A New Life (10 year anniversary story PART ONE)

 Chicago, 2218

Lexi Cullen 

“Todays the day” Ben sighed as the alarm went off for the start of our day. Although Ben slept a lot more than he used to when we first met, he could barely sleep past sun rise. I would often join him as he woke before he had to get up for the day. Before I could answer him, my phone buzzed. My daughter Rhia was asking if I could take care of her daughter as she was sick and couldn’t go to school.


“hey” Ben said suddenly, his hands on my face as he turned me to face him. “we deserve this” he reminded me. I smiled at him, it was normally me saying that to him, not the other way around.


“I know. Rhia will be fine without us, she has seven siblings and our entire family.” I said softly.


“you knew what I was going to say before I even said it” he smiled back leaning forward to kiss me softly, taking the phone out of my hand and hovering above me on the bed.


“let’s do this” I smiled back. “a new life”


“a new life” he echoed, kissing me gently before getting out of the bed to dress.


Ben had decided a few years ago that it was time for us to move on. He had spent his entire life under the Volturi, I had spent most of mine by his side. I often told him the stories of my island and the places I travelled during my short-lived teenage years and he would always say one day he wanted to do the same and see the places I spoke about. I never held him to the promise because I knew my husband well. This man had breathed Volturi since the day he was born, losing his sister only cemented his need to be in the Volturi and it was more than a job to him as he grew up, it was his entire meaning and life. Having our children changed that for him. He began to separate Volturi and family and raising our eight children were definitely the best years of our life. Grandchildren came next and I experienced a whole new world. I was happy where we were and so was Ben. Considering we had so many children, only four of them decided to give us grandchildren during those years after they left home. I had eleven grandchildren between them and watched them and helped raise them. I was still part of their lives now, well, ten of them at least. My eldest grandchild, the son of my daughter Arya, left my life a long time ago. Finn had troubles reasoning with the supernatural world, when his wife died technicalities meant it was too late to bring her back with the life and death twins and he suffered a fate that I wouldn’t even wish on my worst enemy. Finn left the family and I did my best to protect him and his wishes, although they hurt me, I wanted him to have the life he wanted. After making sure he and his infant child were okay (using Chloe), I decided it was best for him to go and be who he wanted to be. This was about twenty years ago. Rhia, my youngest daughter surprised us with her pregnancy five years ago and I was given a twelfth grandchild. Rhia had all the help in the world, from all her siblings who still lived in the state (all at various distances), she also had the Volturi and family here that she’d had wrapped around her little finger since her own birth.


I second guessed if we were doing the right thing after all, especially with Rhia and my granddaughter but I knew if we didn’t do this now, we never would.


Ben had been training and teaching his younger sister Asta for years now. Guiding her and helping her understand the ethics and moral code of being a Volturi leader. He taught her everything he knew so that one day she would replace him. Today was that day.


The original choice had been Allesandra of course. The girl lived and breathed power and loved being a guard in the Volturi but that was exactly that. She loved being a guard. She loved getting to go on scouting missions with her husband to the middle of nowhere. She loved being in the middle of the action when it was required. She didn’t want to sit on a throne. She didn’t want to be the one that’s protected, she wanted to be the protector instead.


With the uncertainty as to who the job should go to Zio realised that his family legacy wasn’t as solid as he may have realised. He never wanted to force any of his descendants into the job of his father, but he knew at the same time, only descendants of Aro could do this job. He created the Volturi Heir, announcing the succession like a royal line. First born after first born and so on. Should the first born deny the job, it would be handed to the sibling.


Arya didn’t want it and so since her eldest son Finn was no longer around and we didn’t know where the true Volturi Heir bloodline went, next in line was Ben’s sisters. I wondered if Asta or even Matthew or Zio ever hung up their crowns where it would go next. Without Arya’s son’s line, the next would be my other daughters and I doubted they would ever choose to take it. Would Ben be forced one day to put the crown back on and sit in the throne that he’d sat in since a child?


I hoped not.


