12. Ann’s Rose
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Announcement

The road was long, and very dark. Outside of the thin line that was the road, nothing could be seen. A few cars passed her by, a few went in the same direction as her. Except for the quiet droning of the engine, nothing else could be heard. She didn't like to put on the radio.

So she continued on along the thin path of light in the deep, deep night. She felt like an astronaut trapped in a tiny metal capsule, just moving forward in the vaccum of space, wherever gravity would pull her. She felt so unbelievably sentimental at the moment.

As her car neared the city, however, things changed a little - she was greeted with a dazzling myriad of lights. They were like little stars floating in the sea - and looking at it she felt her heart flutter a little bit, past sentimental mood receding like a wave.

'Among all these stars there lies one that is unlike all others. It is the same as all the rest, but she is very special to me' - and with that thought the dark and empty cosmos became a bit warmer and bit more colorful. She was on her way back.

***

"Let's go eat together"

"What? Excuse me?"

"I, said, let's, go, eat, together", the young-ish girl repeated, all the while looking at Ann like she was an idiot for having asked.

"Do I know you?"

"Rose", the girl answered smugly, "Now come. I don't have too much time"

That was how Ann came to know Rose. Were they in primary school back then? Or was it middle school?

It was long ago enough for the memory to become a bit blurry. Come to think of it, even back then, Rose had been the way she had always been.

What an awkward kid.

Come the next day, the girl marched to Anna's class at precisely the same time, headed to the corner where Ann huddled to read her book, and made the same request - no, demand.

"Come with me"

And so it would repeat, day after day.

"Let's go"

...

"I forgot, what is your name?"

"You only asked now!"

"I. Repeat. What is your name?"

"It's Ann you meanie!", she folded her arms and turned her head away with a 'humph'

"Very good", Rose nodded to herself a few times, as if to show appreciation to Ann's name - "Very good indeed", and then she went back to eating and staring out of the window as if Ann wasn't even there.

"Humph", Ann emphasised.

Her protest went unnoticed.

Thinking that she wasn't clear enough, she Humph'd a bit louder.

Again, she was ignored.

Having not faced such a grievance before, Ann, righteously, stood up and went away, not forgetting to call the big big bad meanie an idiot.

The next day:

"Let's go"

"No"

It was a bit funny watching the shocked expression on little girl's face, but for the sake of her pride, Ann would not laugh.

"pukuku"

Or maybe she would, but very briefly and quietly.

"I see! So it was a joke! I did not expect you to make jokes! Haha, very funny indeed! Now, let's go!", with a cracking and louder than usual voice Rose declared, took Ann's hand and went on her way.

Ann didn't really understand why, but she went along.

Rose looked a bit happy that day.

***

From going to eat during class breaks, their common activities grew, and by high school they were practically inseparable. When time came to graduate, Ann remembered herself crying because they now had to go their ways.

They both went to different cities, and could no longer communicate face to face.

As time went by, their conversations through the Internet grew shorter, and time between the messages only lengthened, until one day Ann realised that she hadn't gotten in touch with her once best friend in months.

To that she could only sigh, as if to expell all sadness in her mind out of her body, and closed her laptop. There were a lot of things she had to do that day.

After that, life continued like before.

Humans are surprisingly adaptable creatures. Things we cannot imagine living without now can become forgotten relics of our pasts, as we move towards the future.

But past is not an item. You cannot yhrowbit in the bin once you've used it up. Perhaps each memory is as much a relic as it is a seed, waiting for the right time to sprout.

For Ann, the taciturn willful girl that she spent all of her childhood with, became such a relic, and the tears she shed when they parted seemed to be naught but nostalgic memories.

Only sometimes at nights, as the gates to the land of dreams happened to be barred to her, the image of that cute creature would arise from the depths of her memories, causing an indescribable bittersweet ache in her heart.

On such nights, she would take out her smarphone - by then they became very common - and open the old website where she and her old friend once communicated.

On one such night, she decided to message Rose on a whim.

'Hello'

"What am I doing?", she put her hand to her head and sighed.

"This is so embarrassing"

'It's been a while since we last messaged each other. How have you been?'

"What am I doing? She probably forgot her password. The profile says she hasn't logged in for two years"

'I have been fine. It's been a very busy time lately. I got a job now, so I have to juggle it with Uni and it has been very hard...'

...

'I know you probably won't read any of it, but on the off chance you do, how about we meet again?'

The first rays of dawn illuminated her haggard face. She didn't know why she stayed up all night typing all that, but she felt very fulfilled and full of energy. It was as if she had gotten rid of a stone that was hanging in her heart for a while.

