Reflection and Interaction

Time seemed too slow for Anna as she brought the scissors to her throat. Her mind flashed with images of Marckus’s smile one last time. The blades of the scissors stopped mere centimeters from her throat. She swallowed a lump that had built in her throat as her hands shook vigorously. 

She was in so much pain. She was alone, afraid, and the one little light she had in her life - her one true friend and family - was gone. And she wasn’t sure she’d ever see him again. A cluttering sound resounded from the bathroom as Beatrice neared it.

“Hey, Anna. You alright?” Beatrice froze at the door as she saw the girl curled up on the floor. She passed the pair of scissors sitting in the sink as she rushed over to the girl. ‘Did she,’ she thought briefly before turning her eyes back to Anna as she lay there whimpering.

“Why Marck,” she heard the girl whimper. “Why did you go away like, like,” the girl seemed to choke more on her words. “Why?” 

Beatrice's eyes narrowed as she stared down at the girl. Empathy swarmed inside her. Although she could understand what she was feeling, Beatrice didn’t know what to do or say that would help. So she just placed a hand on the girl's back tenderly just like Jay had done and sat with the girl as she cried.

After a few minutes, Anna's crying was reduced to slight tremors and the occasional sniffle. She and Beatrice sat there in silence. Beatrice thought of her next words before she spoke.

“I fixed us some breakfast. Maybe getting a proper meal will help a bit. We can even watch a movie. I have tons in my collection.” She flashed the girl a small but genuine smile but it never reached her.

“I want to be left alone please,” Anna uttered barely above a whisper.

Beatrice looked at her with an empathetic expression. She stood up and looked down at the emotionally broken girl and saw a reflection of her inner self. “You’re free to stay here for as long as you like, you know. If you need anything, I can promise you I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Anna nodded her head ever so slightly in understanding as she continued to lay there with her back turned to the woman.

“My room is also open to you. I doubt the floor is that comfortable,” she joked lightly. Anna didn’t move and showed no sign of actually hearing her. Beatrice grabbed the pair of scissors and passed the girl one last concerned glance before walking back towards her kitchen area.

She stared down at the breakfast she made for the two and sighed. She took her portion, not really feeling that hungry, and sat it on the floor. Spike was quick to trot over to the plate and devour the assortment of bacon, eggs, and waffles. She took Anna's plate and tossed it in the fridge before retrieving a canned bear.

‘Almost out,’ she thought, dejectedly. The sound of her phone buzzing drew her attention. Beatrice walked over to her kitchen island and grabbed the small device, seeing Jay’s name on the screen. She swiped across the screen to answer.

“Running late again are we?” Jay immediately questioned in a joking tone.

“Sorry, got caught up with some… stuff,” Beatrice replied. She didn’t feel that it was appropriate to mention Anna's outburst. Or what she suspected the girl was going to do with those scissors. 

Jay seemed to pick up on that, though. “How is she?” he asked.

“How do you think,” Beatrice replied. An awkward silence filled the line for a moment before she spoke. “I’ll be on my way in a few. Just need to make a call first.” 

“Alright, but hurry up. I can only cover your hide for so long.”

The line closed and Beatrice walked back down the hall towards her bathroom. Anna was no longer there. She walked out towards her room and peered inside to find the girl curled up under her blankets. Beatrice cracked the door and dialed a number as she turned to go gather her things for the day.

Anna slowly opened her eyes to once again be met by the sounds of bustling traffic and daylight piercing through the window. And, once again, Spike was there to greet her upon her awakening. The dog sat at the foot of the bed staring her down as she rose from her slumber.

She glanced around the room a bit as she started to remember where she was. As the events from earlier played back out in her mind, she curled herself up into a ball, burying her face in between her knees, sitting there solemnly. She didn’t have the energy to cry anymore. She felt something wet run across her fingers and realized it was Spike giving her hands kisses. Perhaps in an attempt to soothe her.

She ignored the dog as she tried her best to push the feelings of hurt, abandonment, loss, and longing back down deep.

The sound of the door creaking open struck her ears but she didn’t care to divert her attention to it. Spike, on the other hand, immediately perked up at the sound and turned to face the door.

“Ah, so you’re awake,” a woman's voice rang out with a hint of awkwardness. Spike immediately recognized the person, as he ran towards her and immediately started jumping and pawing at her excitedly.

“Well hello there my precious little furby,” the woman responded to the dog's advances with a playful baby voice as she picked him up and rubbed her nose against his snout.

Anna’s curiosity got the better of her as she peeked one eye out towards the door. A woman who looked to be in her late teens or early twenties was standing there playing with the small dog. Her black hair was still in a bob and she wore a sky-blue graphic tee with white shorts and flat top shoes. 

The woman glanced over at Anna and noticed her peeking. Anna quickly averted her gaze, burying her face back in between her knees.

The woman stared at her with a confused look before smiling and walking over to her. Upon hearing the woman's footsteps fall silent next to her, Anna peeked back out from behind her knees to see a hand with blue nail polish decorating the lady's nails extended out to her.

“Hi there, I’m Maxine but most people just call me Max,” the woman greeted joyfully. Anna stared at Max's extended hand, then the woman's face then buried her face back in between her knees. Max adorned a concerned look and drew her hand back slightly.

“Anna,” the little girl responded glumly, her voice muffled slightly.

‘I’m getting major doom and gloom vibes from her,’ Max thought to herself. ‘Beatrice did say she’s been through a lot when she called me.’

“Hey what's with the long face? I think I’ve got just the thing to turn that frown around,” Max said joyfully to the girl. Max reached inside of a small bag she had strapped to her and procured a small device. “TADA!” 

Anna glanced over at the small device. Her face was devoid of any emotion as she stared at it. “What is that,” she muttered.

A look of absolute surprise adorned Max’s face. “WHAAAAAAT?!” she shouted with a bit too much emotion. Anna was cut by surprise a bit. “You don’t know what a PlayPro 4 is!?” 

Anna shook her head. “I could never play any games.”

This took Max even more by surprise. “WHAT KIND OF CHILDHOOD HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING?!” Max yelled as she threw her hands in the air.

Anna couldn’t deny that this lady was strange. It was almost comedic watching her. A small smile cracked through her lips briefly.

“That’s it,” Max began. “You’re playing this, now.” Max walked closer to the girl and grabbed her hand catching Anna by surprise. Max tugged lightly, spurring the girl to get up, much to her chagrin, and follow. Max led her into Beatrice's living room while Spike followed behind.

Once the pair walked into the room, Max let go of Anna’s hand and began connecting the small device to her T.V. screen as Anna looked on in confusion.

“Ok, put that there and that there. Got it!” Max picked up the T.V. remote and turned it on. She scrolled through the inputs till she landed on the one the game device was connected to, then dug through her bag producing two controllers.

“This should definitely help ease your woes. I don’t know anything more therapeutic than crushing bad guys or enemy players online,” Max said haughtly as she passed one of the controllers to Anna.

The girl stared at the controller a bit before taking it and looking it over like it was some alien object. She looked up upon hearing some strange sound followed by music to see Max load up some fighting game.

“Now, how’s about big sis Max teach you the basics of kicking virtual butt,” Max said to the girl with a large grin on her face. 

Max plopped down on the couch and patted a spot next to her. Anna reluctantly sat next to her. Anna doubted that something like this game could help her feel better. She doubted that anything could at this point. She didn’t want to play games, nor the help and kind words of strangers. She just wanted Marckus back.

Still, she was curious as to what playing video games was like.