7

Ana's house was always fun. She lived in a mansion, or at least what I would have called a mansion at that age. It had winding stairs with the indoor hallway balcony at the top, and just above the living room was a grand chandelier that hung gracefully. It twinkled occasionally, but their long curtains usually blocked out the sun. I don't know why they did this as the room was charming and grand.

Most of our time was spent in Ana's bedroom. It was very pink and had these mini chandelier lights by her mirror. She even had her own bathroom. We took showers together until we were twelve, then things kind of got awkward. We played littlest pet shop often and watched a YouTube video called LPS Popular on the regular. Those were probably the highlights of my life.

Her mother, Cindi, was a character. A devout Christian, she trusted her life to God and loved to belly dance. She was something of a hippie trapped within a mansion. She had everything she wanted, and yet she seemed unhappy in a sense.

It wasn't until years later when Ana and I would keep contact that her and her mother would move back to South Carolina. Her Mom embraced all her hippie clothing and even taught belly dancing online. She claimed she was happier but I could tell that perhaps something had been broken within her. She did however feel more free in a sense.

Ana on the other hand, went from blonde hair blue eyed golden child to red and black short cut with dark clothes and piercings. That's in the future though, it will be just a moment before we get to all that and what led to it all.