IT WAS THE SAME DREAM AS ALWAYS.

The waters around her were dark and turbulent and the wind was howling fiercely. She tried to stay aflot, tried so hard to keep moving, keep swimming towards something, anything that might save her. But her arms and legs felt heavy, weighed down by the weight of the ocean itself.

In the distance, she heard her father's voice, calling out to her through the deafening roar of the storm. Despite the thunder and lightning, she screamed back, her voice hoarse from the effort. She looked around desperately, searching for any signs of him. But there was nothing.

A massive wave rose up before her, towering like a dark mountain.

It was too late to swim away.

It crashed down upon her with a force that stole her breath away, dragging her under the surface of the water. The struggle to reach the air became a battle she knew she couldn't win. The salt water stung her eyes, nose and mouth. Her lungs burned with the agony of suffocation.

Everything around her faded into silence.

"Here we are!"

Anna almost jumped out of her seat. She felt disoriented, with the vivid images of her dream still lingering in her mind. She quickly scanned her surroundings, searching for some clue as to where they were. Finally, her eyes settled on the car window. A vast expanse of thick, grey clouds covered the entire sky.

They were already in Forks.

"Did I sleep the whole ride?" she asked, blinking a couple of times, trying to push back the images of her recent nightmare.

As she stepped out of the car, her eyes landed on the house she had grown up in - a small and dilapidated, structure, worn down by time. The paint on its sides was peeling, exposing the rough, weathered wood beneath.

The vegetation around the house had grown so much that it appeared to envelop the building in a kind of green embrace, as if nature was trying to reclaim it. Vines and creepers had crawled up the walls, their leaves and tendrils enwined around the window and door frames.

Despite its sorry state, the house still held a special place in Anna's heart, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia as she gazed upon it.

"Like a baby,'" her mother replied. "I was surprised, actually. That's why I didn't bother you."

An ironic smile played at the corners of her lips. Not like her mother could be in her mind knowing what's going on, anyway.

"I am so excited! I have so many friends to visit. Billy, Karen, Susan... Oh! She has a daughter, I think she's about your age, Jesse? No, Jessi? Well, something like that."

Darlene's voice faded to a distant murmur as Anna moved through the house, her eyes taking in every detail. Memories and images flooded her mind, each one triggered by a different object or feature.

The furniture, draped in sheets and shrouded in a thin layer of dust, seemed frozen in time. The pictures on the wall, some faded and yellowed with age, told the story of a family long gone. Even the wooden floor, creaking under her weight, seemed to hold echoes of past footsteps and laughter.

It was strange to think of all that had happened in those rooms, all the happiness, peace and joy, but also all the suffering and pain, emotions that, if Anna paid too much attention to them, could still be felt vividly.

That's why she didn't like to consider herself an emotional person.

Being on the side of logic and reason, basing her decisions and thoughts on objectivity, had helped Anna grow up feeling secure and confident. She liked to think of herself as the type of girl who always took a step back to observe and analyze the big picture.

It wasn't something everyone agreed with. Especially her mother, who claimed that a 16-year-old couldn't be so cold and indifferent.

But Anna didn't see it that way. She wasn't cold. And certainly, she had a lot of emotions. But emotions tend to cloud the judgement, she always recalled.

"Remember this?"

Her mother had appeared behind her, holding a picture frame that she was gazing at with a nostalgic look. Anna took a peek at it. Under all the dust, three people were smiling openly at the camera. In the background, a breathtakingly beautiful and serene blue sea expanded, its glistening waves lapping gently against the sandy shore.

Anna took the portrait carefully. "Our first vacation," she frowned, remembering the feeling of sand all over her clothes. "I hated the beach."

Her mother mocked her. "You still do." Probably more than ever, she thought to herself. "But you hated being away from Jacob Black more."

The teenager girl couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh and roll her eyes at the mere mention of her long-gone childhood crush. Her mother had the habit of bringing it at every opportunity, as if it were some kind of hilarious family anecdote.

