Snow Blooms The Perfect Rose

Bright starry sky

"Anna, what happened?" Sandra asked me while separating her music notes from my school books.

"What?" I was writing my French translation and stopped while she talked.

"You look cheerful today." Sandra looked at my face and smiled.

"Really". I tried to concentrate on my work.

"Yes, what happened?" Sandra asked again.

Sandra returned from grandpa a few minutes after I reached, mom and dad were waiting for us. Lunch was served. For our relief, Sandra seemed to have recovered from her depression. So all of us enjoyed our weekend lunch together. After lunch Sandra and I were arranging things in our room. She noticed a change in me. My face was like an open book. Everything in mind can be easily read through my face and Sandra was an expert in this.

"Tell me Anna".

"This morning, I heard something terrible about a good person, later I knew it wasn't him. That's all".

"To whom?" Sandra finished it and sat near me.

I was worried. How could I tell Sandra about Abram?

"I can't Sandra. I made a promise". I looked at her with guilt.

Sandra rolled her eyes. "Anna, now you are hiding things from me."

"I am sorry, I wanted to tell you, but"

"Fine, Anna, you can keep secrets from me, but never keep secrets for yourself, okay, you know what I mean".

I looked at Sandra's eyes. At that moment I found a culprit inside me and Sandra was bringing him into the light. Once Sandra was a culprit too, she was 16 then, I was 11. She had a group of chattering friends. Sandra was their leader. She was brilliant in studies, most beautiful girl in the school. A lot of guys admired her. But Sandra never showed interest on any of them. I was her proud little sister, studying in the same school.

Sandra always kept me to her side. I accompanied her wherever she and her friends went. Once, one of her friends mentioned a charming artist new to the town, who made live drawings of the tourists. The girls became excited to visit his studio.

One evening we went to his studio, Sam was new to the town. He was drawing an elderly couple when we reached there. He was very much occupied with his work, that he doesn't even notice us. Sandra's friends were disappointed and irritated. Sandra, first time in her life was facing a treatment like this, but she waited there patiently.

After the couple went cheerfully, he turned to us. What the girls said was true, he was really good-looking. He talked. "You came as a group, who all want their drawings". Everyone raised their voice. Sandra was silent. So was I.

"It's late, I am closing the studio, so I select one of you". Everyone went disappointed, Sandra is the prettiest girl in the group. He will select her only. He walked towards Sandra, looked at her closely. I saw Sandra staring back at him, I couldn't read her face. He asked.

"This is your sister, right? I will draw her". Leaving a surprised Sandra and friends behind, he put me on the stool and began his drawing. I saw girls criticizing him annoyingly at his back. But Sandra was silent, she was looking at him with an unusual expression. After the drawing, he asked for money. Sandra looked at the drawing.

"I can't give you money." She said.

"What, your sister is cute, but I can't give free drawings to her". Sam used to smile while he talked, he even showed his disappointment in a charming way.

"No, there is a mistake, my sister has a curled lock of hair on the left side which you clearly missed". Sandra returned him the picture. It was a very minute mistake, I felt bad about Sam. Sandra's friends were expecting this and were giggling at her back.