EPOV

My family and I had packed up our bags with a weeks worth of clothing, plus some extra changes. Sometimes, we could immerse ourselves a little too much in our hunts. We decided to commemorate our first summer back in forks with a week long hunting trip. While they took off for their hunts, I was already in hot pursuit of a mountain lion, my favorite animal.

I fast gained ground on the mountain lion, silent and unnoticed. My feet would make no sound on the ground, but the animals instincts would make it aware of the danger I presented. I alighted upon a branch, melting into the shadows of the tree's thick foliage. I watched as the golden furred animal cautiously sniffed the air. Continuous growls rolling up from his chest and out of his parted jaws. I jumped down from the branch quickly.

I was in no mood for games. The thrill of pretending as if the lion had any chance against me was in no way interesting at the moment. It was as if I was only here for one thing, and anything else was miscellaneous. What it is exactly that I'm waiting for is certainly a mystery.

I know that the family has felt it too. That's one of the major reasons we got out on this trip. Everybody has been feeling on edge, just waiting for . . . something, waiting for the proverbial storm to break. Alice has been nearly going crazy. All her visions of the hunting trip haven't come out clearly. Sometimes they were too blurry to define anything, and sometimes parts of the vision were blacked out. If it weren't for Jasper's restraining hands, poor Alice would have ripped all her hair out by now.

Edward come quickly. Jasper called out to me mentally.

I tilted my head, listening more closely. Jasper rarely called out to me, and even when he did he never sounded so on edge. I panicked as thoughts of what could be wrong clouded my mind. Perhaps there was an accident, or maybe Jasper slipped up?

I ran in the direction I knew Jasper was in. As I ghosted through the forest, I allowed the rushing wind to calm me. As I calmed down I started to rationalize things.

There is no need to panic, Edward, I thought, if anything were to happen Alice would have seen it coming and prevented it—

My cell phone rang, jolting me out of my thoughts. I fished it out of my pocket and stared at it. The caller ID said Alice.

Oh hell.

In half a second, I flipped the phone open, pressed it to my ear and asked, "What has happened Alice?"

Her voice reached a very shrill decibel that made me wince.

"Edward it's here! The thing we've all been waiting for is here! And Jasper is right where it is!"

Then Alice's voice became panicked as she cried, "Oh, Edward! Is Jasper alright?!"

"He's fine Alice. I can smell him now, so I'm close to where he is."

"So am I. I'll be there along with the rest of the family 3 seconds after you."

We hung up, and I quickened my pace. I saw Jasper standing . . . someone. The funny thing was, he was standing over the person— who it looked like was a girl— protectively, like her guardian. I came to stand next to Jasper, and was so shocked by what I saw, I gasped.

The girl looked to be no older than 16, but I couldn't be sure. She was as pale as a vampire; her skin looked to be almost glowing. She had big, gorgeous doe eyes which I couldn't tell if they were amber or a warm chocolate brown, which were looking at us with innocent curiosity. Her hair was long, I could tell. It spilled down her back, cascading onto the ground in magnificent brunette curls that humans paid a lot of money for, and yet they could never hop to have the same hair. Her face was perfect and heart-shaped, with a cute button nose and full, pouty pink lips. I couldn't tell how tall she was, she was curled up on the ground, with her arms around her knees. She was so gorgeous—so absolutely beautiful—, and yet there was an air of childishness around her, as to make one think of her as adorable.

She was adorably beautiful, or perhaps beautifully adorable.

"Jasper . . ." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. He nodded, as if thinking the same thing.

She is truly a beauty, the same, if not more beautiful as Rosalie and yet, when I think of her as beautiful, I can't help but think adorable. Can those two adjectives be used to describe someone? He was just as confused as I am, on how to place this creature.

"Everything about her would lead me to believe she's a vampire, but . . . do you hear that" Jasper murmured low enough for only me to hear.

Confused as to what he meant, I listened closely. My jaw dropped when I heard a heartbeat coming from the girl who I thought was a vampire. But there was something wrong with her heartbeat, it was too fast. It was like the heart of a hummingbird.

