As a hybrid living among vampires, werewolves and humans, Renesmee feels as if she belongs in all of the worlds yet at the same time can't fit in anywhere.

Vignettes of moments in the life of Renesmee Cullen.


"Maybe that's what life is… a wink of the eye and winking stars." — Jack Kerouac


Renesmee Cullen is 5-years-old when she and her family travel to South America.

Up to this point in her life, Renesmee has rarely left her house. She has only ever visited a few places; visits with Jacob and the wolves in La Push, staying at her Grandpa Charlie's house, a few trips up north to Denali.

This trip, however, is making Renesmee feel equal parts nervous and excited, making her high-speed heart beat even faster. This is something new for her to experience. She's going to South America. She's going to Brazil.

Back home she can never walk freely or go out in public lest people notice her extreme age rate. Renesmee looks like she is twelve-years-old now and is just starting to transition into the teenager form she will have for the rest of her life.

The trip to Brazil is for pleasure Carlisle tells the man at customs. "I decided to take the family on vacation."

There is truth to Carlisle's words. The trip is to meet with the other vampire-hybrid Nahuel and his aunt, Huilen. The Cullens are hoping to learn more information about hybrids and Nahuel has invited one of his half-sisters to talk with them. The trip will only be two weeks long since Jacob does not want them away for too long.

The family had invited Jacob to come with them but he had felt he couldn't leave the pack behind for such a long time. Plus, being around any vampires who drink human blood would be difficult for him. He had been torn about it until Renesmee had finally told him to stay behind and he, of course, did anything she asked of him.

Personally, Renesmee wishes Jacob had come along, feeling off-balance with him gone. She has never been so far away from him for such a long period of time. She feels like Peter Pan, needing someone to sew her shadow back onto her.

As the Cullens pass through the airport gate, the man working in customs gapes at Rosalie. His face blushes a scarlet color when first Alice gives him a dazzling smile, followed by Emmett giving him an exaggerated, playful wink. Edward stifles a laugh and later recounts the man's thoughts to a smirking Jasper.

Renesmee bounces on her toes as they board. Renesmee's never been on an airplane before and she stares out the window eagerly. Her father sits with her, answering her questions about landmarks and engineering before she gets a chance to speak them aloud.

After landing, the Cullens journey to the privacy of Isle Esme. They quickly settle in and prepare for Huilen and Nahuel's arrival in a few days.

That night, Renesmee tries to go to bed but she is too excited to keep her eyes closed. She keeps sitting up to peek out her bedroom window.

Her mother comes in to check in on her and chuckles when she sees Renesmee is still awake. She lays down next to her on top of the covers.

"You have to get some sleep now," Bella says, smoothing Renesmee's hair back from her face.

"I know but there's so much stuff here!" Renesmee says. She lays a hand on her mother's cheek and conveys how desperately she wants to see the rest of the island and explore this new world before her.

"I understand, Nessie. The first time I was here I thought it was amazing too. Wow," Bella shakes her head, smiling. "It wasn't that long ago, but so much has happened since then. You know, this is where I realized I was going to have a baby. It's almost like we're back at the beginning."

Bella keeps whispering stories to Renesmee. Slowly, her eyes start drooping and her head feels heavier and she drifts off to sleep.

Renesmee wakes up the next day to her Esme's ice cold hand gently shaking her shoulder. "Hey there, sleepyhead. There's a surprise for you outside."

Esme leads Renesmee downstairs. Outside the foyer's large, sliding glass door, Renesmee sees three tall female vampires-the Amazonian Coven. Renesmee gasps happily. She hasn't seen them in so long! She has missed Zafrina and her pictures.

Esme slides open the door and Renesmee rushes straight for Zafrina, who has her arms outstretched for her. Zafrina's booming laugh echoes loudly as she lifts Renesmee up in the air.

"My Nessie!" Zafrina exclaims. "Look how big you are! So grown up."

"Nessie, don't be rude to our other guests," Esme gently reminds her.

Renesmee dutifully says hello to Senna and Kachiri. The two women do not look offended in the slightest, rather they seem amused by Renesmee and Zafrina's mutual enthusiasm for one another.

