Secrets Never Known
twelve.
Her bag was packed. She was ready to leave. All she had to do now was wait until her parents and little brothers were all asleep. AnnaBelle shook her head, clearing her mind and correcting her thoughts. The people she had thought were her family. It didn't hurt her, really, that they'd never told her. Deep down, she supposed, she had always known.
Earlier that afternoon, while the boys were out at the park playing baseball with their friends, Carol and Don Webber had sat Anna down in the living room. They said that they should have told her this much sooner, but better late than never, right? She had been adopted, they said. When she was just a baby. They had been married for a few years at that point and couldn't get pregnant. They wanted a baby, and so they decided to adopt. When they saw AnnaBelle, they knew she would be perfect for them.
That is, until she was three and began telling them about the man she dreamed about. At first they thought that it was normal. They were first time parents, and from what their friends had told them, all children had imaginary friends. That's what this was, right? AnnaBelle just had an imaginary friend who she dreamed about. It would leave her eventually. It always did, their friends said.
But it didn't. By the time AnnaBelle was seven and her second brother had been born, Don and Carol began worrying. Did they really want her to give that sort influence and mindset to her brothers? No. They didn't. They tried to put a stop to it, to tell Anna that the man in her dreams wasn't real. She remembered that much. She remembered the fight they'd had. Anna remembered yelling at her parents that he was real, how would they know otherwise? They'd never seen him, never spoken to him. They didn't know her like she did.
Eventually Anna was sent to stay with Don's mother and father every summer, so that she would be away from her brothers and so that Don and Carol didn't have to deal with her. She stopped going after she turned 12. She promised she wouldn't talk about the Madman in front of her brothers. And that was the end of it. They hardly ever spoke of it again.
After what had happened the previous night, though, they brought the subject up again. They were terrified. Carol tried to explain what had happened rationally, but she couldn't. AnnaBelle had thrown her from her room, without laying a finger on her. She'd slammed the door in her face. And then there was how sickly she was looking. What's wrong with you?, they asked her. When she said that she didn't know, they told her that they were taking her to the doctor, then to a shrink. They were going to figure this out before it worsened. AnnaBelle hadn't said anything, but when they'd told her she could leave the room, she decided that she was going to run away. She didn't know where she was going to go, but she knew she had to leave.
And so AnnaBelle sat up in her room on her bed, listening as the sounds from the living room where the Webber family were died down. She waited patiently as the boys brushed their teeth and got into bed. She waited for the parents to finally get done watching the news and to go to sleep, too. She stared around dark room, her eyes adjusting to the lack of light, and said goodbye to everything she'd once thought was hers.
--
Finally, after two hours, Anna heard the sound of the Webber parents' bedroom door clicking shut. During her wait she had hid the notebooks she couldn't take with her right then under a loose floorboard that was beneath her bed. She'd dusted her knicknacks, made her bed, straightened the books on her shelves. She even wrote a note thanking the Webbers for being her family, though they really didn't deserve it, and left it on her pillow.
She slipped into a pair of tennis shoes and tugged a sweater on over her t-shirt. Heaving her backpack onto her back and shouldering her tote bag, AnnaBelle quietly opened the door to her bedroom. Her eyes scanned the hallway, stopping on the boys' door. She hoped they'd grow up well and be happy. She didn't know how, but she knew that she would never see them again.
AnnaBelle made her way down the stairs, through the living room and into the kitchen, where she opened the backdoor. She made sure it was locked as she shut it behind her. Her legs carried her through the yard, in the direction of the wood where she hadn't been in what felt like months.
Once at her spot by the pond, Anna couldn't help but let out the breath she'd been holding in since she'd entered the wood. She smiled, staring at the reflection of the stars and moon in the water and looking around at the trees. She could hear animal noises, and she wished she'd left sooner. It was peaceful there. The most peaceful AnnaBelle had been in weeks. She sat down on the soft grass at the edge of the pond, facing the trees. She could just make out in the little light that was coming from the moon the branches and leaves swaying in the light breeze. Tiny pinpricks of light came from the eyes of different animals in the vegetation before her.
Anna cocked her head to the side, a word coming forth from the back of her throat. "Pario," she whispered. She didn't know where it had come from, but she immediately understood what it meant and why she had said it.
The forest around her began to shift and reform. The branches of the trees came together in different shapes. After a few moments, Anna realized what was happened. They were making her a shelter. Of course they were. That's what she'd told them to do. But she still didn't believe they'd gone along with it. A small ladder was made out of thin, springy branches that led up to the doorway of the tiny treehouse. AnnaBelle climbed up the ladder and stood at the entrance looking inside of the house. She smiled to herself. This was home.
