I was 16 years old on the day that I met the…man, that I was going to spend all of eternity with. I had been playing outside in the forest behind our home, climbing trees with the local kids. I had been in the highest branch of a small ash tree, when Charlie, one of the boys, threw a large stone at me—It just missed me but as I dodged out of the way, I lost my footing and fell down to the ground. I cried out, as I felt a snapping pain in my Leg, I asked one of the others to run to my home to fetch my mother. The tears were flowing down my hot cheeks, but it was not the pain, though it was fierce, that made me sob this way…it was the humiliation. I had known Charlie Evenson since we were children. Our parents socialized together,. But He and I had never become friends. He was mean and surly. And had a slightly odd Look about him. As I waited for my mother to come he was staring at me through narrowed eyes. A strange smile on his face. He looked a though he was enjoying the tears of pain and humiliation he had drawn from me. I pushed the worrisome thought from my mind, as my mother appeared looking scared. The Local Doctor was out of town so we had to go to the hospital in Columbus. We took a Hanson cab and it was after dark by the time we arrived. I was carried into the Doctors office where they laid me down on a bed by the window. We waited quietly for someone to appear. The door opened, and the Pale skinned, blonde haired Doctor entered the room. It was though all the air left. I felt my heartbeat stutter…he was …breathtaking. He closed the door behind him and crossed the room with a kind of flowing grace. His movements were so fluid. I couldn't take my eyes off him. He extended a hand towards my mother who also seemed rather stunned by the good doctor. They shook hands and I saw my mom flush and look away. And then he spoke and I felt as though my heart stopped completely.

"Good Evening Mrs Platt, My Name is Dr Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you. And this must be Esme??…And what seems to be the problem…" As he turned to me and spoke our eyes locked and I felt as though everything else in the room, every sound, everything around me except for his face melted into the background. His strange golden eyes held mine for an interminable amount of time. I felt as though he was reading my soul, and I his.

"…Esme?" we broke eye contact then and he shook his head slightly as if to clear it, and he was suddenly businesslike again, but the tension in the room was palpable now—what had just happened?? I didn't know, but I was utterly certain he had felt something too. But he seemed to be avoiding my eyes.

"I…I…Fell, my leg, um… I landed on it, I felt something…snap." I stammered. He examined my leg in silence and I shivered slightly at his cool touch…really cool actually. How strange. His eyes looked so warm, A golden butterscotch colour I had never seen before. It was an odd contrast to his chilly fingers.

"Is there much pain when I do this?" he asked and pressed slightly on the bone in my leg that we thought was broken.

"Ouuuch!" I yelped

He chuckled quietly "Ok then I think I'm going to have to set your leg in a splint and I'm afraid you will have to stay here in the hospital for a few weeks until we are sure that the bones are healing correctly. We'll set it here in my office and then I'll have a nurse take you upstairs to the ward right away, but first lets get you something for the pain." He said in his perfect voice, with a hint of an English accent playing over his words. He walked over to a cabinet and took out a small cup of pink liquid he handed it to me and indicated that I drink it. I did so. It didn't taste that good but I took it all, as I didn't want him to think I was troublesome. I would have drunk poison if this man had told me it was what he wanted

I was stunned. I was going to be staying here? Where he was? My breathing was unsteady with excitement—I was going to see him again, and talk to him even! I was intrigued by what had passed between us—there was some connection here –I didn't know what it was I had never experienced anything like it, but I had read a lot of books, I loved romance and I had read about love many times, and somewhere in the back of my mind I was toying with phrases like "Love at first sight" and "soul-mates".

Okay so I was probably being ridiculous, and reading far too much into it—he was much older than me, even if he didn't look a day over twenty-one. Probably looking into my eyes to see if I had hit my head or anything, after all I had just fallen out of a tree. But even still…a few weeks he had said. I would get to see his beautiful eyes again, at the very least.

My Mother misinterpreted my uneven breathing pattern as distress that I was going to be staying away from home.

"Oh Honey, don't worry, I will bring you all your books tomorrow, and some fruit too, you will be fine!! Dr Cullen will take good care of you." She soothed.

"I know Mom its fine. Ill be fine. I would love it if you could bring my books though, I hate being stuck indoors –when the weather is so fine too." She seemed reassured that I was happy with the turn of events and allowed herself a small smile.

