“Anna!” I pushed open the door to my younger sister's apartment; she never locked her door, even after the countless warnings I had issued to her. Stepping into the apartment, I stared at the floor of the apartment; it was a safety hazard; bottles, clothes, and everything that belonged in drawers were scattered on the floor. I tiptoed over the bottles and placed my bag close to the edge of the door.
It was Anna's twenty-first birthday, and she wanted to explore the top three thrill seekers' sites, which was extremely irresponsible, but Anna had stopped caring about life after our parents passed. She went on the most bizarre journey, took dangerous risks, and lived on the edge. It was tiring to watch over her; she was constantly making a wrong decision, but I was going to keep protecting her, even if it meant being a buzzkill and going on this trip with her.
“Anna!” I bent down with a sigh and started picking up the bottles around the house, I went into the kitchen and found Anna passed out on the kitchen counter. I wasn't surprised, Anna was never responsible. That was why I came in 5 hours before our flight to get her ready. I disposed of the bottle and walked over to Anna, tapping her lightly. I heard her groan and turn to the other side; her face had dried drool running across her cheek in a slant line. I shook her a little harder, and she finally sat up with red eyes, messy hair, and an angry expression.
“We're going to be late!” I said pushing her off the seat.
“Can't we just go tomorrow?” Anna said, her eyes closing shut with each word. I shook her awake and she let out a loud groan before pulling herself away from me.
“Fine” Anna finally walked into the bathroom, and I quickly checked on her to make sure she was actually showering and not sleeping while the tap ran. When I was sure she was good. I got into the kitchen, scanned the environment, and shook my head before picking up the broom.
We had managed to get to the airport an hour and 30 minutes earlier. I was panicking, and when we got there, we were told to wait for a few minutes before being attended to. I was mad at Anna, but she just shrugged it off like it was my problem. In her words
“You drive like a snail, Isa” She slurped her drink and turned in the opposite direction. I was fuming beside her, but I wouldn't make a scene; there was no way Isa was going to make us miss this trip that cost me thousands of dollars. So I just put on my earbuds blasted the music away, and felt my shoulders loosen with each beat.
After three hours, we finally got to our lodge; Anna had run a quick shower and moved to her first destination to meet her friends, people I'd never met before this trip too. But like before, I wasn't surprised; Anna had always pulled stunts like this. I had told her I would join her at the second Meetup point for lunch, and with a wave of a hand and a few mumbles, she was out of earshot and sight. I shook my head at her frame, and I got to work disinfecting the lodge and cleaning up the mess she had made while dressing up. My back was hurting, but I was determined to pull through; this was for Anna, and I wouldn't stop protecting her till I gave her the best life and was sure she could stand on her own.
I was sitting at the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Anna. As usual, she was late, I didn't think much of it. Anna never came in time anyway. The restaurant was strangely empty, and the waiters looked at me with an emotion I all to recognize; it was what I looked at Anna with all the time. Fear. I felt a chill run down my spine, but I didn't think much of it, just in case, I shared my location with a few friends and typed frantically about the situation.
After reconfirming from Anna that I hadn't been stood up, I put my phone down and scrutinized the menu, everything looked normal until I noticed something, a strange menu item named “cookie of doom” I rolled my eyes at the name and instantly knew it was that famous horror restaurant, no wonder everybody was acting ghostly. I was about to pick up my phone and call Anna for the 4th time when I saw her stroll in.
Her hair was scattered and had leaves in it, her knees were bruised, and I could smell her from a mile away, but overall, ll, she had the biggest grin on her face, so I reshot and smiled back. After profuse apologies, she sat down, and we finally ordered.
The lunch was short and contrary to the review, the food wasn't as horrible. We got up to leave when a waiter rushed towards her and handed her gift bags.
“Please accept our present, ma’ams,”, he said, slight as he handed over the bags to us and scurried back to the kitchen.
