"Elsa? Do you wanna build a snowman?"
Five-year-old Princess Anna knocked hopefully on her big sister Elsa's door. They would always build snowmen together when it was snowing out. But suddenly, for no apparent reason, Elsa had moved out of their shared room and refused to come out to play with Anna. If Anna could just remind her of how much fun they had, surely she would change her mind.
"Go away, Anna!"
Anna's heart sank as she heard Elsa's pained reply through the door. And then she felt an emotion she had rarely felt before, and never with Elsa: anger.
She backed away from the door and folded her arms. "Fine," she said. "I'll just go play by myself."
But playing by herself wasn't nearly as fun as playing with Elsa had been. Anna fought back tears as she rolled up snowballs to make into a snowman. Elsa's snowmen had been much better than hers, almost like they were made with magic. Why didn't Elsa want to play with her anymore? Was she mad at her? How could Anna apologize if she didn't even know what she had done wrong?
Anna tried a few more times to get Elsa to come out of her room. But the result was always the same. She asked her parents why Elsa wouldn't play with her. She was sick, they said. She needed to focus on her lessons. They reassured Anna that Elsa still loved her. Anna decided she'd believe it when she saw it.
Over time, Anna's pain faded into the background. Sometimes she managed to forget that she even had a sister at all. Her world consisted of her, her parents, and the palace servants Kai and Gerda. Sure, sometimes her parents disappeared for hours behind Elsa's door. But they always came out and played with her, praised her for her studies, and spent as much time with her as they could given their royal duties and whatever it was they did with Elsa. So, for the most part, she was content.
As the years passed, Anna began to question the real reason Elsa had shut her out. She knew her parents were lying to her. But what could be the truth? What could she have done that was so horrible it would make Elsa shut out her only sister? Whatever it was, it was so long ago - and Anna was so young when it happened - that it made no sense for Elsa to still be mad about it. And Anna refused to be sorry for something she couldn't even remember doing. This was all Elsa's fault.
And then their parents died.
Elsa didn't even come to the funeral. She was now the queen, and she wouldn't even come out to face her new subjects, comfort her sister, and pay her last respects to her parents. Anna left a space open for her as she stood between the stones that bore their names. But this was done out of tradition rather than love.
After the funeral, on the way back to her room, Anna passed by Elsa's door. She figured she would try one last time.
"Elsa," she whispered sadly. "We only have each other now. It's just you and me." She took a deep breath and said the first thing - the only thing - that came to mind.
"Do you wanna build a snowman?"
No reply.
And Anna, finally, gave up.