Infinite Nights under the Moon.

The Ride Home.

It was only 8:00 PM in the afternoon and Jill was riding her bike to the grocery store to get a couple things. She smiled as the wind blew her hair back behind her and strands got in her face. Her red bike with white wheels with a basket in the front and a basket on the back. She had her sweater trailing behind her shortly as she could smell the coffee and fresh bread coming from the bakeries and cafes. She parked her bike out front of the neighborhood grocery, making sure the chain was locked and her bike was safe. She went inside the store, greeting the owner. "Hello Ramsie!" Jill said to the owner and manner of the counter. "Why, hello there Jillie!" he smiled back saying. "How are you doing on this afternoon? Just got off from the bookstore right?" he asked, already preparing her usual things. "Yeah, just off from the shift. I'm doing pretty good today, how are you?" Jill asked back. "Aw, you know how it is, you're my favorite customer here anyways." he said smiling back in his cheery old man manner. "Oh, I'm just going to get three croissants and a drink today. Didn't bring the cart for Old Martha." Jill said quickly. "Oh! That's alright then, I'll save it for whenever you come back with the trolley." and with that, Ramsie put away the bag of vegetables and fruits and instead got three croissants. "So, which drink do you want today?" he asked, not looking back at her but instead just lingering at the fridge. "Oh, I think I'll just have a iced coffee. I'm going to need a boost if I want to finish that novel." Jill replied back waiting with her elbows on the counter. "Speaking of that novel, how's it going? The characters still getting into romances?" Ramsie winked playfully and put her coffee in a larger bag with the croissants being a smaller one. "Aw, You know that's not what I mean!" Jill exclaimed. Ramsie just waved her off and said, "That'll be on the house for your novel. Pay me back when you're famous." and with that, Jill laughed and waved goodbye.

 Jill went outside the grocery and put her bag in the front basket and fastened her satchel to the back basket. She unlocked the chain off her bike and put it in the back basket, hopping onto the seat and waving goodbye to Ramsie again before peddling off home. Jill was letting the breeze hit her face as she smiled once again and after seven minutes, she arrived home. She unlocked the door and brought her bike inside and up the stairs to the main living room. She went back down to the door and found it wide open when she knew that she had just left it open a crack. 'Must just be an air current that swept it open..' she thought, closing and locking the door. She went back up the stairs and into her kitchen as she dug around the fridge for a decent meal that she could make. She saw the perfect ingredients and pulled out a carrot, a celery stick, and a small beef rib-eye from the freezer. 'Perfect for that dish I saw!' she thought and smiled to herself about it. 'This is going to be the best meal all week and, plus, I have it all to myself!' she thought and smiled a wide grin. Jill prepared the beef into small yet long strips and seasoned them before cooking them in a pan with a little bit of oil. On the other part of the stove, she prepared a pot of water and turned it on a boiling setting for noodles. She went to the counter and prepared the carrot and celery, chopping the carrot into flat circles and the celery into small chunks. She delicately inserted the noodles into the water and watched them come apart before her eyes, each making it's own strand. 

She finished making her meal and prepared it in an antique bowl from her grandfather when she moved into her own place. She cherished the bowl since it was one of the few things she had to remember her grandfather by not counting memories. She set the beef strips on noodles and sprinkled sesame seeds on top placing the vegetables in a side dish all on a big tray. She went to her island in her kitchen, sitting down on a bar stool and ate her meal. She smiled, breathing in through her nose, remembering the old recipe cards from her grandfather's kitchen. Jill felt sad yet happy that she lost them but she still had so much to remember them by. She breathed in and let out a sigh. She gingerly put her bowl into the dishwasher and put other plates and cups in, starting the washer. Jill went into her bedroom and undressed, changing into comfy clothes being, a soft, fuzzy pastel blue eyelash sweater and a pair of white shorts. She tied her hair back into a low bun, closing the door of her bedroom as she went to the guest room which she had turned into a study, writing room and worked on her novel.

Jill typed and typed till she was satisfied with the twenty paragraphs she had wrote. She thought, 'Time to take a shower and go to bed then.' and with that, she went into her main bedroom when she noticed that the door was open even though she closed it earlier. She let down her hair and went into the bathroom, brushing off the open door, 'Must've just been a draft' she thought but, somewhere in the very corner of her mind she thought about what the open door could've meant. She brushed off the worried thoughts and turned the knob on the shower, drawing a bath. She looked in the mirror, looking at her eyes, she looked nearly dead tired. She rubbed her face and stretched her eyes with her fingers, 'Wake up!' she yelled at herself internally. She went into her closet and heard a shuffle but brushed it off and got her satin dark blue pajamas with white piping. She prepared and set out her nightly skin routine, then undressed and got into the bath. She closed the curtain and sank into her tub, melding with and in the water.

 The things that she had brushed off were going to get back at her someday.

End of Chapter 2.