I held the bag loosely on my arms and looked around skeptically; my little sister was already out the door, so I followed suit. I threw away my gift bag because I didn't want anything evil following me home before I could tell Miss Adventure to do the same. She was squealing and cracking open what looked like a fortune cookie. However, I remembered why this place didn't have much of a crowd. I tried to stop her but it was too late. She was looking into a piece of paper and giggling lightly. I stretched my hands toward her to snatch it but she crumbled it and ran away.
I ran after her, laughing at how childish we were acting; I could feel the joy in my chest and the adrenaline I had missed, but after a while, we stopped and headed towards my car laughing. These were the moments we longed for.
I was removing my jewellery while the water in the bathroom running. Anna and I were exchanging childhood stories, and I was so glad I came on this trip. I started packing up Anna's clothes and putting them away when I saw the paper poke out of her trouser pocket. Anna was telling an old story and I chimed out a uh huh to keep her going while I debated if I should check or let it go.
“Isa?”
Oh dear, Anna must have been talking to me when I zoned out.
“I'm here, Anna,” I called back as I snatched the paper out of her pocket.
“Ok, I thought you slept off, so…” She was saying something, but everything was silent,t, but I was rooted to my spot. I felt Anna walk out and scream my name but I couldn't move.
She yanked the paper out of my hand and that was when I snapped back to reality. Anna was staring at me angrily; her hair was wet, and she had soap on her ears.
“Why were you touching my stuff!” She yelled as her hands tightened around her towel.
“Why didn't you tell me?” I asked, my eyes glistening with tears. Anna's expression softened; she sighed heavily and looked away.
“I knew you would be scared, I don't want to live in fear, Isa.” She sat down on her bed; for once, I didn't mind the wet form that spread on her sheet from her towel because I saw red.
“No, you're selfish Anna!” I screamed and her head snapped before she stood up abruptly. I was fuming, my breath was heavy and I started walking toward Anna
“Selfish? I am selfish for protecting you?” She walked towards me and pushed me back, I staggered backward, but I wasn't going to let this go.
“I'm selfish for not wanting you to live in fear, to add to the fear you've made your identity?” She screamed as she pointed at me. I felt my hands tighten into a fist
“ You're ungrateful; all my life, I've protected you from the world, from the reality of our loss” I saw the sadness in her eyes, but I wasn't done.
“I've sacrificed my life for you! Just so I don't lose my only family left!” Tears were streaming down my face at this point.
How could Anna be so selfish? I had given her my life! And she had refused to share this important news with me, so I could help.
“You chose to die, Anna.”
“You chose to put me in pain, and hurt me.” Anna was sobbing loudly and had slumped to the floor. I was broken at the sight, I didn't like hurting her. She was my world.
I really wanted to walk out of the room and hate my sister for keeping her health issues from me. How lucky was it that I found that paper instead of the fortune cookie? I stared at her curled-up figure and felt myself walking towards her. I bent down, and within minutes, I was hugging her.
“I'm sorry, Isa” she sniffled
“I was really protecting you, I love you so much I didn't think this through.” She hugged me tightly and I cried with her.
“I love you so much, Anna.” I brushed her hair with my hand and placed a kiss on her head
“Let's fight this together” She looked up her eyes red from sobbing, and then slowly she nodded her head before placing it back on my chest
For what felt like hours, we stayed there, crying and talking in hushed tones. It was our healing moment, and for the second time that evening, I felt like this trip was the best decision ever.
An hour later, when me and Anna snuggled into bed with snacks, our movie was playing in the background. I turned to Anna and asked
“What did the cookie say?”
She laughed a little before reaching into a drawer, pulling out a paper, and handing it to me.
I took it from her, expecting the worst, but then I saw it.
‘You would live a long and healthy life.’
I felt a smile on my lips, and when I looked at Anna, she was smiling at me; she pulled me in and our heads collided. We retracted and started giggling.
Once our fits of giggles died down, Anna snuggled with me and said, “, we'll be ok, Isa. I know it.”
I didn't say anything; I just smiled because I knew it, too.
