Anna

Elizabeth O’Connor was someone that everyone in Rosewood just loved.  She was a perky, thirty-two-year-old bank teller and mom to a set of eight-year-old twin boys named Ethan and Jared.  She and the boys’ father, Rick, a well-respected deputy of their small town in Iowa, had married straight out of high school.  They were known by the locals for being very much in love, and for being wonderful parents to their adventurous little boys.  Most of the residents of Rosewood knew, and admired the O’Connors, as they were deeply embedded in the community life and really seemed to be a happy, loving family.

Over the last few years, Elizabeth had found that she’d fallen into a routine.  Every day would start the same, and every day would end the same.  She would wake up, wake the kids up, get ready for the day, make breakfast, kiss her husband, drop the kids off at school, stop for a coffee at the coffee kiosk a block from where she worked, walk that block and say hello to the street regulars- Joe, Sam, Leslie, and Ray, get to work, work until it was time to pick up the kids, race home, cook dinner, eat with the family, read, then sleep.  If Elizabeth didn’t have an event for her children or husband, this was the routine she happily lived by every single day.

However, on this warm summer Tuesday morning, Elizabeth would wake up, wake her kids up, get ready for the day, make breakfast, kiss her husband, and drop the kids off at school, but when she got to the coffee kiosk, she did not get her coffee then walk that block to work saying hello to the regulars like usual.  Instead, once she got into the kiosk line, something strange caught her attention and caused her to abruptly break her routine.  Three people in front of her was a girl with thick, honey-blonde hair, weighing about 130 pounds, standing at 5 feet, four inches tall.  Elizabeth couldn’t believe what she was seeing, so she kept her eyes locked on the girl for the next couple of minutes it took for the girl to receive her frozen caramel coffee order and quickly detach from the rapidly growing kiosk line. 

Once the woman started heading away from the kiosk, Elizabeth, without hesitation, lept from the line, ran right up to her, tapped her on her dainty shoulder, and then uttered a very confused, “Excuse me?”  Startled, the girl jumped, then turned around only to find Elizabeth’s face staring back at her.  As soon as their eyes met, the girl let out a loud gasp, and dropped her frozen coffee, sending coffee slush spewing into the air, and along the legs of both women.  Neither one seemed to notice.

Instead, they were so fixated on each other, because what they were looking at was themselves.  Elizabeth was so caught off guard when she saw the girl because the girl looked exactly like Elizabeth.  The only notable difference between the two women was the way they dressed.  Elizabeth wore a nice dress and cardigan, and her clothes were primmed and pressed, whereas, the other woman was wearing obviously worn jeans that had stains and holes, with what appeared to be a heavy metal band t-shirt. 

The women stared at each other for a few moments, really taking in what they were seeing before the lady from the kiosk was able to break her gaze and regain herself while asking, “Who are you?”

Elizabeth stopped examining the lady and instead smiled, held her head high, and said, “I’m Elizabeth.  Who are you?”

“I’m Anna. You look just like me.”

“I know, isn’t that so wild?!”

Anna agreed, then added, “Maybe we are long-lost sisters.  Where are you from?  I am from Ontario.”

“Probably not long lost sisters.  I’ve seen my birth video, and I was born here in Iowa.”

The women had concluded that they were in fact, doppelgangers, and they were so fascinated by this, that they spent the rest of the day at a little cafe just down the street from where they had met, talking, laughing, and getting to know each other.  The little cafe would later serve as a regular meeting place for the woman as their relationship grew closer and closer over the next few months.  They had gotten so close, that the girls knew almost everything about each other and would spend most all of their time together.  Anna eventually got an apartment a few miles from Elizabeth so they could easily see each other every day instead of only visiting on weekends and holidays.

Anna had become like family to the O’Connors.  She was always invited over for dinners, she babysat the boys often, and it wasn’t uncommon for the women to spend all hours of the night just hanging out and watching movies or talking before Anna would finally make the six-minute drive back to her nearly empty, new apartment.  There was even a time when Elizabeth had gone to a job interview for Anna to help her land a high-paying position in a marketing firm.  Rick, Elizabeth’s husband, would often tease the girls and tell them they were “closer than sisters.”

On an evening a few of years after that warm summer morning at the coffee kiosk, the two ladies would find themselves leisurely sitting on the newly renovated, fully furnished back deck of Elizabeth’s cozy two-story family home.  Fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and lemonade sat on the white, circular glass table and a child’s book report Elizabeth was proofreading sat just adjacent to the cookies.  Anna watched in awe as Elizabeth interacted with Ethan, followed by Rick coming out and praising Elizabeth for what a wonderful mother and wife she was.  A gentle kiss from her husband, atop her head confirmed that Elizabeth has a truly blessed life.

Anna wanted so badly to be happy for her friend.  But different emotions began to surface.  She took a look at Elizabeth’s perfect life, and it became a life that she wanted for herself.  What had once been love, encouragement, and support for her friend, had recently turned into a sour bit of anger, jealousy, and resentment.  Anna tried to shake the feeling and negative thoughts from her head as she shifted uncomfortably in the matching white, metal-framed chair.  

Try as she might, the longer she was in the presence of Elizabeth, the angrier Anna got at her.  For instance, after Elizabeth had proofread Ethan’s paper, she gently shooed her son away, poured some whiskey in her lemonade, and began to open up to Anna about the feelings she was having towards her family.  She would spend the next few minutes venting about how having children seriously put a damper on her life’s career goals and she was having a hard time dealing with not finishing school and being stuck at the bank, even though she had been promoted to an executive position and was making a great deal of money.  Anna felt like Elizabeth had completely taken her career and children for granted, and so that led Anna to begin feeling like Elizabeth didn’t deserve such nice things.  A few more minutes of venting occurred before the women were interrupted by Rick coming out, chocolates in hand, to check on and praise his wife.  

