A Garment of Brightness by miaokuancha

Official Description:

Showing is stronger than telling. I felt the short little hairs on the back of my neck stand straight on end. “It’s not fair,” I say aloud. The night wind swirls, lifting the fine surface powder from the tops of the snowdrifts, coating us in diamond dust.

Miaokuancha’s writing is absolutely breathtaking. And this story is so much more than Twilight canon. Its bloodlust so strong Edward can barely talk to Bella. Its folded notes that mean so much. It’s a Bella so loving and kind hearted she prays for those who feel threatened by her. It’s a family on the verge of being torn apart by misjudgments and false assumptions. It’s a journal that holds secrets but gives a glimpse into the boy that once was. And a girl who sees it as so much more. It’s a story that grabs the reader from the first sentence and never lets go. Quite simply this story is a must read. A read it now and it’s impossible to put it down story. The imagery she creates pulls the reader right into the story.

“Forks is just like I remember it – a dripping, misty, dark, little one-horse town. Without horses, of course. This is the twenty-first century. And no tourists come here to make it worth anyone’s while to keep a real stable.

Lots of trees, though. Mostly pines and firs and spruces. So it’s dark. If the sun shone on it, I guess you’d see the green inside the black. Green pine branches above. Green ferns down below. The spaces between the trees are wide, like the aisles of a cathedral. The branches closing above are the roof. And there’s rocks and streams and thickets in between. And moss – making dewy green fur on everything. When a tree dies, it lies down in the aisle and makes a window above. The moss is already there on the trunk; the ferns come right after, then little trees, growing up. That’s why all the trees are in rows, growing up from the bodies of the dead. If the sun shone down, all those greens, and the rusty pine needle carpets, might blaze like stained glass between the black frames of trunks and limbs. But the sun is a stranger in Forks. And without the sun streaming in through the big rose window, what is a cathedral but a tomb”.

It has a first meeting that will break your heart but shows the power of the connection for Bella, the moment that changes it all for her.

“I can barely breathe, he’s so beautiful. Pale, pale skin, like porcelain. His hair isn’t long, but it’s rebellious. A kind of rich, soft brown with bronzy accents. He has a slender, graceful build that layers of clothing can’t quite disguise. His eyebrows are very straight, and his dark, dark eyes are … we only make eye contact for a moment. He snaps his gaze away from me, too, even faster than I can. But in that moment I see – Terror? Hatred? Fury?

Why?

I’m fumbling with the books, and the strangeness of his gaze almost but not quite distracts me from the glimpse I’ve had of his lips. They’re soft, and red enough to contrast sharply with his face, and oh God, I would give my life right here and now to kiss him on the mouth, just once.
Just once. Me who has never kissed, never even wanted to kiss anyone. Ever.

And the universe is forcing me to sit next to him. It’s so wrong.

Eyes on feet. Don’t trip. Do not trip and do not pass out. Breathe. I pick my way down the aisle to the Siege Perilous that awaits me. From the edges of my non-vision, I see that he has left his seat and is speaking in an inaudibly low voice with another boy two rows in front.

“Mr. Cullen, what are you doing?” The teacher’s voice calls everyone to attention. I’m almost there, but reflexively stop, too.

“I’m trading seats with Josh.” Even his voice is beautiful.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Yes it is!” Maybe it came out louder and more forcefully than he’d intended, but his body language has nothing in it of backing down.

“And why is that?” I can see that the teacher is one inch short of losing patience. So is the boy, because he just blurts out –

“She stinks!”

And has, quite frankly, one of the best van moments ever. The moment they touch, the moment that Edward risks it all for Bella, the moment that stays etched in both their minds and changes them forever.

“Edward’s face is right next to mine. His beautiful, beautiful face. White as death, just like me; oh, but his lips are still red. I would give my life. I really would. Our eyes meet again. He’s staring. What does it mean? His eyes are not black like I remember. They’re golden, like the sun. Like a cat’s eye. Like topaz. Wide, and fierce, and fearful. With his arm tight around me.

Stay, I think. Stay. Hold me forever.

Until the mourning dove sings.

And that’s when he lets go of me. Stands up. Vaults over the back of my truck, light as a feather.

And he’s gone.”

Truly this story is one of the most beautiful, heartfelt, exquisite stories out there. This is a story of a vampire and his singer, of bloodlust that is undeniable and a frustratingly closed off mind. A story of a boy and a girl and a connection and desire to know one another . And it’s the story of those standing in their way. And what it might mean to be together.

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