“Something is bothering her,” Aerial said quietly. “We all know it. I just hope she tells us though.”
“It would be nice to understand and help her,” Marsha added.
“Well she bloody better tell us soon because I’m losing my patience!” and with that Licenta walked off leaving behind a worried Marsha and Aerial, and of course Anna, who had overheard the yelling.
Chapter 22
Anna stood in front of her bedroom door; she was afraid to go in there now. She knew she was in the wrong for locking her friends out yesterday, but she couldn’t help it. Now she wanted to explain. She knocked on the door and her stomach started to lurch. She hated this, she didn’t want her friends to be angry at her.
The door was opened fiercely, so that Anna stood face to face with a furious Licenta. “Would you like to make us feel worse?” she asked sarcastically, as she held the door open. “You do know we all have problems of our own. I only get to see my parents twice a year!”
Anna felt like fleeing at the outburst, but she stood her ground. She knew that she had to give them her note. Anna saw the other two girls in the bedroom watching the scene with shock and she believed it might be better to leave. She handed the note to Licenta and walked off, leaving the three of them to read the note.
Please meet me at the counselor’s office
At 4pm today
-Anna
Chapter 23
The roommates were curious, maybe still a bit angry, but their curiosity overruled it. Therefore, at 4pm they were in front of the counselor’s office, waiting for Anna to appear. The door opened and Anna stepped out. She made a gesture to the counselor’s room then walked in hoping her friends would follow. To her relief, they did.
The door closed after the four girls. Most of them had never seen the inside of the counselors’ office. It had a desk with a computer but also a lounge with lots of pillows which looked comfortable. Opposite the lounge, there was another chair.
Anna came to talk to the counselor once a week, or more like write in Anna’s case. The school was scared that Anna’s memories were going to affect her emotionally. She had nightmares about them and they kept on popping into her head at unusual times, so the counselor did help to some degree.
In this room Anna could just say what she was feeling, ask for advice or just let things flood out. It was a safe place and Anna wanted to be here for her friends to understand why she was upset.
“Welcome,” the counselor said. She was a middle aged lady who was a bit on the plump side but with a very friendly smile. She wore a dark purple top and a black skirt that reached her knees. “Sit,” she said gesturing towards the lounge full of pillows. All four of them sat there. Though they were squished, you could still see more space between Anna and the rest. They did not hate her but it was a natural thing when they were so angry.
The counselor sat in the black and silver chair in front of them and started to explain, “Anna wanted me to talk to you. She thought you wouldn’t listen to her and that it would be easier if I told you why she was angry.”
Her friends squirmed slightly at the thought that Anna thought she could not talk to them. She was still their friend but they were just angry. Was that so wrong?
“Anna explained to me that she ran away from the chapel and locked herself into your bedroom. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” the three said, uncertain what was going to happen.
“Now first of all I want to tell you three to not feel guilty in any way. You have been really good friends to her and have done nothing wrong. The thing is she had a reason why she ran away from the chapel; it was not a random burst of emotions. Let me explain. Do you know of the civil war in Tral?”
Of course, they did. Their country bordered Tral, and their government gave money and support to the people there. “Yes,” they answered, unsure of what to think and say. “But what does this have to do with Anna?” Marsha added in.
“You see Anna was connected with this war, she lived in Tral with her family. When Anna was only seven years old the war in Tral broke out. Her father spoke out against Vacont for his genocide against those who were not Christian. He was Christian himself, but because he and his wife rebelled their whole family was sent to a concentration camp. Her Father, her Mother, her brother and Anna herself were put into an indescribably awful place.”
The counselor waited for the information to seep in. There was now no space between Anna and her friends; they wanted to be near her because they already started to understand the pain she went through. Underneath their anger they still cared for her dearly. The counselor continued,
“Because her father had been criticizing the Vacont government and aiding non-Christian people fleeing the country they tried to torture information out of him. Her father was a proud and brave man so they turned on his family. When Anna was thirteen years old her tongue was cut off.”
A gasp of horror and guilt filled the room. The counselor waited again, knowing that all this was difficult to take in, before starting again,
“This was a known torture then. When she was fourteen years old the concentration camp had too many people coming in so to create room people were taken to the gas chambers. Her mother was one of the unfortunate people to meet this fate.”
A tear came down Anna’s cheek at the memory. Though she tried to hold her tears in, the memories of her past still held too much emotion. Her friends offered her a comforting hug.
“When she was fifteen years old the soldiers of Vacont had had enough of her father’s rebellion. Therefore, he was shot as many others were. It was devastating for Anna, as she now had no parents and she was alone with her younger brother, Gregory.”
The counselor continued but all Anna could see was the memory. It clouded her vision and the cold seeped through her mind.
