Far away from where the building was located, Anna stared out the window, with her arms hanging by her sides, looking upset. She too wondered where her beloved friend Jack had gone. She questioned whether he went to heaven or worse, hell.

Sighing, she felt depressed and missed him, wishing he was still alive. The day he was taken away was the worst day of her life. The police told her he and his family were murdered.

She looked at the clouds above while the wind blew her hair. She reached out, pretending to grab the fluff of clouds and began to tear up. “Oh Jack… why did it have to be you? You didn’t deserve to be taken away from us. You were my best friend, but more importantly, you were like a brother to me. I miss you so much.”

Anna cried, then walked to her dresser and held a picture of her and Jack from when they were small kids. She stared at the photo and gripped it tightly, her hands shaking with sadness. She gently placed the picture down and leapt onto her bed. Even though she tried to hold her tears back, she couldn’t. Instead, she let it all out; her sorrow, her loneliness. Grabbing her pillow, she held it tightly and cried her eyes out into the pillow to muffle the sound of her sadness.

She stopped crying for a second, then wiped her eyes. Heavy footsteps came towards her bedroom door. Wiping her tears away faster, she sat upright.

Her father opened her door aggressively and started yelling. “What’s with all the crying?!” He walked up to her, reeking of alcohol and seemed quite drunk. “Shut up! Daddy’s having his me time sweetie!”

She was a little shaken, but she restrained her emotions as much as possible. “I… I… I’m sorry Dad. I was just thinking of something and I started to cry.”

Her father sighed, then patted her head a little too hard. “Sorry sweetie… I know I’m a mess, but I do understand what you’re going through. I lost a friend and my job.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, I’m still not over it, but drinking calms me down a bit.” He burped and patted her back. “No matter how drunk I am, I may scream at you, I may be loud, but I’ll never hurt you.” Then he walked out of the room.

Anna looked down and a single tear dropped onto her leg, smudging some makeup that covered a bruise. “That’s because… you don’t remember.”

Her mother walked in afterwards, and she appeared to be drunk as well. For a couple of high middle class folks, they acted more like drunk trailer park trash than what they should be acting like. She walked up to Anna and grabbed her hair. Her grip was tight and Anna felt as if her hair was being ripped out of her scalp.

Anna grabbed her mother’s wrists, trying to break her grip off her hair. “Mom! It hurts. Ple-Please let go!”

Instead of hearing her daughter's pleas, she just kept laughing and continued drinking. She tossed Anna to the ground and placed her foot down on her back. Hard.

“Why did I give birth to such trash?!” She then poured beer all over Anna. She put weight down on Anna’s back, making her yelp out of pain. “Stupid kid! You’re the reason why we’re in debt!”

Anna coughed and gasped for air. “Please… Mom… I can’t… breathe!”

Her father walked in and got madder. “What the hell are you doing to my baby girl?!” He rushed to his daughter’s aid by pushing her mother onto the bed and tried to pick Anna up. But her mother got up and slammed the beer bottle in her hand against his head, causing it to shatter into a million pieces.

He stumbled a bit from the impact. “Don’t talk to me like that, you big oafy dumbass!” She jumped onto his back and they both started to wrestle.

Her father had blood dripping from his head, but that didn’t stop him from tossing her mother around like a ragdoll. Both parents bumped against Anna’s dresser, with her father desperately trying to reach an arm around to get her crazed mother off his back. They hopped off the dresser, slammed against the walls, and then crashed through Anna’s closet door.

Anna was terrified. She begged her parents to stop fighting and tried getting up, but her mother noticed and grabbed a shard of glass close by. She cut her father, pushed him out of the way and got out of Anna’s closet. Rushing towards her, her mother grabbed Anna and tossed her on the bed, forcefully pinning her down.

“Bad kids must be taught a lesson!” She lifted Anna’s shirt, exposing her bare back. “Especially those who talk back to their parents!” She slashed away at Anna’s back, cutting into it and horrifically leaving long trails of red.