Renesmee and Zafrina spend the evening side by side, sharing images and thoughts with one another. Bella asks if Zafrina can show her an image and she practices lifting her mental shield from herself. Zafrina complies and Bella is so swept up in the image that she loses concentration and her shield snaps back into place.

"I can see why you enjoy those so much," Bella says to her daughter.

The three women join Renesmee and her family as they spend the next couple of days exploring the island. Renesmee rides on top of her father's shoulders, which makes her around the same height as the Amazonians. She and Edward ask the women questions about the area who happily answer them. Zafrina takes the opportunity to show Renesmee visions of their home in the Pantanal. Renesmee is enchanted by the lush terrain and desperately longs to see it in person.

A couple days later, Nahuel and Huilen arrive on the island. The Cullens are pleasantly surprised to see that Huilen's eyes are now a bright amber color.

"Have you been feeding from animals then?" Carlisle asks her.

"Well, we have attempted to, yes," Huilen answers bashfully. She frowns and quietly adds, "I will admit I have lost control a few times."

"As have I," Nahuel interjects, frowning at his aunt looking so shamefaced. "But we have been helping one another."

"That is quite impressive," Carlisle tells them with no judgment for their relapses.

"I have always hoped to give Nahuel an appreciation for human life, which is difficult to do when you must hunt them for food." Huilen continues, "I have even begun to venture into human areas now. Though, I must say I was not prepared for how much the world has changed since I was a girl."

"That is true," the quiet Senna surprisingly speaks up. "Every century or so we venture into a human town and are always shocked by how many changes can occur in such a short amount of time."

As the night continues, Huilen and Senna drift away from the others and begin talking quietly with one another. Zafrina and Kachiri share a knowing glance but leave them in peace.

Nahuel, meanwhile, speaks determinedly with Carlisle, doing his best to ensure that the rest of the visit goes smoothly. Nahuel's youngest half-sister, Jennifer, will be arriving soon. Jennifer is the sister he has the best relationship with and they are hopeful she will have more information to share about hybrids, especially females. Nahuel is hopeful the Cullens can be a positive influence on her.

"She is a good person," he tells the Cullens earnestly, "And she is more open minded than she realizes. She just needs a good example to follow. She was never taught to make decisions for herself, only to obey our father."

"I am sure we can learn a lot from one another," Carlisle tells him mildly.

Renesmee, for her part, is happy to meet another hybrid. Edward hears her thoughts and tells her gently, "Remember, Nessie, she might not be like Nahuel. You must be cautious around her, all right?"

Renesmee nods but she does not feel worried. She has her family here to protect her. Edward overhears this thought too. He simply sighs as he draws her in close to hug her tightly.

The next day, Nahuel waits outside on the back patio for Jennifer to arrive. Renesmee decides to sit with him since they are the only ones in the house who enjoy being out in the sunlight.

"How have you been Renesmee?" Nahuel asks her. "I hope things calmed down since the last time I saw you."

"Oh, absolutely," Renesmee says, nodding. "I mean, it hasn't been boring or anything but after that…"

Nahuel chuckles. "I bet. You've grown a lot."

He pauses, then hesitantly asks, "Has your aging been going smoothly?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was just wondering how other hybrids handle aging so quickly, that's all."

"Was it smooth for you?" Renesmee asks.

He shrugs. "I'm not sure. I didn't know any different, it was just me and Huilen then. I saw some of Jennifer's growth but you would have to ask her how it felt for her. I suppose it's easier when there's no venom to worry about."

"Yeah," Renesmee nods again. "Well, things have been okay so far."

"Good. That's good to hear." He says and their conversation trails off after that.

Two days pass with no sign of Jennifer.

Renesmee continues to wait on the patio with Nahuel. They do not speak much but Renesmee does not mind. She has never been much of a conversationalist. She has always preferred to communicate with her images. Nahuel, for his part, spends the days getting more and more distracted as he looks out for his sister.

"I just hope she's all right," Nahuel says repeatedly over the days, his anxiety only held at bay by Jasper's influence. Jasper also steps in to settle down Alice, who has been getting increasingly frustrated that she cannot see any of the hybrid's futures.