She was alone with her brother. He had a hacking cough and the cold did not help it. He was sick and he could die if he did not get medical attention.
Anna did not know what to do, she was powerless. She was just a young girl. Others had died before, and who was she to say that her brother was different and he shouldn’t fall prey to the grim reaper.
All she could do was hope and try to help her brother, to make him eat and keep him warm. He would be healthy soon, she kept on reassuring herself. He will be fine.
Hope seemed more and more useless each day when the inspection came through. If a person looked sick, they would take them to the medical center so others could not catch it. The medical center sounded fine, until you knew the truth that many did not return from it.
The ringing sound of boots came through the hallway, followed by the sound of a door opening. Anna heard voices and the clang of the door closing again. Then the footsteps came closer and closer, until they were right in front of them.
The door creaked open and polished black boots came in. They belonged to a tall man with a moustache; he was of a higher rank than most. He told them to stand up so he could inspect them. His eyes moving over her and Gregory’s bodies made shivers go down her back. Her eyes shut and she prayed that neither of them would be taken away.
Her brother gave a hacking cough and that was it. He was gone. Taken to the medical center, leaving Anna all alone praying for her brother’s safety, hoping she would one day see him again.
Her mind came back to the present in time to hear the counselor finishing,
“And this is why she ran away from the chapel. You see her father was very Christian and it brought too many memories back.”
Chapter 24
They were out of the counselor’s office and into the comforting atmosphere of their dorm. Silence dampened the air; none of them were sure what to say.
“I am so sorry,” Licenta burst out towards Anna. “I didn’t know… I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” Her voice got quieter at the thought.
Anna smiled weakly at Licenta and signed to her, “You didn’t know.”
&
nbsp; “But I still shouldn’t have yelled at you …” Licenta said. She bowed her head and stared at the floor. “I’m not really a good friend am I…?” She said it more like a statement then a question.
“We were just as bad as you,” Aerial said. “We didn’t say anything. I was angry too, but you were the only one who said something.”
Marsha stood up from her bed. “Me too.”
All three stood there in a moment of silence then there was a scratching of a pen and the three looked up to see Anna writing in her note book. They watched her pen anxiously as it ran across the page. Finally, the book was handed over to the girls.
It’s not your fault, you shouldn’t feel guilty. I am just happy you are not angry with me anymore. I am really sorry for running away from the chapel and locking the door, it just was too much.
I hope you can forgive me.
They read it and Aerial was the first one to answer. “Of course! If you have forgiven us we have definitely forgiven you.”
Marsha broke the silence with a yell, “HUG!” The hug ended with all three girls suffocating Anna with friendly and warm arms. They were all happy friends again, no fights and no problems other than homework and tests that loomed over, but for now that was distant. It was better just to enjoy the moment.
A sound of the dorm’s phone ringing broke the hug and Marsha was the first one to get it, probably hoping it was one of her admirers. “Hello?” She said into the phone
“Hello, is Anna there? I have some news for her,” a woman’s voice replied
“Yes she is here.” Marsha thought for a second how this would work as Anna couldn’t communicate through the phone. “Who do I say is speaking, so I can give her your message?”
“Of course,” The voice said. “Tell her this is Ms. Rachel Turner, her social worker. We have some news, although it may come as a shock.”
“Who is it?” Licenta asked curiously
“Her social worker,” Marsha said to them before returning to the conversation on the phone. “Please continue.”
“It’s about her family.”
Chapter 25
It was a windy spring day and the fresh green grass swayed with the wind. The four of them were at a cemetery staring at three graves, which now displayed their flowers they had brought. In an unlikely co-incidence it turned out that the graves were not far from Anna’s school. The two bigger graves read, Rosalyn Briar and Matthew Briar. The smaller third one read Gregory Briar. Underneath each name it said ‘Died in concentration camp during Tral Civil War’. Under that it read 'Their lives were taken in hope that others would live.'
Anna stood there in shock as she looked at the graves. She had known all along that her parents were dead but confirmation that her brother was dead broke her heart slightly. Standing there with her hair lightly crossing her face with the wind, tears started to fall down her face. She didn't do anything but cry silently as she stared intensely at the gravestones in front of her. It was all over. The war, the horror, but also her beloved family. It had taken everything from her.
Aerial, Licenta and Marsha came up from behind Anna and hugged her. They all knew she didn't want to say anything or do anything, so they just hugged her, giving her support. Helping her to understand that she was not alone, that there was still hope for her and that this wasn't the end. She might have lost her family but she still had them, her friends and her new adopted family who would always be there for her.
After a moment, Anna turned around and hugged her friends back. Her face was covered in tears but she smiled at her friends. She was so thankful she had them. She took two of the three outstretched hands in her own and, without a word, they walked down the hill and into the rest of Anna's life.
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