But one thing was for sure. A direct descendant of Aro had to sit on those thrones or hell would break loose.


I dressed quickly and waved my husband off as he went into the court. I turned to take one of the cars into the city where Rhia lived so she could go to work.


She didn’t need to work, no one with the Cullen name did but I was immensely proud that seven out of eight of my children decided that they wanted to make a life for themselves, careers, partners, work. All of it. My dad told me once that although anyone with the name has access to Carlisle’s endless bank account, he was surprised to hear that most don’t use it. Not to live off at least. The endless Cullen dynasty didn’t leech off their immortal patriarch. They were fully functioning working members of society. Something I had to admit, I was surprised at. My father told me most only used it for emergencies, or to visit family or send their kids to school. Something I was pretty proud to hear.


Technically Ben and I had lived off the Cullen wealth, but only in the sense that Carlisle funds the Volturi. Each guard member earns a wage and the three leaders have had endless debit cards since the day they were each born so that was a form of payment of having their lives taken over by Volturi leadership.


My parents were no strangers to living off Carlisle’s wealth, but they tried when they could to help him out. In fact, they were doing something for him now. It was often my parents went back into education, especially when some breakout medicine or science had been discovered and it was one of those years where my parents and some of their siblings were going back to university to get updated on the latest technological marvel.


They were visiting Chicago on their way to Stanford and it just so happened to coincide with Ben and I leaving Chicago. I hadn’t told them yet what we were doing so it was going to be a little bit of a surprise for them when we told them this evening. They had been in England for the past six months with my brother Eddie. They often visited La Push and London but lived permanently in Chicago. I hadn’t failed to notice that they spent most of their years in Chicago and I was aware id developed a somewhat unhealthy co-dependency on my parents so it would definitely be a growing point for not only Ben to be away from his parents but for me to be away from mine too.


My granddaughter Giselle spent most of the day curled into my side as we watched old Disney movies. I made her some food, but she couldn’t keep it down so stayed by her side as her own personal ice pack and kept her as happy as I could until her mother came home.


“hey baby” Rhia said coming home to see her daughter watching the door wide eyed. She reached for her and hugged her.


“thanks momma” she whispered to me and I smiled at my youngest daughter.


“of course, tesoro” I said softly and stood to kiss both their foreheads. “your father and I leave in the morning.” I reminded her. She nodded and I saw her eyes well up at the thought. “please don’t” I said trying to laugh away the emotion bubbling up inside me at the sight of my daughter’s tears.


“sorry. I know it stupid. I’m a 55-year-old grown woman, a mother, I shouldn’t still rely on my mom and dad” she laughed.


“god. You know how old you are?” I laughed back. She chuckled.


“I know it’s silly but yeah.”


“ask anyone in our family how old they are and they just round it to the nearest century” I smiled back.


“I’m well aware” she laughed again but reached to hug me.


“I’ll be calling all the time and we’ll be back in a year to visit.” I said and kissing my granddaughters head. “I have to see her grow up somehow” I said and pulled away.


I said goodbye to my daughter and granddaughter and headed back to the Volturi Estate where I knew my parents would be home now.


“hi daddy” I said as I walked over to my father on the piano in his home. I saw him smile as I sat next to him, instinctively he moved along the piano, giving me space to join him. My father had taught so many to play piano, I often wondered if he ever got tired of it.


“never” he responded as I played alongside him, I took a sneak peek at my father and smiled when I saw he was smiling too.


“did you ever expect to have so many children and grandchildren?” I asked him with a small chuckle.


“never” he repeated with small shake of a laugh. “I’ve taught all four of my children and so many of my grandchildren to play… It does disappoint me none of your children were never interested in the art” he added with a smirk.


“missing the right gene” I teased. Unintentionally reminding us both of my adoption.


“you will always be my daughter” he said strongly. I smiled as I leant towards his arm.


“I know” I said as we finished the piano piece. He dropped his hands and wrapped his arm around my back to hold me against him. He moved to kiss my forehead at his chest.


