Remember Anna

Remember the time when the whole family went on a drive all night just to see the sun rise? Remember when mom smiled all the time and laughed? Remember when dad was home and not in a bar? Remember when little brother wanted a dog and when he did get one, how his face lit up with joy and happiness?
Well right there I have to say is a perfect family don’t you think?  Well that family now, is, not the same ever since the incidence five years ago.
Now the mom drinks and not just on holidays every day and smokes. She doesn’t care about how she looks, she doesn’t ware make up. Well to tell you the truth she doesn’t really come out of the house.
The dad is either at work or in a bar. Never really comes home any more...
The little brother Joie is in jive detention center for stealing and slapping a cop across the face. And it kind of started to go downhill for him after high school and when his little dog got hit by car...
The family just isn’t together anymore.
And for me (Amy) I’m doing alright I own and old hotel I fixed it up and now give art lessons and have a few paintings published
The family doesn’t get together on holidays like they used to do. The house is run down it isn’t the house that has the best lone on the block anymore.
But this is the story, this is how the family was like and this is what tore the family apart.
“Amy come inside right now it’s raining.” “But mom I love to swing when it’s raining.” “Yeah and last time you did that you caught a cold. Now get in the house.” “Fine but when I can’t paint a girl swinging in the rain I’m blaming it all on you!” “Ok whatever you say, but I’m making your favorite for supper.”
“Well why you didn’t say so? Out of my way!” I pushed my mother out of the way and I got a big whiff of the smell of hash browns and bacon. “Wait hold on squirt you have to wash your hands first.” 
The kitchen was full of family friends and family. My dad was a police man and my mom had her own pottery studio (which was the big sun porch but she needed a room and she picked the sun porch).
Then there was my younger brother who always loved to cook and hopes to be a chief when he grows up.
Then there is my older sister Anna who is 16. She is wonderful straight A’s in school has many boyfriends because she is so beautiful. She has long curly blond hair that goes to her hip. She writes the most amazing stories that make you feel like you are really there.
On my way to the bathroom I walked passed her room and it was such a big beautiful room so bright! With pictures that fills the walls.
When I got to the bathroom I looked into the mirror and looked at my face. I had the same hair as my dad dark brown short and straight. The first word that I think of when I look at my hair is PLAIN! I wish I had the same hair as my sister and mom.
After I said that I heard a voice behind me that made me jump.
“Sorry did I scare you?” “Kind of” but after I saw that it was my sister I calmed down but my heart was still pumping hard that I could feel it from my feet.
“You know your hair is beautiful too I hope you know that.” “No its not.” She turned me so I was facing the mirror and she started combing my hair with her fingers “Up and down.” that what she always said when she would comb my hair when I was little. Under her breath I could hear her saying “Up and down up and down…” softly.
After three minutes of her combing my hair mom called up to both of us to come down.
We walked into the dining room every spot had a: big plate, bowl, fork, spoon, knife, two cups one for milk or water other for wine (everybody got one except for me and Joie because we were to young and even Anna got one and she isn’t the legal age to drink but she says that she will never drink because it makes people crazy). There was a huge vase full of mom’s favorite, lilies. Every time they’re flowers on the table that means mom is in a good mood.)
Anna and I ran into the kitchen and everybody was talking and laughing well not my dad and brother they were cooking.  We both felt weird standing in the kitchen just standing there while everybody else was talking and laughing. So we just ran up to a random person and started talking.
That’s the thing about our house it is so big that everybody wanted to see inside because it is so beautiful. And when you stand inside it and everybody is talking you just feel acquired and just have to talk to someone.
I’m not that popular but I do have a lot of friends that care for me and love me. And every one of my friends knows or is friends with my sister. It’s just so hard not to like her she is just so welcoming her smell her face maybe that’s why she has had so many boyfriends.
It’s really weird she has had so many boyfriends but yet she hasn’t had her first kiss…
Every boyfriend she has ever had, after the first date with the guy the first thing she will say is. “I think he will be the one, I think he will be the one I will kiss.”
As we all sat down for super my mom came and sat the lazy Susan in the center of the table along with other good looking foods.
After she sat down all you could hear was “Oh pass me that salad.” “Oh what is that in that bowl?” “Can you put this spice in this dish?” so on, and so on…
Me and Anna always sat by each other and we had our own way of talking by not saying anything so I guess you could call it our secret code. All we did was tap our fingers together and a tap or a tap in a certain place in the palm of our hands meant something.
After dinner me and Anna ran up to her room and watched the video of the dinner.
