Elsa’s parents had always thought her an exemplary child, for not only was their eldest daughter beautiful and well-mannered, but she exceeded in academics, was the president of her class, performed fairly well in sports and even did voluntary work around their community.

Elsa was the epitome of perfection, or so the boys that approached her father with the desire to date her would say. Luckily for her parents, Elsa had no interest whatsoever in any of those young men, allowing her father the satisfaction of turning them away (sometimes even amusing himself with the bluff of a threat). The beautiful, blue eyed young woman had decided as soon as she finished high school little over a year ago, that she would pursue a college degree in architecture, something that made her parents awfully proud; her father often went to the market with a puff chest as he chanted her praises to the clerks; Elsa knew this because her younger sister, Anna, loved to make her laugh by emulating him.

And speaking of Anna, she too was very loved by her parents. Even though, younger by barely three years, she was nothing like her older sister. She had come out a redhead, probably a remnant from her mother’s side of the family. Her mother would acquiesced to that as long as it was agreed that most of her personality came from his father’s genes, for where Elsa was calm and collected, Anna was impulsive, overly expressive and loud; not that her parents thought them bad qualities to have, but it did make for a rather problematic childhood. That in mind, something told them that although Anna was still in the middle of high school, she would probably not be following in her sister’s footsteps and entering college. Her parents knew this and they were still mentally debating whether to insist or resign on the concept when the time came (the father wanted to resign as long as she found something to do with her life while the mother wanted to insist because how else was she to find something to do with her life). For the moment however, they were fairly happy with her performance in school. She had B’s instead of A’s, although that might be thanks to her sister’s constant help (or pestering, as Anna would playfully put it). And she stayed as far away from school clubs and any leadership opportunity that could be presented her way. In all honesty, Anna might seem a little selfish, considering she only did voluntary work if her sister asked for some company, but in reality her parents knew she was still just very much like a child, concentrating on the present and its joys (even if her father joked that they should get her tested for ADHD). Still, they were proud of her too, because she may not like studying much, but at 16 years old Anna already had a part time job as a clown in the near-by McDonalds. So, for all her childish manners, they had no doubt that Anna was hardworking.

In a general and very evident way, Elsa and Anna were nothing alike. Keeping that in mind it was amazing to her parents that adding the differences in age they still managed to be glued at the hip. Rarely was Elsa seen without Anna, that time consisting of only when they were in their respective schools. But Elsa was the one who would make sure Anna would wake up to even go to school at all, she would also take her in her 18th birthday present, a light blue Mazda3, assigning her as permanent shotgun (the rule prevailed even when she went out with other friends, who already knew the front seat was Anna’s reign) and permitting her to put whatever music she liked; fortunately they seemed to like the same refined kind of music: jazz, classics and the sorts. Obviously, Elsa was also the one to pick her up from school, make sure she did her homework and magically contain her energy enough to keep her in the house for family gatherings during the holidays. For her part, Anna was the only one capable of breaking Elsa’s composed façade, with her the blond laughed out loud, she teased and she joked, she watched trashy TV, went out to clubs she knew Anna was not supposed to be in, and even listened to Lady Gaga (one of the few exceptions of contemporary music they listened to).

Her parents knew all of this, mostly because Anna would recount it to them with the strangest out-of-this-world expression on her face. She looked almost dreamy as she retold everything she and her sister had done during the day. Her father found that very odd, her mother thought it to be one more of her quirks, but neither would think to question it; glad to know the sisters loved each other very much. After all, when the parents were gone, they would only have each other.

Besides, what with all the peculiar behavior from Anna (she had not outgrown childish actions like stuffing her face with chocolate, talking to paintings, dancing and singing around the house as if she was reenacting a Disney movie scene), it was hard for them to think too much or even reach a conclusion about her thought process. Elsa was nothing like that, not strangely peculiar at all.

Except…when she was.

Let it be known that it occurred rarely, but it always happened when she was home and her sister was not.

“Andrew, where is Elsa?” Maroon eyebrows bended inwards in the face of a middle aged woman. Her thin lips pursed as she waited for her husband’s reply.

“I don’t know, Marta. Reading?” He suggested. His mustache deep within the newspaper he was reading and his legs propped on the living room’s small center table.

Marta left her teacup on the table beside her husband’s feet, and rose in search of her eldest daughter. She knew she was old enough to not be checked on every few hours, but she was still her mother, it was her job to worry.

She had not to go far to find her though. Entering the hallway adjacent to the living room, she encountered Elsa sitting on a comfortable armchair close to the entrance of the house. Her husband had been right, Elsa was reading like every other young adult was probably not doing on their free Saturday. However, that chair she was currently curled in had not been there that morning, she was sure.

Perplexed at her daughter’s odd behavior she asked, “Elsa, what are you doing there?”

Elsa startled at the unexpected voice, her eyes falling rapidly on its owner, “Oh! Mother! Well, I’m reading.” She presented the book she had in her hand, to which her mother paid little mind.

“Yes I see that, but, why there, by the door?” She asked, wondering why her daughter had dragged the comfiest but also biggest couch in the house to seat beside the door when she had a large and cozy bed in the room she shared with her sister.

