Anna sat on the hill, her face soaked with tears. She knew if she stayed much longer, her mother would worry. She took one of the long sleeves of her sweater and wiped it across her cheekbones, drying them. She stood up slowly and stretched. As she did so, she noticed the orange sun descending below the horizon. She smiled. As Anna bent over to pick up her school books, she noticed a piece of paper sticking out of one. She pulled it out and read it. Her eyes welled up with tears again as she wadded up the paper and threw it as hard as she could.
“Piss,” she muttered to herself as she started her trek home. She had the urge to bang her fist against her thigh but fought it. She continued to walk, trying to keep an even pace all the way home. She stepped inside her front door and relaxed.
“Anna, is that you?” her mother called from the kitchen. Anna could smell the pie that her mother was baking.
“Y-yes ma’am,” Anna called, walking into the kitchen slowly. Her mother’s back was to her, as she was bent over looking into the oven. Anna set down her books on the table and began working on her math. Her mother was humming a gay tune that sounded familiar to Anna. 
“What song is that?” Anna asked.
“An old one. It was the first song your father and I danced to,” her mother replied, standing up and turning around. “Oh my, look at you. What happened?”
Anna looked down. “I fell down the steps at school,” she said, trying to cover up the purple bruises all over her body. Her mother looked slightly forlorn, but she turned and tended to the pie before asking any more questions, seeing how reluctant Anna was to make eye contact.

A few hours later, and the pie was done. They ate their dinner in silence; the only sound was the wind outside. When they were done, Anna cleared the table as her mother did the dishes.
“Anna, please dry these,” her mother said.
“Yes ma’am.” Anna walked over and started drying the dishes. They did this for a while before Anna started getting antsy. “Where’s Dad?” she asked.
“I’ve already told you, Anna. I don’t want to talk about it,” her mother said. “Dry those plates better, dear.”
Anna set down the plate. “I just want to know where he is, mom. He’s been gone for more than a year. I miss him.”
“I miss him too, Anna. That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to talk about it,” her mother said. She finished the last dish and then sat at the table. Anna followed.
“Why not?” Anna asked.
Anna’s mother sighed. “Why not what, Anna?”
“Why don’t you want to talk about Dad? You always tell me how much you love him. What if I love him, too?” she asked.
Anna’s mother sat silently for a minute, thinking. Suddenly, she moved closer to Anna. “Sometimes, Anna, mommies and daddies don’t agree on things. When they don’t agree, they get upset with each other. When daddies get upset, they don’t do very smart things. Do you know what your daddy did?” Anna’s mother asked.
“Well, you said he went to go fight the good fight,” Anna said. “Mom, I’m not 5, you don’t have to talk to me like I am.”
“Sorry, sometimes I still see you as my little girl. You’re completely correct, Anna. He’s fighting the good fight. You know that means he is at war, right?” her mother asked.
“Yes, I know that. When will he be home, though?”
“I’m not sure, darling. Now, go to bed. You have school tomorrow.”
Anna sighed. “Alright Mom, see you in the morning.”

Anna walked into school with her books in hand. She kept her head low in the sea of one thousand other students walking through the halls of her school. She felt her anxiety building. Don’t notice me she thought. She slipped into her first class, Biology, and slid into the chair closest to the back of the classroom. She kept her head in a book the whole time. The bell rang, and she thought about how well she was doing. No outbursts yet she thought. Suddenly, there was a piece of paper on her desk. She didn’t see who put it there, and she tried to ignore it. Soon, curiosity got the best of her and she looked at it.

Anna’s eyes welled up with tears. It was just one word. Yet, she still felt it. She also felt like the medicine wasn’t working as well as it should have been. She was feeling her ticks coming back. She searched around the room with her eyes in a panic, but it seemed like everyone was looking at her. She took deep breaths and tried to keep it in. It was all to no avail. In one sharp, high pitched breath, she said “Balls,” which started an eruption of ticks. She said several cuss words, all very loud. Everyone was looking at her for sure now, and she couldn’t stop. The teacher yelled at her, only making it worse. She told Anna to go to the office, so she did. As she was walking out of the class, people shoved her and tripped her. They were all laughing at her. Anna fell on the floor, landing on a fresh bruise, and yelped in pain. That made the taunting get worse. The teacher had become so overwhelmed that she left the room, and Anna was left at the hands of her tormentors. Soon, everyone was up. Anna was laying on the ground sobbing and the people around her chanted that one word, the word that started it all.
The chanting started slow and soft. It soon picked up the pace and the volume and the room with filled to the brim with the word. It swam and multiplied and pierced Anna’s ears, her suffering not even close from over. “Freak!” they all chanted, as they formed a circle around Anna. Anna had a steady flow of cuss words spewing from her mouth as she sobbed, willing it all to go away. Oh, she hoped it was only a dream. She squeezed her eyes shut, and moments later there was a dull, throbbing pain in her stomach. She felt herself slide backwards across the floor a bit. This happened many times before she realized she was getting kicked in the gut. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard an angel over the sounds of the chanting, willing the terrible kids to stop hurting her and to leave her alone. They didn’t listen. They mercilessly beat Anna, and for what reason? The girl was merely different. Soon, Anna saw the angel. She was a short girl with long, curly red hair. She looked mad. She pushed people away from Anna and kneeled beside her.
“Are y-you an angel?” Anna asked. She was seeing dark spots in her vision and felt very weak. There was a salty, blood-like scent in the air.
“Today I am,” the girl whispered.
“Thank you,” Anna whispered. She felt a warmth within herself; everything was slowly fading to black. She no longer felt pain, just bliss. She let her body relax and take in this new feeling. Soon, everything was black, and the blackness was so dark that it became overwhelming. Anna didn’t fight it; she was ready to let go, so she did. She let go and she closed her eyes one final time.