"I have no idea what might happen," Alice murmurs moodily while Jasper soothingly rubs her back.

After another day of waiting, Renesmee wakes up one morning to a flurry of movement and noise in the house. She heads down the stairs to see everyone crowded together in the foyer while Nahuel and Huilen stand at the sliding glass doorway, staring out at the backyard. Nahuel looks dismayed as Huilen scowls.

Just as Renesmee is wondering what is going on, her father is looking up the stairs and answering her thoughts. "Nahuel's sister has arrived. She has brought some company with her."

Renesmee creeps down the last few steps to peer out the window. Four figures are moving towards the house, looking strange in the blazing sunlight. Three of the figures are younger looking women who have a faint glow to their skin. The fourth is a pale man whose sparkling skin is blindingly bright. Renesmee realizes that the women must be Nahuel's three hybrid sisters and the man is their vampire father.

As the four slow to a stop, the man and one of the women break away and put space between them and the other two. The man moves to a shady spot under a nearby tree which dims his skin's shimmer. His daughter stays beside him, standing directly to his left with a fierce look on her face. The other two women stay in the middle of the lawn, a good distance from the house.

Nahuel sighs and says reluctantly, "I should go greet them."

"We can join you," Edward gestures to himself and Jasper. "We can help keep the peace between everyone."

Nahuel nods and thanks them before sliding open the glass door. Huilen, Edward and Jasper follow him out. Bella perches against the side of the door and Renesmee can tell her mother is ready to use her shield at a moment's notice. Emmett attempts to stand guard in the doorway but Alice elbows him back since he is blocking her view. Fortunately, those outside step to the side, giving everyone in the house a clear view of the scene.

Rosalie gestures for Renesmee to stand next to her. When Renesmee joins her, Rosalie tucks her into her side and gently begins running her fingers through her hair.

Outside in the yard, there is an awkward pause before one of the sisters steps towards Nahuel. She cautiously opens her arms and hugs him. He returns the hug stiffly.

"Hello Jennifer."

"Hey Nahuel," she greets him, warmly. "I know I'm late, and I am so, so, so sorry about that."

Her voice is sweet-sounding with a gentle, breathless quality. It reminds Renesmee of a children's show host, an image that is helped by Jennifer's glassy eyes and silken, round face, which is framed by tousled brown curls. Renesmee studies her, wondering if she will look like that in a few years when she stops growing.

Jennifer continues, "I would have been here earlier but, well, we sort of, you know, got held up along the way."

"I can imagine," Huilen says baldly, taking a step closer to Nahuel. "Especially when you are traveling with a bigger group than planned."

Jennifer blushes and the pink flush combined with the faint glow of her skin makes her look sunburnt. "Right. Yes, well. You see, I told the others where I was going and-"

"And we wanted to come along," the woman standing next to Jennifer interrupts. She holds out her arms expectantly but remains in place, forcing Nahuel to close the gap in order to hug her.

"It is good to see you, Nahuel." Like Jennifer, her voice is soft-spoken, but deeper and more melodic.

"You too, Maysun," Nahuel responds. As they step apart, Maysun gives her brother a smile, which he returns. They appear genuinely fond of one another, if nothing else.

Renesmee's focus drifts as the siblings converse. She makes a note that the female hybrids, herself included, have a more vampiric appearance while Nahuel looks the most human. Despite this difference, Renesmee thinks Maysun and Nahuel look the most similar to one another out of the four siblings. Maysun has thick, glossy black hair that reaches her waist and deep set eyes framed by long eyelashes. But there is something off-putting about her. It reminds Renesmee of Tanya and Kate from the Denali coven, how their beauty cannot hide the danger that lurks underneath the surface.

"We would like to see this young dhampir you have acquainted yourself with," Maysun is saying. "You are not angry at us for being intrigued, are you?"

"We're not angry at your curiosity, Maysun," Huilen says icily. "We would have liked some warning ahead of time, is all."

"You need a warning to visit with family?" Maysun asks coyly.

