The Forgotten Secret

Popsie Reed leads both his ladies towards the sofa. He never expects this morning will be very momentous for them.

The breakfast turns out to be very interesting. They finally meet the special friend of Anna. She has been mentioning him for days now. It is so obvious how much Anna has been less miserable when she met Caspian. She gets animated when she mentions her special friend to her Popsie and Marmee.

When Jo and her family left for Alaska, Popsie is aware that her daughter was devastated. He empathizes with the loneliness Anna feels having been left behind by her best friend, her only friend. Caspian’s presence as Anna’s friend has been a lot of help for her to cope with Jo’s parting. He made her daughter smile again.

Popsie Reed recalls when Anna came home crying when she was little because the other kids in preschool were mean to her. She was around 6 then. He saw the sadness and loneliness in her eyes but having Jo changed that. She has found not just a friend but a sister as well. However, she again felt alone for Joanna is very far away. Surely it cannot be helped for it is her friend’s family decision. But still it is a sad moment for Anna.

Anna often spends time under the willow tree reading, as well as writing the countless letters both girls have written for each other. Anna is always by herself. But having Caspian now makes her daughter feel better, less alone.

Popsie Reed seems to play it cool but he has always been thinking of Anna's wellbeing. He might be very good at looking not so worried for her sake but he is. He has to be strong for both his ladies after all.

Having Anna with him and Rose completes their family but not knowing what lies ahead for Anna has always preoccupied his thoughts.

Yes, Anna completes his family but Anna remains lonely because of her incomplete life, her unknown past. She might not be aware of it right now but she somehow has that feeling inside her that she is different.

He wishes he could do more for Anna. But he really isn't sure what it is that could make her fully happy.

Anna has always seemed to be oddly separate from the other kids in their neighborhood. It is as if Anna is aware that she unlike them. She senses that she is not totally part of their world. Anna is not theirs.

Ever since they saw her in that green basket with her strangely glowing necklace, Reed and Rose know Anna is not ordinary…

"So, Anna, we have been meaning to tell you something for a while now. But your Popsie and I thought again and again that we can postpone it.”

“However, your glowing locket reminds me that it is time. I think you also notice something odd every once in a while. I guess this is a perfect moment to do so,"

Marmee Rose starts out, interrupting Popsie Reed from his reverie.

Marmee Rose holds Anna's hand, slowly caressing it while she continues.

"Anna, my dear, remember that your Popsie and I love you more than anything else in this world. Whatever you decide to do, we will respect it."

Marmee Rose starts to tear up.

"Marmee, what's going on? Please don't cry. You're scaring me."

Anna replies, giving her Marmee Rose a tight embrace. She is starting to get really concerned.

"Popsie what's wrong with Marmee? What is she trying to say?"

Anna glances at her Popsie Reed with a confused expression. Her Popsie Reed’s facial expression seems apologetic.

Popsie Reed clears his throat then slowly replies,

"Anna, when you were just a small baby, your Marmee and I found you at our doorstep in a green basket. We never knew who left you there or the reason why. All you had with you then was your emerald necklace with your name written on it."

Popsie Reed pauses.

"Your Popsie and I have decided to keep you with us because we someone felt that when we found you on our doorstep, you were meant to stay with us.” “We were chosen to protect you, to care for you, and to love you as our own."

Marmee Rose finally finds her voice again but still crying.

Anna stares at Popsie Reed and Marmee Rose with a shocked look. She is not quite sure how to process this revelation. Why now?

As if Marmee Rose hears her question, she adds.

"We always knew that you were different. I saw your necklace glowing this morning. So, we pretty much observe that you are also aware of the odd things that occur around you.”

“We know there are certain things you do but never discuss to anyone.”

She pauses for a while. She is trying to find the right words to explain this delicate situation.

“We felt that even when you were still a baby, your locket glows whenever you feel something strongly, as if it is an extension of your emotions.”

“We know you can talk to your reflection. We were surprised when you did that when you started to learn to talk. We tried to give a logical explanation to it like you were seeing an imaginary person. That is but common to most kids, to have an imaginary friend.”

“But now that you're more mature, we realized that all the strange things we have observed you can do is really a part of you.”

Marmee Rose narrates nonstop. She has to let it all out now.

“That is why we think we should tell you now the truth of how you came to be us."

She concludes with a final deep sigh of relief.

Marmee Rose stops crying at the same time she finishes her narration. She stares at Anna's face, trying to decipher her reaction to all this information.

Popsie Reed walks to Anna and wraps his arms around her from behind her.

"Anna, we are sorry we never told you the truth sooner but I hope you will forgive us." Popsie Reed whispers to Anna.

Anna still remains silent. She loves both her Marmee and Popsie so much and thankful that they told her about her past but she feels confused.

They told her the truth, but only half the truth. A lot of questions are still in her head. Who were her parents? Where did she come from? And the most painful one is that why did they leave her behind?

Anna starts crying. She sniffs to try to control herself but the tears won't stop from falling.

Anna sits on the couch a bit shakily. Popsie Reed and Marmee Rose move closer to her, each one sits on either side of the armrest of the couch. Both of them enclose her into a comfortable embrace.

Anna allows them to comfort her. After all, nothing has changed. Her Popsie Reed and Marmee Rose has always been her protector, her mother and father in all aspects except by birth.

Anna takes out her locket from underneath her blouse and starts caressing it. By now, the locket has been glowing incessantly giving off a warm feeling in the room. This somehow soothes her troubled heart.

"You will always be our Arianna, our sunshine." Reed and Rose exclaims softly at the same time.

The three of them stays in that silent position for a long time. The warmth emanating from the locket provides them comfort. It might just be half-truths that Anna learns about today but truly, nothing changed.

Anna wonders what she should do next. Should she look for her real parents? Didn't anyone ever come back for her if they changed their minds for leaving her? Was she meant to be left behind because she is strange or because there is something wrong with her?

She needs to talk to Jo. Well, what about Caspian? Should she tell him about this also?

Anna feels so exhausted with all these questions in her head. Somehow her knowing the truth about herself will give explanations to the strange things that she can do.