There was a new girl at summer camp. Her name? Ana. Her appearance shook the very ground the world we stand on. She was incredibly thin, long straight her, tan. The very image of beauty. Immediately, I was infatuated by her. I wanted nothing but to be like her. I was already tan enough, and had the hair. But I was nowhere near as skinny as her.

I followed her around like a lost dog begging for food. Which, ironically enough, was the opposite of what I did. I figured, if I didn't eat that much, I could be as thin as her. After all, she doesn't eat that much at meals. I began to exercise three times a day, and strenuously. I didn't eat enough to get energy, and was often tired. I didn't understand how she did it. I wanted to beg her to give me her secrets, but I was terrified.

Two weeks after meeting her, I gathered up the courage to ask her for her help. That's what I'm about to do, at least. "Hey, Ana?" I ask, setting my fork down on my plate. "Mhm?" she lifts her eyes up from the magazine she holds in her perfectly manicured hands and stares at me over top of it. "I feel like an utter jerk for asking this, but how did you get so thin? I wish I could be as thin as you..." I trail off, feeling stupid. Ana sets her magazine down and smiles at me, linking her hands together and leaning on her elbows on the table. "I'll gladly help you; all you had to do was ask."

The first thing Ana had me do was throw away my almost full tray of food. "You're not going to be needing all that." she explained. "Let's go, we have some work to do." I follow her out of the mess hall and into the forest. "You're almost as thin as you need to me, but you've got some work to do. You're going to need to run for an hour, which is half of how much time we have until we have to go back to our cabin. What are you waiting for? Run!" Without a moment's hesitation, I turn and dart out into the trees, jumping over underbrush and fallen logs. My empty stomach rumbled, but I ignored it and kept heading through.

Three weeks later, I walk with Ana into the mess hall, to the gawking eyes of everyone. I had finally reached my goal - I was as thin as Ana. I get a tray and put only a small water bottle and an apple, then sit at Ana and I's regular table. I had thought she was right behind me, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, Keira, have you seen Ana? I thought she was right behind me," I ask the girl across the table from me. "Who's Ana?" Keira's eyebrows knit together, and she frowns. "What do you mean, 'who's Ana'? She's been here for five weeks." Keira shakes her head, looking at me like I was crazy.

That's when I realized that I wasn't dealing with a person for the past month; I've been dealing with a disease. I had Anorexia.