“so, what are you not telling me?” he asked, changing the subject. Whenever someone would bring up anything to do with the fact I wasn’t biologically Edwards daughter he changed the subject, he refused to fuel any flames of doubt over how much he and Bella loved me. I didn’t mind, I often think about my biological family under the sea, but Edward and Bella will always be my mother and father, for as long as I live, we knew that and that’s all that mattered.


“Benjamin is tying up some loose ends at the Volturi, then we’re heading off.” I informed him.


“should your mother be here to hear this?” he asked probably already going through my mind to make sense of my words.


“Benjamin is going to get her on the way back here.” I told him. “I knew you’d know from my mind the second you asked the question anyway”


“are you really leaving us?” he asked. I turned to smile up at my father.


“do you not think seventy-five years has been enough to be in one place?” I asked.


“it’s never enough to be close to my children. I know Bella and I haven’t been the whole time you’ve been in Chicago, but it’s certainly been nice to be around as your children grew” he explained.


“my children are grown and gone now. I’ve loved the past fifty years with them but now it’s time for just me and Ben.” I tried to explain.


“you don’t need to explain it to me love, I fully understand, why do you think your mother and I waited so long before you and Elizabeth were part of our lives?” he asked me.


“will you do it again?” I asked with a smirk.


“children?” he clarified.


“yes.”


“never say never. But I honestly don’t know. Your mother isn’t as maternal as your sister. Whilst she loves her children more than anything in the world, all she needs to do is see one of you and she’s happy. Elizabeth came along because we had a dream, from when Renesmee was little we wanted to change her childhood and raise her carefree, without the scares and worries she experienced at such a young age. Whilst I’m well aware my oldest daughter turned out just fine despite childhood traumas, I’d give anything to have given her a better life back then. We wanted to give that life we imagined to another child. Isle Isabella was just too perfect, and we wanted to live there for some time in our long life anyway. Your sister on the other hand craves the act of being a mother to someone that relies on her, she’s perfect at being a mother to a child and more than suited for it. For being her mother’s daughter, the pair are drastically different” he chuckled. “could you imagine having ten siblings?” he asked. I shook my head but then shrugged.


“I nearly had that many children” I reminded him.


“you did and you are very much like Renesmee in that way. I see another eight in your future” he winked, and I rolled my eyes.


“not any time soon” I laughed. I had loved every minute of being a mother to eight children at once, but it had also been the most hectic, stressful and tiring part of my life. I wouldn’t take it back for the world, but I also wasn’t sure I’d be doing it again any time soon. He smiled back and kissed my forehead right as my husband and mother entered the house.


“What’s going on?” my mother said walking straight over to us. I moved from my father’s arm and over to my husband. He took my hand instantly as my father replaced me with me with my mother under his arm.


“Benjamin and I are going away for a while. He’s completely handed over his duties and quit his role in the Volturi and we’re going to travel.” I explained to my mother. She kept her poker face in place as she chewed her lip for a moment, thinking about what to say.


“I never expected to leave this place, I never expected to find Lexi, I never expected to have the children and life I have had for the past seventy years. I’ve loved being here and Italy but that’s all I’ve ever known. Most of our immortal family have lived all over the world, even for short periods of time and I’ve lived in all but two. Its finally time for me to move on, to move out of the shadow of my father and grandfather, to no longer be tied to my sister and to be free. To find out what the world is truly like out there” Benjamin explained. I squeezed his hand in reassurance. I watched as both my parents smiled at us. I realised then that it wasn’t me they weren’t sure about; it was whether Benjamin was really truly ready for this. His answer seemed to be enough because they both seemed to relax.


My mother ran for me to hug me in her arms. I smiled as I hugged her back.


“I’ll miss you” she said softly.


“you too momma” I whispered back as I took in her scent. It gave me waves of nostalgia and the feeling of sanctuary. “but you guys are going off to university anyway. You’ll barely notice us not there” I reminded her.


“I always notice when my children aren’t there. I love you” she said pulling away to look at me.


“I love you too. We’re not going forever. Our children live here. Our family is here. We just need a few decades to ourselves for a while” I explained.