Huilen scowls but before she can respond, Edward abruptly shifts and looks concerned-someone's thoughts must be bothering him. Huilen notices and follows his gaze to the other two figures beneath the tree.

"What are they up to?" Huilen questions, jutting her chin at the two.

"Up to?" Jennifer asks innocently, but is undermined by her sheepishly wringing her hands together. Her skittish body language is so different from the languid, graceful movements vampires have and Renesmee is curious if she moves in a similar way.

Maysun playfully rolls her eyes at her sister and pats her on the shoulder as she calmly calls out, "Come and join us, Father."

Now Nahuel is scowling. His father moves closer to the group, the third hybrid daughter following closely at his heels. Neither attempt to hug Nahuel when they reach him.

"Well, looks like we have a little family reunion here," the man says with a smile. His voice is smooth like his daughter's, but with an oily feel.

Nahuel remains silent while Huilen tersely asks, "What are you doing here, Joham?"

"It is so nice to see you again, Huilen," Joham says snidely. "You are as pleasant as ever."

"It's a surprise to see you here," Nahuel cuts in quickly, evading their aggression with a practiced ease.

Joham's face slides into a grin again. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. I have been anticipating this for a long time."

"You have to behave here," Nahuel says, unmoved. "This is someone else's child. You can't play mad scientist."

"I am merely interested in seeing the newest member of your race, my son," Joham responds with affected indignation. When Nahuel and Huilen remain unconvinced, he adds, "I was told that the child is gifted. I did not know your kind could inherit such talents."

"Of course you wouldn't know that. You have nothing of worth to pass along," Huilen interjects.

Joham glares at her. "Huilen, if you don't mind, we are having a serious discussion here. I know you must be having trouble following along, but we can explain the big words to you later."

Huilen bristles, a look of pure anger on her face.

"Come on you two, knock it off," Nahuel says, irritated.

"Please," Jennifer adds tiredly.

"Yes, it would be such a shame if a fight were to break out." Maysun drawls insincerely, smirking and looking as if nothing would delight her more.

"It would be a very uneven battle," Edward cuts in. "We have a dozen vampires in this house who can hold their own."

Joham raises his eyebrows. "That is quite the arsenal to protect one little dhampir. What could you possibly think I would do to her?"

"It's not what I'm thinking," Edward says. "It's what you are thinking."

"What I'm thinking?"

"We did mention that one of them is capable of hearing your thoughts," Nahuel says, looking at Jennifer. She titters nervously in response, still wringing her hands.

Joham shoots her a glance but resumes talking to Edward, "I can assure you I harbor no ill will towards the child."

"Not you. Her." Edward nods at the third daughter, who glowers back at him.

Joham waves dismissively. "Serena will keep to herself, won't you?"

"Yes, father. I will." Serena answers, words clipped, her voice not at all gentle like her sister's.

Serena has a different look from the rest of her relatives. She has a harsh beauty with sharp, angular features, high cheekbones, a small, pointed nose and upturned blue eyes. The sunlight makes her pale skin glow an unnatural color as it blends in with her light blonde hair. She reminds Renesmee of the Lord of the Rings movies when Galadriel goes into her evil mode.

As much as Serena is the odd one out, there is little resemblance between Joham and any of his children. He has an aquiline nose and square jaw that both Maysun and Nahuel inherited but not much else. All four hybrids are much shorter than him, with more shapely and soft figures than his slim, sturdy frame, a difference highlighted by the children's more human mannerisms. Still, there is something of a likeness between all of them, Renesmee thinks, something about the set of their eyes or the way they hold their mouths.

"I have to ensure everything is safe for my daughter," Edward is telling Joham in a stentorian tone.

"Oh, so you are the child's sire?" Joham steps towards Edward eagerly, ignorant of Edward's attempt to intimidate him. "I was very keen to meet you. I am very interested in your situation since, as you probably know, I fathered all of my experiments."

Huilen and Nahuel shoot Joham disgusted looks when he refers to his children as his "experiments". A fearful noise escapes from Jennifer as her eyes flit back and forth uneasily between everyone. Serena's expression remains a distrustful glare.

