AEON | Jacob Black [1]

A Town I Never Knew

"Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past."

I land in Seattle, Washington that next morning. I step out and it all feels different. I don't know why I see it that way because it's just an airport but it's that feeling that 'something big' is going to happen I just can't put my finger on it. The outside was dreary with rain. It could easily pass for London but it had something more simple about it.

I was told to wait for him, Ron my grandfather, outside the entrance. He hadn't even called my cellphone just told my grandparents who told me. I look out to see a black truck that looked vintage to some but others may see it as just old pull up to the sidewalk.

An old man with dark skin and gray hair steps out. He walks up to me and first thing he says, "You look just like your mother." Not 'hi' 'how you been' that.

I smiled and said, "I'm Beth Pierce it's nice to meet you sir." He must have read my discomfort in the rain because he hurried me to the car to get in.

"My name is Ronny and I'm glad you decided to come to stay here. I know you have never met me and this must seem really hard for you to...grasp at. But I want you to know I just thought I should wait for you to decide to come home." Home. England was my home. This place is just a relic of my mother.

I didn't say that instead I said, "I needed a change of scenery anyways Ronny." He laughed. This would be okay I thought.

"So where exactly do you live in this state?" I asked him on the long car ride.

"It's a town called Forks. Well where I live it's an in between Forks and La Push both towns close by each other." I laughed.

"These town names are funny ones a utensil and the other sounds like a bad rom com." He laughed.

"Maybe so but La Push is a native American reservation it holds almost all of mine and your mothers old friends."

"Is there people my age there?" I asked curious if I could find some entertainment.

"Oh of course the Forks kids and the La Push kids all go to the same high school so it's pretty much a full ship." He said with a grimace.

We got to what looked like a 18th century house. It was completely surrounded by trees and I couldn't tell any neighbors for at least a mile. Ron helped me pack in my bags up the porch. No grandmother as I suspected but never asked. He led me up to a room with red wall paper and a lot of white linen.

"This was your mother's room when she lived here." Ah mom same taste as me.

"When she was a teenager?" Grandpa laughed

"No girl this was your moms and dads house when they got together and had you." I was confused I thought I was always from England.

"I moved in it after they died they left it for me so that when I pass, I leave it for you. This is your home my girl."

"That's sweet of them but how did they even know I would come back here? like how did you know you'd even meet me?" I asked quizzly.

"Well I knew your grandparents had a say in it but I also knew and so did your mother that this would be your home. It was kind of like a foretelling."

I finished putting all my stuff away and decided I was going to explore the place I now inhabited. I told Ron I was going to walk the trail out to town and he told me that the west trail led to Forks town and the East trail led to La Push beach. It was different when I started walking. The nature surrounding this place was unmatched. I was feeling really good.

I decided to walk to La Push beach something was calling me to see the water I barely got to see my whole life. The trail wasn't a mile long but it had it's creep appeal to it. I got down to it and it's like all I was holding in was bursting out and I just started running. I ran and ran to the water and remembering I was in jeans and a t shirt, was out the window. I wanted to swim. The first feel of it was self explanatory: cold, so so cold. I did forget that it was in the middle of October. I still stayed, I knew when I got out of that water I would have to deal with this so called life.

But I knew the cold would be too much I made it a priority to go get warm. I climbed out and I didn't know a worse cold than when the wind mixed with it. The walk home was a different kind of miserable only when I didn't focus on the chattering of my teeth did I feel the gaze of someone near.