Anna’s new boyfriend is a computer geek (well that’s what I call him behind her back) and he gave her some old web cams for her birthday last week. We even set one up in Joie’s room (but don’t worry we never see anything because he always gets dress in the bathroom), then we set one in by the front door so we can see who is coming in.
The video was really funny we could see things that we couldn’t see when we were down there.
By the angel of the camera we could see that when Mr. Paxton blew his nose. Well that’s what we thought but he really just used the clean-ex to cover what he was really doing. He was really picking his nose and you can just guess where it went.
We both started laughing so hard that we almost peed our pants!
We ran down stairs to see if he was still there. We slowly walked down the big stair case and looked around the corner to the kitchen and there he was all by himself.
He was always joules of our good fortune of money and thought that if he was friends with us that we would give him some of it (which we never did).
When he was ever by himself in our house he would snoop around and look into ever cupboard. You would think that he knew where everything is by now.
We went up to him and started to pretend to pick our nose. He looked and had a startled look on his face. Soon his face started to get red. He knew exactly what we were talking about and why we were doing it. He ran out of the room and out the front door.
We weren’t very afraid of him telling our parents about what we did. Our parents where never very strict about anything as long as we were happy that’s all that mattered.
When he left we ran up to Anna’s room and watched the rest of dinner. There wasn’t anything else that was that funny that it made us pee our pants.
“Time for bed you girls” yelled our mom. We looked at the clock and it was 11pm. Our mom would have had us in bed sooner but it was summer.
A year or two ago we would have been really sad because we always had so much more to talk about, but then we discovered that we could just email each other.
I walked into my room and got my pajamas on. Walked out brushed my teeth. Got my bed ready and then went to my computer. I already had an email from Anna saying “Hay what are you doing now?”
Me: Just got ready for bed. What are you up to?
Anna: Nothing much, just working on the end for one of my books.
Me: good I can’t wait to read it!
Anna: I’m happy to hear that!
Me: Well there always good!
Anna: I guess they are.
Me: Well I hope you do now that they are. You do know that they are good right?
Anna: of course I do.
Me: ok good, I just wanted to make sure you did.
Anna: I always have.
Me: sorry but I’m really tired. Good night Anna.
Anna: good night Amy.
I clicked the power button and shut my lights off.
         I woke up to someone poking me in the eye.
“Go away I’m sleeping!” “Come on wake up sleepy head.”
         It was Joie who was poking my eye. “Joie, god what’s going on?” “Nothing, but its 11am in the morning and mom is still sleeping. Can you cook me something?” “What about Anna?” “She is sleeping still too.”
         
“Fine I’ll make you some stupid breakfast.” I drug myself out of bed. Slipped into some slippers, rubbed the crust from my eyes and slowly walked out of my room and into the hallway.
I stopped by Anna’s door and knocked to make sure she wasn’t getting dressed or just didn’t want to be disturbed.
“Anna?” I asked I paused waiting for an answer, but nothing. I opened the door slowly and there she was just a lump under the bed covers. I walked to her bedside and shook her.
“What?” she ground “It’s time to get up.”
         She threw herself up out of bed and gave me a big hug. “Oh Amy I love you!” I was shocked and just rubbed my hands up and down her back and kept saying “I know I know…”
I never found out what that all was about but it was for some reason.
“Well come on Anna I think you need some food.” “Ok. Are mom and dad up yet?” “No Joie woke me up because he wanted food.”
When we got down stairs the first thing she asked me was. “Amy?” “Yah Anna?” “Have you ever thought about death?”
“Umm, well no, not really. Why do you ask?” “I don’t know really. My dream last night was I was walking with you and then I tripped and fell into the road. When I was getting up I got hit by drunk driver, but before it hit me you woke me up.”
Before she could go on anymore Joie started talking. “Are you girls just going to talk about someone getting hit by a car or are you going get us all some breakfast?”
We both started laughing and got started on breakfast.
         Since neither Anna nor I knew how to cook all we had was cereal and milk. 
 
After breakfast we went into the living room and watched TV. About an hour later around 12:30pm mom and dad got up.
“Hay are you guys hung over?” laughed Anna “No we are not hung over and I don’t think that is appropriate for you to be talking like that in front of your brother and sister.”
“Sorry mom…” said Anna looking down at her feet sadly.
Mom and dad never really talked like that so it really hurt all of us to see them talk to her like that.
         “Well do you want me to make something to eat for all of you? You all must be so hungry.”
         “No we all ate already.” we all yelled.
         That day Anna mostly stayed in her room and didn’t really come out only if it was time to eat or if she had to go to the bathroom. 