"I was a kid," she protested, her tone laced with a hint of annoyance.

But despite her mother's incessant teasing, the girl couldn't deny that there was a certain sense of fondness attached to those memories.

She remembered feeling butterflies in her stomach every time she saw him, the thrill of anticipation whenever they played together, and the pure, innocent joy that came with having a childhood crush.

"Poor kid, you were dragging him around saying he was your boyfriend," she laughed. "I can't wait to see them! He must be so big... Isabella too!" she paused for a second, pursing her lips dubiously. "You know, I talked to Charlie and he's very happy about this move... He thinks this way you'll be able to spend time with your cousin."

Anna raised her eyebrows warily. Despite cherishing memories of the little girl she once played with every summer, the reality was that they hadn't seen each other in several years. As a result, it was a daunting task to envision her cousin as an adult, let alone fathom what they might in common.

Her mother continued speaking. "It would do her good. She's having a hard time."

According to Charlie, Isabella had broken up with her boyfriend a few weeks earlier. And that had left her in a depressed state, where she barely ate, slept or talked.

While Anna knew and understood what it was like to lose a loved one, the field of romantic relationships had always been foreign to her. Her only romantic interest, Jacob Black, was hardly worth mentioning. So as much as she wanted to live up to her uncle's expectations, Anna doubted she could be of any help to her cousin.

"I don't think I remember her much," she excused herself. "The last time I saw her we sat in silence for hours on the dock while Charlie and dad fished."

"Well, I think it will be nice for you two to spend time together," Darlene replied. "Besides it'll be nice to have someone you know in town, until you make new friends."

She grimaced. Sure, it would be nice, or better, practical, to have someone she knew around. Still, she doubted she could deliver on the last part. New friends. Socializing had never been her strength. Julia, her best friend back in Seattle, being the only exception.

"Well, we'll see... Maybe I can find her tomorrow, at school."

"Actually, we're having dinner at Charlie's today," the woman declared. Anna started to protest but she interrupted. "We'll unpack tomorrow. See you downstairs in ten minutes."

⸻

Walking into Charlie's house had been more familiar than Anna had expected. Everything was just as she remembered it, from the creaky wooden floorboards to the cozy armchair in the living room. Inevitably, her mother's words echoed in her head: "No matter how many years pass, your uncle's house will remain the same as Renee left it." And she was absolutely right. Charlie even kept pictures of their wedding day.

"I never doubted you'd get the job," her uncle smiled at her mother as he pulled her close in a rather awkward hug. "I'm sure the hospital will benefit greatly from having you."

Just like her uncle, it hadn't been a surprise for Anna when Forks Hospital accepted Darlene's job offer. After all, her mother was an excellent doctor. It only took the previous doctor resigning from his position for Darlene to accept the offer without hesitation.

And that hadn't been a surprise to the girl either. She had long known that her mother wanted to return to Forks. That she was ready to return to Forks, after all those years of trying to forget the past.

And Anna wanted to believe she had no problem with it, really. If she didn't think about it too much, she even liked Forks. The town had a certain charm, with its lush greenery and serene atmosphere. But still, she couldn't help feeling a sense of loss for the life she had built in Seattle. Her school. Her weekend jobs. The local library where she used to spend her afternoons after school. Lying on the living room floor with Julia, listening to folk songs.

All of that was over now.

"And look at you! You've grown up, kid."

Her uncle deposited a kiss on her forehead, just as he used to do when she was little. She smiled sincerely. She liked Charlie. Her uncle was an easy person to be around. And he had always cared for them. It was obvious to Anna that Charlie had wanted to be her father figure since her own father passed away. She was his brother's daughter, so for him, it was not only natural but also a duty.

"Come on, Bells is cooking. She's been keeping me alive all this time!"

Darlene approached her uncle, clearing her throat. 'How is she?' she asked in a low tone.

While the adults stood talking in the living room, Anna followed the sweet and savory scent of the homemade sauce into the kitchen, finding the bubbling pot in one corner and her cousin in the other.