“you don’t have to explain that to us sweetie. I understand, more than you’ll ever know. We’re all immortal after all, what’s a few decades? Go and enjoy yourself, live!” she said enthusiastically and kissed my forehead.


“when are you leaving?” my father asked. “and to where?” he added.


“Brazil to see Izellah first. After the events of the last few years Lexi wants to spend some time with her friend” Benjamin explained.


“tomorrow” I added looking at both my parents.


“enjoy being back in brazil and say hello to our great-granddaughter for us” my mother said with a smile.


“we will” I smiled back. Izellah had moved to brazil decades ago after her husband and herself had to leave England. They lived in the same little town Izellah grew up, where her parents still lived to this day not far from Isle Isabella. After the death of her brother, I craved to see her nearly every day. I knew Elizabeth had visited and even Allesandra had a small vacation a few years ago to brazil and made the effort to see our friend. I was the only one out of our little circle that hadn’t seen her after what had happened, and I felt awful for it. I had been scared to ask my husband to leave his home but when Ben had decided to step down, I was glad I’d finally get a chance to go home again, my true home. Ben came to the decision on his own, even with the doubts, I assured him that it was the right thing and secretly inside I was excited at the possibility of our life outside the Volturi.


I never resented my husbands’ job, after all I recognised it was who he was but a part of me wanted him to know more than just the Volturi. Since the day I met him, I wanted to show him the world but I knew it was going to be decades, if ever, that Benjamin Cullen could ever break his ties with his lifes work. I had been right but eventually Ben realised that his leadership had been born out of guilt and grief for the sister that was no longer dead. The Volturi gave him purpose in times he thought he had none. His sister’s resurrection and meeting me had changed that for him, he always reminded me how I figuratively breathed life into him the day he met me but we always stayed around through obligation to his father and grandfather. It had become a family business he was scared to leave in fear of disappointing the two most important men in his life. With the birth of his youngest sister, and her clear aptitude and excitement for the job he did, he knew it was his one chance to pass on his knowledge and leadership to someone that so desperately wanted to do it, and still within the family too. It worked perfectly, when Asta had caused such mayhem with her ability and it was taken from her, she felt a part of herself was lost and needed to channel her pain into something else. Even though she knew losing her ability was the right thing for her and everyone around her. She focused on the Volturi and the inner workings and how her father, grandfather and brother did their jobs and only found joy in it. Something Benjamin had never found in such a job. Matthew had been more than accepting of Benjamin’s choice to step down and was glad to give his youngest daughter something to aim for and fill her void with.


“have you already told your parents?” my mother turned to Benjamin.


“they’ve known for a long time. I purposely trained Asta as my replacement with their permission. I think they figured a long time ago that it wasn’t just because I wanted to step down in my role in the Volturi.” Benjamin answered my mother. She nodded knowingly.


“we did have a suspicion. I just assumed it was to be with your grandchildren” she explained.


“we have had the past twenty years of that, Asta has been doing amazing and I’ve barely felt the need to be there at all. Now it’s just official.” Benjamin added.


“well I hope you find a happy place to be together and love and live and please send me pictures regularly and also call” my mother said turning to me to tuck my hair behind my ear.


“always” I grinned back at my mother. I leant forward to give her another hug.


“we’ll come say bye before we go” ben explained reaching for my hand.


“you better” my mother laughed pulling away.


“bye mom” I smiled as we headed for the door.


“oh Lexi?” my mother called after us. I turned to see her standing by my father again.


“yes?” I asked.


“we’re really, really proud of you” she said, emotion cracking her perfect voice. I swallowed my emotions slowly but smiled back at my parents watching me.


“thanks momma” I grinned feeling a little embarrassed as I left my parents’ house.


Saying goodbye to my parents and Benjamin’s parents was easier than I thought it would be. Our entire life was here but something felt good about leaving it behind for a while. We both knew we’d come back eventually, and I think that’s what made it okay to leave. This was an entirely new experience for us, and I couldn’t wait to just be us, with no responsibilities over us, or obligations or places we had to be. We could be anything go anywhere we wanted for the first time in our entire lives together.


