Dusk - A Twilight Reimagining

2 - Sunny-Side Up

Her first thoughts when waking up were confused, to say the least. It all started with the smell—a deep, lulling, smooth smell of moss and wet dirt. After came the sound—a peculiar pattering that gently roused her from her deep slumber, which before it soothed her into all night. Last came the sight of sunlight against her eyelids—or rather, the lack of it.

Bella groaned and sleepily flopped her hands over her face, digging the heels of her palms into her eyes. She rubbed them roughly and watched splotches of red and dark blues appear in her vision. The young woman opened her eyes, greeted with a dim, grey room. Grey clouds swirled beyond her window, filtering the early morning in a melody of rain. The sight entranced her, pulling her from her warm blankets.

Her feet were hot against the cold wooden floor, but it didn't dissuade her from approaching the window. Bella wore an Iron Maiden shirt as her pajama, with the hem hanging down past her thighs. It was black in color and had a burning skeleton wicker man at the front, worn down from years of washing. Underneath, she had long red pants as her makeshift pajamas, loose, baggy, and perfectly soft for sleeping. She flicked on her bedside table's lamp and cast her room in a warm glow.

Bella slid onto the window seat and pulled her legs up off the ground, her feet dangling off the side as she used one hand to keep herself up. She looked out the window into the dark morning with her breath trapped in her lungs. Rain tumbled from the ashen clouds, thick, heavy droplets racing each other to the Earth. They crashed into the wet pavement and shallow puddles, ringing out their symphony one by one. Proud pines and autumn-tinted leafy trees bent low to deposit rebellious little raindrops into the arms of their mothers' arms. The earth and sky joined in unison, evoking the deepest treasured aroma back into human hands while their cheerful melody awoke the world.

"Wow..." Bella whispered, watching the rain place golden halos on the heads of street lamps like glowing tiaras. She settled with her cheek against the cold window pane and the rain's melody singing through her blood. Sure, they had rain back in Arizona, but nothing like this. Nothing remotely like this.

She let herself wander with no destination in mind. Through past memories, she dashed and hid from her most recent life events with the skill of an assassin. Eventually, Bella strolled through an enchanted, sunny meadow framed by a thick line of trees. She wore a flowing green sundress styled with her dad's spare police jacket. It was the woods that noticed her path first, a gust of wind bringing her to a halt. Bella stood before the edge of the deep, tangly forest—thick green undergrowth stealing away any sunlight the foliage failed to capture.

A rumble called her name, a sway of the branches reached for her hand, and before she knew it, a glimmer of safety lulled her inside. Bella hopped over logs and walked along the beaten, winding path to nowhere, walked long until the sun slipped away—whether it was from the thick leaves or from the passage of time, she couldn't tell. Bella tilted her gaze skyward as her stroll slowed to a cautious, alert step.

The moon stared back at her.

The moon: full, glowing brighter than any star, brighter than the sun, brighter than the unease in Bella's eyes. It writhed and rippled like a reflection on the ever-surging ocean.

She gulped as moonlight became her only ally, her wary gaze scanning the forest—a crack of branches here, a fast breath there, but no movement to be seen. Bella Swan felt a primal, brewing emotion snatching at her limbs—screaming at her that she was not alone. Something, someone even, was watching her from right beyond her vision. She could've sworn red—a crisp, unmarred, apple red—flashed in the deepest parts of her subconscious.

Through the haze of rain, she saw two yellow headlights. Bella tugged her mind back to the present, leaving the forest and, in turn, leaving her unwanted companion behind. She perked up, watching Jacob pull up in front of her house, stepping out into the downpour with a strange lack of hurry.