Anna screamed from the excruciating pain. She felt like she was a slaughtered animal. Even though she was trying to escape, she was too weak from all the damage she was taking. Her father noticed her turmoil and grabbed her mother. Both parents struggled and wrestled their way out of her room.

Anna laid on her bed and twitched from all the pain she was feeling. Her back burned and blood poured onto her bed while she cried and struggled to get up. The pain was unbearable.

Her phone rang. Hearing it make noise was a blessing, so she pulled herself to the edge of her bed and managed to grab it. When she answered her phone, Anna heard Veronica’s voice.

“He-Help… me.” Anna could hardly hold her phone let alone stay conscious due to the pained shock driving through her body. She couldn’t take it any longer and passed out.

Veronica panicked, not knowing what was going on at her end until she heard Anna’s parent’s aggression and fighting in the background. She wasn’t going to waste any more time and started dialing 911. She informed the police that something was wrong with her friend, then she described what she’d heard. They understood and sent an officer on the way.

Rushing out of her room and down the stairs, Veronica made her way through her living room and spotted both her parents. “Mom, Dad! I’m going to Anna’s. It’s an emergency!” she said in a hurried and terrified tone.

Veronica’s father said, “What do you mean by emergency?”

Her mother, on the other hand, downplayed her daughter’s overreaction. “It’s probably nothing. Perhaps it’s school related?”

Veronica didn’t have time for explanations, especially with her mother not taking her seriously. So she just ran off without saying another word, leaving her father feeling a bit worried and her mother still not giving a toot. Veronica was out the front door and on her way to save her best friend Anna.

After fighting off her mother downstairs momentarily, Anna’s father walked back in, all bruised and sliced up. As he stumbled about, approaching Anna, who was still bleeding on her bed, he noticed his own daughter was lying there motionless. He rushed to her aid and started treating her wounds.

As he did so, he poured some alcohol to cleanse her hidden skin, revealing all the bruises and scars she had on her arms and back. He wanted to assure this assumption, so by rubbing some of the makeup off her face, he exposed more bruises.

Anna’s father detested the sight he revealed so much that he shed a single tear full of guilt and shame. He began sobbing away all his regrets. “Did I… do this?” He picked Anna up and hugged her, holding her tight. “I’m so sorry… I’m so fucking sorry!”

He heard car doors being shut outside, which made him walk over to the window. Siren lights flashed across his drunken, bloodshot eyes, which made him turn blind for a second. Once his vision regained, he looked back out the window and spotted a police car in their driveway.

He smiled and gently set Anna back down on her bed. “I’m a failure of a father. I’m so sorry for everything, Annabelle.” As he was about to leave, he took one last look at his daughter. “I hope you find it in your heart… to forgive this stupid fool. Until we meet again, my dear daughter.” He walked out of her room and made his way downstairs to the front door.

The police heard Anna’s mother still screaming in a pit of drunken rage. Her father opened the door and raised his hands into the air. He informed the police of the entire situation, along with more stories. They arrested him and arrested Anna’s mother too, of course, without a struggle.

As Anna’s father was put inside the patrol car, he took one last look at his home. “Farewell sweetheart. Hopefully you can forgive me one day.” The patrol car pulled away as the ambulance arrived, along with more police vehicles.

Veronica arrived at the end of all the madness that ensued and spotted Anna awake alongside her grandparents, where the paramedics were still treating her wounds. Veronica rushed up to her and tried jumping onto her, but the paramedics stopped her.

Even though they stopped her from jumping onto Anna, that didn’t stop Veronica from expressing her worries to her best friend. She cried and grabbed Anna’s hand instead. “Ar-Are you o-okay An-Anna?!”

Anna expressed a soft grin and patted Veronica’s hand. “Everything’s okay now,” she said softly.

Anna’s grandpa was talking to one of the officers, thanking the officer for everything. The officer handed Anna a teddy bear and wished her well. Her grandpa informed her of the entire situation.

“How could they do that to my grandchild! My God, poor Annabelle!” her grandmother said, all furious and disappointed.

