Ana and Mia - A Short Story

Ana, Mia, and Lily

      There once were two girls named Ana and Mia. They were best friends and were almost never seen apart from each other. Ana offered control and confidence, while Mia offered an eraser to mistakes. They befriended everyone they met, promising happiness, love, and safety. Some people loved them and became besties with Ana and Mia, while others rejected them and tried to escape from the friendship they shared. Ana was intense, loud, and sometimes kinda mean. Mia, however, was more understanding, calm, and reassuring, simply giving a quick fix for mess-ups. Ana and Mia were quite peculiar people. They always wore a smile and welcomed anyone with open arms. 

       Lily was the first to befriend them. Lily had extremely low self-esteem, high anxiety, and a fear of judgment. As she sat in her room crying over her appearance, Ana knocked on her window. Lily opened the window and let Ana in. Lily vented to Ana about her fears, problems, and insecurities. Ana suggested a plan, a plan that would help her lose a few extra pounds and gain some confidence. Ana promised that it would work. Lily started right away, keeping track of what she ate, working out, and staying away from junk food. But after weeks of hard work, she only lost one pound. Ana told her "It's okay, just try harder. You aren't trying your best, and you know that. You can do better than that!" So Lily ate a bit less and worked out more. She kept a closer count of her calories and weighed herself a bit more. She realized the numbers on the scale were lowering quite quickly, and every time that number dropped, Lily was filled with happiness, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

       One day, Lily decided that she was where she wanted to be weight-wise and decided to go back to eating normally. But Ana had other plans. Ana yelled "You are giving up already? You could look so beautiful that everyone would be jealous of you and would want to be you! No one would judge you anymore. I can't believe you want to stop! You're still fat, you know!" So Lily kept going, with Ana pushing her to eat less and workout more every day. Lily was tired and cold all the time. She felt dizzy, and started to feel anxiety towards high calorie foods. Just the thought of anything over 100 calories made her feel sick. Ana took over more and more of Lily's mind. Ana made her love the hunger pains, filled Lily's head with thoughts of no one loving her, made her think she was getting fatter, and told her that she had to work harder than ever. Ana made her think that she couldn't live without Ana, and made her feel loved by Ana.

       After months, Lily couldn't take it anymore. She went into the kitchen, filled her arms with food, and shoved all of it into her mouth. Immediately she regretted it, but she couldn't stop. Even though Ana was yelling nasty things at her, Lily kept eating. When the food was gone, Lily sat, emotionless, staring at the wall. She was so disgusted with herself and hated herself more than ever. 

       Suddenly, Ana stopped yelling. Lily heard a new voice, but it wasn't loud and angry like Ana's, it was soft and understanding. It said "It's okay dear. Everyone makes mistakes. You deserved to taste something yummy. Don't beat yourself up honey, I have something that will erase the calories of what you just ate." 

       Lily was hesitant to agree but decided in the end to try it. 

       "Just go into the bathroom and make yourself sick. It will only last for a few seconds, and then all the calories are gone like it never happened. You deserve to be proud of yourself for getting rid of a mistake."

       Lily tried, and after an hour in the bathroom, the deed was done. Her guilt floated away, but she felt unclean. Lily brushed her teeth and smiled to herself. Now she could eat whatever she wanted, as long as she threw it up afterward. 

       Even after months of strengthening her friendship with Ana and Mia, Lily was still unhappy. No matter how low that number on the scale dropped, she still felt unhappy, fat, and gross. 

       Lily wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop. Even though others were worried, and she could hardly do anything anymore, she wouldn't give it up. She couldn't leave Ana and Mia, the only ones that were there for her. She withered away, while Ana and Mia smiled over her starving skeleton, finally satisfied with Lily. 

       That's what Ana and Mia do. But they can't help it. After all, they only want their friends to be happy.