The sound of metal crunching against metal rang in Anna's ears. Screams. Shattered glass. The overwhelming scent of gasoline mixed with blood. She was twelve years old, huddled in the backseat, watching as her parents' bodies lay twisted in the wreckage. Her mother's hand, once so warm, dangled lifelessly beside her. Her father's voice—once strong—was nothing more than a whisper, lost in the chaos. Then the funeral came. Black dresses. Condolences from people who barely knew them. Different people came from different places, even places Anna hadn't heard before. She wondered how her parents knew all these people.
Anna sat in the front row, her little brother clutching her hand, his small body trembling beside her. He was sick. He had always been sick. In and out of the hospital ever since he was born. A fragile guy he is. He would be brought to the hospital even for he littlest thing. Even a mere cough. So he was handled with care and attention. But now that her parents are dead, who will continue this?
The priest spoke of peace, of a better place. But all Anna felt was emptiness. Cold, suffocating emptiness.
"Miss Harper?"
The memory shattered as a voice pulled her back into the present. Anna blinked rapidly, her hands gripping the crumpled hospital bill in her lap. The past faded, replaced by the sterile white walls of the hospital, the weight of her current nightmare pressing down on her.
"Miss Harper, we need a payment by Friday," the nurse repeated gently, her tone laced with practiced sympathy. "Or we'll have to discuss alternative options."
Anna knew exactly what 'alternative options' meant. Reduced care, fewer medications, less hope.
Her throat tightened. "I understand," she whispered, forcing herself to stand. She tucked the bill into her purse and walked out of the hospital, her legs weak beneath her.
The cold New York air bit at her skin as she stepped onto the sidewalk, but she barely noticed. Her mind buzzed with calculations. Her paycheck wasn't due for another week, her landlord was already breathing down her neck, and her credit cards were maxed out. She was drowning, and no one was throwing her a lifeline.
After her parents death, her aunt from her mom's side took her in. But you can't care of another's person children like the way you would for your own. No matter how close you were with the parents. Her aunt would maltreat her, sometimes didn't feed them enough. She wouldn't give full treatments for her brother which made his condition worse. The lack of treatments of a simple cold turned into something else for him which made him the way he was now. Her aunt stopped paying for her tuition fee when she finished high school. She had to take out a loan to go to college to study accounting.
The plan was simple. Take out a loan, study, start working, leave her aunt's house with her brother, pay back her loans and live a good life.
What a plan she had.
Where it all went wrong was what Anna couldn't comprehend.
She couldn't find a job after school, her aunt kicked both her and her brother out because she was catering for them too much (even though she did nothing), the bank was already asking for their payments back, and her brother's health was getting worse.
Then Anna met Chloe, her best friend from middle school. They went separate ways when Anna moved to her aunt's place but they met again one faithful afternoon. It was an emotional moment for them both.
Chole helped Anna to her feet. Helped her find a job, helped her find an apartment, helped her to put her brother in a hospital, up until she could afford all herself.
This was 3 years ago.
Now Anna was paying for everything but it wasn't enough. The bills just kept piling up, the rent, the loan, the hospital bill, everything. She worked extra, did everything just to make ends meet. But life sure as a way of making her miserable.
She barely made it to work on time, rushing into the towering office building, her heart still racing from the morning's stress.