Chapter V Dear Family

Dear All,

I hope you have read your individual letters. If not read them now.

This letter is my last gift and thank you to you all.

Edward once told me he believed Vampires do not have souls. But you Carlisle believed you could gain them by exemplary behaviour.

How do you know you don't have soul? How do you know that humans do?

Soul is merely concept. A theory. That cannot be proven or disproven. In Christian, Jewish and Moslem belief. Humans have souls Animals and demons don't. This is the theory you seem to follow. How do you know this theory is correct? How?

In Buddhist belief every living being has a soul from the smallest insect to humans. How do you know they are wrong? How do you know they aren't right and every time you drink from an animal your are not eating your ancestor reborn? How do you know you may not be eating your parents reborn? How do you know this theory is wrong? How do you know I might not be reborn as a cow one day? It is a theory that cannot be proven or disproven.

In pagan belief. All living things have a spirits. But only humans have souls. And they join gaia. The spirit of mother earth to share its experience. And eventually leaves to be reborn into a new life. How do you know this is not right? How do you know I won't be reborn one day?

Or perhaps science is right. Perhaps we are nothing more than a biological machine. And we have no soul we just have a more or less advanced brain. How do you know that there is not a scientific explanation for you, for the quilleutes? How do you know we are merely clever machines?

How can you dismiss any theory? Do you really know if any of them is correct or incorrect? Is soul an actually quantifiable thing?

Do the quilleutes that are animal part time and part time human only have a partial soul?

Here is my belief. I believe that all vampires have souls. And that even those that drink from humans are not evil and soulless. Is a shark evil for eating a baby seal? Is a lion evil for eating a lamb? Or are the shark and lion merely hungry? And evolution just developed in a way that made lambs tasty and lions carnevoires.

Don't get me wrong I believe it is very good of you not to eat humans. And I do believe that there are evil vampires out there. James was evil. So is Victoria for helping him.

Do you call every Vampire that is not a 'Vegetarian' evil? From what I have concluded by your stories, no. Good and Evil are absolutes that do not exist. Good and Evil are concepts. Good and Evil are always up to individual definition.

But also to be truly evil you need to have a soul an through that free will. If vampires were truly soulless you would have no choice. And whatever you do, cannot be called evil because you do not have a choice, you just are. And to be evil you need intent. Is it your intent to be evil are you aware?

But you are different. Most vampires simply yield to their instincts and drink human blood. Doing what a lion does hunting and eating what it has for thousands of years. You have discovered that you have a choice. It is not an easy choice or a comfortable one. It is merely the right one by your definition. If you do not wish other sentient beings any harm.

And therefore. Because you have a conscience and free will you must have a soul.

I have heard a theory that anything selfaware that can love has a soul.

I happen to agree with this one. You love one another so much. I have seen it Carlisle Esme, Alice jasper, Rosalie Emmet. You love each other so deeply and completely.

And you all also love each other. You are brothers and sisters. You are daughters and sons.

And you Carlisle and you Esme. You truly are parents. You love your children, care for them, teach them and protect them.

In every way that matters you are a family, a loving family.

So this is my last gift to you.

You are just as likely or unlikely to have a soul as me.

I believe in rebirth. I believe after a little while I will be reborn.

Perhaps then I will be enough. Perhaps then you Edward can want and love me.

Therefore I ask you all keep your eyes and ears open.

Because I will most probably be back. And I might not remember you. But I will feel drawn to you.

And you will know. Just know.

So in my memory even though you are easily distracted remember me from time to time. And stay true to your path. I will join you on it one day.

All of you do not blame Edward for leaving was inevitable.

And all of you do not blame Alice. I still am not quite sure how I'll go.

I love you.

All of you my family in spirit

Isabella Marie Swan