Isabella was a tall girl, though perhaps to Anna's eyes everyone seemed tall. Her hair was long, dark brown, falling down the sides of her head in a cascade, brushing her cheeks. And despite the prominent dark circles under her eyes, Anna could tell that her cousin was very beautiful, with her heart-shaped face, small nose and full lips.

"Hi" Anna greeted, catching the attention of the girl who had, until then, been focused on the ingredients for dinner, completely oblivious to her presence.

Isabella looked up, finding a pair of chocolate eyes that looked just like hers and Charlie's. "Hi."

Bella remembered little of the little girl she used to play with when she spent her summers in Forks. Probably the last time she had seen her had been on some holiday nine or ten years ago. That's why the person in front of her now was, in short, a complete stranger. And yet, she couldn't deny some familiarities.

Perhaps it was her eyes, which displayed the Swan gene so well. Her hair, while also brown, had a more distinct wave to it, giving her a carefree and natural look. Even though Anna was clearly a teenager, Bella couldn't help but notice the lingering childlike features, perhaps due to the roundness of her cheeks, perhaps due to her petite frame. Anna had a delicate beauty that was hard to miss. It was very likely that the boys in Forks would be drawn to her, just like they were to her when she first arrived. Or maybe not.

She decided she didn't care.

"Hi," Anna repeated, uncertain how to continue. She had already started swinging her weight from one leg to the other, something she usually did when she was nervous or impatient. "Is... Bella, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Bella replied, avoiding eye contact. Silence settled in again, filled only by the occasional clattering of the utensils her cousin was using to cook and their parents' voices in the other room.

Anna stood there uncomfortably, unsure how to proceed. From the body language she observed from her, she knew she didn't want to talk. And yet, it was strange not to say anything after so long. So she blurted out the first thing she thought of.

"What are you cooking?"

"Pasta."

"Cool."

"Hmm."

Wonderful, she thought ironically. Just as the tension in the room began to feel unbearable, Charlie and Darlene made their entrance, mercifully breaking the awkwardness.

The dinner was better as her mother, carefree and talkative as she was, monopolized the conversation. But Charlie wasn't far behind, rambling on with the woman, recalling old anecdotes and memories. And though Anna mostly wanted to keep up with them, she couldn't help but let her attention wander to her cousin every now and then.

Looking at her closely, she could recognize some of the details Charlie had been telling them about on the phone. Bella's expression was... No, she didn't even have an expression. Her cousin looked more dead than alive, and even at that moment, she didn't even seem to be there with them.

She began to wonder about Bella's relationship with her ex-boyfriend with the little information she had. She knew that Edward Cullen was Dr. Cullen's son, the same doctor who had held the position that her mother now occupied. And from what Charlie had told them, they had only started dating a few months ago. So she couldn't help but question, had that relationship been so intense to leave Bella in such a state? So... Soulless.

While her knowledge of relationships was limited, she couldn't help but compare Bella's situation to that of her parents.

Anna considered that to be the closest thing she had ever witnessed to love. She only needed to remember the state of her mother in the months that followed her father's passing, a ghost who wandered during the day and cried every night, hoping to wake up one day and see that it had all just been a bad dream. Her mother's grief at losing her soulmate had been such that she had even been willing to follow him, to give up everything to be with him again.

But even though there were some similarities between the state Darlene had gone through and what Bella was going through now, Anna knew that they were completely different cases. For starters, Edward Cullen was alive. He had just been an idiot who played with her cousin's feelings.

"So you start school tomorrow, kiddo?" Charlie asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Yup, that's right."

"Bella could take you," he said, looking in his daughter's direction. At her name, she looked up. It was painfully clear to Charlie that she didn't even know what they were talking about. "Your mother told me you don't have a car."

"Oh... Actually, It's fine. I was thinking of taking the bus," Anna replied. The truth was that she had never minded not having a car, though she had been saving up to buy a second-hand one, mostly so she wouldn't have to use Darlene's when it was strictly necessary.

