Crescent Moon: Aloura Cullen

Chapter 20

After all these years, her laugh was still the same. She hugs me before I even have time to comprehend what's going on. Her head resting on my shoulder as I force my trembling hands to stop and hug her back.

"Oh good you've already met, Aloura these are our newest members, Jasper and Alice." Esme says as she and Carlisle walk around the corner with a young blonde man desperately trying not to kill me.

"You won't hurt her Jasper, don't worry. He's still kind of new to the whole vegetarian thing, but I promise he can do it. He's really strong and we're both going to be great additions to the family, you'll see." So excited to finally meet the family she's had visions about, she reassures us that it'll work out.

"W-welcome home Al." The tears are already flowing down before I can finish talking. Its been three decades since I've cried, but she's worth every drop. Never in my longest nights did I think I'd ever see her again. My best friend, my sister, found me.

"So this is Alice?" Ed starts our usual mental conversation from the bench at his piano.

"Yes, this is her. She's still the same goofy, kind, incredible girl I grew up with. I can't lose her again Ed. She's the only part of my past that I have." I let him hear my thoughts and see almost every memory I have of her, while I take in the fact that she's actually standing no more than a yard from me.

"It's not her Aloura. The Alice you knew is gone, this young woman has a new life with no memory of your shared past." He thinks.

"You have a point in there Ed?"

"This is your chance to start over and make new memories with her. She's here, of all the places in this world she could've gone, of all the houses she could've chose; she's standing no more than three yards from you in this one. I'm not saying let go of those memories Aloura, I'm saying make new ones." I smile as his thoughts echo in mine for a few seconds, wipe my tears away and properly introduce myself.

"Hello, my name is Aloura. You and I are going to be great friends, I can tell."

"Forks? Where the hell is that?" I ask as I put my last box in the truck.

"It's a small town in Seattle. It's only temporary until the house up north is done." Carlisle says as he effortlessly carries Ed's piano down the stairs and into the moving truck Esme was ready to drive.

"I don't know Carlisle, people stair at you regardless, but when they see a colored person with you, they usually get hostile. I can just stay here, I don't really go into town anyway, I'll jus-" a punch hits my right arm as Emmett says

"Are you Serious, I'll kick anyone's ass if they try and mess with my little sister." His dimples peak through as he smiles.

"These are different times loura, it was different back in the 1900s, human ignorance can only last so long." Al moves a pieces of my short hair behind my ears and smiles.

"Always the optimist Al. You're rights, I'm sure the 70s will be much less racist." We laugh and make our way back inside for one last thing, our family photo. A tradition we've kept for the last 50 years, Al had to make sure we were all wearing the proper fall attire.

"Ok, everyone ready? I set the timer, here we go." Esme eager as always to take photos, runs over and sits next to Carlisle and places her hand over his. Rosalie and Emmett hold each other on the right while Alice and Jasper do the same on the left. Ed and I usually did something funny in the back ground but 20 years ago, Al put a stop to that.