Forty years can severely change a human.

However, forty years can only trifle the existence of a vampire.

I stood, staring at my unchanging reflection in the antique mirror I had found in Charlie's basement. Times had changed rapidly, the technology age eclipsing the need for floor-length mirrors, but nothing fascinated me more. Perhaps because, in such a mirror, I could see the full vestige of what I was.

A vampire. A bloodsucker, as Jacob Black used to call them – I say 'used to', because he is no longer a werewolf. After the Cullens left Forks, and Victoria lost my scent, there was no need for protection and Jake resumed his human form. That was thirty-nine years ago; he disappeared shortly after, and I haven't heard from him since.

There hasn't been much time in my life to dwell on the fates of others.

Charlie died of sudden kidney failure ten years ago; I could only attend his funeral under a guise. With my head bowed and shrouded by a black sea of fabric, I had to offer Renee my condolences in a removed, emotionless voice. It was painful, to watch your human life crumble, but necessary. Decades later I would forget, and my life would become an anomaly.

Being a vampire is not as glorious as I would have imagined. He is not here to share my burden; immortality is bland without your soul mate.

But what would I want with Edward Cullen now? He had left me, with so callous a farewell, to rot on the forest floor. I would never forget his words… their biting (no pun intended) intentions. He did not love me anymore, they were leaving, and it was time.

I gave a derisive laugh, as the reflection in front of me changed, the face contorting into dark amusement. What would he say if he knew this mirror image was what became of his Bella? His innocent, sweet, human Bella.

My existence was immaterial to the world, now. I lived like the corpse I was, managing day to day through the small pleasures I found in reading ancient Literature and visiting distant lands. For Carlisle's sake, I fed off small animals and as rare as possible. Fighting human blood had become natural, but nothing could stave off the need to feed. I was bound to my immortality, embarrassed by its sustenance.

In the early years of my change I felt sympathy for Edward, only now understand the true tribulations he faced. However, I never found a scent that made me wild. Human blood almost repulsed me in its sickly saccharine nature. I wanted to spell peppermint and lime, not raspberry and banana.

Now, here I was, with no coven and no family, sitting in Charlie's basement staring at an antique overlooked mirror. It was almost humorous.

Though I was not expecting to be bothered since Charlie's house had been empty since his death, I still felt tense. Part of the reason I returned to the dreaded Forks was because the Seattle newspapers were drenched in stories about mysterious disappearances and deaths in this small town. Knowing better than the idiot reporter, who decided to blame it on 'the man', I came back to save this little town from my own kind.

There was a stray vampire looking for some fun, and he'd struck a nerve with me. Though I'm certainly no Volturi, I am also not the ideal vampire to cross. My impervious nature held through the transformation, and my anger developed into a power; I could blow things up. It wasn't exactly a convenient power, but it warded off unfriendly company all the same.

Giving myself a few fleeting moments to swallow up the mirror and its familiar reflection, I traced the outline of my figure, flicking quickly past my brown eyes; they had not changed much, only clouding with red when I don't feed for more than two weeks. My hair was still brown, but with a more commanding presence. Everything becomes ethereal about your appearance when you become a vampire.

My skin was pallid and daunting, my eyes were shrewd and watchful, and my body was always enveloped under layers of clothes. I liked to hide in whatever way possible.

This was me. This was Isabella Swan, forty years after the fall, and still looking eighteen.

I sighed, tearing my eyes away from the mirror and starting up the stairs towards the kitchen. The Cullens, Jake, Charlie, Renee, Forks High School – these were all memories that served well as they were, past and untouched.

The future was no great surprise to me.