Anna looked at her grandfather and wanted answers. “Where are my parents? What happened?”

He sighed and held Anna’s shoulder. “They’re going to prison… for a very long time.”

Anna felt relieved… almost happy. Tears flowed down her face, like a river having the freedom to flow peacefully alongside nature. “What about Dad?” she asked as she cried up a storm.

“Your dad was the one who suggested they be locked up. He was the one who told them everything.”

Anna felt something strike her heart. She couldn’t believe her father was the one who ratted them out. There was no way she couldn’t take it, so she broke down and clutched onto Veronica. She always loved her father, but after he’d lost his friend and job, he had changed.

Her mother had always been abusive to her, especially behind her father’s back. She blamed Anna for ruining her body, her life, and for not being the blessing she wanted.

Her father had only hit her twice accidentally, but that was out of drunken sleep or rage. Yet, it was her mother who did all the abusing. Her mother punched, kicked, and threw items at her. She even left her out in the shed once during a cold and stormy day.

The worst case was when she was five. They were at Jack’s birthday party, where she had accidentally dropped water onto her mother’s dress. This made her furious, so she dragged Anna to Jack’s bathroom and attempted to drown Anna in the sink. Luckily Jack had arrived and saved Anna from near death. Ever since then, she had always admired him and stood by his side, vowing to be best friends.

After sobbing on Veronica’s clothes and wiping her face, Anna looked at both of her grandparents. “Is it okay if I can walk Veronica home?”

They were both against it, especially her grandmother who said, “You’re still hurt. You should come with us and let your body heal.”

Her grandfather agreed, but he said, “If she can talk and walk without an issue, then we should have no worries.” So after a small talk between the two, they told her she could, but Anna had to come back immediately.

She listened to them and nodded, turning to Veronica after. “Is that okay with you?”

Veronica was against it at first, mostly because Anna was still hurt. “That’s fine. You definitely need to rest up though, and heal like what your grandparents said.”

“It’s okay, I’m tougher than I look. See!” She raised an arm and flexed.

Veronica gave in and grabbed her hand. “Okay, but if you start groaning and moaning out in pain, I’ll be sure to remind you that I told you so.” They began walking towards Veronica’s house.

As the girls were walking, Anna said, “Let’s visit the cemetery real quick. It’s only five o’clock. It’ll be quick Veronica.”

Veronica didn’t want to at first because she still felt guilty about Jack. She still remembered how she wished that something terrible should happen to him and it did. “I’m not so sure, I don’t want to be a bother.”

“It’s fine, honestly! I think it’ll make him happy knowing you visited him, don’t you think so?”

“But Anna… look how badly you’re hurt! Shouldn’t you have gone to the hospital with the paramedics?”

Anna thought about it, but somehow, she felt okayish now. She even patted her back and to her surprise it didn’t hurt too bad. “I’m fine! I-I think. It still slightly burns. Besides, my cuts aren’t that deep for them to be stitched. So what do you say?”

Veronica thought for a moment, then held Anna’s hand. “I’ll do it! Let’s go see Jack.”

Anna smiled, then they changed course and headed to the cemetery. When they got to the entrance, Veronica felt something bad coming from the cemetery.

Anna started joking around. “What are you, some psychic huh? Ooo, look at me, I’m Veronica and I can see the dead. Ooo!”

“Stop that! I feel something negative inside this place! I just know it.”

“Hmm, I do recall how much you hated places like this, as well as ghosts or anything supernatural. My bad Veronica.”

Both girls continued on towards their destination without joking around or scaring one other.

Veronica stayed close by Anna’s side, clutching onto her arm the entire way. “Anna… are we almost there? I’ve got goosebumps all over—” A loud hoot startled Veronica. “What was that!!” She huddled behind Anna out of fear.

“Relax silly, it was just an owl!”

They walked through the cracked concrete trail that was smothered with dead leaves, and vines grown within the cracks. Anorexic trees as black as charcoal stood around the edges of the path, and countless yards of different shaped tombstones littered the landscape.

