𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐓 | 𝐖𝐋𝐖 |

prologue 01 | there's a richness in honesty

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝." — 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬.

∞ ∞ ∞

Though autumn had been long, the first signs of winter evidently took place within the first few days of seasonal change.

With delicate beauty, several drops of snowflakes began to fall from the heavens, peacefully gliding until they'd rest on the bare branches of the trees, or submerge themselves in the snow piles that were already scattered upon the streets of New York.

"There you are," Crouching down on the cool cement, Aurora held out a small can of food. Upon hearing a familiar voice, the alley cat, fairly nimble in size, sauntered out of the shadows of its cardboard box with his tail held high and widely drawn out eyes.

The kitten, after exerting himself in the dawn hunt, would settle down in this exact spot, waiting for Aurora's nightly return to reward himself with what the woman presumed he had favoured.

The woman watched as he expressed his gratitude with a soft purr before he had eaten his nightly meal; to which he had finished in a surprisingly small amount of time.

After he finished, Milo, the name Aurora had given the alley cat since she came across him, mewed with the same oddness that a newborn baby cried with; a high-pitched, yet soft call that barely projected the volume his developing lungs could muster.

"It's much too cold for a cat like you," Aurora muttered. "Should I take you home again?"

Those light green, similar to her own jaded hues, lit up in response. 

"I'll take that as a yes." She smiled.

Despite not being her official pet, Aurora took good care of him. Milo, being as lucky as he was, even had monthly checkups with a local vet.

Aurora, who had now tied herself a connection with the stray, was unwilling to let him die out like other strays she took care of years before. But at the same time, she couldn't take care of him the way he deserved to. So in the meantime, Aurora did her best with what she was able to do to keep little Milo safe.

Slipping himself into Aurora's bag, Milo found the warmth from the woman's neatly folded scarf below him much more comforting than the cold street he lived upon. Instantly, he voiced out his satisfactory plea, and once every few moments, he'd mew again just in acknowledgement.

With each stride the woman took her mind became more clear; more resolute. These wintry days were sewn with the naked string that held together Aurora's sense of sanity, especially since now, today was marked as an official second winter Valerie wasn't here to witness with her. The distance, not only physically, grew larger after each day that passed, and as the hours lapsed over the other, Aurora was unsure if she could endure this silent torture for much longer.

She understood long distance came with a price; a heavy expense that she was unsure of how long she could keep paying. And as much as it sounds unrealistic to maintain, Aurora did her best to revert back to a world in which Valerie was never in to focus on not only herself, but the initial reason why she pursued the arts of teaching.

In spite of this, Aurora always found herself drifting back to the days before Valerie's departure, the bittersweet moments before she knew what it was like loving someone from a distance. The instances of chaos, laughter, mischief and love she often recalled was like a haunting melody that only brought her to realise the massive hole Valerie left in her heart.