Saving Anna: Chapter 2

Anna banged the door so hard it rattled in its frame. She walked away in quick, angry strides as the door was thrown open. Mama stood at the doorway; she was screaming at her, but Anna could not hear her. Her ears were blocked by the anger coursing through her veins.

In that one year, as Mama’s drinking got worse, so did her temper. When she came home, she would start a screaming match with Anna. Sometimes, Anna tried to counter her mother’s insults with silence, but it never really worked. Today it was especially bad, because Mama saw a boy talking to Anna.

It was the eve of Anna’s 17th birthday, so the boy had approached Anna to wish her. He was simply a classmate she occasionally talked to. Mama saw that and went ballistic. She yelled at the poor boy, frightening him and humiliating Anna. Anna dragged Mama home, where she had demanded audaciously that Anna stopped attending school. It led to a hell of a row, and when Mama called Anna a slut, that was the last straw.

Stopping in front of a large shopping window, Anna examined her reflection. Her bosom had filled out over the year, and never being able to have proper meals resulted in a tiny waist, but she had broad hips. Work and studies took a toll on her sleep, but the slight bags somehow made her large eyes rounder, giving her a wide-eyed look of innocence. But Anna was not so innocent. She had lived long enough in the slums to know that she was attractive to other boys, and that stray men and strangers eyed her with a wolfish hunger. But none of them could get close enough to Anna, no. Those grey eyes glinted like steel when the men tried to come near, and it spoke of horrors and pain beyond their imagination, spoke to warn them that this was not a girl who could be taken easily. Oh, Anna was not so innocent.

Anna moved to sit on a bench on the sidewalk. She hoped that Chrissy and Sophie was going to be all right. Then again, Chrissy was wise enough to stay out of Mama’s way until she passed out from drunkenness. A strand of rich, auburn hair fell into her eyes, and Anna blew it out of her face. She dug into her pocket and counted. She had enough to buy three cupcakes from the corner sweetshop. Sighing, she got to her feet and made her way to the shop.

Now, on the block across the sweetshop, there was a rather small cathedral at the end of the block. Usually, Anna would pay no attention to the cathedral, but today she looked up and saw the little carvings of angels on the frame of the door. She stuffed the cupcakes into her pocket, and slowly walked closer to examine the carvings. It was nothing complicated, but it was exquisite in its simplicity. Anna hesitated, and then she pushed open the door to the cathedral. It was surprisingly heavy and it swung inwards silently.