The Cullen Project *Editing*

Chapter 6

I could really test my unusual ability to try and get to the meadow. It was definitely worth a shot. I took a deep breath, and pictured it clearly in my mind. When I opened my eyes, I saw that it had worked. I was flying through the woods. The only thing I had to worry about now was just exactly how far it was. I didn't really feel like taking a quite literal cross country journey.

Eventually, I heard cars, so I could tell that I was near a highway. The road came to a dead end, and there was a trail. To my surprise, my feet lead me away from the trail to the other direction of the woods. I kept running and running, and then my feet stopped. I was there. The sun was starting to peek out from the clouds, so as I stepped into the meadow, it began to light up.

It was even more beautiful standing here in person. I could hear the sound of a small stream nearby, and small flowers grew around the grass. I smiled. I was finally here. I bathed in the warmth of the sun for a while. The morning air was still a bit crisp, but lying in the sun helped. Soon, I decided I should get to work on what I actually came here for: to figure things out.

I started with the first dream I'd had on the plane. That was obviously my mother's first day of school in Forks. She had seen my father for the first time, and his family, in the cafeteria. I closed my eyes and tried to get the names and the faces right.

After searching deep in my mind, I clearly remembered their faces. I opened my eyes, flipped to a clean sheet of paper, and grabbed my pencil. I was confident now, so I took a deep breath, and started drawing the small, raven-haired girl first. I was careful to get all of the features correct. After a few minutes, I was able to stare down at my sketch. To my surprise, it was...well...perfect. Alice, I labeled it, remembering her name. She was my mother's best friend.

I did the same for all the others. Rosalie was the beautiful blonde girl; Jasper was the lean, blonde boy, and also apparently Rosalie's twin, though I could see no resemblance; and Emmett was the muscular, curly-haired boy. I then remembered the pairings, so I placed the portraits of Jasper and Alice together and the same with Rosalie and Emmett. That just left my father.

I spent extra time on his picture. I made sure it was perfect. I stared down at my father's face when I was finished. I wanted so badly to find him and to know him. It brought out a side of me I normally kept hidden. It was a longing deep inside of me, a wish to know my family, and a wish to understand myself. Tears welled up in my eyes, and let them fall.

I had trouble labeling my father's picture. I wrote Edward down, but I quickly drew a line through it. I wouldn't call my father Edward...would I? So then what would I call him? If he was actually here, and I lived with him, what would I call him? I made a list.

Edward

Father

Dad

Daddy

I crossed each one out. I paused after starting to cross it out Daddy. I'd never had to think about how I would address my father, since there was no need...but that didn't mean I couldn't imagine it. And every time I did picture myself with a father, I'd always imagined myself as a Daddy's girl. Daddy. Yes, Daddy fit perfectly.

Laid before me was my missing family, minus Carlisle and his wife. It was the family my mother had befriended, trusted, and eventually loved. And sadly, I knew nothing about them. They were a mystery to me. They were a mystery to my mother before as well, and in the dream I'd had on the plane, we'd noticed the same mysterious things. I flipped to an open page to make a list.

Inhumanly beautiful.

They were. All of them. It was the kind of beauty you never see, it was pure beauty. Every one of their features was perfect. No matter the size, age, or height difference, they all had the same type of beauty you don't really see with normal people.