"Nonsense, after all you two go to the same school, right Bells?"

"Yeah... Sure."

Anna glanced from her uncle to her cousin and realized what Charlie was trying to do. She didn't doubt her uncle's good intentions, it was obvious that Charlie was implicitly seeking for Bella to re-engage with other people, even if it was something as small as the ride to school.

She then decided that she wouldn't ruin her uncle's hopes. And if she saw the practical side, she would get a free ride to school.

"Well... if you don't mind."

Bella shook her head, though Anna supposed she didn't mind. She wouldn't have said anything either if she'd refused.

Her uncle smiled pleased. "It's a done deal then."

⸻

The next morning was like deja vu for Anna as she hopped into a someone's else car to go to school. When she lived in Seattle, Julia was the one who usually picked her up for school since Anna's house was on the way. But of course, this wasn't Seattle, and the person sitting behind the wheel wasn't Julia. Anna almost chuckled at the thought. Bella was the complete opposite of her bubbly blonde friend. If Julia were there with her, she would have already told her ten different childhood stories and a list of things her brothers were allergic to.

Oh, she had already begun to miss her best friend.

"Thanks for the ride," Anna said once they parked. Bella nodded. "See you at lunch?" Charlie would surely appreciate it.

"If you want."

Anna didn't have time to respond before Bella was already heading towards the building. She clenched her jaw, annoyed by her attitude. Then, she shook her head. It wasn't her place to judge. She didn't know what she had been through or what she was going through right now. Not giving the matter any more thought, she headed to the secretary's office to get her schedule.

With every step she took, Anna could feel a new gaze fixed on her. She sighed, trying not to let it bother her, remembering that Forks was a small town and that a new student was a topic of conversation for everyone.

Her first class was English, which improved her mood because, along with History, it was one of her favorite subjects.

"I'm telling you, I saw it!" Anna heard the boy sitting in front of her speak. The teacher had already made her introduce herself and now everyone was silently engrossed in a class activity. "I saw it in the woods. It was huge... For a second, I thought I wouldn't make it out alive."

The girl next to her tried to laugh without making much noise. "Oh please, stop being so dramatic."

"Why would I lie?" the boy asked, clearly offended. Anna could see from the side of his face that he was frowning.

"Be realistic Mark, there are no giant wolves in Forks."

The teacher scolded them and they returned to their activity, just like Anna, though her attention was now on what she had heard. Giant wolves? She pursed her lips. As her classmate had said, she doubted there was such a thing in Forks. She made a mental note to ask Charlie later. Perhaps he knew something about it. He was after all the town's police chief.

By the third class, Anna already recognized some faces and names. She was good at observing and remembering features, so it hadn't been difficult.

For example, she had learned that this Mark boy loved to talk perhaps as much as her mother did. And he sure had a fixation with the subject of wolves.

"It's not a wolf, you idiot, it's a bear!" another boy had argued with him. "My uncle saw it."

And despite everyone giving her curious looks, no one had spoken to her so far.

By lunchtime, Anna was tired of hearing about bears and wolves. She swore that if she heard about the topic one more time, she would roll her eyes so hard that they would probably pop out of her head. And logically, she couldn't help but wonder, if it was such an alarming topic, why did people keep going to the forest if it wasn't necessary?

She sighed and looked for Bella.

Her cousin was sitting in a corner, at an empty table that made her look small, playing with the food on her tray without actually eating anything. Her empty eyes were fixed somewhere on the table.

Even though her relationship with Bella was practically non-existent, she felt genuine pity. It was a sad sight indeed.

Edward Cullen could go to hell.

"Hi," she said, sitting down across from the older one, "Everything okay?"

"Fine," Bella replied, lifting the corner of her lips slightly, a gesture that wasn't even close to a smile. Anna supposed that was the only thing she would get out of her that day.

⸻

Hi reader! Welcome to "Serendipity". Here you'll follow Anna's story through the Twilight Saga, starting almost at the begining of New Moon.

I hope you like it!