"Well, she probably won't read any of that. Just treat it as a diary or something"

***

It wasn't like she didn't have friends. But these friends and what she had with Rose were two different worlds. The friends she made at University and at her job were people that she was around because otherwise she would be alone. Deep down she couldn't find it in herself to actually care about their circumstances and she would certainly not cry if time came to part with them.

They were people she performed her invisible social obligations with.

But, even these pale connections began to thin out. Suddenly, like it was planned beforehand, all her friends seemed to have acquired lives of their own and dissapeared quietly.

Some got new friends, some got romantic partners, some went to other places.

Randomly finding out a classmate of hers got married and had two children already came to her as quite a shock.

Ann never really thought about things like that before. But, those people had their lives and she had hers. Like many other things, this would pass over her like rain through a window, if not for a question that came out of nowhere, and yet quite inevitably.

'Will Rose get married too?'

This question burrowed like a worm deep inside her heart and would gnaw on it, so that she would experience pain several times a day as she remembered it.

'No, no, it is her life. What do I, probably a stranger by now, care? But she was my friend back then, so it is natural to be a little curious. Yes. Only curious. That is all'

'Maybe she already has someone? No, no, no, even if she does, it is okay, it's her life and... Yes, even if she does, it's okay'

'I wonder if she read my messages from that time. It would be a little embarrassing if she did. She probably didn't. But if she did, what would she answer?'

Her heart skipped a bit when she saw that Rose logged into her account two weeks ago.

With trembling fingers, she opened the messages, and, sure enough, a new one was there.

She read:

'Hello. Good to know you are doing well. I have moved to X city. I live at XA. If you will visit it, you can come here. I'll be glad to see you'

She gently put her finger on the message and read it several times over. She didn't know what emotion she was experiencing. Was she happy to see a message from Rose? Was she sad? Was she afraid? She didn't understand it at all. She just looked at the electronic letters in a daze.

'I will message you when I will come to X. I happen to have plans there soon'

The next few days were very long. Her mind was a mess.

How could a single message affect her so much? The answer seemed to be clear, but she didn't dare to say it.

Luckily, her vacation was nearing, and the X city was relatively close, so she decided to go to Rose and find her answer there.

As time passed, she felt more and more tense, so when the day finally came, she practically bolted into her car and hit the road almost immediately.

***

She had finally arrived. She stood in front of a multi-appartment complex. It looked new. The light of the street light was dim, and it was a bit scary outside because of it. She paced back and forth under the light.

Eventually, she went back into her car, drove to the nearest motel, and booked a room where she sat on the bed, anxiously waiting for the Sun to rise. The thought of sleep hadn't crossed her mind once.

Once the dawn came, she checked out of the motel, and drove back. She then sat in the small parking lot, eyeing the door like it was made of gold.

"I am acting like an idiot..."

She spent the time reminiscing about the past.

Rose was wilful and hard to please. She would always demand attention and act very spoiled. When things didn't go her way, she would throw tantrums.

Why had Ann stuck with Rose all that time?

Rose would always get them in trouble. She acted like a giant baby, and acted only upon her whims. It was like in their friendship, Ann only always gave while Rose only ever demanded.

Why was it that these memories caused Ann to smile?

But Rose could also be nice. She once cried when Ann sprained her ankle, as if it was her own ankle was sprained. She would always visit Ann when the latter got sick, regardless of the weather. She would...

Yes, through the whole time they knew each other it seemed that Rose was the one who made the initiative to seek the other person out. Rose always was the one who came to find Ann, and Rose was the one to make sure that Ann was not alone.

Maybe that was why Ann never got tired of being around Rose?

Because, beneath the willfullness and the awkwardness of her actions, she hid endless care and tenderness...

She took out her phone

'Hello. I am in X. Can I come to you today? When would be a good time?'

...

It was later in the evening. Ann bought a gift and went to a salon to make herself look presentable. She stood in front of the apartment door like she was waiting for the death sentence. She would raise her hand and let it fall limply along her body. She would repeat again.

She then finally got the courage and pressed the button.

*Bzzzz*

"*Click*, Hello, is it you, Ann?"

The door opened. Like out of a memory, Rose came out of the door. They looked at each other for, surely, no more than a second - although Gods know, that was the longest second in all of history.

Ann knew her answer.

***

It had been several years. Much had changed since then.

Soon after their reunion, Ann returned to her city, although she knew it was temporary. She quickly moved to X.

She frequently went to visit Rose. Their friendship seemed to have been reignited, but Ann knew it would not be the same. She had a goal, a purpose, a dream.

It was unexpected but reasonable how they got together in the end. It seemed as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Ann proposed a year into their relationship. This was one of the happiest moments of her life, and she spent her life trying to make Rose as happy as Rose made her.

~The End~

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