Earlier that afternoon, while the boys were out at the park playing baseball with their friends, Carol and Don Webber had sat Anna down in the living room. They said that they should have told her this much sooner, but better late than never, right? She had been adopted, they said. When she was just a baby. They had been married for a few years at that point and couldn't get pregnant. They wanted a baby, and so they decided to adopt. When they saw AnnaBelle, they knew she would be perfect for them.
That is, until she was three and began telling them about the man she dreamed about. At first they thought that it was normal. They were first time parents, and from what their friends had told them, all children had imaginary friends. That's what this was, right? AnnaBelle just had an imaginary friend who she dreamed about. It would leave her eventually. It always did, their friends said.
But it didn't. By the time AnnaBelle was seven and her second brother had been born, Don and Carol began worrying. Did they really want her to give that sort influence and mindset to her brothers? No. They didn't. They tried to put a stop to it, to tell Anna that the man in her dreams wasn't real. She remembered that much. She remembered the fight they'd had. Anna remembered yelling at her parents that he was real, how would they know otherwise? They'd never seen him, never spoken to him. They didn't know her like she did.
Eventually Anna was sent to stay with Don's mother and father every summer, so that she would be away from her brothers and so that Don and Carol didn't have to deal with her. She stopped going after she turned 12. She promised she wouldn't talk about the Madman in front of her brothers. And that was the end of it. They hardly ever spoke of it again.
After what had happened the previous night, though, they brought the subject up again. They were terrified. Carol tried to explain what had happened rationally, but she couldn't. AnnaBelle had thrown her from her room, without laying a finger on her. She'd slammed the door in her face. And then there was how sickly she was looking. What's wrong with you?, they asked her. When she said that she didn't know, they told her that they were taking her to the doctor, then to a shrink. They were going to figure this out before it worsened. AnnaBelle hadn't said anything, but when they'd told her she could leave the room, she decided that she was going to run away. She didn't know where she was going to go, but she knew she had to leave.
And so AnnaBelle sat up in her room on her bed, listening as the sounds from the living room where the Webber family were died down. She waited patiently as the boys brushed their teeth and got into bed. She waited for the parents to finally get done watching the news and to go to sleep, too. She stared around dark room, her eyes adjusting to the lack of light, and said goodbye to everything she'd once thought was hers.
--
Finally, after two hours, Anna heard the sound of the Webber parents' bedroom door clicking shut. During her wait she had hid the notebooks she couldn't take with her right then under a loose floorboard that was beneath her bed. She'd dusted her knicknacks, made her bed, straightened the books on her shelves. She even wrote a note thanking the Webbers for being her family, though they really didn't deserve it, and left it on her pillow.
She slipped into a pair of tennis shoes and tugged a sweater on over her t-shirt. Heaving her backpack onto her back and shouldering her tote bag, AnnaBelle quietly opened the door to her bedroom. Her eyes scanned the hallway, stopping on the boys' door. She hoped they'd grow up well and be happy. She didn't know how, but she knew that she would never see them again.
AnnaBelle made her way down the stairs, through the living room and into the kitchen, where she opened the backdoor. She made sure it was locked as she shut it behind her. Her legs carried her through the yard, in the direction of the wood where she hadn't been in what felt like months.
Once at her spot by the pond, Anna couldn't help but let out the breath she'd been holding in since she'd entered the wood. She smiled, staring at the reflection of the stars and moon in the water and looking around at the trees. She could hear animal noises, and she wished she'd left sooner. It was peaceful there. The most peaceful AnnaBelle had been in weeks. She sat down on the soft grass at the edge of the pond, facing the trees. She could just make out in the little light that was coming from the moon the branches and leaves swaying in the light breeze. Tiny pinpricks of light came from the eyes of different animals in the vegetation before her.
Anna cocked her head to the side, a word coming forth from the back of her throat. "Pario," she whispered. She didn't know where it had come from, but she immediately understood what it meant and why she had said it.
The forest around her began to shift and reform. The branches of the trees came together in different shapes. After a few moments, Anna realized what was happened. They were making her a shelter. Of course they were. That's what she'd told them to do. But she still didn't believe they'd gone along with it. A small ladder was made out of thin, springy branches that led up to the doorway of the tiny treehouse. AnnaBelle climbed up the ladder and stood at the entrance looking inside of the house. She smiled to herself. This was home.