Page 5 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Alex shook his head. There was no point in daydreaming about it. He couldn’t risk someone else dying.

A wisp of a sound by the bed made his heart leap. He knew that sound.

“Alex . . .”

Alex jumped to his feet and stepped forward, but stopped himself when she stepped back. “Anna?” She was so thin and pale. Her hair hung limp around her face and her eyes had dark circles beneath them. And her beautiful green eyes... oh, such despair!

“Are you really here?” His voice rasped against his throat and he shook his head, realizing he’d spoken in German. He repeated the question in English.

Her eyes widened and she stepped back again, shaking her head. “You’re dead. This isn’t real. No!” She wrapped her arms around herself and disappeared as she fell to her knees.

His jaw trembled and he fell back into the chair, bewildered at the anger in her voice. She’d come to him; it hadn’t been a hallucination. His beloved Schatzi had come to him at last, and it had caused her so much pain.

He stared at the spot, willing Anna to return, until the sun went down and Seth limped in.

“Dinner.”

Alex shook his head, not looking up. “She came.” His voice broke as he looked up at his friend.

Seth looked around the room. “Anna?”

Alex nodded. “She came and she hated me.”

Seth shook his head. “Not possible. She’d never hate you.”

“She hated me before we got married.”

“That was different. She was hurt. She didn’t hate you.”

Alex frowned. “She thinks I’m dead. You don’t think that hurts her? I betrayed her. I never returned like I promised.”

“It’s not your fault, Alex. You know that. We tried to escape.”

Alex winced, remembering Seth had paid dearly for their escape attempt. He still had scars on his chest and when the weather turned cold, his formerly broken arm and leg ached like nobody’s business.

Seth sat on the bed. “What happened?”

Alex told him about Anna’s brief visit and then closed his eyes.

“You’ve been gone for two years and you haven’t seen her since you first got here. She was probably scared and hurting.” Seth shook his head. “I know Anna. She would never hate you. Never.”

Alex swallowed, hope flickering in his heart. “You think so?”

Seth laughed. “Either that or your appearance scared the shit out of her. Have you looked at yourself lately?”

“What’s the point?” Alex grimaced. “Do I look that bad?”

“You look better than a hobo on the street, but just barely.”

He chuckled. “Maybe I should trim my beard.”

“The beard’s not so bad. It’s your hair that scares me. Are you sure there’s no rats living in it?”

Alex let a smile creep over his face. Seth was the one person in the world that could make him laugh in the depths of his despair. He thanked God for him every day.

Chapter 4

Anna sat up straight in bed. Her room was dark and her body ached.

---