"May I meet the child?" Joham asks.

Edward glances back at the house. Renesmee looks at her mother. Bella has a look of deep concentration on her face, which tells Renesmee she is lifting her mental shield, allowing Edward to communicate with her thoughts.

Renesmee steps away from Rosalie and clasps her mother's hand. Bella startles and looks down at Renesmee.

"I'll go. I'll be okay," Renesmee tells her. Bella pauses but slowly relents with a nod and squeeze of the hand.

Renesmee walks out the open sliding door onto the patio and into the backyard. As her bare feet touch the grass, Renesmee belatedly realizes she is still wearing her pajamas. That is embarrassing enough, but there is a picture of a puppy on her top while the bottoms have a pattern of paw prints on them. They had been a Christmas gift and Jacob had found them adorable. Once again, she finds herself wishing Jacob was here with her.

Joham's red eyes brighten when he sees Renesmee coming towards them.

"Come along, little dhampir." Joham beckons. Renesmee stops in front of him and feels her father step closer to her and place his hand on her shoulder.

"Hello there. My name is Joham."

"Hello. I'm Renesmee."

"That's a lovely name." Joham tells her, sounding almost comically insincere. He looms over her and he grins down at her in a way she should find intimidating but she doesn't. There is something almost...pathetic about him. There is something in his manner that is so pompous and self-impressed yet desperate for praise, like a child who acts up so his parents will give him more attention.

"How old are you?"

"Five."

"So you will be of age soon. Excellent!" Joham's smile widens and Edward hums loudly, protesting something Joham is thinking about. Joham takes the hint and moves the topic along.

"You know, you are the first dhampir I have ever met that wasn't one of my children," he says slowly, almost condescendingly. "So I am very interested in what you have to say."

Renesmee has never felt comfortable with speaking much. So she does what she always does when words fail her. She pushes up onto her tiptoes and places a hand to Joham's cheek.

She shows Joham what little memory she has of her birth, of her first moments in the world. She adds in images based on the stories she has heard of the pregnancy.

When she is finished, Joham looks amazed.

"That was pretty accurate to everything that happened," Edward says in amusement.

"So you were unplanned? Fascinating," Joham says, sounding more genuine as his curiosity takes hold. "And the mother survived the delivery? I would like to ask you about her."

"Ask her yourself." Bella calls out as she strides out onto the lawn and stands in a protective stance next to her daughter.

"Well, hello to our lovely mãezinha!" Joham says cheerily, almost giddy as his enthusiasm grows.

Joham spends the next half hour peppering them with questions about their experience of Renesmee's birth. Gradually, he begins asking about the conception.

"As a human, your blood was desirable to your mate? That is extremely interesting. I experienced something very similar with Nahuel's mother."

Huilen looks outraged at him mentioning her sister. Joham is oblivious but Renesmee doubts he would care about Huilen's feelings regardless.

"I've had a few thoughts over the years about blood that calls out to vampires. All of the experiments worked best with women who had particularly alluring scents." Joham observes, "And now we know of at least two who were actually strong enough to handle their pregnancies. It's all very interesting…"

"That's enough." Edward suddenly announces. "Don't even think about it."

"Now, now, come on," Joham says deferentially. "A man should have a right to some errant thoughts, shouldn't he?"

"Not when they concern my daughter." Edward declares sharply.

"What's happening?" Bella asks.

"He has an idea for a new experiment," Edward answers, not breaking his glare at Joham. "He's wondering if two hybrids can create life too. Together."

His words sink in for a beat before there are loud eruptions of protestations, including from those still standing at the house. Nahuel grimaces while Huilen glares fiercely at Joham. Serena snarls, standing in a protective pose by her father. Jennifer looks mortified while Maysun looks gleeful.

"Hey, hey, let's keep things civil here, all right?" Jasper says composedly as the tension dissipates. Everyone relaxes aside from a dispirited looking Maysun.

"Perhaps it's time to leave," Jennifer suggests. "We aren't going to solve everything in one day. But we have a good start now."

Joham glances at his youngest daughter. To Renesmee's surprise, his eyes soften and he relents and agrees to leave.

