IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE? pt 1
Autor: outsiders | Publicado: 2011-10-05T02:18:00-03:00

Christmas eve, 1996  “Come on, Annie – you need to get dressed soon! Your relatives will be here at any minute now!”  Snow. The garden was covered with a thick white, immaculate blanket. It seemed like the touch of angels; so clean, so pure... So naïve. Every flower was being protected by that puffy substance – and Anne liked to think that the snow was what could protected anyone and everything for everything bad that could happen.    “Annie! It's cold out there, come inside now!”  She was disobeying her mother – she was aware of that. But she wanted to spend more time at that frozen, crystal-like garden. She walked towards the lake, that was covered with a thin layer of ice – an frozen mirror. Anne leaned forward, watching her reflection.  A seven years old girl was staring right back at Anne. Her dark hair was struggling to escape from the braid her mother had done earlier that day. Little freckles could be found on her cheekbones and at the tip of her tiny nose, making her eyes stand out.    Her eyes – the thing most people admired about her. Round and big, framed with big eyelashes, her dark chocolaty eyes captivated everyone's sight.    “Anne Marie Thomson! Will I have to go out there to take you inside?”  Another reflection started surging on the surface of thin ice. Annie stopped , and she could feel goosebumps going down her spine. The image was concreted, and she sighed in relief when she saw her dad, smiling at her, holding a pink flower for her on his hands.  “Hi there, my little one!”, he said, opening his arms.  Annie's face lighted up with excitement when she saw her father. She ran in his direction and hugged him – and he lifted her from the ground, giving several kisses on her forehead, nose and cheeks.  “Oh God, how I have missed you, my little Anne”, he said, taking a deep breath as he inhaled her scent.  “Daddy! You came back early from your trip! You have told us you would still be there working until next year...” Anne said, with tears of joy falling from her eyes. “You came back!”  Anne's dad put her back on the floor and kneeled to be at her size – and dark eyes met dark eyes. He put the flower on her hair, and smiled at that sight.  “You're looking like a princess now”, he said, sighing. “Anne, I need to talk to you. I've only came here to see you and our family – but then I must be gone again.”  “But daddy... Won't you stay for dinner? We missed you...”, Anne said, sobbing.  “Don't cry, honey. You know I've always been here for you. And then didn't let me stay for long – I just came now to visit you, and then I ought to be going.” he said, with a painful but honest smile on his face. “I must go now. But remember that papa always loved, and always will love you, my dearest.”  “ANNE! COME BACK INSIDE NOW!”, her mother yelled.  “Tell your mother that I love her, Ok?” her father said, and then he kissed her once again on the forehead. “I love you. Please remember that. And I will always be here if you need me”  Anne started crying. Why was he seemed to be saying goodbye? The door bell rang, and she got distracted by the noise – and when she tilted her head in the direction of her father, he was gone.  She ran to the house, to find her mother talking to someone with an apron and a red cross on it on the door. It looked like the apron her father used to wear when he traveled to do volunteer work.    She couldn't listen what was going on, but she was scared when she heard her mother crying and sobbing. The man with the apron was shaking his head, looking at the floor, like something terrible had happened. Something really terrible.  Her mother fell on her knees to the floor, finding it hard to breath. Annie ran in her direction, frightened. Why was that man there? And why was mother crying so much?  “I'm really sorry, Debbie”, said the man, kneeling to hug her mother. “I'm sorry Annie. We did everything we could...”  Tears started to fall down from her eyes when she suddenly understood what had happened. Her eyes met the dark, brown eyes that were gazing the three of them from the window – it was her father. He smiled at his daughter, waved goodbye and then walked away.  Leaving them alone.