Chapter Three
Where Am I?
Part Two
BPOV
"Gran! Oh, I'm so glad to see you!"
She came right up to me and smiled so sweetly. She looked just like I remembered her. I had missed her so much.
"Yes, I missed you too Isabella."
"How did...?"
"Not important right now, dear. I'm here to explain the situation and help you understand. Do you remember what Sarah told you?"
"That I'm dead?"
"That's the one."
"That wasn't supposed to happen."
"You're tellin' me! Anyway, we've got to do something to remedy this situation."
"Well, all we have to do is wait three days. Then I'll be with my Edward forever."
"That's where there's a bit of a problem, Isabella. Let me ask you, can you describe Edward?"
"Describe Edward? Well, of course, he's quite beautiful and incredibly smart and very protective and generous to a fault."
"Okay, that's a start. Can you give a physical description of him?"
"Oh, okay, sure. He's about 6 feet tall, slender, bronzy-coppery messy bed-head hair, golden eyes..."
"Golden eyes, that's unusual, don't you think?"
"Um, well, not really, I guess..."
"What about his complexion?"
"Complexion?"
"Yes, can you describe his skin?"
"Uh, he's very pale?"
"Isn't there a more pronounced characteristic than just lack of pigmentation?"
"I'm not sure what you mean?"
"He's a bit... stony, wouldn't you say?"
"Stony?"
"Yes, stony. Come on Isabella, just say it."
"I'm sorry, I don't know..."
"His...surface is quite hard and he sparkles in sunlight, isn't that an accurate description, Isabella?"
"Okay, yes. His skin is sparkly and very hard."
"And very cold, too, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's very cold, what are you getting at?"
"He's a vampire, right?"
"Yes, okay, he's a vampire! What does that have to do wi..."
"Let me give you a brief rundown. You see, vampires are dead. They are not 'alive' in any sense of the word. Even if they move
around and speak, they are dead. That's why they do not breathe or blink or sleep or eat or drink. It's why they have no heartbeat."
She lowered her chin and looked over the tops of her glasses at me with an arched eyebrow.
"It's why they are filled with flammable venom rather than saliva, blood, bile or any other bodily fluid. They are not born, they are
'created' by other vampires. They are not supposed to 'be'. And you are not supposed to be one of the undead."
"What? No!"
"Isn't that what vampires are, dear? Dead people?"
"Well, no, that's not...that's rather rude, don't you think?"
"Oh, I don't know. Can you be rude to a dead thing?"
"He's not a thing!"
"You may not think so, Isabella, but I can assure you, he's not a person. He hasn't been an actual person for about 94 years if the
records are correct. For Heaven's Sake child, he's older than me!"
"How is this anybody else's busi..."
"Well, it's not specifically MY business. But it is the business of those who are in charge of where we are."
"And where, exactly might that be?"
"Oh come now, child. Can't you suss that out for yourself? Look around you. What do you see?"
"A whole lot of nothing."
"Good, good observational skills. Now, with what happened to you just a few minutes ago, with the birthing situation, and now you see
a whole lot of nothing..."
"This isn't Heaven!"
"Hah! No, not Heaven."
"Not hell!"
"Oh, no dear, you're not in hell... yet. This is a bit of a way-station for lack of a better description that you could understand. Have you ever
heard of Limbo?"
"Um, yeah, I think so. What am I doing here?"
"Well, now that's where it gets a little complicated. You see, as Sarah explained to you before, you're dead and...well, that wasn't supposed to
happen. It's not your time, you see. So you've been sent here until something is decided."
"I don't think I like the sound of that."
"Mmm, I don't wonder. I wouldn't care for it either. But then, I'm not the one who had sex with a dead thing."
I huffed at her and she held up her hands in mock surrender.
"I know, I know, but that's really just your opinion you know. The fact is, he's dead and it's a very different dead to the dead that you are
right now. He's deliberately dead and has been so for a LOOONNG time. You, dear silly Isabella, are dead by mistake and something must
be done to undo this mishap. Now, I don't have all day to explain this to you so please pay attention. You're dead and you're not supposed
to be. Your daughter should not exist because dead things cannot make babies. Yes, I know. But still, there is a baby that has just come
into the world, in a most unorthodox manner I might add, and it has no soul."
"But Edward said it would take three days for the transformation to be complete. I'll wake up and be a newborn vampire."
"No, dear, that's not how it works. Edward was telling you what you wanted to hear. He basically lied to you to get what he wanted. You
need to accept the flaws in his makeup and the flaws in your decisions. Let me continue. The child you bore is not supposed to exist. A
mating of a dead thing and a live person is never a good idea, to put it mildly, and in the case of you and 'your Edward' this is a very large
mistake on the list. To run to the end of this dilemma, you were not supposed to mate with something that was dead, you were not
supposed to become pregnant, you were not meant to give birth to a child, half-breed or otherwise. You were not supposed to die. And
this requires a solution, of magnificent proportions."
"This sounds like a magnificent practical joke to me. Let's say I believe all you're telling me. What happens now?"
"Well, dear, actually that's the easiest part of all to explain. The child you bore will be all human, someday. There was no contribution that
could be made by 'your mate' to create an offspring; this is why the child is a girl. All her DNA is yours. There was no other. There was no
soul. The human child that exists now, the one that was taken from your body, causing your body's death, has no Spirit of its own."
"That's ludicrous! How can that be fair? It's just a little baby!"
"It's no more ludicrous or unfair than the situation in which you put yourself and your family and friends."
"Well, what's supposed to happen now? You can't leave her like that! All alone!"
"She won't be left alone, Isabella. You will take your place in the child. Since your human body has been utterly ruined in delivering this
poor soulless child, you shall be relocated into the baby. Don't panic. It will all work out in the end, I'm sure. You will remember all that
has transpired in your shortened life, but you must "grow up" again, in the baby's body."
"WHAT!"
"Okay, Isabella, please pay attention. I've only been allotted a certain amount of time to prepare you for this. You were never meant to
marry and 'join' with Edward Cullen. He's dead. He can't really father children and you were not supposed to have a child, but you did
and she has no essence or soul of her own. The 'why' of this situation must be left for another time. Right now, the child must be dealt
with. Since your teenage 'Isabella Swan' body is quite useless now, and you were not supposed to die now, your Spirit will move into the
body of the child. She will only exhibit one vampire trait, she is mostly human, and the rapid growth and physical development that the
doctor predicted will take place. You will be fully matured in 5 years, but before that time you will have become fully human. No traces
of anything inhuman will remain. Now, it is time for you to be on your way, Isabella."
"There are two things you must remember. First you will be a baby, but your mind, your consciousness, is still 19. At first, naturally, you
will be at the mercy of your undeveloped body and your caregivers, but as you grow, you will be able to function and make decisions with
all 19 years of your experience. You must not abuse this privilege nor squander the opportunity. The second thing you must remember,
and this is of the utmost importance, you must not try to tell anyone who you are. Once you have been 'returned' you must be Renesmee
Carlie Cullen. Once you have reached legal age, you can make all your own decisions and, if you wish, you may change your name to
anything you would like. But consider the uphill battle you would face if you were to attempt to convince anyone that you were Isabella
Marie Swan. Your body will be declared dead and your grieving family and friends will attend your funeral. Try to look at this as a Golden
Opportunity, Isabella. You are being given a second chance, and if you think you don't deserve one, I can assure you, if you didn't deserve
it, it would not be given."