"I shall take my leave of you," he announces dramatically. "This was a most enlightening visit. I look forward to what else we can learn from you, little dhampir. Until we meet again."

Joham departs with Serena a short time later. A few hours later, Jennifer and Maysun decide it's time for them to go too.

"It was very nice meeting you, Nessie." Jennifer tells her sincerely. "I hope we can see each other again sometime, okay?"

Maysun says farewell too, crouching in front of Renesmee. She says in an unexpectedly serious tone, "You be careful, okay? Things won't be easy for you, but you can handle it. Right?"

Renesmee nods, surprised. Maysun studies her for a moment then smirks. "Good."

Once the women are gone, her father hugs her, relieved. Jasper gives him a sympathetic look and asks, "Were you put through the ringer, Edward?"

"His thoughts remind me of Aro's," Edward informs them as they return to the house. "They know how to employ their charm on people. Joham just isn't as practiced as Aro."

"Were his thoughts that bad?" Renesmee asks worriedly.

"No, no, of course not," Edward reassures her. "In his mind, he had no intention of harming you but there was a small part of him that felt threatened. Jasper kept him at bay at first but as soon as you shared your thoughts with him, he was as enamored with you as the rest of us."

The house's occupants all gather in the living room to discuss everything.

"Well, I thought that went rather well considering the circumstances." Carlisle announces.

"Jasper was very helpful on that front," Edward acknowledged. "Things would have gone south if he hadn't stepped in."

"I cannot believe she brought Joham here." Nahuel says, dismayed.

"I'm not surprised," Huilen says. "Jennifer can't say no to anyone. It's why she's always in the middle of all of this. If Joham wanted to come along, she would never stop him. Serena is his little follower. Maysun always does what she wants to do, everyone else be damned, so of course she came too."

"I thought Joham had a few interesting ideas," Esme says.

"I did too. I will definitely be discussing his theory about human's blood calling out to vampires with Eleazar," Carlisle says. "I would like to see how it compares to how he is able to detect humans with special abilities."

"Joham was right about the humans who were capable of giving birth to hybrid children," Jasper points out.

"So this is, what exactly?" Rosalie asks. "Some form of evolutionary development that we've all collectively ignored?"

"There is something of a pattern here," Carlisle remarks, looking thoughtful. "We know that both Bella and Alice had appealing scents as humans and they both had a propensity for special abilities even before their transformations."

Over the next few days, several theories and hypotheses are proposed and discussed. Renesmee is curious, of course, but it feels as if they are wasting what little time they have left of the trip. If they don't do something now, it might never happen.

Renesmee finds her parents together, sitting in a love seat, wrapped up in one another.

"Hey you," Bella greets her. "We're going home in a few days. Are you excited to see Jacob?"

"Yeah, I am," Renesmee murmurs. "But, um, before we go back, I was wondering if there was anything else planned for us to do."

"Anything else?" Edward asks.

Renesmee smiles. "Yeah. I was hoping maybe we could go to the mainland. I thought we might be able to tour the city."

Edward grimaces. "I don't know if that's going to be possible."

"Yeah, well, Alice said it's going to be cloudy for the next couple of days or maybe we could go somewhere where there's not a lot of people…" Renesmee can see her parents aren't sold so she adds earnestly, "It's just… we've spent most of our time here waiting around for Jennifer to arrive and there's so much we haven't gotten a chance to do."

"I'm sorry but it's just not a good option for us." Edward tells her.

Renesmee nods, attempting to hide her disappointment. She knows her father can hear thinking it anyway, but she still tries to keep them from feeling badly.

"Hey," her mother says, grinning broadly, "We have the island, right? You don't need more beyond the island. And when we get back home you're going to be so busy telling Jacob all about the trip."

"Yeah, yeah I will." Renesmee agrees halfheartedly.

On their last day on the island, Renesmee sits outside on the steps to the patio and basks in the sunlight. Nahuel joins her, pulling up a chair.

"Are you going to miss the weather the most?" Nahuel teases goodnaturedly.

"It's definitely high on the list." Renesmee responds.

