Anna went through the motions of her every day life. But, right at the back of her mind was the niggling little thought:

It's my fault.

The guilt was close to overpowering when she was alone, but when she was busy, or with friends, it almost went away. Almost.

She could see that Julia was going to grow up to look like her, but with one exception; Julia's eyes were brown, like Chris's.

But Julia's hair was the same chestnut shiny brown as Anna's, her face was the same heart shape, and she had the same delicate smile. But Anna's eyes were blue.

She remembered when she was a little girl, and her grandma would play with her.

"Your eyes are beautiful, Anna. They're different too. Everybody else's in the family are brown."

"Why is that Nana?"

"Because, sweetie, the elements that run inside us. Our life essence. My life essence is earth. Yours is water. Water runs through you. Water makes you vibrant and alive."

She distinctly remembered reaching up to her grandmother, wanting a closer look at her eyes, to see if they really were made of earth. She was disappointed when they weren't, but her grandmother just laughed.

She still found it hard to believe she was dead.

Anna shook herself from the fond memory and turned backed to Julia. Yes, her brown eyes could have inherited from her grandparents, but Anna knew instinctively that they were Chris's. They had the same way of lighting up when she smiled.

She heard a knock on the door.

She left Julia in her cot and went to answer it.

"What are you doing here?"

"Dad was right. You're living in a hovel."

"It's not a hovel. Just because it's not a mansion. We can't all afford to be spoilt princesses."

"Says you," Jo sneered.

"Why are you even here?" Anna asked, becoming annoyed.

"I wanted to meet my niece."

"You disowned us. Go away."

"Dad disowned you."

"Well, you agreed with him!"

"I changed my mind."

"Go away, Jo. It's your fault that everybody looks down on me now. It's your fault that they call me a whore when they think I can't hear them. Why should I let you of all people see Julia?"

"I can help you."

"Help me do what?" Anna was suddenly suspicious.

"Get back on Daddy's good side, of course." She said, in a sickly sweet tone of voice.

"I don't want anything to do with him. He ruined my life."

"Well then," she said, an evil glitter in her eye, "I can help you get back at him."

"Go away Jo."

"Have it your way. I can't believe I walked through the slums to get here. God, what kind of animals actually live in this filth?" she asked as she turned away.

Anna wanted to scream at her, to hurl something at her, to make her realise how much she had upset her. She settled with slamming the door as loud as she could. Then she cursed when Julia started crying.

She went early to the restaurant to help set up. As usual, the place was deserted apart from her and Garth, who had urgent business to attend to in his office. She was just sat around, waiting for Haley to show.

After waiting for ten minutes, she got bored and found herself going over to the piano. She sat down and placed her slender fingers over the keys as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Well, for Anna, it was.

As she started playing, she realised she was singing her own song. The one she swore never to play to anybody else. Oh well. Garth probably couldn't hear anyway.

"Yes…yes, I know…I know, okay?" Garth was getting annoyed with this phone call. He sighed and drummed his fingers on the desk. He could hear Anna playing the piano in the main room, but it wasn't a tune he recognised. He heard a rich, melodious voice soaring above the calm sound of the piano. Was that…Anna? The song she was playing was damn good too.

"Listen, Saul, I gotta go…" he put the phone down and walked into the main room. It was Anna singing. She didn't notice him. He waited in silence until the song was over. Then he applauded.

Anna spun round. She hadn't even seen him come in.

"What song's that, Anna?" he asked, walking towards her.

"It's called…Let's Play Pretend…" she said, blushing. She hadn't meant to let anybody else hear it. It was like he had seen a part of her that was only meant for her. It was the part that had sealed up when Chris died.

"Where did you learn it?"

"I…I wrote it myself," she said, blushing even harder. She was staring at her feet in their neat, polished black shoes.

"Maybe you could play it for us all one evening?"

""Wh-what? As in, when there are customers here?"

"It's a great song, Anna. You might be famous one day."

"I doubt it."

"Will you play it for us sometime? If that goes down well, maybe I can sign you on as a weekly performer?"

"Me?"

"Is there anybody else in this room?"

"I…I'd love to," she blurted before she could stop herself.

"Great," he said, flashing her a grin with his golden mouth.

"Where on earth have you been, Miss Anna?" the maid enquired the minute she walked in the door.

"I went for a walk. Surely the butler informed you," she replied, acting as good as gold.

"Miss Anna, you know very well not to go out alone. There are people out there who would take advantage of a beautiful young girl such as yourself. You wait until your father hears about this."

"No, Rosie, please don't say anything to him," she begged.

"Not unless you tell me what you were really doing out there."

"I…I was meeting a friend."

"Which friend?" she asked suspiciously.

"Erm…someone you wouldn't know…" Anna knew if she said Chris Heartilly, Rosie would tell her father right away. Chris's father was a notorious criminal; he was now in jail.

"Tell me, or else, Miss Anna."

"Well…" suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration, "Actually, I…I went to see mother's grave. I…I didn't want to say anything. I go every month, it's a private thing for me."

Rosie's face softened.

Well, Anna, you officially deserve to rot in hell after that lie, she thought, Using your mother like that. Shame on you!

"I won't mention it," Rosie said, giving Anna a pat on the back.

Anna raced up to her room. She brushed out her long, chestnut brown hair in the mirror, whilst wishing it was blonde. Then she just stared at herself, staring at her eyes.

The water that runs within me, she thought.