7 Home
Anna let out a sigh as she saw the brief outline of the mansion from her car. She slowed down her pace as she neared the gate before eventually stepping on the brakes. She then noticed that the gates were newly painted, and it made her smile.
Shaking her head, she sounded the car horn, signaling her arrival. Her grandmother probably had someone repainted the gate yesterday to prepare for her visit.
Anna let out a sigh as the gates suddenly swung open. She stepped on the gas and made her way inside the path towards the mansion.
Her grandmother was nearing her sixties. She has been diagnosed with a few illnesses, which resulted in her needing to stay indoors most of the time. But despite all of that, she still managed to enjoy a few outdoor activities.
Nearing her destination, Anna could see the silhouette of her grandmother. Smiling for the second time around, Anna put on a little speed, slowing down a little as she came closer.
Finally coming to a stop, Anna almost jumped out of the car as she leaped into her grandmother's open arms.
"I missed you too, my sweet little flower," Anna held onto her grandmother tight, kissing her cheeks.
In that instance, Anna felt at home. She never realized how much she had missed being home until she found herself locked in her grandmother's embrace.
"I'm sorry, mama," Anna managed to whisper.
Not surprisingly, her grandmother sushed her once again.
"Nonsense," her grandmother said, making her chuckle as she finally let her go. Her grandmother then placed a stray strand of her hair behind her ear with one of her hands, placing her palm on her cheeks right after.
"The most important thing is that you are here," Anna leaned into her grandmother's touch, smiling as she stared at the old woman lovingly. She was almost like a replica of her mother.
If not for the wrinkles on her face and the white-colored hair, Anna could almost picture her mother standing before her instead of it being her grandmother.
"You did not have to have the gates repainted for me, though. You should probably have them changed."
The gates of the mansion were as old as Anna could remember. It had undergone a lot of repainting over the years.
It made her think of her grandfather, who had passed away before Anna was born. He had cancer and was too stubborn to go for chemotherapy, as Anna had heard.
Her grandmother said that her grandfather would prefer to face the inevitable rather than spend on something he knew would still end up being worthless, knowing that he could still die even after doing everything they could to stop it.
It made Anna believe that her grandfather was a man full of wisdom. Anna thought that she would probably run to him often to seek his counsel if he had been alive. Unfortunately, she never even met him, and neither did he.
"Stop troubling yourself with trivial things," Anna chuckled at her grandmother's response.
"Glad to have you back, Miss Anna." Anna smiled toward Lucille Agravante, her grandmother's nurse.
"Thank you, Lucille. I'm glad to be back too." Or was she?
She was happy to be with her grandmother for a brief time.
However, Anna knew that it would only take a few minutes before the tragic memories of her past would begin to haunt her once again.
--
The rain was heavily pouring outside, and Anna was hiding under the cover of her blanket.
Lighting and thunder would sometimes leave her window, flashing a flicker of white, the sound reverberating through her insides.
"Do you want me to sing you a lullaby, Anna? Would that help you fall asleep?" her brother, Elijah, whispered.
Anna stared at her brother. He was ten, and she was seven.
She was left to contemplate whether it would make a difference if Elijah would sing her favorite lullaby. She was scared of the lightning.
Elijah had one of his hands constantly tapping Anna's shoulder. He knew how scared she always was whenever it was raining very hard, and the sky would seem to be mad, lashing out with lightning and a resounding thunder right after.
He waited for his little sister's response. Eventually, she nodded, permitting him to sing her to sleep.
Allowing herself to focus on her brother's voice, Anna's eyes began to flutter close.
She was starting to forget about the thunder and lightning continuously dancing in rhythm outside her window.
She was beginning to fall asleep when suddenly they heard noises.
In an instant, Anna caught her brother's stare. She watched him place a finger over his mouth, gesturing to her to stay quiet.
Slowly, Elijah pulled his sister with him out of bed and hid under it. He was unsure what the noise was, but he followed his instinct and had his sister follow him.
The commotion they heard began to grow louder. Several footsteps came barreling through the room, and Elijah had to put a hand over Anna's mouth to stop her gasp from giving away their hiding place.
Not knowing what was going on, Anna suddenly became fearful as she saw several pairs of boots barge inside her room and heard the three men talking.
"You said there are two children. Where are they?" Anna looked at her brother. She had no idea who these men were or why they were inside their home. Neither did she know why they appeared to be looking for her and her brother.
Judging from her brother's perplexed expression, Anna knew that Elijah was as clueless as she was.
At that moment, Anna wanted to find her parents and have their reassurance that everything would be alright. She can't explain why, but her heart was hammering hard against her chest, fear beginning to crawl under her skin and into her entire being.
"They are sure to be around the house. The bed looks unmade."
"Then find them! We need those two to make the adults talk and give us what we want."
The fear inside Anna grew as she heard the familiar sound of a gun clicking as its holder readied to aim at a valid target.