The worst part of leaving was Allesandra. Alle had been Ben’s life. Even when he had me, Allesandra, her life, death, and existence was the reason Ben was like he was. What he went through as a child, how he dealt with it shaped him into who he was. Alle and Ben had a unique bond. They were like no other siblings I knew. Alle was also my best friend, I had lived the last seventy years with her as my sister and friend and would always be my go-to confidant. I would miss her terribly.


We cried as we said goodbye, then proceeded to call and update her every night afterwards. Both Ben and I had an unhealthy co-dependency when it came to his sister. Her and her husband were our best friends, they helped us raise our children, they were a huge part of our lives we were just leaving behind.


“think of your other sisters you’ll get to be with” Ben reminded me as we boarded our plane to Brazil. I had just got off the phone to Alle.


“I know. I’m excited to see Ella and Beth.” I said with a sigh as I leant my head against his arm briefly. We found our first-class seats and sat down to wait for the rest of the plane to board.


“I’m excited to see Forks and La Push. I only visited it a few times as a child, mostly I was taken there for a break after Alle died when my parents were unable to take care of me. I can’t wait to see it with fresh eyes” he mused. I smiled across the seat at him.


“it feels odd. It’s like its home even though we weren’t raised there. Like it’s in the blood of the Cullen’s. Washington is just home to anyone with the name. Even if you’ve never stepped foot there” I explained.


“I agree” he said reaching his hand out for me. I placed mine in his as he closed his eyes with a sigh. I knew he wanted to try sleep on the plane. Gone had the days of four hours a night. Ben slept the full eight hours now; he was actually a bit of a grumpy old man if he didn’t. Kids and decades of marriage had tired him. I’d often tease him that having kids and grandkids had made him weak. He would often reply with a cheesy statement about his life being so perfect he finally has a reason to dream. Ben loved saying romantic stuff like that. It made me swoon every time, it never got tired in the seventy-three years we’d been together.


We set down in Brazil within a couple of hours. I loved modern aviation. Not only had they almost completely eliminated atmospheric pollution from transport, they had cut the travel times down drastically. You could get across the United States in just over an hour. Which made me realise how lazy we had been that we hadn’t really done this before now.


I woke my husband with a kiss to his forehead. His brown eyes fluttered open to see me smiling down at him.


“we’re here” I whispered, and he reached to move. Luckily there weren’t many queues going into Brazil. We walked hand in hand to the car that was waiting to take us to Ella’s house.


She was waiting for us when we arrived. I ran from the car to my sister, pulling her into my arms.


I didn’t say anything, I knew she’d heard enough ‘I’m sorry’s after her brother’s death. She didn’t need to hear anymore. I just wanted to be here, to see her and to make sure she was doing okay.


“hi auntie Lexi” the voice of Ella’s daughter appeared at the door. I turned to see their eldest daughter Catherine smiling at me. This girl was a marvel for me. She was one hell of a woman, she had been queen of a country, survived an assassination attempt, entered hiding, lost everything she ever knew except her parents and was still one of the most inspirational people I knew. She had done so much good for the world when she was queen. It was a shame that she ever had to give it up. I pulled away from her mother to walk over to her. I grinned as I curtsied to her. She laughed and reached to hug me.


“hey sweet girl” I whispered to my niece and hugged her to me closely.


“let’s go inside. It’s cold” Ella said ushering my husband and our bags inside past me and her daughter still hugging.


“cold? Didn’t you live in England for most of your life? How is brazil climate cold for you?” I teased my best friend entering her adorable little house.


“I’ve adjusted” Ella informed me leading me to their little living area to take a seat. “Henry” she called through her house for her husband. Her vampire husband appeared in a few moments.


“sorry love, I was just talking to Adelaide” he said kissing her temple briefly before turning to us. “Lexi!” he called and walked to hug me. I smiled as I hugged him back.


“commoner life suits you” I winked looking at his raggedy house clothes. He grinned back.


