Her eyes discover the woman a little shorter than she with gray-blond hair and green eyes almost like sapphires.
The husband at her side, Joseph was taller than her sister, had beautiful brown hair and discreet dark green eyes. He wore a thin beard and casual clothes, he had the baby in his arms wrapped in a fluffy pink blanket.
Annelise grinned and wrapped her older sister in a strong, warm hug.
"I missed you so much, Anne!" Emma says between the hug.
"So was Em." She walks away, still smiling, seeing a smile born on his sister's lips with the nickname used.
"You changed so much, you look so beautiful. It looks like a woman." Praise touching the fringe of the youngest.
"Hey, I'm a woman and it's only been four years, and I haven't changed that much." Annelise rolls her eyes.
"A girl left here and a woman came back. And by the way, I loved your new cut." Praise again.
"Thank you Em, come in it is cold and I want to meet my niece soon." Give the necessary space for the two to enter the house and close the door immediately afterward lock it as it was before.
Both were received with great affection and animation by the girls' parents.
Joseph is the son of the neighbors who lived next door to the old house where Anne lived part of her early childhood, Emma was a little older and the two played together in the evenings in addition to attending the same school.
Even after the change, they did not move away and, on the contrary, came even closer. It was a youthful passion that matured as the phases changed to love.
They married two years ago and had just had their first daughter, just over a month old. They loved each other and were companions to each other.
Annelise like what she saw and sometimes even found herself thinking about marriage. Despite not being able to visualize herself marrying a man, she didn't quite understand why, but she imagined an answer that she was terrified of facing.
"I brought tea, the roast is in the oven." Her mother pulls her out of her daydreams with a cup in hand and as soon as she hands one for each one, sitting in the living room, she sits in her armchair.
The warm fennel tea warmed and sweetened Anne's palate, she was thoughtful, some uncertainties were surrounding her head but on campus, she was able to distract herself with the books.
Now it was all over and doubts remained.
"How were the last few years there? Did you make any friends?" Emma was curious, Annelise was always very shy and at times she was too withdrawn.
"Ah, nothing much. I spent a lot of time in the bedroom studying, but, I met a lot of people, I just don't think it's the kind of bond that leads to life." Explain and take a long sip of tea.
"You should be more sociable Anne, college is a great place to get a boyfriend." Smile and wink one mischievous eye.
"Negative, college is a place to study." Charlie joins the conversation.
"Exactly, I agree with Dad." The blonde says immediately.
"Okay, if that's what you think. And what are you going to do now?" Interested question.
"I didn't think about it but I will think in the next few days." She smiles uncomfortably.
She would be gone for good months in the next few days.
"Do not suffocate your sister with so many questions, she just arrived must be tired." Marjorie says and Anne agrees. "So let's go to dinner, you need a good night's sleep." The older woman smiles, stretching her arm, and gently touches the younger daughter's shoulder in a caress.
"Daughter, your birthday is on Monday, what did you think of doing?" Your father questions already during dinner.
"You know that I never plan a birthday, especially since I got here today. Decide you guys, I just don't like big things with a lot of people." She takes a last bite of vegetables before finishing her dish.
"How about lunch? Only for those closest to you." Suggests her excited mother and Anne agrees seeing the smile grow on Marjorie's lips.
"I can bring Joshua, it's been four years since the last time they saw each other." Joseph comments and everyone agrees immediately.
"Sure, bring him in, it's been so long." The blonde smiles excitedly.
Inside, she was very serious, Joshua was Joseph's younger brother. She had nothing against him, he was a very kind and pleasant person.
But since her sister started dating her brother-in-law, everyone has created an expectation about them, and even Joshua himself believed that. That he would conquer her, date her and then they would get married and have several children.
Annelise had already made it clear to her that this was not what she wanted in her life and she would not do it. She just didn't know if it was with him or with everyone else that this idea was rejected.
After dinner, she dispensed dessert to stay with his little niece who was crying in search of lap and attention.
Some conversations were unlocked and before ten o'clock in the evening, her sister was gone. Annelise helps her mother to clean up the kitchen for the next day and prepared a large mug of coffee before locking herself in her room.
Drinking caffeine was a habit she acquired due to the great demand for jobs and tests that she went to college at the university. It kept her awake, alert and quick.
The corridor light went out and so she knew it everyone was in bed, put on a horror movie that she liked and had not watched for a long time because she didn't have a TV in the fraternity.
She was watching the movie when she finished her coffee, left the mug on the bedside table, and still attentive to what the characters said went to the bathroom where she brushed her teeth before removing her light makeup and tied her hair in a loose ponytail before leaving the place. She took off her boots like putting them back in the closet and replaced her dress with pajamas.
Anne forced her eyes open until the last second of the film and as soon as it was over, she turned off the television and turned her body to the left, pulling the cover-up to her shoulders.
That night she dreamed of a woman with blue eyes. She had already dreamed of her once, while I was away, I knew that because the dream was the same.