The Way It Is [#OpenNovellaContest2019]

• Chapter Eight •

Collage made by me!! :)
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Anna was back in the forest.

Except it was different once more.

Everything was in black and white; the silhouettes of the trees looming like shadows above Anna where she stood on the ground.

She looked around, a sense of dread seeping through her. It was like ice running through her veins. This time she knew it was a dream, but she still couldn't shake the bad feeling she had.

Once again, she heard a young girls voice. But this time, it was angry.

Ember's voice made Anna whip around. Running through trees, jumping over bushes; the path was more familiar and easier to get through.

Then she entered the clearing. She saw the puddle. But this time, it was giving off a horrible aura. Anger, sadness, spite... they all crashed over Anna at once.

Running to the puddle, she ignored the poisonous aura that was trying to latch onto her. Dropping to her hands and knees, Anna watched the puddle movie mirage once again.

This time, Mirage Ember and Mirage Anna were facing each other, fists clenched and eyes narrowed.

"I thought I told you to stay away from that girl!" Anna spoke calmly, but her voice trembled with anger.

"Anna, she's my friend! How am I supposed to stay away from her, especially when she needs me the most". Ember's young voice sounded high pitches and panicky.

"Listen, Ember", Anna tried to keep the worry out of her voice. "You can't help her. It's not your job! She should get professional help, and she shouldn't be going to you expecting you to fix all her problems! You're both too young to be dealing with this sort of thing."

At these words, Ember's eyes darkened. She looked at Anna with one emotion: loathing.

"Just because we're ten years old does not mean we don't have feelings. Carly feels sad, I know because she showed me scars. She says her scars help her not feel sad. I obviously know that it's bad, but you know what else she says?"

Ember's expression almost dared Anna to say something. "She says that talking to me makes her forget about being sad. Then she doesn't have to make more scars, because I can help the sadness before she puts it on her skin."

Ember's eyes were tearing up now. "I'm the only thing holding her together, Anna. You don't understand."

Guilt washed over Anna, and her eyes softened. She reached out to Ember.

"I understand, Ember, I really do. But-"

Smacking her hand away, Ember started to cry openly, her voice getting more and more frantic.

"No you don't, Anna. You really don't know what it feels like to know you could be responsible for the death of a friend if you mess up. If you say or do something wrong. Okay? You don't. So stay out of it!"

And with that, Mirage Ember ran away from Mirage Anna, through the trees and down a path the two had made together, leading back to their home.

Mirage Anna looked up, seemingly looking out of the puddle up to Real Anna.

"What do I do?" Mirage Anna sighed. "Someone tell me what to do."

Real Anna wished she could. Give herself the advice she would have needed all those years ago.

But she couldn't.

All she could do was look away in pain as the scene faded.

And started again.

Anna looked on in confusion. Another scene?

It was Anna and Ember once more... but they were screaming at each other.

Mirage Ember's tears streamed down her face.

"I told you! I told you it would happen, but you still pulled me away! You still wouldn't let me help! Then she moved away and then... then she died, Anna! How can you look me in the eye knowing she's dead? How?"

Mirage Anna shook her head, eyes wide in shock. "Ember, I really didn't think it was that extreme!" Her arms accented her words as she yelled at Ember. "I just didn't want you getting hurt, okay? Stop blaming me for something that was out of both of our control!"

"AAAAAAUGH!" Ember yelled into the sky. "You don't get it, do you? I was helping her! All we did was talk! And we didn't even talk about sad subjects. It was one time that I caught her crying and asked her what was wrong, and that one time where she told me the sad things! Okay? Once!"

Anna took a step back from her reeling sister. "Ember-"

"And that one time you caught us crying together was because her dog had just died, and I was sad because dogs are really, really cute and I was thinking about our own puppy, Loki, dying, and she was crying because she loved her dog, and... and..."

Ember broke. She collapsed to her knees and sobbed. Anna immediately ran to her side, hesitantly wrapping her arms around her younger sister. But Ember was too upset to shove her off.

"Anna, they... they said she jumped in front of a car. On purpose." Ember shook in Anna's arms. "She wanted to die, Anna. She was only ten, she wanted to die, and... she did."

Anna just sat there, holding her sister, eyes scared. A ten year old girl... and she had contributed to her death. At least it felt like she had.

The two sisters say there on the ground for a little while, silent and sad. Then Anna held Ember by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"Just... hear me out, okay?" Anna begged.
"I was worried about you. I understand what Carly was going through, I really do, and I understand that you wanted to help her. But I wanted to protect you, because... well..." Anna looked at Ember with sad eyes. "I know from experience how sad people can make other people sad by making them worry about the sad peoples problems.

"And maybe it was unintentional", Anna continued. "But people can't depend on their friends to keep them alive. It's too much. They have to get someone who can really help. And I know it's hard to talk to someone who's not your friend, and lots of people can't do it. But it's not your friends responsibility to be your therapist. Because your friends can't handle that kind of stress."

Anna sighed. "At least, that's my experience with it."

Ember looked up at Anna. "You had a sad friend, too?"

Anna smiled gently. "I had many. And I helped them, to a certain degree. I got them help, I talked to them, but eventually I had to hand it over to a professional because I was quickly becoming the most anxious and exhausted person ever."

Ember nodded slowly. "I still feel guilty, though."

"And you will. It's natural. You care about your friends, and that's a good thing. But it's not your fault if it's something that's beyond your ability to help. Carly needed professional help, and, well... she didn't get it. But that's the sad truth, Ember."

Anna blinked away tears. "You can't save everybody."

And with that, the mirage ended, leaving the real Anna sitting there crying silently, as rain began to fall once again.

When she woke up, she didn't open her eyes. She laid in bed, remembering the sound of Ember's voice and feeling tears running down her cheeks.