I knew the family was behind us now. I turned away, and Jasper shifted to allow them to see the child, but still held his guardian stance over the child. The family all gasped, and their thoughts washed over me.

Oh my! Look at the poor, beautiful little thing. She's practically a baby, I wonder if she's hungry? Esme asked in her thoughts.

It was no surprise to me that Esme immediately fell in love with the girl.

AAAAAAWWWWWW! She is the most beautiful . . . no the most adorable . . . oh, I don't know, she's perfect is what she is! I wonder what she is doing here though. Alice gushed.

Alice's thoughts were all squeals and concerns, and I got out of there before I subconsciously squealed.

Ugh, I can't believe she's more beautiful than I am! And she has a heartbeat, what a freak. Rosalie's thoughts were nothing but malicious, and I sent a warning growl at her. Rosalie sent me a snide sneer and a few expletives in her thoughts.

I turned my attention to Emmet, and was surprised by the tender and compassionate tenor of his thoughts.

She is so cute, I can't believe nobody took her up and away already. That girl is coming home with us, and I'll make sure she smiles all the time. I smiled in agreement with Emmet, and he grinned in response.

Oh my, I can't believe it. I didn't think they existed!

I turned to Carlisle, who was kneeling next to the girl. The girl had a small backpack that I never noticed before, held tightly to her chest. It was obvious she was shy and nervous, and she looked at the ground instead of Carlisle.

"Hello, little girl, what's your name?" Carlisle asked gently.

The girl looked up then, and stared at Carlisle.

Jasper spoke up. "Carlisle, she feels regretful of something. Why is that?"

"I wonder . . ." Carlisle mused. He held out his hand, and the girl looked at it, before looking at him and smiling a dazzling smile at him. It wasn't even a full smile, just a small one, but it was dazzling. His answering smile was large, showing his teeth, as the child placed her tiny hand in his.

Goodness, the child's hands are so tiny, I'm afraid I'll crush it like a leaf. Carlisle marveled in his head. I laughed at the thought of Carlisle using more force than he should on the child.

"Child, is there any thing you can tell us about who you are? Where you came from? What you are exactly?" Carlisle asked the girl gently. The girl cocked her head to the side at his questions, as if she was pondering them. Perhaps this meant she could understand us? Understanding brightened her eyes, and she snatched her hand from Carlisle.

She unzipped the tiny book bag she was clutching so tightly, rummaging around for a couple seconds before bringing up a thick white envelope.

She caressed the white envelope briefly, before pointing it over to Carlisle. "Nee." She said.

Carlisle looked at her shocked. "Excuse me?"

She pushed the envelope into his hand, saying softly again, "Nee."

Perhaps that's the only way she knows to communicate, using vocals . . . sort of like an infant! Jasper thought to me, fascination apparent in his thoughts. I moved closer to Carlisle, not missing that the girl gave me a sharp glance before turning back to Carlisle.

"Carlisle, Jasper thinks that she is communicating the only way she knows how; using vocals like an infant would. Perhaps she can understand the English language, but cannot herself use it?" I murmured low enough for only him to hear.

"Your theory is more than plausible, but I don't see how she could not know, she looks American to me. Although I could swear there's something Italian about her . . . at any rate, it can't be because she lost all her memories after the change. Alice still knew how to speak afterwards, I'm sure."

Is she mentally challenge or something? Rosalie scoffed in her mind.

"If you don't shut the hell up, you will be in a minute." I growled at her. Jasper laughed and Rosalie hissed at both of us.

The child's stomach growled, bringing us back to the situation at hand. She actually blushed— something that caused all to go Aww in our minds— and she promptly dived into the bag again. She came out with a sandwich wrapped in a paper towel. She unfolded the paper towel, revealing one half of a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich that she took a single bite out of before rewrapping it and putting it back in the bag.\

Isn't she going to eat something else?! Esme's horrified thoughts matched my own. Did that girl eat nothing but a bite of a sandwich all this time?

Poor little baby darlin', can't we just take her home already? I know we all want to. Jasper's tender thoughts surprised me. I mean, I was thinking that too, but for him to get attached to the little girl is quite astounding.

