"Mom?" Al spoke, rewarding him with his mother's attention. They stood at the sink together, Al using a chair to gain height as they cleaned the dishes they'd dirtied from lunch. It was Al's turn to help with dishes and Ed had gone to read another book on alchemy that their father had left behind.
"Hm?" she hummed, handing him another plate to rinse.
Plunging the soapy dish underneath the cool stream of water, Al asked, "How do you make someone feel better if they're sad?"
His mother paused. "Who's sad?"
"My friend, Ana."
"Oh, so she's come back?" she guessed. Al had told her of how Ana had disappeared. He told her everything about Ana and she always listened with the utmost curiosity.
"Mh-hm! She was sitting in the tree outside my window really high! But she looked really sad."
"Did she tell you why?"
He scrunched his lips to the side, his brows furrowing in concentration. "I think… I think she's sad that she can't go home. She said she lives too far away and her parents don't know where she is."
Trisha stopped scrubbing a cup and turned her concerned gaze on him. This news troubled her. "Why wouldn't her parents know? Where is she staying if not with them?"
Al shrugged, "I don't know. I thought she lived by the playground but she never said."
Tapping her nails against the soapy cup she held, Trisha contemplated this. For some reason, his mother found this matter more concerning than he did. Al wondered what she was thinking about.
"Mom?" Alphonse asked.
She nodded to herself and smiled at her son, "Next time you see her, why don't you invite Ana to dinner?"
"Really?" Al asked excitedly.
"Sure. I'd love to meet your friend. And I'm worried about what you've told me. I hope she has someone to look after her."
Al thought about it but shook his head, "She didn't tell me anything. Do you think she might live alone, Mom?"
"Something like that. And that's what I'm afraid of. Poor dear."
Being so young, Alphonse didn't realize the possible worries his mother did. From what he'd told her, there was the real possibility that Ana was a runaway. Her situation sounded more concerning than something simple like Ana living on her own, which was something Trisha suspected wasn't as cut and dry as that. Al had told her that Ana was but a teenager, and Trisha had asked around a couple of times and kept her eyes out, but had heard nothing about this newcomer. No one had moved in to Resembool as of late and any recent travelers had come and gone.
Unfortunately, the situation was worse and more unbelievable than any of them could possibly imagine.