[✔️] 𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑁𝐾 𝑂𝐹 𝑀𝐸 | 𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐆𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄

𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐙𝐎𝐍
"𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡."
—𝐾ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑙 𝐺𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑛

𝐈
— 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑎 —

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐘𝐀𝐖𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐒 she woke up, stretching her arms as she sat up and squinting her eyes at the gleaming sunlight that gushed through the window and into her room.

She slipped off of her bed, slowly feeling her body wake up as she pulled the white covers over the mattress and fixed the pillow before heading over to her closet.

She quickly pulled a pale blue dress from a hanger and changed into it, buttoning up the top and tugging the sleeves that went to her forearms.

Walking over to her bathroom, she quickly brushed her teeth, soon feeling much more refreshed. She grabbed her hairbrush and combed it through her hair, then noticing how much longer it was now—it was nearing the middle of her back, the length reminding her to get a haircut soon.

She swiftly applied some makeup—foundation, light blush, mascara, lipstick—before giving her appearance a satisfied nod and flicking the bathroom lights off.

After taking a couple of sips of coffee and taking a few bites out of a bagel, she slipped on a pair of flats that matched the colour of her dress and ran her fingers through her hair once more.

Mara sighed as she grabbed her keys and left her apartment, tucking the keys into the pocket of her dress as she entered the elevator. She folded her arms and leaned back against the metal wall as it descended, letting out a small exhale as she thought of the work she was gonna have to do that day.

The elevator doors dinged open, and she quickly walked out, smoothing her hair once again as she exited the building.

She sighed as the brisk air greeted her while she walked down the street, exchanging a few smiles with people that she regularly saw on the street.

With furrowed eyebrows, she looked up at the sky, frowning as she saw the darkened clouds that were passing by overhead; it was going to rain. She hoped it would pass quickly, and that she'd go through no trouble walking home.

She arrived at the charming boutique about ten minutes later and pushed the door open, hearing the familiar chime of the bell as she stepped in.

Annie looked up at the sound and gave a grin as she greeted, "Happy seventh day of September, Mara!"

"Not a thing to celebrate, it's just a random day, Ann," Mara chuckled as she walked behind the cashier counter to join the other woman, who then giggled. "Besides, that just means it's one day closer to winter."

Annie was the woman that Mara usually shared shifts with—a young woman in her mid-twenties. She had softly-curled brown hair that was currently brushed back behind her shoulders, skin that was a little tanned from the summer that had just bid farewell, and warm brown eyes that had immediately comforted Mara the moment they had met.

"And that means it's one day closer to Christmas," Annie countered, her Southern accent more noticeable than ever as she beamed. "And who could say no to Christmas? I'm sure you have plenty good memories of it."

"Actually . . . my family never really celebrated Christmas." Mara shrugged as she walked over to the nearest rack of dress, checking the tags and reorganizing the order by size. "So, it's just winter to me."