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The night had kissed the skies full of stars, the moon cowering only a fragment away from midnight's mist. There is a longing silence, a whisper of the day's events blowing through stretching branches and raining leaves. The wind whistles a soft melody, drifting only to manifest a symphony within car engines and the mewls of stray cats.
The night had been more peaceful compared to the big city where your father had worked at. There were no silence, cries of beeping cars and bright flickering streetlights danced around never-ending streets. It was no better than the day, and change became the normal. You had seen many different faces, all of which displayed a variety of frowns and pouts. Workplace was competitive, and schools there had taught you nothing but to stay in the crowd of slouching students.
You had missed home, and it was obvious you had missed a certain boy as well.
You had came home later than you anticipated, but there was no regret in sharing the evening with Ike. He dropped you off at the house after the unexpected date, using every second of time had to offer. But even after the many desserts and pastries he had offered you to try, you still felt a certain hunger.
A hunger to fill your appetite with the sweetness of Ike Eveland himself. The way you could describe him was that of a delicate cake; charming and pretty in the outside, while sugary and tempting inside. Perhaps you could've worded it better, the thought that you would compare him to something so delicious... it sounded like you had another kind of appetite in mind.
The door to your home swung open, the bright light making you squint.
"It is midnight. Where have you gone?"
You felt your heart sink, body stiff as the cold breeze of the night danced around your frame. The weather became frigid at the sight of the woman standing by the doorframe. She stands firm, hand still gripping onto the handle. There is a deafening silence.
At times you wondered if her questions were more of interrogations, it was difficult if her intrusive actions were more than just an overprotective parent. Throughout the years she had been more strict as you grew older, as if an hourglass started to lose the last grains of sand.
Her patience has thinned, and at times you wondered if this was the same woman who cuddled you in bed and read stories for you to sleep to.
"Mother.." you muttered. "I went out with an old friend, he took me to a new pastry shop near the campus. We... should go there sometime when your schedule is free."
"You know better than this, you know fully well that I don't have much time to spend the day eating away at some.. pastry shop." She sighs, letting you inside the home that used to house three. You could see her face closer as you neared, time diminishing her beauty.
Her face that used to smile a lot was now dull and almost lifeless, slaving away as she focused on her career. Soft but prominent wrinkles decorated her face like a tattoo, stress painting away as she thinned her lips. They're chapped, colourless as a decaying coral. There were streaks of grey strands that fall from her face like silver vines, her youth silently vanishing. It is a shadow that lurks beneath the bags of her eyes, the years of neglect the same way she ignored you.
