Worlds Apart: Finn and Anna's Challenge

**Anna, I need to tell you something.**

The late afternoon sun was pressing down upon us, as we sat on a boulder, overlooking the valley. The temperature was steady at twenty-seven degrees, but that didn't stop a bead of sweat from running down my neck. It was the hottest summer in a decade, and many people were saying it felt like the end of the world.

I held her hand in mine, and looked down at her face. She was smiling, enjoying the moment. I had always been shy around Anna, but she never gave me any trouble about it. She would always break out into a smile when I came around; she never had mean intentions. That's why she was my best friend, and why I loved her so dearly.

She squeezed my hand back, and looked up at me with those big brown eyes of hers. They were looking at me with love...and gratitude.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," she said softly. "You've saved me more times than I can count."

"Don't be silly." I cleared my throat to try and get rid of the lump that had formed there. "You're my best friend."

She smiled again and looked away from me, towards the valley below us. "Do you ever think we'll go hiking together again?"

My shoulders slumped downwards as I let out a heavy sigh. "No," I answered with regret in my voice. "Not after what happened."

Anna looked back at me with a look of shock on her face. "Is that really how you feel?" Her tone was soft and gentle...the same tone she used when comforting one of our sisters when they had nightmares about their father's death. It made me want to cry even more than before, but instead I just nodded my head in response to her question.

"Are you angry with them? Your parents?" She asked this with genuine curiosity in her voice. She wasn't being condescending or patronizing either; she simply wanted to understand why I felt this way about them. Even though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she was also afraid that I might turn into one of our father's followers...like Alfred and his friends were doing these days.

I sighed again and brushed the hair out of my eyes before answering her question: "No." My voice shook slightly while saying this, but Anna didn't pick up on it right away; it took her a few moments to figure out that there was something wrong with me today when I didn't answer right away. She reached for my chin and tilted my head upwards so that we were eye-to-eye again before speaking up: "You're shaking...are you sure everything is alright?"

"I'm fine," I snapped back at her before quickly adding: "I'm just tired is all."