four
a week went by without any notice of the imaginary boy named harry. astrid had searched up his music, constantly playing the song 'right now' over and over. she didn't know why, but something about it made her constantly want to listen to it. she loved the vocals and the lyrics - even though she had never even been in a relationship and could not relate to them.
she also spent more time outside. even though it was cold in maine, astrid started taking runs through the forest area outside of town, always stopping at a secret cliff she found that had an immensely captivating view of the arctic ocean. although she had lived here her whole life, astrid had barely ever gone to look at the ocean. of course she'd always see it in the pictures of the sunset and sunrise she took, but now she especially went out to the secret cliff she found to take pictures of the sunset.
quiet surrounded her when she went on her runs. she was used to the quiet and even enjoyed it most of the time. it made her thoughts silent, as if they didn't exist. it was easier that way, being alone.
jean had noticed that astrid had kept silent nowadays. she seemed to accept that astrid wasn't talking, giving her simple duties in the back to prevent her from needing to talk to costumers. jean had never questioned her, something astrid was grateful for. it seemed to her that jean understood, although she never spoke up about it.
astrid compared herself to waves - they were constant. quiet. always in motion. they were easy, independent, and simple. that's all astrid was.
-
"i know you haven't been talking, dear, but tonight i need you to work the waitress shift," jean said, handing astrid her black apron. "lisa's daughter got sick so she had to stay home, and i have to be at the retirement home." jean looked uneasy while informing astrid this, who just nodded her head.
"okay." it was the first word she had spoken in a whole week - her throat was dried and she immediately had to clear it. "that's okay." she tried again, taking the apron from jean and fastening it around her neck and waist.
jean looked deep in thought but finally nodded, as if to reassure herself. "okay." she paused. the diner was empty at the moment, and astrid only had two hours until closing. it seemed manageable. "well, i'll leave you to it." jean said, giving her a one armed hug before turning around and leaving the shack.
a small sigh left astrid's lips as she scanned the empty room. it was seven pm, a usually dead time. she retreated to behind the counter, deciding to play some music she liked instead of the stuff jean preferred.
that included one direction's song, right now. astrid couldn't help it - the song was always stuck in her head. and she started listening to the rest of the album, one she quite liked.
as soon as she had put the song on and turned the knob to make the music louder, a bell went off - signalfying someone was at the shack. before she spared a glance that way, she turned down the music, not wanting to disturb the constumer. jean had strict limits to how loud the music was to be.
"fancy seeing you here," astrid jumped at the familiar voice, whipping around to see if she had imagined it.
but what she saw confirmed that it was real - that the night nearly two weeks ago had actually taken place and she wasn't crazy. "harry?" she asked.
