When I was a girl back in the day, I used to run home from school to watch my favorite soap opera called, Dark Shadows. It featured a vampire named Barnabas Collins, his brother who was a werewolf named Quentin Collins (I had a major crush on him), Barnabas' love interest, Angelique whom he eventually married, etc...They lived in a dark castle and interacted with society on some level in this small town and lived in relative peace with the town folks. I don't remember a great deal of detail, but I rushed home, pulled a couple of chairs together, draped a sheet over them and crawled underneath in order to be able to "peek" out when it got too thrilling and intense for me.

My daughter Callie is experiencing the same passion, but I must say she is handling it with more grace and maturity than I did. She has devoured the four novels by Stephanie Meyer...Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. Now she anxiously awaits the debut of the fifth novel.

I took her to see Twilight, the movie, yesterday.

There were no sheet coccoons to which she could withdraw and there were none needed. She watched avidly as the whole story of Edward Cullen and Bella developed on the big screen in the movie theater.

She gazed with rapt attention as the story unfolded, her hands pressed tightly together, sometimes with clinched fists, sometimes in prayer form, and a few times placed gently against her lips as the two main characters met and fell in love, on screen, before our very eyes. She knew every twist of the movie before it happened, she could manuever each turn with ease because she knows the characters so well.

It was a story of sweet love, nearly impossible love, that was forbidden by both humans and vampires alike and yet, it was undeniable for Edward and Bella. The appreciation we humans have for one who is supposed to be evil and trying so hard to be good and do the right thing is powerful.

I wouldn't be surprised if my little Bella has her own torch for Edward. Not unlike the torch I carried for Quentin Collins all those years ago. Although I enjoyed the movie, watching her was as much fun for me. It brought with it memories of another starry-eyed young girl in love with a handsome hero from long ago.