Al was worried.

Winry had attempted to convince Edward of what she had said earlier, that Ana could have stayed home or went somewhere else. Ed would have none of it and stuck to his theory until he had proof that said otherwise. If it wasn't bad enough that his friend's existence was being questioned, Ana never showed up the next day either…or the day after that. It had only been two weeks since he'd met her, and Al had already gotten so used to seeing his friend around and talking and playing with her. That's why it unsettled him that she had randomly disappeared.

Had she gotten tired of playing with him? Had she left? Had she moved away? Was she okay? Was she really a figment of his imagination like Ed said?

Al had seriously begun to question that last bit when Ana finally made her reappearance.

"Hey, little dude."

Al blinked and glanced away from the text he'd been reading. No one else was in his and his brother's shared room. No one had opened the door, and the voice hadn't sounded muffled like they'd called him from the other side. Alphonse nearly dismissed the whisper, figuring he had imagined it.

"Hey!" the voice called a little louder.

Okay, now he knew he wasn't imagining it. But was that…were they outside his open window? And they sounded familiar…

Peeking out the window from where he sat on the bed, Al gasped at what he saw.

"Ana!"

Ana grinned at the child's delight, lounging on a thick tree branch like it was the most natural perch in the world. How had she gotten up there? Not even Ed could climb that high!

"Sounds like someone missed me," she smiled in amusement. "Of course, who wouldn't miss someone awesome like me?"

Al didn't deny it. Instead, he started ranting about more important matters. "Where've you been? I thought you moved away, or Brother said that you weren't real but I knew that you were! But then you weren't at the playground or the river and I couldn't find you and I thought…I thought that you…" He shifted, looking away as he muttered in a small voice, "I thought you might not want to play with me anymore or be my friend."

Something struck a chord with the girl because she looked close to tears. "Aww, of course I want to play with you! You're so adorable and precious! And how could anyone not want to be your friend?"

"Oh…um…" Al blushed at the praises, secretly pleased.

"I'm sorry, Alphonse. I didn't think you'd freak out so much. Forgive me? Pretty please? With sprinkles and gummy bears on top?"

"O-okay, but what are gummy bears?"

Ana stared at him in horror.

"Ana?" he asked, thinking he'd said something wrong.

"You poor, deprived child. How can you have never had gummy bears? I mean, they're not my favorite, but I still ate them when I was a kid."

Al's brow furrowed as he frowned cutely, "You eat them?" People didn't generally eat bears, and he'd never heard of ones that were…gummy.

"Yeah! But wait…I guess you don't have them here. Damn- er, I mean crap. I forget this is a different place sometimes. My bad."

"What do you mean?"

"Gummy bears are a type of candy we have back where I'm from."

His eyes widened in childish wonder at this new information. Crossing his arms over the window sill and leaning forward attentively, he asked, "Where are you from? Do you live far away?"

"Well, I used to. I lived far, far away from here, practically in a whole different world, until I came here that is. I didn't really have a choice, and home's way too far away to get back to, and I wouldn't know how to in the first place, so I'm kind of stuck here. It's not so bad. I mean, I met you, right?" Ana shrugged and smiled, though the smile never reached her eyes. She sat there on the branch, swinging her legs back and forth. Al couldn't help but think that she looked sad and was trying to brush it off.

"That's awful. What about your parents? Did they come here with you?"

She shook her head and glanced off down the hill, "No, they couldn't. I doubt they even know where I am."

Al processed this for a few moments, trying to think of some way to help his friend. But what could he do? He was only a kid. He wasn't smart and experienced, not like his mother… Wait!

Jumping up excitedly, Al asked, "What about Mom? She could help you! I know she could!"

For some reason, Ana wasn't ecstatic by the news. In fact, she paled and said shakily, "No, that's okay Alphonse."

Her answer floored him. Didn't she want to go back home? See her family? She obviously missed them. So why did she deny his offer?

"Why not?" he asked. "She's downstairs. I could go ask her—"

"No."

Al's eyes widened. Whenever he had hung out with Ana, she'd always been cheerful and silly. He'd never heard her this serious before.

Realizing she was coming off too strong, Ana's face softened. Her legs had stopped swinging, hanging in the air limply. If Al had thought she'd looked sad before, miserable would be the emotion now.

Voice softer, Ana told him, "Thanks Alphonse, but there's really nothing anyone can do."

His hands fiddled together and he felt suddenly cowed. "I'm sorry," he apologized, not exactly sure what for but felt that he needed to.

"Me too," she nodded, her lips twitching upward, unable to hold a smile.

Al wanted to say something but was interrupted by his brother stomping up the steps. He turned his head as Ed opened the door, "Hey Al, lunch is ready!"

"But," Al began, and then gasped as he realized that he could now introduce Edward to Ana.

In a burst of excitement, Al spun back around to the window. Words died on his lips as he quickly discovered that his friend was no longer there.