Chapter10

He was standing outside listening to their happy voices, the boys arguing about something, and she... She was laughing dearly, he could hear the happiness in her voice, he closed his eyes and imagined her throwing her head back, closing her honey-brown eyes, in a sweet laughter, his heart stung for a second, yes he was happy for her, yet, he missed being part of that happiness, part of that gathering. He too belonged there with her, with all of them. Allan took a deep breath and opened his eyes to fall on that blue house, where once he lived, "but not anymore" he said out loud wiping a tear down his face. He turned to leave but was surprised by Adam hugging him and saying "It is gonna be ok, buddy".

Anna was up in the attic looking for a basketball, she wanted to play with her brothers like they used to. There were a lot of things but what caught her attention was a box full of trophies, she was a bit surprised to see them, " who could have won all of those!!" she wondered, she remembered that Adam once told her that he used to play basketball back at his high school, she learned and loved the game because of him, he told her so, but he has never said anything about winning trophies. "Aunty..." she heard Michael calling, so she put the box down, picked up the ball resting next to it, and ran downstairs.

She was going to ask Adam about the trophies, so she asked Michael while throwing him the ball " Where is your father? " Sam and Alex who were sitting on the table having some cake, looked at each other, and before Michael could say a thing Sam said "Hey, princess, is there any of that cake left I would love another slice" Anna looked at him questioning, she was positive that it was the first time he would ask for more cake, he had never eaten more than one slice no matter how good the dessert might be, she would always offer him but he would only say " no, no need, it is delicious, but, it is a doctor thing, never have more sweets ". And just when Anna overcame her surprise and moved towards the kitchen to get some more cake, Alex stopped her saying " I would like another one too" Anna raised her eyebrow in question, and this time spoke it loudly " Seriously, now, what' a wrong?" Sam and Alex looked up to her and said in one voice " what?", Anna stared at them in anger, because she was sure they know exactly what she was talking about, and moved to the kitchen to get what they asked for. She put their plates in front of them and asked in a disappointed tone " Are you guys trying to avoid the game?" " Of course no" Sam disagreed, " I am bored to death here, can't wait to watch it " Alex confirmed, so Anna's face lightened again with excitement, and she ran to find Michael.

In the backyard, where a medium-sized basketball ball playground was set, Anna and Michael were fooling around waiting for the others to join them. "I wanna spend the weekend here," said Michael dropping himself on the grass Anna sat down next to him "So stay" she pointed, he looked up at her and replied with sarcasm " Ohh, what a genius idea, how come I didn't think about it!!" Anna laughed out loud, saying "Come on buddy, it was a joke, don't worry, I'll call Lina, and see what can be done." Michael stood up out of joy and cried "You're the best Aunty, I love you to the moon and back" Anna pathed his head and said with a loving tone " That sweet laughter of yours is worth it ". Her smile, though fainted when she noticed Adam standing in the distance from the house, and what caught her attention Was that he wasn't alone, and somehow the other person seemed familiar. Noticing her stare Michael looked where she was looking and exclaimed "Isn't that dad?" Anna nodded a yes and said "It seems that someone is with him, I'll go and check " but before she could step forward Sam and Alex joined them and Sam stopped her asking " Soo, have the teams been decided yet?" " No, still waiting for my dad" Micheal answered pointing at Adam standing afar from them, Alex took his phone and texted something then called Anna who was still trying to get a clear look at the other guy standing with Adam " Annaliz," She turned to him " yes, dear brother" " Come on don't we have a game to play?" " sure, it's just Adam..." She turned back only to find Adam a few steps behind her, she wanted to ask him what was he doing there and with whom but Sam yelled to Adam " shall we be a team?" Adam shrugged and said " as you guys wish". Finally, the teams were decided and Alex announced the beginning of the game with Adam and Anna as one team and Sam and Michael as another. The game was only half an hour and divided into two parts. Adam and Anna were winning right from the start they both played very well, Sam on the other hand was giving Michael a hard time complaining about every move the boy made. After the game, they sat eating the pizza Micheal ordered.

They enjoyed themselves to the fullest, especially Anna who captured every moment of her time with her brothers in her heart and mind, trying to make up for the memories she lost, yet deep down in a small corner of her heart she felt incomplete, something was interrupting her joy, a deep buried feeling kept telling her " something is missing". And no matter how much she tried to ignore that, no matter how happy she was, no matter how safe and warm she felt being surrounded by her brothers, that part of her heart stayed cold and dark, no matter how much she looked in their faces confirming their presence something is still missing, she looked up to the set of trees where Adam was standing and the shadow of the other person appeared to her. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Adam's voice calling her with an angry tone she recognized immediately " Anna, you did it again" She looked at Michael, who understood exactly what made his father that angry, he smiled at her happily, Anna winked to him stood up, and started running and Adam behind her crying " you won't get away with it this time" Sam and Michael were enjoying the show while Alex Shook his head in despair, saying from behind his calm smile, enjoying his Angel happiness " sounds like you all never grow up".