"Thank you dear." Carlisle gently took the envelope from her. She smiled at him, still small, but still just as brilliant.

"So, shall we take her home?" I asked Carlisle. He nodded his head, and Alice squealed.

"Oh, thank you Carlisle! We can dress her up and—"

"Alice, we couldn't leave her here, she has nowhere to go. But that does not mean she is a doll for you to play with, or some pet, Alice. She's human . . . well, half. Besides, maybe she doesn't want to stay with us." Carlisle explained calmly to Alice. Alice pouted, whining petulantly in her mind. I grimaced at her thoughts. Sometimes, Alice could be as selfish as Rosalie . . . and that's alarming.

"Carlisle, shouldn't we see of she can run with us?" Jasper asked.

"You're right. Perhaps she's as fast as a vampire . . . considering, again, if she's healthy enough."

"But, Carlisle," Esme argued, "If Bella decides to stay, I'm sure we can do all those tests later. Can't somebody just carry her now? She seems to have only had that one sandwich; I don't think we should risk her health like that."

"She's right! I could carry the little tiger, if you want." Emmet's voice boomed out, and I glared at him, thinking he scared the child. But when I turned to look at her, I saw her staring at Emmet curiously. She smiled at him, a bigger smile than I'd seen her smile, but it was still sort of small. But it was even more stunning than her previous smile.

My, my, this child is a star. Blinding and perfect. Carlisle said fondly in his mind. I was surprised, she had captured the hearts and attentions of the family— well, the part that counted.

"No, I'll carry her. I am the fastest, anyway." I said.

"Yeah, and I could keep up with Edward, unlike you Em." Jasper said smugly, his smirk oozing cockiness. Emmet opened his mouth to challenge jasper, but I cut him off, quickly growing irritated.

"Jasper, Emmet, not now." I snapped. They turned to me, and backed down with a nod of their head. I turned back to the child now, walking slowly towards her. She regarded me with child like curiosity, her eyes twinkling. I knelt down in front of her, smiling serenely, so as not to make her wary of me. She looked at my smile, studying it.

"Hello." I made my voice intentionally smoother, and I'm sure to her it sounded like flowing velvet. "My name is Edward Cullen, and we would like to take you home with us for a little. Would you like to?"

She looked up, scrunching up her nose like a little kid trying to remember something. Her eyes lighted up with remembrance and understanding. She looked back at me and nodded her head slowly, purposely. I smiled at her, showing a bit of my teeth. Her face lit up, and she clapped her hands with delight. I laughed.

"I'm going to carry you on my back, so we can run home. Can you get on my back?" I asked her.

She looked at me, confused. She didn't understand what that is, I realized.

I turned to Jasper. "Japer, help me with her. She doesn't know what a piggyback ride is apparently." I smiled at him, and he smiled back, laughing. He walked to the child, and she turned her head to him, smiling her stunningly small smile. He bent down, and gathered her in his arms. She looked surprised when he scooped her up off the ground with ease. He saw her look of surprise too, and said softly to her, "I ate my vegetables."

We all laughed. Jasper then held her securely under her arms, and her legs dangled above the ground. I saw now that she was quite short, maybe 5'2 or 5'3. She didn't look scared; she looked like she was waiting to see what we would do. Jasper put her gently on my back, wrapping her arms around my neck, and she instinctively tightened her hold around my neck. She seemed to have understood, because she wrapped her legs around my waist on her own.

"Good girl." I murmured to her, and I felt her smile timidly into my neck. Turning to Carlisle I asked him, "Shall we go now?"

Carlisle nodded. "yes, and then we can read this letter together in the living room. Rosalie, Alice, you take the cars back home." Emmet and Carlisle gave them the keys to their cars. Rosalie and Alice took them and disappeared into the forest, running towards the area they were parked.

I nodded, and then started off running towards home. I heard the family trailing behind a few miles away, and Jasper was only 3 yards away from me. Of course, I wasn't really going my fastest. But I was anxious to go as fast as I could.

I wanted to know everything about this tiny, perfect child.