The dinner table, as always, was laid heavy with food, and the conversation typical. Logan, Ororo, and Xavier spoke amongst each other at one end of the table, while pockets of conversation happened around Anna on the opposite end. Evan and Kurt were whispering between each other while watching some video on a shared phone. Scott talked with Jean about some mundane thing he had heard about or watch on some stupid documentary. Kitty sat on her own little island by herself at the end of the table. She would loudly munch away at her pile of food while flipping through her phone and occasionally share some inane tidbit she found particularly interesting with Anna. Where she was finding such a concentrated amount of stupid was beyond Anna, since they were all banned from holding any sort of social media account for 'safety's sake,' but - as Jeff Goldblum once said - life, and apparently cat videos, finds a way.
Anna waited until Scott - always the first to leave - finished his plate, cleaned his spot, and left. In his absence, she could feel the twisted coils in her stomach slowly unravel and her boiling blood soften to a simmer. Soon Jean would leave, then Kitty and the boys, inevitably leaving her alone with the adults who seemingly hadn't even noticed the others' absence. It was funny, for being such a house full of people and being such a 'family,' it was sure easy to feel like she was on a world all on her own. Truthfully, she would have left with the others at that point, if her assigned chore hadn't been kitchen detail.
Cleaning the dishes and cooking gear wasn't all bad. It was her job back at home anyway, this was just on a grander scale. It helped too to know she wasn't alone. Ororo would usually tackle the big stuff while Anna prepped the plates for the gigantic dishwasher they had. The thing looked like it belonged in a restaurant. All chrome and hydraulics, the monster was attached to the slop sink and involved putting all the plates and utensils on a plastic pallet, pushing it into a metal box, and closing the pallet inside with the press of a lever. In less than 10 or so minutes the thing would 'ding' and out would pop scolding hot dish-wear. It was a few leagues above the 8-year-old 'whirlpool' dishwasher she was used to back at home. By the time she was done with the dishes, typically Ororo would be done cleaning the big stuff and would come to help her stow away the clean dishware. This time, however, Ororo hadn't come by to help out. In fact, Anna had no idea where the other woman had ended up.
After putting away every cup, dish, and fork by herself, she wandered the halls and foyer till she eventually found the weather witch standing outside on the rear deck next to the recently cleaned grill, staring up at the sky as if she were possessed by something beyond the clouds.
"Hey!" Anna saddled up next to her when Ororo didn't respond, looked in the direction she was staring at, and when she saw nothing but the plain sky, she waved her hand in the woman's face. "Hey! Something break in your brain or something?"
Ororo blinked and looked down at Anna. "Hmm?" She seemed to consider something and then touched her chin. "Oh, sorry, I meant to come in and help you, but I got distracted watching the sunset."
"The sunset," Anna said the words as if dropping a flat basketball. "You mean the thing that's there every freaking day?" She looked out at the setting sun just between the mansion and the garage. "What's so special about this one than any other?"
"Nothing I suppose." Ororo walked towards it and Anna followed her. "But the setting sun is also beautiful every day, why not take a moment to take in its majesty?" They were now on the wide green lawn on the other side of the mansion. Ororo said nothing as she sat down on the lush green grass and crossed her legs, eyes still fixed on the sunset.
"Right well, sunsets are great and all, but I didn't much appreciate you leaving me to hang out in the weeds with all the work back there." Anna crossed her arms. "I mean, god -" She turned, her back to the sun. "Between figuring out everyone's shit, dealing with all the shit at school, putting up with that shit-heel Scott-" She held her hands out to her sides. "Then I got to do this workout shit with Logan, do all the homework shit after that, then go to bed before I've even had a chance to -" She propped her hands on her hips. "But sure! Why don't we all just sit around and look at sunsets all freaking day!"
"Anna"
"What?" Anna turned and saw Ororo still sitting in that same spot, completely unmoved.
"Sit with me."
"Didn't you hear what I was just telling you? I don't have time to 'sit!' I've got a whole new life to figure out as of yesterday apparently! Some of us don't have the time to afford to just 'sit.'"
"It'll only be a moment of your time, I promise."
Anna creased her lips so tightly she felt a headache budding in her temple. She released a gust of breath. "Fine! I guess I can sit a minute." She walked over, stomping her feet along the way, and dropped on the grass next to Ororo. She roughly crossed her legs and hunched her back so much she nearly resembled the business end of a candy cane. "Alright. I'm here. Now what?"
"I want you to tell me the colors you see in the sunset."
"Okay." Anna looked around. "Orange. There is a lot of orange. Yellow. Pink." She gave her surroundings another once over. "That's about it."
"Is it?"
Anna looked around some more. "I guess there is some purple. Like a sort of indigo color." She paused. "You can still see some blue from the normal sky, but it's mostly faded. It's kinda like a canvas for all the other colors to melt into. It's kinda cool to look at actually. The clouds are weirdly wispy too and are either reflecting the colors or making them."
"What do you hear?"
"What do I hear?" Anna turned her head to look around.
"Keep your eyes on the sky."
Anna did as she was told and listened. "Crickets. A bunch of 'em. Some frogs." She tilted her head. "Kinda sounds like… maybe someone is chopping some wood. Yeah… I can kinda smell wood burning. Like a campfire."
"What are you feeling?"
Anna's eyes fell toward the fence beyond the lawn. "Angry." She sifted her jaw. "Fucking frustrated." A length of time passed when nothing was said. Instead, the air between them was filled with the ever-increasing sound of crickets hidden in the shadows of the nearby bushes and trees. "I feel…" Anna felt her eyebrows crease. "Maybe just a little… scared."
After another pause, she heard Ororo's voice, but it somehow felt more distant than before. "Anna, I want you to put those feelings on a little boat and let them drift down a river."
Anna closed her eyes and envisioned a little sailboat and all her feelings from the day being placed aboard before they drifted off down the gently rolling tide. "Okay."
"Next, I'd like you to focus on your breathing. Count your breaths if you'd like. In and out."
Anna could feel her lungs slowly and softly expanding in her chest before being blow out her nose at a steady rate. She followed the breaths…1…2…3 before she found herself eventually in a strange state of semiconscious. Her head felt lighter on her shoulders and the world around her disappear as her eyes gently closed. Concerns, deadlines, yesterday and tomorrow faded into the blackness of the background as she continued to follow her breaths…1…2…3
She then began to feel tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She blinked them open, felt her face, and found her cheeks slick with tears. "Wow." When she spoke, she felt a wall of mucus clog her throat. When she coughed, more tears bubbled to the surface. She felt herself shutter as another wave of indiscernible emotion pressed up against her face and chest as if she were retching. "What? Why am I crying? What's happening?"
Ororo wrapped her up in her arms and softly rocked her. "It's finally coming out, dear." She drew her sleeve over her hand and gently brushed the hair out of Anna's face. "All the pain, all the fear, all of it finally got the room it needed to come out."
"I don't -" Was all Anna managed to muster before letting her head rest on Ororo's chest, surrendering herself to the embrace. "Ororo…"
"I know, dear. It's okay to cry. To let out those fears and toxins. You're going to be alright, sweet girl."