Dear Ana,

Ab imo pectore

I was bored on this Saturday afternoon.
My homework was done, I had no tests and no friends to call or text. No new episodes.
I hung out in mom's study, she was preparing for her university colleges.
After a while mom looked up from her notes and her laptop and looked at me.
She said: "Why don't you go out? Do something fun."
I was pondering. "I don't know."
"What about going to the mall?"
New tops would be nice..
I grunted a bit. It'd be a lot nicer if I had someone to shop with. Rose.
I gave in. "Okay, I'll go brows at the mall."
My mom smiled. "Have fun, sweetie."

I walked around our neighbourhood mall. It had about 10 different clothes' stores and 2 supermarkets.
I saw some girls from school, they looked like they were having fun together.

I looked through the shirt-racks, I noticed that the only tops I liked, were black.
Someone tapped on my shoulder.
My shoulders jumped.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
I recognised her voice. It was the pretty girl, Rose's friend.
"Hey." I said awkwardly, trying to mask the fact my heart was pounding from her sudden approach.

"Hi Amy. You here alone?"
She talked very casually, as if we were close friends.
"Yes. I felt like some new tops."
I didn't really know what to tell her.
I don't have anything to say.
The girl smiled.
"Would you like to shop together?"
She asked me, she looked at me kindly. Almost expecting me to say yes.
"Sure." I had answered before my brain agreed.
Maybe we can become friends.

The girl clapped her hands, smiling.
"This is going to be fun."
There it was again, her sly-smile, as if  she won yet another pawn in her game.

"We're you shopping alone too?" I asked her. She was looking at some dresses.
"Yeah, I was here with my sister, but she ditched me for some guy. Thankfully, I found you." She gave me a wink.
I imagined what her sister would look like.
She would probably be as gorgeously thin and pretty as her.

We moved on to another store. This one had more alternative clothing. She held up another dress and walked up to me. She held the dress against me and nudged her head to the side.
"This will look good." She decided.
I'm not sure I can pull this off.
"You really think so?"
"Yes. I bet Rose would agree"  the girl stated.

What she said threw me off. My thoughts wondered off, to Rose.
How does Rose know this girl? Were they good friends? Even better friends than Rose and I?

We walked out of the mall, it was already quite late.  We walked a bit further towards a little park. It had a rose garden. The girl stopped and held a rose in her hand, the petals caught between her fingers, trapped with no escape.
I have to ask her about Rose.
"We're you close with Rose?"
She kept holding the petals tightly between her fingers.
"Yes. Rose was very close with me and my sister."
It's all strange. Rose never mentioned them.
"I have to go home soon, but.."
I hesitated, the girl seemed fascinated with the rose.
"Yes?" She asked.
"What was your name?" I asked her.

She plucked the rose from the bush, a few petals dropped to the ground.
She handed the rose to me, the thorns were sharp in my hands. The rose had a pale white colour.
"I'm Ana, dear."
She smiled wickedly, she knew everything. She knew I had her diary. She knew what I knew. And she knew because she is Ana.

I had stood there for what seemed like hours. Ana had disappeared from sight.
The sun was lowering in the sky.
The rose was withering in my hands, maybe because I was holding on too tight.
It felt like my body was frozen, but shaking at the same time.

That girl, she made Rose like that.