The girls finally made it to Jack’s family grave. Anna placed her hands together and prayed, kneeling in front of his grave and muttering words. Veronica looked at each tombstone.

{Here lies Jackson Samr, 1980-2010} {Here lies Miranda Samr, 1982-2010} The last tombstone read {Here lies Jack Samr, 1998-2010}

Veronica started to have flashbacks from that day when Jack called her a “Bitch!”, which reminded her of her sins.

Veronica couldn’t take it any longer. The guilt, the pain, the agony that built up inside her, and how it hurt and crushed her soul. She dropped to her knees. With palms on her face, she cried, feeling broken and ungrateful. Anna heard Veronica’s cries, so she got up and held her, trying to offer comfort.

“It’s all my fault!” Veronica whimpered loudly.

Anna stroked Veronica’s hair lightly. “No! It’s not Veronica. None of it was your fault. Please stop blaming yourself!”

Veronica’s tears penetrated through the cracks of her closed fingers. Her body quivered as tears slowly dripped down from her cheeks. It was clear that the burden of remorse was too much for her. “I told him that I wished he would suffer and die! How? How is it not my fault? How?!”

Anna held Veronica tightly. “People say things that they don’t mean. People make mistakes. And words don’t have meaning unless action is ensured.”

Veronica momentarily stopped her hefty crying. “Ho-How are yo-you so su-sure?” Instead of crying again, she softly whimpered.

“Because I’m sure that Jack’s probably watching us from above, protecting us from danger like a guardian angel. It’s most likely he was the one who saved me from bleeding out too.”

Veronica calmed down a little bit, and sniffled. “Anna, do you have a tissue?”

Anna chuckled and ripped one of her bandages. She handed it to Veronica.

“Thanks Anna, for being a great friend,” Veronica said, then blew her nose into the material.

“Trust me Veronica, he wouldn’t blame you. He isn’t that type of guy, remember?”

Veronica wiped away her tears and hugged Anna. “Tha-Thank you for everything. I’m so-sorry for being mentally weak.”

They both looked at the graves and wished him their condolences, praying and thanking him for watching over them. After they were done, Anna grabbed a flower nearby and placed it on his tombstone. Veronica did the same, but placed a dozen flowers on his grave to pay the most respect.

Seeing Veronica do that brought a single tear out of Anna. She was relieved to see Veronica confront her past. It warmed Anna’s heart. She looked up at the sky and closed her eyes, clutching the necklace pendant that Jack gave her not too long ago.

They said their goodbyes and began to leave the cemetery. After a small trip back to the same ironed gate entrance smothered by overgrown greenery, and with some crows hanging around at the tip of it, both girls stopped.

Veronica glanced back at the cemetery one last time, then back to Anna. “Thanks again Anna for comforting me. It really means a lot.”

Anna softly punched Veronica’s shoulder. “I should be thanking you Veronica for rescuing me. Without you calling the police, I probably would’ve died back there.”

“I don’t think Jack would’ve allowed that to happen. Will you be okay? Are you sure you don’t need my help walking you back home?”

“I’ll be fine. After all, my house isn’t too far from here.” She smiled happily and gazed back at the cemetery one last time.

They both giggled and said goodbye to each other. Veronica left first, walking out of the cemetery as Anna stood there, silently watching her leave, while her clothes fluttered from the howling wind. She finally broke out in tears without making a sound.

Before she could leave, Anna took one last good look at the cemetery, but then she noticed something odd. There was a girl standing by Jack’s grave. Anna stood there, watching. She felt goosebumps rise on her arms and a slight eeriness in the air. A passing car distracted her for a second, and as she looked again, the girl had disappeared.

What did I just see? Anna thought, but she shrugged it off, assuming it must have been her imagination. She went off to walk home, alone, not knowing that the girl who stood at the entrance of the cemetery was watching her. The girl slowly faded away, laughing all manic-like, and said one thing with a sinister gentle tone, “I’ve finally found you… Annabelle.”