After sweet exchanges of kisses and hushed, “thank yous,” Rick retreated back into the family home and the women found themselves alone once more.  Elizabeth unwrapped the box of chocolates, offered Anna one, and then plucked one right out of the box for herself.  She bit the chocolate in half, only to make a disapproving face before tossing the other half across the yard.

“I love his sweet efforts, but I tell him every time that I can’t stand these fruity chocolate candies.  I wish he’d get me chocolate turtles instead.”

Instead of hearing her friend vent about the little inconveniences and feelings of life, Anna heard her friend complain and whine about all the amazing things she has been blessed with instead.  By the end of the night, the only thing Anna really heard was that Elizabeth was sick of her life and blamed her family for what she considered to be her failures.  Not long after 12 am, Anna hugged her friend goodbye, climbed into her little ol’ beat-up pick-up truck, and headed back to her apartment, contemplating what she should do about the ungratefulness of her friend.

It wasn’t just the ungratefulness that bothered Anna.  It was that she really had found a love for Elizabeth’s family, too.  She thought Rick was a really nice guy who deserved a woman who actually appreciated his efforts, especially since nearly all men today were emotionally unavailable and certainly didn’t go to great lengths for their families like he did.  The boys she had babysat so often needed a mother who would be excited to spend time with them and play with them, not excited to get rid of them, even if it was for a very occasional drink.  Anna now knew that she would be a much better O’Connor than Elizabeth had been.  She would be grateful and excited to have the opportunities Elizabeth had so easily overlooked.

As the following morning came, Elizabeth woke to find an absolutely devastating letter from Anna on her doorstep.

The note was short, simple, and read, “Liz, I am so grateful for your friendship.  You taught me love like I had never known before I met you.  You gave me a family, hope, and courage to pursue the things that I want in life.  I’m sorry it has to come at the expense of our friendship, but I can no longer ignore my calling.  I truly hope you can understand and forgive me.  Love u always, Anna.”  

Taped in the letter was the key to Anna’s apartment, along with a photograph that was taken earlier that year of the two women.  

Feeling heartbroken that her best friend left without so much as a real goodbye, Elizabeth gathered up the items and went back inside her little blue house to grieve her friend.  Luckily, Rick was in the kitchen when she went back inside and she headed straight toward him, eyes swelling with tears.  After explaining the letter Anna left, her husband immediately hugged her and told her everything would be alright and that maybe one day, when Anna finds herself again, she’ll come back.  Elizabeth wasn’t hopeful of seeing her friend again and instead focused on trying to understand and just accept the fact that she was gone.

A few days had passed and Elizabeth fell into a depression over her friend’s abandonment.  She spent most of her time curled up on the couch, mindlessly watching TV or sitting on the back deck, staring aimlessly into the night.  She already had a hard time sleeping, and that only intensified when she was feeling bouts of stress.

Anna had anticipated that.  Four days after Anna’s goodbye note, she would actually return.  After spending most of the last couple of years side-by-side with Elizabeth, Anna felt confident that she knew exactly how Elizabeth would react to this abandonment; the same way she reacts to every stressor - dissociation and a handful of sleepless nights star-gazing.

It was 1:17 am, and Anna’s pickup truck was parked a few houses down from the O’Connors.  She crept along the sidewalk, making her way to Elizabeth’s yard, where she would quietly sneak along the lining of privacy bushes on the side of the all too familiar two-story blue house.  With a few swift moves and ducking branches, Anna was overlooking the O’Connor’s backyard.  The first thing she noticed was Elizabeth, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, lying back, consulting with the stars.

With no hesitation, Anna pushed through the last of the brush, removed her shoes, and sprinted across the dewy grass on her toes.  Because of the way Anna ran across the yard, Elizabeth was unable to hear her until she was right up against the deck, flinging her body over the railing.  Elizabeth caught a glimpse of Anna’s face as she first appeared.  At first, a split second of relief fell over Elizabeth as she saw her friend again, but it was quickly replaced by confusion and fear as she saw the pure hatred in Anna’s eyes.

Elizabeth gasped and tried to flee from her chair, but Anna was faster.  Anna grabbed Elizabeth’s arm and yanked her off the porch, aggressively dislocating her shoulder and slamming her nimble little body against an old oak tree on her way down.  Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the worst thing that happened to Elizabeth O’Connor that night.

At 5:06 in the morning, Anna leaned one of Rick’s now filthy shovels back against the crooked shed near the back of the house, then slowly dragged her exhausted, muddy body through the O’Connor’s yard once again.  She had just been dropped off by the nicest trucker named Al who picked her up 37 miles away, where she dumped her pretty ol’ pick up deep within the Rosewood Forrest.

Anna knew the O’Connor house like the back of her hand, so she was easily able to slide in, take a shower in the guestroom bathroom, and find some comfortable pajamas to cozy into.  As a bonus, she found the still uneaten box of chocolates Rick had given Elizabeth just days before.  Anna made her way to the living room, leaned back on that same couch Elizabeth had previously coudled up on, and let out a loud sigh.

Just as she was finally able to relax and settle in, Rick came around the corner from what would be her new bedroom and approached her with a charming smile.

Anna’s heart began to race as she thought of the variety of possible outcomes as he drew closer and kissed her damp head.

“Good morning, beautiful.  How are you feeling?”

Anna smiled deeply as her heart began to slow again.  She looked up at the man she barely knew, picked up one of the chocolates, and whispered, “I feel great,” then took a bite of strawberry-filled chocolate, straight out of the same box she had shared with her friend a few days ago.