"Anna, wait for me........"!!

Hannah called out from the corner of her room.

That sleeping beauty was late again as usual for school.

I packed my bag and grab a toast and headed  towards my car. But before this, i stopped in front of my family frame

hanging on the peach painted wall. In it, i was sitting beside Hannah,  we both smiling foolishly, wearing yellow sun dresses on beach. Mom and dad stood behind us, dad's arms around moms waist, both looking at each other and giving quiet smiles. This was our last family photo together.

I clearly remember that day, Hannah had won a debate competition so on we decided to celebrate it together. As dad  had recently returned from his visit to China, we decided to have a family time together.

"Emily, prepare some picnic sandwiches with Nutella donuts and ......oh don't forget some orange juice.....fresh one, right"!!!

Dad called out to mum as he entered the house.

"Daddy, do u know i won the debate competition again"!!

Hannah ran towards dad and hugged him tightly, surely her blood vessels were jumping due to dopamine hormones!!

"Woah, that's great Hanny"!!Dad said.

Hanny was Hannah's nickname that dad usually called out when he's happy. Dad patted on her shoulders and moved towards the kitchen. I on the other hand was leaning beside the  kitchen counter. my head buried in my hands and my eyes heavy due to the lack of sleep. This was the sixth day of my sleepless nights due to only one reason: nightmares.

Dad looked at me through his brilliant green eyes, his brown hair messed up.

"What happened Anna"!!He asked me, his expression worried.

"Sleepless nights, Dad"!! I replied. Dad smirked and stand beside me, he patted my shoulder and said,

"Don't worry kid, it won't last long"!! He then moved to mom who was now packing our basket.

That day's journey was boring for me, for who enjoys when your 12 year old younger sister is a big fan of 1972 songs,and you have to listen to those boring CDs which is more effective than coffee and erases your little bit sleep which you gained by eating sleep tablets!!

Huh!! Obviously none of you would enjoy, but most of us would more likely be tempted to take a hammer and destroy those CDs.

Well!! Once i was going to do it, but at the exact moment Hannah found me and then cried like a 2 year old girl.

Trust me, when she cries, you can listen her voice around the corners of our neighborhood for she's a big loud speaker!!

Well!! In beach we played volley ball and Hannah built a sand castle. We ate donuts and sand witches and then

snapped a family photo. That evening, Dad had a office emergency so he told us he would be back by midnight. We and mum waited for him but he didn't returned. Hours passed into days and days passed into weeks than months, police couldn't find any clue where he went. His Boss informed us that he never called him for any office emergency

that evening, which clears that he was probably lying. Mom cried hard for him for he had never lied to her.

And now one year had passed after his disappearance and police couldn't find any clue yet. But before his disappearance , he had said one thing to me:

"Anna, Lets go for ice cream.....this weekend!"

"Hey girl, you are messed up today"!!

Vivvi said with concern. I let out a frustrated groan as she touched my forehead to see if I had a temperature.

"I have my homeostasis process, you don't have to worry"!! I barked out in a cold sharp voice.

It was a little mean and as the words slipped out of my mouth, I regretted them. Vivvi was only concerned about my health, I shouldn't act like a pathetic freak or a psychopath!! I took a deep breath and started to apologize when she interrupted saying,

"No, I know how you are dealing huge traumas right now, I mean after your dad just disappeared, I

shouldn't be that tough on you"!!

She let out a weak smile and I struggled hard to smile back. We walked towards the cafeteria, our class was going to start at 8:30 and we had at least 30 mins left. Most of my classmates were seated so it was a little more crowded.

"Hey, Anna wait..."!! As I heard this familiar voice saying my name with so much passion, I rolled my eyes and turn back to see Ben, as expected.

He ran towards us, his footsteps echoing loudly in the noisy room, his heavy glasses escaped and landed on the

floor. He hurried and applied his emergency brakes before smashing his glasses, settled his glasses in its place, brushed his hair through his hands, and walked slowly towards me. His huge curved smile greeted me as

he stopped in front of us. By now, my jaw was aching as I tried to smile back. By seeing me smile, he got a bit more encouragement and move more closer towards me. In the head, I was spitting curses that why did I give him a chance to be that frank with me??

"Hi, Ben"!!I greeted him in return. His eyes twinkled as I said his name. His lips spread out in a smooth curl which was now so stuck on his face that there was no chance of it going down!!

"Hi Anna, can I sit with you"!! He asked me with utter innocence.

I let out an imaginary sigh in my mind and nodded in return. In my agreement, his smile turned into a mischievous

grin. We three settled in the cafe table and then Ben started to tell how his summer vacation holidays were spent in surfing and how his coach praised him. Whenever he told his praises, his eyes always first met mine as like he was sending me some hidden messages.

Bored, I looked around other tables, trying to eavesdrop some girl's conversation. I turn my ears in hypersensitive

mode and turn my head sideways to pick up any interesting conversation. Finally, my ears found an interesting discussion. Ruby was saying to other girls that one more mysterious painted canvas was found by a local, same exact like the previous ones. The canvas was utterly beautiful and was presenting a great scenery. I moved my ears closer to listen to what she was saying but Vivvi interrupted my precious moment.

"Eavesdropping isn't your style, girl"!!

Surprised, I looked towards her and saw her disapproval. I settled my self again. Ben and Vivvi both were staring at

me. To divert the attention of the table from me,

I asked Ben,

"So you were telling about your coach"!!

Vivvi let out a laugh and when I stared at her, she closed her mouth, her lips twitching, clearly showing she was trying to control her laugh. Ben cleared his throat and replied,

"Actually I was talking about my grandma farmhouse"!!

OH SHIT!! In my mind, I slammed my hand on my face. As Ben replied, Vivvi snorted and then started to giggle. I brushed my hair through my palm and said,

"Yah yah....., um I guess it's my class, meet you soon"!!

I waved goodbye and hurried to escape. As I came out of the cafeteria,I let out a sigh of relief, that Ben boy was as stubborn as a gum. Well after all I succeeded but I had already known that success was not for long.