SLOW LIFE Chapter One - Ride
I was thinking that it would be good if I introduced myself, but then I realized that it would be difficult, since even I don't know who I really am. I mean, I know who I am at the moment, but there were so many mes over the time that I'm kind of confused. I bet I'm the only person on this world that has experienced what I had experienced, am experiencing and probably will experience. And now I’m probably totally confusing you, dear reader. I guess I should explain it a bit more.
My current name is Isabella Marie Swan, but I usually go by Bella. My current dad is Charlie Swan and he’s the Chief of Police in a small town in Washington state, named Forks. It rains there. A lot. I think there are probably four or five days a year when it’s sunny, but I can’t say for sure. I haven’t lived with him since I was a few months old. My current mum, Renee, divorced him and left with me. We lived in Phoenix, where it was hot and sunny all year long. There was rarely any rain and it never snowed.
You might be wondering why I keep saying current before my parents. You see, I had many parents before I met Charlie and Renee. They are my latest parents, you could say. And no, I was never adopted.
I am a rare kind of a human – my body is mortal and dies rather quickly, while my soul is immortal, and every time my body dies, it is reborn in another body. Sometimes it’s a male body, sometimes a female, and I’ve been reborn as an animal a few times as well. Those were funny times, but it got me to see the world from another perspective, so I didn’t whine a lot, since I knew that I would be reborn as soon as I died in that body.
I had many names over the millennia. I don’t remember all of them at the moment, but I have a list somewhere in my backpack. Actually, it was more of a notebook and not a list on a paper. And the notebook was almost full.
You could say that I’ve lived through the history of the planet. From the beginning of the Earth’s evolution, until now. The best part in all of this is, that I can remember everything about my previous lives and learn from my mistakes in them and retain the knowledge I’ve attained.
I still grit my teeth when I watch History Channel on my TV when they get their facts wrong, but I daren’t tell them that since they would probably think I’m crazy. Or worse. Being burned at a stake for being a “witch” wasn’t funny. At all. It hurt like hell. Being beheaded also isn’t one of my favourite ways to die. Or drowning in the middle of Atlantic Ocean. Or being speared by an Indian. I don’t like dying, but hey – it’s part of the “Circle of Life” as they say in the Lion King cartoon. I have to give the Disney people some credit. They usually get some of their facts right. Haha.
I won’t bore you with other names, unless you’re interested. You can say so in the review you’ll write at the end of this chapter. XD Sorry, had to write this one down before I changed my mind.
Anyway, back to the story.
My mum Renee remarried a few months ago to a guy named Phil and he’s a baseball player. He’s only in minor league, but he still has to travel a lot. That’s the main reason that I’ve decided to move to Forks to live with my dad. My mum stayed at home, but I could see that she missed her husband very much, and – being the loving daughter I am – decided to go live with my dad for a while to give the two a bit of space. It’s not that I didn’t like Phil. No, Phil’s a good guy. I just wanted my mum to be happy and sacrificing herself for me did not make her happy. It didn’t make me happy either.
And so I find myself on a plane that took me to Port Angeles airport after promising my mum to call her as soon as I got there.
Dad waited for me at the airport and hugged me shortly. He wasn’t one of those people that easily talked about or showed their feelings and I understood that. The ride to Forks was spent in a sort of uncomfortable silence. I mean, I did spend some time with my dad before. I spent two weeks every summer with him since I was a baby. We didn’t talk a lot during those times. He was either working or fishing with his friends Harry Clearwater and Billy Black. I didn’t complain. I liked being alone.
When we drove to his house, he helped me bring my suitcases up into my room and left me alone. That’s the best thing about him. He doesn’t hover. If it was Renee, she wouldn’t have left me alone for a second. I quickly emptied the suitcase with my clothes and put them into my wardrobe. I quickly organized the rest of the things from my suitcases and lay down on my bed.