Doctor Cullen cleared his throat, to excuse himself and he set about arranging the materials for splinting my leg. After a few minutes he took my injured leg gently in his hands. I watched him work in silence, marveling at the effect his fingers had on my heartbeat when they touched my bare skin. I felt like there were sparks crackling between us. I couldn't drag my eyes away from his face as he worked, he didn't see me, focused as intently as he was. But a couple of times he seemed to stop and listen, and with a rush of blood to my cheeks, I realized it was as though he was reacting to my heartbeat when he touched me...could he…was it possible that he could hear it? I continued to sit in silence, going over the last few minutes of my life again and again. Vague ideas about weddings and babies and being a doctors wife, were beginning to take shape in my addled brain, I thought maybe the painkillers were starting to kick in and I felt as though I could drift off to sleep. My eyelids grew heavy, and as I began to drift away an odd though occurred to me…I didn't think… that I could hear the Doctor breathing. Was he holding his breath? Then the thought drifted away…I drifted away…And then he was done and the sudden absence of his hypnotic fingers touching my skin more gently than a feather, startled me back into the here and now, and it was time for me to go to the ward. I only remember small parts about the next hours. My mother kissing me goodbye with promises to return with my books the next day. A kind nurse, helping me to undress, and get into bed. Dr Cullen checking me over as I drifted off. Trying to stay awake to look at his face for longer...his dulcet tones telling me to relax, and let myself rest. As I sank into a deep pool of morphine induced sleep, I thought I heard a reassurance that he would return later.

When I woke, it was still dark outside and I struggled to place my surroundings. Foggy memories began to surface, but before I could make sense of anything, a familiar voice spoke beside me in the darkness.

"how are you feeling?"

Everything came back in an instant. I sat up quickly and I let out an audible gasp. I never heard him move, but a light suddenly flickered on the tallboy next to the bed on the other side, and as the lamp began to glow more brightly, I saw him standing there blowing out a splint. He put it on the dresser and returned to the seat by my bed. He hesitated as he took in my expression.

"Do you mind if I sit?" He asked me. I was sitting gazing at him, my mouth hanging open he must have thought I was a mental. I closed my mouth and shook my head. No. I did not mind if he sat.

" I hope you don't mind my visiting you this evening, I have the rest of the night off you see, and your mother requested that I kept an eye on you as you didn't like to be alone, and had never stayed away from home before," As he sat down, he laughed a little. "Your mother obviously cares and worries a great deal for you…Anyway, I knew you didn't have your books yet, so I thought Maybe…a little company? Perhaps we could talk for a while?" He paused and looked at me. He seemed unsure of himself, as though he had never done anything like this before. This pleased me, I wouldn't like to think he visited all his young female patients after hours and I nodded in agreement, still not trusting myself to be coherent if I tried to speak, I wondered vaguely if I was dreaming. I couldn't believe that this man, so beautiful and skilled could want to see me in his free time. And in the middle of the night, no less. He could surely have any girl he wanted. One that wasn't confined to a hospital bed would be a start. The silence was growing between us like a giant wall, I needed to fill it, but I was scared that I would babble and make a fool of myself.

"Dr. Cullen…" I began, but he cut me off

"Please, call me Carlisle. And you are Esme. You have a beautiful name." the way he said my name mad my pulse fly, and I was staring at him again. He stared back and then he smiled widely and I was struck by how white and sharp his teeth looked. He saw my eyes widen, and looked away, some emotion in his eyes that I couldn't place…sadness? Regret? It confused me. There were a few seconds silence before he spoke again. I looked at his face, but it was composed once more wearing a polite half smile now..

"So, Why don't you tell me about yourself? What do you want to do with your life?" he asked me. The question stunned me into speech and without thinking about it I blurted out my answer. " I want to make houses beautiful. I'm always changing my room and buying new furniture and things. My Mom says I have an eye for it. I want to get married have lots of babies and make our home the most beautiful home in the state!" He laughed at this and began questioning me about my life. We talked for hours about my home, my hopes for the future, my childhood. He didn't say a lot, mostly just nudging me with polite inquiries about my life. It seemed so mundane to me, but he seemed to revel in my tales of smalltown life. While we were talking I felt my self falling into him, I could sit with him just like this forever and always just talking and looking at each other. I could feel that he was attracted to me. I knew I was a pretty girl. People told me so all the time. But I was not conceited. My mother would not have allowed that. As we talked his eyes were on mine. As time drifted by, I found an idea forming in my head. There was something about this man. Carlisle, as he had asked me to call him. Something I was missing. I couldn't put my finger on it. I didn't know. But it only served to make me more fascinated than I had been that first moment when our eyes met. As we talked I Asked him lots of questions, but he cleverly diverted me, with answers that were really questions in disguise. As the sun was threatening to make an appearance on the horizon, he told me he had to leave. I struggled to keep the disappointment out of my eyes.

