Waning Moon

I had not seen Dora for a week now.

Ever since the introduction of my family and she ran off, I had not seen her, even when Nick tried to ask me out, which I declined with the reason of already having a boyfriend, though he didn’t seem to mind. Some guys were just so persistent. There were time I saw her out of the corner of my eyes, but she disappeared the next second when I tried to have a clearer view.

Grandpa Charlie continued his tour on Forks, we’d go to La Push to see Aunt Sue and Uncle Billy, and go shopping in Seattle and Port Angeles too. The lifestyle was mundane and boring compared to the life in New York, but I thought it was nice for a change, particularly with all the trees and all-you-can-eat buffet in the forests. I had to survive on junk food in New York, which made me gain unnecessary weights.

Jake would tag along every and anywhere I went like the smitten and loving boyfriend he was. I was lucky to have a boyfriend who’d give up the world for me.

Seth and Leah would visit me occasionally, and bring me to the beach or to enjoy the wilderness Mother Nature had given us.

I saw Sam the rest of his pack too, a delightful meeting for all of us. Since Jake imprinted on me, they had treated me like one of their own. Surprisingly, or rather, not surprisingly, Sam had was married to the girl he imprinted.

When he told me, I glanced at Leah, who flinched a little, but showed nothing more than a bat of eyelashes. She said she didn’t care anymore, yet why would she flinch if this was the case? If only she had imprinted, then she would be happy. Fate was generous, yet cruel. Some were blessed with joy, while some were destined to sadness and sorrow. The reality of the game called life.

Soon, the time to leave had come. Before we left for New York, there was another reunion for mum and dad. This time, however, they had chosen to go and see the old classmates. It was unordinary for them, yet I could not argue as I wanted to see the inside of their high school. (They could bring their children with them.) Jake would be accompanying me, claiming that he would keep ‘the so-called Nick guy’ away from me.

Cute.

Amy was not fond of me because I attracted her brother, she was rather jealous, like a kitten. She also disliked me for another reason, the funny thing was, Amy had a thing for Jake too.

‘It’s like the summer ball,’ mum exclaimed. ‘It sure brings back the memories.’

‘Yeah, remember how graceful you were?’ dad chuckled, which earned himself a light slap on the arm.

Only mum and dad came to the reunion ball, Aunt Rose and Alice, along with Uncle Emmet and Jasper prefer to avoid this kind of social occasion. Dad would have stayed home too, if wasn’t for mum’s idea to come. Dad had a soft spot for mum, which led him to agree to this what he thought was ‘useless gathering.’

Due to their non-aging nature, they had to put on make-up. Dad grimaced at the mere thought, though Aunt Alice had a great time dressing up mum and dad. How should I put this? Should I call it a miracle because Aunt Alice was able to make mum and dad look like in their thirties, or should I call it ridiculous because of how many chemicals they had used?
Jake and I were at the juice bar while mum and dad went to talk with someone named Ben and Angela. They seemed nice to me.

‘May I have this dance?’

We turned to looked at Nick, who dressed sharply in a rental suit, a blooming red rose in his hand. Amy stood at his side, her body wrapped in what I could barely pass for a dress. It was more like a piece of cloth to me. It was similar to the attire I saw her when we first encounter---pink and black.

‘No,’ Jake growled.

I gave Nick the sympathetic look; he tried too hard for me.

‘Sure, but only one dance.’

‘But, Nessie---’

‘It’s fine,’ I said. ‘Maybe you and Amy can have a dance too.’

Amy beamed, her face brightened immediately with radiance of happiness, mouthing me a ‘thank you.’ I wanted to make friends during my trip back to Forks, not enemies. I’d try to improve our relationship, or friendship, if I could.

Jake frowned slightly.

‘Do you want to dance with me?’ Amy asked shyly, a light blush on her cheeks.

‘Of course,’ Jake forced a smile.

Nick was not bad at dancing, in fact, he was quite good. Our footsteps matched perfectly with the music, every spin an elegant movement. People started to form around me, Nick, Jake and Amy. It was as if we were the princes and princesses of the country, hold the attention of millions.

I saw mum smiling at me with a cup of wine in her hand, while dad had a proud smirk on his face. I laughed, he must be amused by how Nick was smitten with me.

‘You have a nice laugh,’ Nick commented.

‘Flattery will do you no good,’ I replied. ‘This means nothing, Nick. I’m merely showing sympathy to you.’ I knew it sounded harsh, but there was the only way for him to give up.
‘It’s better than indifference.’

That boy was too optimistic for his own good.

‘Look, Nick---‘

Stopping in the middle of my sentence, I paused to look at the girl at the door.

Dora.

She wore a black leather outfit, her hair pulled back into a pony tail. She waved me over. I let go of Nick’s hand and ran out of the room. Dora leaned on the door frame, crossing her arms.

‘I don’t have much time, Nessie. Take this,’ Dora handed me a piece of folded paper.
‘What is this?’

‘No time,’ her eyes scanned the surrounding in alarm, scared like a frightened animal. She ran off like last time, leaving me alone.

Jake came to my side, a worried look on his face.

‘What happened?’ he asked. ‘I smell Dora. Was she here? What did she want?’

Silence filled the gap of awkwardness; I didn’t know what to say.

‘I’m not sure, Jake,’ I said.

My hand balled into a fist subconsciously, crumpling the paper in my hand.