Was it suicide?

Ch 23- It's your birthday, Anna!

***KNOCK KNOCK*** 

Anna rolled on her bed as the knock interrupted her sleep. 

***KNOCK KNOCK*** 

"Mom, please...I want to sleep" she whined. 

***DRAMATIC KNOCK*** 

"Open up, birthday girl!" a cheerful voice called out. 

Anna got startled as she recognized the voice. She looked at the clock and it was 8 A.M. in the morning. Pressing her eyes shut, she questioned, "Why are you here Ali?" 

***DRAMATIC KNOCK*** 

"Open up Anna. Let's celebrate!" Alira was all over the moon. 

The excitement in Ali's voice brought back memories of Ava- the way she decorated Anna's room, the way she cheered her up to confess her love. "Please leave me alone, Ali. I don't want to do anything today." Anna answered in an irritated tone. 

"Stop punishing yourself anna. You have a life. You have people who love you. Just think about them for once," she uttered an exasperated snort.  "You are hurting everyone like this!" she added when Anna didn't respond to her. 

"You don't know what I did, Ali'' Anna shouted. Cursing herself, she buried her face in the pillow to hold back the sound of her sobs. 

Alira was taken aback by the yelling. Punching the door in disappointment, she wept, "I don't know cause you never told me!"

"Please Ali! I don't want to do this," Anna somehow managed to enunciate in between her sobs. 

After banging her head against the wall for a good fifteen minutes, Alira placed the present for Anna at her door and came out of the place stomping her feet. 

Anna felt bad for doing this to her best friend. She punched her chest, again and again, wishing for it to stop beating. 

"I am sorry, Ali. Please forgive me," a teardrop rolled down her cheek. "Hell, I can't do anything right! I hurt Ali just the way I hurt Ava!" she slapped herself hard as a punishment. 

"If only I was brave enough to face things, you would have been here with me today, Ava. I wish I had talked to you that day!" the tears dried up leaving their mark on Anna's face. 

  ----------

Next morning 

Anna reached the cemetery at exactly 5:25 A.M.-the time Ava committed suicide. 

Making her way to her sister's grave, her eyes spotted someone talking to Ava. The clothes and stature resembled that of a man but his face wasn't visible as he was wearing a cap. Moving closer, she tried to catch a glimpse of the person. 

"Joel," her eyes widened. She immediately squatted, behind a grave's stone to hide from Joel.  

He was sitting quietly, looking fixedly at Ava's grave. Although only a part of his face was visible to Anna, she could still make out that he was in pain. 

After God knows how long, he finally averted his gaze from Ava and looked at his watch. Mumbling something to Ava, he then got up and left. 

Making sure that he was no longer there, Anna proceeded to her sister. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are, Ava? He still loves you and you-" she gasped. "You were so stupid to do this," she lowered her eyes. "I am never forgiving you for what you did," she pushed back the tear which threatened to escape her eye. "And I'll never forgive myself either," she mumbled, closing her eyes.