vivid and "perfect" dreams and having to come back to reality, after being torn out of the world's daily activities for two months, is romantic in itself. Getting technical, romanticism dealt with fiction and the idolized. That is exactly what the dream was...romantic. So to wake up from it and subject yourself back to a life you thought you already lived, seems unbearable, especially since your dream was so real and alive and beautiful. But Bella doesn't do that. She doesn't live in the "past" (aka, her dream). She moves forward. She doesn't dwell on what happened, but looks forward to what will happen. How is that not the essence of romanticism? To wake up from something so perfect, but decide to make your reality just as perfect. It's romantic in every sense of the word.

Secondly, the trilogy needed to happen and it needed to end this way. Throughout the three stories, you read about Bella's struggles as a vampire and Edward's reluctance to turn her into one. Ranging from Jacob letters, to overpowering emotions, to Emmett schemes, to Stephen, the world of a vampire--just like that of a human's--is not as perfect as it seems to be. Realizing this, after Bella wakes up from her coma, she still decides that, that is the life she wants to live. Even after her vivid dreams of the pain and suffering even vampires have to go through, she still wants to do it all over again. The three stories where like tools for Bella to grow. If you think about it, the idea is much like a ladder. You keep climbing up and up until you reach the top, but what happens next? Will you even make it to the top? It all depends on how supportive the base of the ladder is. Throughout the three stories (aka, Bella's dream) she realizes that through all the tragedy, her base is her family--they will get her through anything, allowing and helping her to continue to rise and rise to reach new heights.

Lastly, dealing with the issue of the dream being the "easy way out". On the outside, it may seem so. But what would you have liked to happen? No one in the Cullen family could die...you would all be sending death threats to poor My-Bella (not that you already aren't, I might add). So in the end, the Cullens would just go back home, back to their life. What kind of ending is that? Expected. Predictable. Monotone. You would have been bored and thought of My-Bella as unimaginative. The importance in this ending is what Bella and Edward realize. Bella wakes up from her dream and wants reality to only be a fraction as good as her dream was. She has finally made the choice to become a vampire with no regrets and fears! That is a huge step and none of that would have happened without the dream. With the dream, she is able to realize the necessity of her love. Why do you think vampires have no need to breathe? I believe it is because they thrive on love. That is what truly keeps them going...their love for one another, and realizes that. And then there is Edward, always so afraid of turning Bella into a vampire. He is afraid she will lose her soul. But after being without her for two months, her too realizes that their is no life without his Bella...his love...his air. So now Edward, too, will go into Bella's change with no regrets or second guesses. Each one now finally knows the true consequences of the action they are about to make...and they couldn't be happier about it. Now isn't that a worthy, lovely, beautiful, romantic, and totally worth it, ending? I think so!!

E.C. Cullen

Author's Note:

What she said.

My-Bella

Twirlonwater's Note:

At first, whenever I read the ending, I was a little shocked to say the least. My end automatically went in the direction of how could the entire piece just not be true. But, then I realized how truly, truly romantic it is. I assume this is what you meant by the ending, or at least this is what I gathered from the ending. I hope I was on the target. Bella experience the best and worst of humanity. She sees the pain and the sadness that comes with the life. She sees everything just as if she is living it. And after all of it, after everything that has happened, she chooses that life. She wants it more than anything, and she believes that if the life is just a fraction of her dream, she would be happy forever. She sees her future and wants it. How could anything be more romantic?

I think more than anything her dream and the ending proved something to Edward more than even to herself. Bella lived through her future. And after
telling Edward everything wrong that happened and everything that went wrong during her life, she wants it. She is happy. Edward sees that, and how could
he possible not want her to be happy. Bella proved Edward's strongest doubts. She proved their happiness.

My-Bella I have underlined the section that shows exactly what this ending signifies to E.C. and me.

Author's Other Note:

The ending being a dream does not make anything a lie, or obsolete. It opens thousands of new doors, especially with Breaking Dawn coming out later this year. The easy way would have been to let them skip on out of Volterra without any further interruption from the Volturi. But that wasn't Edward and Bella to me.

Bella's mind has always been unique and every time something happened to her, it shielded her, usually putting her to sleep by way of fainting. So for me, her being in a coma and having such a vivid dream is just another part of who she is.

As for Edward, he wants to marry Bella and make her his wife more than anything. But he is so afraid of changing her and having her regret it. Without a really good reason, I don't think he's going to find the courage to believe in himself. Having been without her touch, her voice, the slightest reaction from her for that long, he knows with everything in him that changing her is the right thing to do. And that is huge for Edward, because where Bella is concerned, his view of right and wrong is very slanted.

So that's it! That's all the explanation I have. Stories tend to go where the characters tell you to go. This is where Edward and Bella went. Love it, like it, hate it - it all amounts to the same thing ... This story made you feel something. That's the greatest sign of accomplishment for a writer. Thank you and good night.