"….Besides if Sister catches me keeping you up all night long she will murder me." he chuckled at the thought.

"will you be back tomorrow?" I asked him hesitantly—I was a little concerned by how much I needed his answer to be yes…I was getting caught up in him, and I knew if I allowed myself to become too fascinated by him then I was setting myself up for a fall…I didn't want to let myself get too attached –I couldn't bear it if I was imagining the connection between us. He was much older than me after all. He raised his hand, and ran a cool finger down my cheek to my jaw, I shuddered at his touch.

"I…" he seemed unsure of his answer but when he saw the look in my eyes at his hesitation, he continued. "yes. I'll be back tomorrow at dusk, I am on the night shift for the next few days. I will come and check your arm as soon as I arrive tomorrow evening. Farewell for now, and…Thank you, for talking with me, I have enjoyed your company… very much. Sleep now my dear, its very late and the Ward Sister will be arriving shortly."

He turned and walked away then, but he paused at the door and looked back at me. Our eyes held again for an instant and I saw something in them again that I didn't understand…Regret perhaps? I couldn't be sure, but it felt as though he didn't want to leave…something more too?

The day dragged by in staggering lulls where the clock seemed to have stopped moving altogether, as I impatiently waited for dusk to arrive again, so I could see his face once more. I tried to sleep as much as I could, so that I would be able to be alert when he was here during the night, but it wasn't easy. Everytime I closed my eyes I could see his face, and when I tried to drift off I could only think about different scenarios where he and I were alone together away from the prying eyes of the night nurses who watched all the time to make sure the patients were doing as they should. I was sure it was only the fact that the nurses were as taken with the beauty of this mysterious Doctor as I was, that meant he got away with keeping me up all night in the first place.

Dusk arrived. but He did not. I waited growing more impatient with every passing second—where was he? why did he say that he was coming back if it wasn't true—I felt desolate—how could I be so upset?? I had only spent a small amount of time with him, but my stomach felt hot and panicky as I waited for him to appear. I had let him get under my skin, and I knew now that I was a foolish girl to believe that there was some connection between us, how could someone like him feel that way about a silly child like me. I was angry with myself for letting it happen. And the emotion brought hot tears to the corners of my eyes. I forced the tears back and tried to think about something else. Eventually I decided to ask the night nurse about him, and I climbed out of bed and walked out into the corridor struggling with my crutches. I asked the first nurse I saw, it was painful to move around and I winced as I struggled to her desk and asked if she knew anything about his whereabouts

"Dr. Cullen? He had to leave suddenly for his new job in Chicago. I'm afraid he wont be returning,—I could call Dr Parkinson if you are in pain? He can give you something?"

"No…Thank you…" I stumbled back to my bed, where I curled up in a ball and let her words sink in. wont be returning? What did this mean? it had felt so nice to be near him and I was sure he as enjoying being near me too….had I done something wrong? Was I not pretty enough for him? I couldn't believe he wasn't coming back, I felt short of breath and I realized I was crying, the hot tears streaming down my face. I don't know how long I lay there like that but I must have drifted off. I dreamed strange dreams of the man I was never going to see again, in which he kept telling me he had a secret he couldn't tell me, while flashing his teeth at me in a dark smile, and that he had no choice but to leave although he wished he could stay with me. I awoke with a start when I felt a cool fingertip graze my cheek.

I gasped as I opened my eyes and he was standing over me in the darkness. He looked like an Angel in the half light coming from the corridor. He knelt down beside my bed and whispered to me, so quietly, I could barely hear him.

"I'm sorry I didnt come to see you this evening, something …unexpected happened. I have to leave Columbus right away. I shouldn't even be here now, but I couldn't leave you thinking that I didn't care about you. Something passed between us yesterday. I know you felt it too. I want you to know that you have moved me in a way I have never known before. But I have many secrets in my life. Dangerous secrets, I am not… who you think I am…and sometimes when someone seems to be getting close to discovering my secrets, I have to take Action to protect myself. I have to get away right now. I was leaving soon anyway but recent… events have forced my hand. There is work in Chicago, I will head there for now, and begin again. I am sorry to leave you here like this, when we were on the verge of becoming…friends. Believe me if there were any choice at all I would take it. I'm sorry, Esme. He touched my face once more and I closed my eyes and leaned into his hand. Then I felt a small stirring in the air around me and when I opened my eyes he was gone. It was over. Before it had even begun. I struggled to make sense of his words. I could not. There was no sense to comfort me in the bitter dark.

I didn't know it then, but I had just met the man I was destined to spend Eternity with. And it would be nearly ten years before I saw him again.