“I couldn’t think of anything worse than a crown right about now” he laughed.


“I suppose with all the money in the world it’s a much better trade off” I teased.


“it definitely is” my husband agreed as he sat in the armchair. Ben and Henry always got a long, they bonded over their jobs, even though my husband wasn’t a king of a country and empire, he certainly felt the same pressures as leader of the Volturi. The Volturi had been compared to royalty in the supernatural world for thousands of years. It wasn’t a coincidence that Allesandra was nicknamed the Volturi Princess and the guard called Zio ‘Re’ which was Italian for king.


“Lexi shall we leave the ex-monarchs to chat?” Ella asked me trying to grab me out of the room. I laughed as I followed her out. She took me into the kitchen where she started to prepare a typical welcome food tray. It would just have a few snacks and drinks on.


“how are you doing?” she asked me with a grin. “is it weird?” she asked.


“very, but you know exactly how it feels” I laughed; she had left England as the queen consort. She had a much bigger role than I ever did in the Volturi.


“you can go back to it though, it’s different for me. That chapter of my life is over. It’s easier to look back with fondness knowing I never have to do it again.”


“you say that like it was a burden. You loved being Queen” I teased her as I helped her prepare some of the food.


“I love my husband more” she counted.


“tell me about it” I mused, and I could see her smile at me from my side.


“what about you?” I asked carefully. “how have you been?” It had been over a decade now but as vampires, traumas like that felt like they were only yesterday.


“I miss him. Every day” she said softly. “I didn’t even live by him, we lived across the world from each other, but he was still my brother you know? I still remember the day he was born. I remember bringing him to the island to meet you, I remember I was so excited to show my best friends my baby brother” she said, her voice broke at the end. I swallowed back the emotion in my throat. We had all been so excited for Jay. He had been a baby brother to all of us.


“it’s surreal. I keep expecting Esther to say it’s all a joke and that she saved Jay and Addison. I wasn’t around when Allesandra was taken from the family. Most of them have experienced this before but the more invincible members we got the less I thought it would ever happen.” I said softly.


“I think about that poor family that died too. The one in France. I didn’t even know of them before this. They were our relatives, human descendants of Edward and Bella. My great-grandparents. They existed because of Edward and Bella and Renesmee. I just…” Ella said pausing. “it made the world feel very small for a moment and very big at the same time. I wouldn’t know half of our relatives if I walked past them on the street.”


“tell me about it” I mumbled. I barely knew anyone outside Chicago.


“I’m glad you came to see me Lexi” Ella said reaching for my hand. I took it in a light squeeze.


“I’m sorry I took so long” I whispered.


“A decade is like a blink. It still feels like it was yesterday. My parents still grieve like it was. Its never going to end for me or my family. Whether you came the day it happened or twenty years later. It doesn’t matter, it just matters you’re here. So, thank you” she said softly as we hugged.


Ella and I went back to our husbands and her daughter. My husband went straight for the welcome tray devouring a lot of what was on the plate. I sat by Catherine and asked for a little bit of an update on her life now she was no longer queen.


Catherine had been an amazing queen; she loved her people and they loved her too. Part of this was her ability but mostly it was because she was actually a really amazing person with extreme charitability and philanthropy. She was charismatic and beautiful and the country and even the world loved her. That didn’t mean she didn’t have enemies though. Her main protector and bodyguard was her brother George, he was addicted to her through her siren ability. She had been unable to free him of his addiction since childhood and you would never see Catherine without little George on her heals. He adored his sister, more than anything in the world. Kind of like someone else I knew.