         Nobody really noticed this but I did. I mean my whole day is mostly spent with Anna so it was really weird.
         When half of the day was over I knocked on her door and asked if I could come in.
         “Anna can I come in or are you sleeping?”
She called my name. “Amy is that you?” “Yah” I replied. She swung the door open and just looked me up and down.
         “Why are you here?” “Because I’m worried about you, this morning you asked me about death and then you had that dream. Now you have locked yourself in your room. What’s going on with you, this isn’t like you?”
         “Ok, really Amy one time I ask you about death and lock myself in my room and now something is wrong with me?” “No, no I wasn’t saying it like that I’m just saying that I miss you!”
         “Well why didn’t you say so? Come in!” All of sudden she had a smile on her face and to tell you the truth she was kind of scaring me.

The rest of my day was spent in her room. We talked and talked. About her boyfriend, she read me some of her stories; we talked about cute actors, and what we hoped would become of our lives after school and college.
         When it was finally 10:30pm I said good night and went to bed but I wasn’t in bed for long.
         An hour after I finally fell asleep I heard a voice in my room calling “Amy, Amy are you awake?”
         I turned on my light and there was Anna standing in my doorway with her coat and mine with a flash light in her hand.
         “Come for a walk with me. Please Amy!” “Ok Anna I will…” I grabbed my shoes from my closet and then we were off.
         I do have to say it was weird walking in the streets along with my older sister at night. I mean my little town was pretty famous for people getting hit by cars and getting mugged.
         After about a block we heard a foot steps behind us. At the same time we turned around as fast as we could but nothing was there. “What do you think that was Amy?” “I don’t know but good thing we don’t have anything on us right?” “Yep!”
         Another block we walked passed house with a rabid dog. The dog started barking and snarling and showing his teeth.
         Ever since Anna was attacked by a dog when she was little and had to get stitches in her cheek she has been terrified of dogs.
         “Amy! I think that dog is going to attack us.”
“No he won’t.”I said trying to reassure her. “Amy!” She started to scream and cry. She backed up and fell off the sidewalk. She twisted her ankle and couldn’t get up.
         “Amy can you help I can’t get up. Oh god my ankle hurts so bad Amy!” I don’t know why I didn’t help her I just stood there staring at her like she was some kind of freak.
         Out of nowhere a big truck turned around the corner. We both looked at the tuck (you could tell that he was drunk by the way he was driving) then we looked at each other. The truck had to of been going at least 90 miles an hour.
         “Amy, hurry before the truck hits me!” she screamed at me. Whenever someone would yell at me I just freeze and I couldn’t move.
          The truck was about a foot away from her. “I don’t know what to do help me Anna!”I help you? No you help ME!”
         Then Bang the truck hit her. “NO!!!” I screamed. I ran to her side tears were running down my face so hard it almost burned.
I lifted her up. She had a bloody face. Her once sprained ankle now had the whole bone sticking straight out. Her clothes were torn and full of blood.
         “Somebody help me please!” I screamed. All these lights lit up after I yelled that.
I didn’t look up at the faces of the people that helped my sister nor did I even think of it. I didn’t want to take my eyes off her.
         I heard someone talking on the phone with the police and others talking on the phone with my parents.
Some were weeping and others were just so shocked that this even happened to my sister. I couldn’t even believe it myself that it happened to my sister she was one of my role models I loved her with all my heart and always will.
I didn’t even realize my parents were by my side tell my dad put his hands on my shoulder. I could hear my mom’s crying more than anything.
         We all as a family went to the hospital and she went into Acoma and never woke up.
         Three days later was Anna’s funeral. Mom really didn’t like it how they put her into the ground she slapped one of the men yelling at them and telling them to keep their hands off her daughter! Then she started weeping on her coffin. Daddy had to grab her away and leave her in the car.
After the funeral mom told dad to put all of Anna’s things in the basement.  After he did that she smashed all of her pottery equipment with a sledge hammer.
         Dad is still a police officer but doesn’t really come home. Once he tried to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge but was found by a fisher man the next day.
         The next year Joie went          into4th grade. When he came home after the first day of school his dog got hit by a car.
         After living two more years with them it got so bad I had to move in with my Grandma. I never really saw my parents again but sometimes I would drive past their house to see how it was going but it never got better.
         Now you know the story how that perfect family got torn apart by a death of their first daughter.
         You would think that I would be so sad that I let myself go because of how close Anna and I were but I didn’t I don’t know why.
         The two things I always wonder are if Anna never died how life would have been different. The other thing is if she saw the future.
         I’ll probably never know but know you now my story. Now all I have left to say is