Aiyana (Twilight)

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Life on the reservation was rarely ever dull. It would be a lie to say that I didn't love my home. I hadn't always lived here, but I've loved every moment of it since I arrived many years ago.

I was a small, unruly child that hated being inside and hated wearing shoes. These two things came from my fathers side of the family, but I didn't know much of anything about them. But, none the less, because of my unstopable curiosity and my fathers sudden death - we moved back to his childhood home. The same place he met my mother. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up a little bit, before I was even a thought in my parents minds.

My father grew up in the dreary state of Washington, right next to one of the rainiest cities in the United States: Forks. He was the last born of three children; my aunt Elizabeth, my uncle Harry, and then my dad - Michael Clearwater. He married outside of the reservation, which wasn't a new practice but certainly not the most favored choice amongst his people.

The Quileute tribe has many stories and traditions that my family has held close to our hearts for centuries, but he couldn't help but fall for my mom, Natalie. Her dazzling green eyes and long red hair were striking compared to my fathers thick, dark hair and matching eyes. My brother and I both got the 'good' sides of their genes. Our slightly tanned skin and green eyes along with our thick hair caught the attention of many people.

My brother, Tala, came along first. He's a couple years older than me so he spent his first few years on the rez with the other Quileute boys. Tala has always been a very level-headed boy, with a soft spot for anyone and everyone.

So it's safe to say when I came around I really turned my parents lives upside down. 

I've been told that since the minute I was born I had a fire in my eye that couldn't be put out. When I started walking, no one could keep up with me. My father liked to call this my gift.
My mother liked to call it "difficult".

My mother hadn't grown up in La Push, rather, she grew up in the town of Forks. A small little city with roughly 3,832 people and 119 inches of rain every single year. Her graduating class was maybe a hundred people and she took up a job in La Push shortly after high school. This is around the time she met my father.

After I was born, though, they started looking for a new place to live. Our small house wasn't big enough for the four of us and the rainy, cold weather wasn't good for my ambitious attitude. My fathers family didn't want him to leave the reservation but he would do anything to make mom happy. So, we found a house that she loved.... In Nevada.

Tala and my father weren't thrilled about leaving Washington, but my mom was in love with the little house. Being in the desert was a dream come true for the both of us. She was free to enjoy the hot weather and I was free to run around the sand.

Good things can only last so long, though. When I was fifteen my father died. Tala had just turned seventeen and the two of us were heartbroken. My mother took it the worst. We stayed another year or so in Nevada but eventually we couldn't afford the house anymore and my mother made the decision to move back to La Push.

Back home.

That's where our story begins.