Saturday morning was spent in a weary state. I was certain Edward was upset over last night, though he did a fine job of keeping it hidden. Plus, the very thought of Nancy – who appeared very kind – caused me to become scared and upset.

The entire morning was spent in an awkward silence. Edward was very patient and understanding – perhaps too much for my liking. I didn’t want to be treated even more fragilely, but I was unwilling to speak up. Furthermore, if I said a word, I’d probably have an emotional breakdown. Finally, after hours of agonizing muteness, Edward spoke up.

“Five o’clock, Bella. Perhaps you should get ready.”

I nodded my head, still too afraid to speak, and dragged myself upstairs. With Edward’s driving, I had no fear of being late, so I took my time.

Eventually decent, I stumbled back down the stairs lazily. Of course Edward caught me before I could fall. Safe in his strong arms, we were at the car mere seconds later, speeding down the highway to Port Angeles.

I closed my eyes settling in for the ride. At some point, Edward’s right hand laced its fingers through my left hand, and I fell asleep in comfort. It felt like it was only a minute later when I was being lifted from the car and carried to Nancy’s front door. Before she answered, I was placed on my feet and standing upright.

This was it. This next hour would be the one I feared for so long. Now, all my thoughts were left behind. Anything up until now was lost to the wind.

And there, right before my eyes, stood Nancy, smiling from her doorway. Today she wore a black dress with what appeared to be roses scattered everywhere in shades of grey. The dress fell outward from her body, ending just below the knee. Black, one-inch heels finished the dark colored outfit nicely. Nancy was still very kind and normal looking.

“She wants to help, Bella,” Edward whispered in my ear as we were welcomed inside.

Edward sat in the middle of the couch, pulling me to his left so I was closer to Nancy. All though I was not on his lap, I was still pulled up against his body and relaxed against his chest. His arms wrapped around my midsection, holding me together the same way I always did for myself when the pain of the hole in my body returned.

My head rested against his neck, the cold helping the headache, which had already formed from the thought of tears. Edward’s chin sat on top of my head, facing the same direction I was.

“So, where would you like to start? How have things gone since Tuesday?” Nancy began.

I sighed. I was going to need some Tylenol later – the headache could only get worse.

Looking away before answering to escape her penetrating gaze, I looked over the room. It was still brown and full of little trinkets. Despite the ordinariness, the same owl as last time caught my attention.

This time, however, I knew what it was. The “pearl-spotted owlet,” as Edward called it, was a normal bird. Its color was brown and white, much like the color of my hair in contrast to my skin. He had also said the eyes were supposed to be yellow, though this one had a golden-yellow edge. I couldn’t help but think of Edward’s honey colored eyes – they were so alike.

As I thought about the owl further, I related it’s breeding pattern to that of humans. Though we don’t mate in particular months, we typically have two kids, just like the pearl-spotted owlet. In addition, adult humans don’t have to be so varied, though our children are quite different for most of their lives.

Relating the owl to myself even more, I decided that the meadow could be much like the range of the bird. An “open meadow and semi-woodland areas.” Although the meadow was surrounded by forest, I suppose you could say it was much alike.

It seemed silly to relate the owl to myself. It was an average creature, just as I was an average human. There wasn’t anything particularly special about either of us. Regardless, the owl extremely important.