“Ah, well, because…” The blond shifted her eyes around the hallway. “I-I like the lighting.” She finished quickly.

The lighting of which she spoke came from a small window by the door. Its design allowed only two rectangles of sunlight to enter the house and hit the armrest of the couch.

“For the lighting…” The mother said, unconvinced.

“….yes.” Elsa replied in that calm and controlled voice of hers. But Marta was her mother, she knew her even better than her dearest sister Anna, or at least, enough to know she was hiding something. Nonetheless, Marta accepted that response with a nod and left her daughter to her own devices, returning to her chair on the living room. She retook her tea cup and continued to imbibe it.

“Where was she?” Andrew asked, his eyes rising to hers but only for a second.

“Like you said, reading.” She replied nonchalantly.

The tall brown-haired man smiled, pleased with both himself and his daughter’s brightness. While other young people were out there wrecking their lives, here was his daughter, home, feeding her intelligent brain, while his other daughter, although out of his house, was working. His chest swelled.

Meanwhile, Elsa sighed in relief, glad her mother had dropped the issue. She was not sure how she could explain her current actions since she couldn’t even comprehend them herself. She just needed to be there, by the door.

So that Saturday went like this: Elsa and Anna’s father read three different newspapers, then went out to the backyard to busy himself on his workshop until Marta was done with lunch when he was then forced to take a bath before settling on the table to eat. He asked not where Elsa was, believing his daughter to be so engrossed in her book that she had asked her mother to take her lunch up to her room. Something close to that had occurred, but instead of to her room Marta took the lunch to the threshold, where she found Elsa texting away on her cellphone. She was quickly informed by a despondent daughter that her youngest offspring would be returning home much later than previously thought because the following clown could not make it to her shift. The older woman accepted the news offhandedly and instructed Elsa to eat all of her lunch if she planned to keep reading by the door; she knew the blond ate little when her sister was not present.

Elsa spent the day like that, sitting by the door long enough to finish her Harry Potter series. She could barely wait for Anna to get home, to narrate to her a synthetized version of the books since her sister had never had the attention span to finish even one.

It was after her parents had retreated to their bedroom for the night (relatively early that evening) and she had opened the first page of a new book a friend of hers had suggested (Hunger Games) that the front door’s lock clicked.

Elsa instantly dropped the book to her lap, forgetting to dog-ear the page. Her blue eyes widened slightly, expectantly, as the door was pushed ajar. In came her ginger haired sister sporting a red circle dot on each cheek and her colorful buffoon dress completed by orange fireman boots. She carried an exhausted expression that did not go with her clownish attire at all, and Elsa could not help the flush of her cheeks as she thought of how utterly adorable her younger sister looked.

Slowly, pale blue eyes met with darker ones, and enlarged instantly filling with delighted surprise.

“Elsa!” Anna said, her freckles becoming more visible with her smile.

“Hey Anna.” Elsa replied, her soft voice sounding almost like a whisper.

Anna grinned and finally took notice of the big couch. She cocked her head, quirking a curious eyebrow. “Um, why are you sitting there?”

Elsa’s mouth opened, but nothing came out, she seemed to come to the realization that she had not thought of how to explain her actions when her sister would so obviously ask.

She stuttered, grasping for an answer. Her eyes shifted to everything, her book, the armrests of the couch, the floor, everything that was not her sister, “Ah, um…I just felt like reading over here.” She said, her orbs rising to meet with Anna’s dubious gaze. So she felt the need to add, “Alright, and I wanted to welcome you after your work day so…welcome home.”

Anna’s grin turned into a smirk. “So what you mean to say is that, you sat there all day waiting for me just because you wanted to see me as soon as I crossed that door.” She stated more than asked. The teasing all knowing smile darkened the red color of Elsa’s flush.

“I-If you want to put it that way.” Elsa coincided averting her eyes bashfully.

Anna seemed to glow at the reluctant response. She neared the couch and rested her palms on the closest armrest, leaning towards her sister. “Where are mom and dad?” She asked, a glint in her blue orbs.

“Sleeping, I think.” Elsa replied, peering up at her sister through her long eyelashes.

“Good.” The redhead whispered, placing a hand on her sister’s pale cheek. It was cold to the touch, yet comforting in its familiarity. It always urged her to do what she did next. Leaning down, Anna placed her pink lips on Elsa’s unpainted ones, a deep kiss of welcome, of love and desire.

Elsa moaned softly into the kiss, pushing herself up on the arms of the couch to press more firmly against her sister’s mouth. Anna pecked her upper-lip once before detaching herself. She delighted in the way Elsa’s enamored features surged forward trailing after the departing warmth of her lips.

Elsa’s eyes fluttered at the extended loss of contact. She found her sister smiling fondly at her. Anna caressed her cheek with her thumb before pressing a quick kiss to the flesh. She straightened afterwards, taking Elsa’s hand instead.

“I’m exhausted” A sighed supported her words. “How about a bath together?” She suggested grinning and wiggling her eyebrows.

The burning sensation that had reddened all of her face extended to her neck. Yet she put no resistance as her sister pulled her towards the upstairs bathroom. And when Anna whined about being too tired and asked Elsa to help undress her, she complied willingly.