"Before we all leave, I did want to apologize to you." Nahuel says.

"Apologize?" Renesmee questions.

"I'm sorry about how out of hand the meeting with…with my sisters went. You were supposed to get a chance to talk with Jennifer and instead…well, you saw what happened. So, I'm sorry if this disappointed you."

Nahuel's frantic energy is reminiscent of Jennifer's, which makes Renesmee grin.

"I was far from disappointed," she tells him. "Seeing you and your sisters was amazing. There's so much I didn't notice until I saw all of us together. I had no idea how we move compared to vampires, how traits can be inherited in different ways. All of that was great."

Nahuel blinks in surprise. "Oh, well. I'm glad then. That's good to hear."

Renesmee's gaze is drawn to a sparkling figure on the fringe of the island. She recognizes Huilen and Senna, who are walking together by the tide. Both look somber as they converse.

Nahuel sighs dejectedly. "I had a feeling this would happen."

"Are they okay?" Renesmee asks. Everyone in the house has been gossiping about the two of them connecting and possibly mating. She had thought it was sweet but now they look so sad.

"They should be," Nahuel answers. "If they like one another they should be together. But I know Huilen, and she won't make that leap. In her mind she thinks she would have to leave me behind."

"Leave you?" Renesmee asks, surprised. "Why does she need to leave you? Can't you all just live together?"

"Perhaps, but in Huilen's mind she can't. If she thinks the way things are right now is what's best for me then that's what she is going to do. She always puts her needs second to mine."

Renesmee is bewildered. From what she's seen from her family, nothing would be more important to them than their mate. Willingly letting a relationship like that go seems implausible to her.

"Besides, Huilen and I have been attempting to live a vegetarian lifestyle and we cannot force our choices on someone else," Nahuel remarks. "Maybe we could visit them. It would be nice to travel into the Pantanal."

"Tell me about it!" Renesmee exclaims. "I wanted to see so much while we were here. I don't know what I was expecting but I had hoped I'd have a chance to…I don't know. Nevermind." She trails off self-consciously.

"I know what you mean," Nahuel says kindly. "I have often wanted to travel and explore. The world is so vast and there's so much I would like to experience. But Huilen is content with our homelands. She grew up there and that's where she feels she belongs."

"I wish I could see all these places," Renesmee says wistfully as she brings her knees up to her chest and rests her chin on them. "I don't get to go anywhere. I don't even get to leave my house very much. Everywhere I've been is so limited."

Nahuel regards her for a moment. He gets up from his chair and joins her where she's sitting on the steps.

"I cannot speak for your family, but I can tell you from what I have experienced with Huilen and what I have seen between my sisters and our father. It can be very challenging for others to understand us."

"Us? Hybrids?" Renesmee asks. When Nahuel nods she adds, "Why would it be so hard?"

"We have received many strengths from both our vampire and human sides. But we have received their weaknesses too. These two parts of yourself can clash and you may find yourself conflicted."

Renesmee ponders this, perplexed. She wishes Nahuel could show her his thoughts the same way she can.

Nahuel can sense her puzzlement and adds, "I think you'll understand when you've grown up."

"Like when I stop aging?"

"No, not like that. I mean when you're older. It just takes some time to make sense of everything. As difficult as it can be for others to understand our dual nature, it can be just as difficult for us to understand ourselves."

Nahuel pauses and considers his words for a moment.

"Humans are constantly moving and growing, experiencing every moment. For humans, time is limited but for vampires it is the opposite. For them, time is endless but they are immobile while the world occurs around them," Nahuel says. "Vampires never change. Humans do nothing but change. And we are somewhere in the middle."

After a beat, Nahuel sighs and stands up. "Come on, let's go back inside. We should all enjoy this evening together."

Nahuel offers her his hand and helps her up. Renesmee follows him back into the house, still thinking over what he said. Zafrina beckons her to sit with her and she drops the subject and focuses on her last day with her friends.

The Cullens leave Isle Esme and Renesmee leaves what Nahuel said behind her. She returns to normalcy, to the sheltered life she has always known.

(It takes over a century for Renesmee to admit to Nahuel that he was right.)