Anna Margaret and Hannah Marie: The Klales Sisters

1994

Once upon a time there was a six-year-old girl named Anna who looked just like a pre-Raphaelite principessa. Anna lived with her parents in a big house near the woods, and although she was happy drawing and coloring by herself, sometimes she was just a tiny bit lonely for a playmate. Then, one day, her mother had wonderful news. She was going to have a baby! "Well, it had better be a sister," said Anna. "If it's a boy, we'll give it away."

That night, alone in her room, she tried to imagine what it would be like to have a sister. She knew exactly what she wanted for the baby's name: Hannah. She'd chosen it because she could already spell it by adding an "H" to the beginning and end of her own name.

"Well, let's see," Anna said to herself as she lay in the dark. "As soon as Hannah comes home, I'll hold her and feed her and give her a bottle. Later on I'll teach her how to walk, and when she gets a little older, I'll give her my tricycle. And we'll play games like hide-and-seek, and I'll show her how to be good in school.

"We won't be just friends. We'll be sisters. Alike. Only one of us will be bigger than the other. Sometimes we'll fight but I'll give her one of my dollies and that's how we'll make up. We'll tell each other secrets, and Hannah will love me as big as the world."

Anna snuggled down in her canopy bed, her curls spread over the pillow, and fell asleep, dreaming about how she and Hannah would live happily ever after.

Several months later, Anna nestled alongside her mother, gingerly cradling her tiny, pink, hour-old sister in her arms.

"Am I dreaming, Momma?" she whispered. "See how her eyes are closed. She must be tired. I think we should keep her. She's too cute to give away."

Suddenly, Hannah began to cry. Anna, her little heart filled with the joy of having her very own baby sister, wept, too. And so began their lifelong journey of sharing each other's happiness and comforting each other's tears.

2004

It didn't take Anna very long to come to the conclusion that her real baby sister wasn't exactly who she'd envisioned. Hannah didn't turn out to be a doll she could dress up and play with, or a perfect angel who'd follow her around, absorbing the pearls of wisdom she'd drop willy-nilly into her lap. Nevertheless Anna wasn't at all disappointed. Quite the opposite. Although they have their spats, she doesn't want to change her sister the least little bit. The older they get, the less important the six years separating them becomes. Hannah is more creative, and Anna is more logical, but they enjoy the same kind of music-goofy songs like the ones Weird Al Yankovic sings and certain classical symphonies. They like to sit side-by-side drawing or playing word games and competing at ping-pong. In fact, they probably have more fun with each other than with just about anybody else.

Anna even discovered that Hannah could end up teaching her a thing or two, especially in the area of self-confidence. Anna is one of those kids who worries a lot about what people think of her. Back in middle school, when she got teased about her unruly curls, she'd come home crying. Hannah, on the other hand, couldn't care less about such nonsense and advised Anna to ignore the meanies. When a classmate told Hannah she was ugly, Anna saw the way she laughed off the insult. Who'd have thought that her younger sister would be the one to demonstrate the importance of accepting herself? Or that she'd cherish the times when the two of them break down into utter silliness, because that's when she can be completely natural-and Hannah doesn't care.

Now that Anna has grown into a slender, studious sixteen year-old, she has a very different view of what she wants in a sister. Sure, it's fine to have a pal, but it's more important to have somebody you can depend on, who can make you feel better when you're upset. I know if I ever needed anything, Hannah would help me get it," she says. "I can talk to her more easily than anyone else-although there are obviously things I wouldn't discuss until she gets older."

Hannah may only be ten, but she already appreciates that your sister is the one person besides your mom who you can totally trust. "If you have a friend at school, you can get mad at her and never be friends again," she says. "But a sister will always be your friend no matter what, even though she sometimes orders you around and hogs the Internet." Life without a sister would be boring. Who would be there to sing funny songs with or talk to or share jewelry and books with and the shirts that fit both of you? "With your sister, you can be yourself," Hannah says, "and she won't judge you. She'll like you however you are."

Just as Anna dreamed so long ago, she and her sister "love each other as big as the world." They plan always to be the best of friends, forever sharing the letters of their name and whatever else, good or bad, that life delivers.

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