About twenty years ago one of Catherine’s enemies managed to succeed in an assassination attempt. Catherine died on George’s watch and he was distraught. A few that were in on the family secret managed to contact Lidiya and Anelie and had them flown to England straight away. They resurrected the queen and she was put into hiding as her death had already gone public. It was public knowledge that neither Adelaide, Catherine’s sister nor George her brother ever wanted to be the monarch of Great Britain. So their cousin on their fathers’ side had been named as the heir to the throne. The crown was handed to him before Catherine’s body was even cold and the country began the process of ascension for their new king. In the meantime, Catherine was smuggled out of the country. It had also happened that with her death, the connection and power she held over George had broken and he was finally free. To ensure that it wouldn’t reform, Catherine sent her brother away. It was one last order as the queen, for him to never see her again. So that he might be finally free to live a life he deserved. Not a life tied to his sister. Catherine and George still spoke but never met. They made sure they arranged their visits to their parents and family so that they would never overlap and accidentally run into each other. It was a depressing way to live but the co-dependency the both of them experienced was supernaturally binding. It wasn’t worth the risk to reactivate such a bond. I knew Catherine missed her brother, but I think after the death of her uncle she had a new gratitude that her brother was alive and happy and living his life, even if it meant she never saw him again.


Ben and I spent a week with our friends before we decided to make our way to isle Isabella so I could show him where I grew up. We had never actually made our way here as a real visit. We had used the moon pool to create our children but always stayed in Brazil in between. I knew if I stepped foot on this shore that I wouldn’t want to return to Chicago where I knew we needed to raise our children. This was the first time since I left all those years ago with my sisters that I would be standing on the beaches of where I grew up. Where I found my family after the family I was born into cast me aside for being a curious child.


If my heart could beat it would be out my chest as we made the boat ride across to the island. I knew these waters, better than I knew Chicago. Arriving on the island I wasn’t sure what to feel. Ben pulled our bags off the boat and began muttering how beautiful it was. I was just motionless. The second my toes hit the familiar sands I fell to my knees. Venom pooled in my eyes like I had never experienced. My chest shook with emotion, happiness, sadness, nostalgia, relief, safety, everything you could possibly imagine. My husband quickly shut up when he realised how overcome with emotion I was. He waited for me to adjust. I moved my fingers in the sand and watched as the venom from my eyes fell to the soft sand below me. It was that moment a wave came in. The sea water lapped at my fingers like it was greeting me home. When I looked up I realised the water had come in way past the tide line. The water had quite literally reached to greet me. To welcome me home. I smiled as I looked out at the ocean I knew so well from this beach. I wondered if they were out there . My sisters and my brothers. They would all be parents and grandparents at this point. Possibly most of them were dead. Some might be elders or members of the Nel. My brothers definitely would be. I wondered how many have given up their tails and were walking around in Brazil or the States or Europe. If I had met them and never known a single thing about it. My husband’s hand appeared on my shoulder and I reached to stand.


“are you okay my love?” he asked.


“more than okay” I grinned at him. I reached to kiss him softly. “welcome to my home darling”


He grinned back.


“it’s beautiful. I’m very jealous you got to grow up here. It’s so open. I grew up in a cold stone castle surrounded by grief. This. This is amazing. The fresh air, the smells, the trees. It feels free.” he said taking my hand. We walked down the beach rather than the foot path to the main house that already had lights on waiting for us to arrive.


I had asked my parents’ permission to visit and they had been more than accommodating to set up the usual services we’d need whilst here. Including electricity.


The nostalgia was unreal as I stepped into my childhood home. It was exactly the same as ninety years ago. I was half expecting Beth to come around the corner, bare foot, in nothing but shorts and a tank top, hair wet from her swim and big green eyes full of excitement from her morning run.


I missed my sister. Beth was definitely the next person we were going to see. I hoped we could stay in La Push for a while, maybe a few years at least.


For now, though I would show Ben my island. Show him the opposite to busy city life, that the sea is the best thing in the world and that this island had been my sanctuary and tranquillity in my very chaotic early childhood as a mermaid. This was my place and I wanted nothing more than to share it with the man I loved more than anything in this life.


We had barely made it back to the house when I felt the ocean stir. I span around to see a giant wave, unnaturally big for the current calm ocean wash up on the sand as if to greet me home. I smiled out to the ocean at the second greeting since being back here.


“I missed you too” I called out to no one, but I knew in my heart that whoever sent that wave knew I was here.


They knew I was home again.