Night Walks

[Zodiac]

The chill of impending winter tugged at her cloak as it blew by. She paused to adjust the clasp and how it was against her and kept walking along. The wind encouraged the remaining leaves along the street, causing them to sound like skittering rats in the night. The moon was shining above, thankfully. No signs of snow yet, but it was coming soon enough. She loved walking about this time of year. The gray and black stretches of darkness broken by the festive lights of those who celebrated. It brought smiles to her face and memories. Last year, her love and her walked these same streets in gentle contemplations and smiles at the colors breaking small holes in the night. They weren't even a couple then. Just best friends with problems of their own in different ways. Sorting out their new lives without even realizing they were drifting together in a way neither suspected.

Now their lives were closer, yet more chaotic than before. They had grown and in growing so had their responsibilities. There always seemed to be something that needed the girl's attentions and the same for her love. When one had free time, the other was swamped, and so on and so on. What had happened to the simpler times when after their evening's work they could sit by the fire and chat away the hours? Un-life was not supposed to be so complicated. Granted, their night's ended next to each other to sleep away the day but one was usually already asleep when the other arrived. How many evenings she had worried, and yet she wondered how many evenings she had caused worry of her own?

The jingling of a bell pulled her away from her reflections. Without a thought, she dropped a few dollars into the hanging kettle and nodded to the man who thanked her and wished her Happy Holidays. She felt for the man. She had worked such a job one year, and despite the fact it was in warmer climate than here the amount of jerks one encountered in the process could be maddening. Add to that the cold winds cutting him to the core? She sympathized.

Her path took her North from Coastside into Westwall now. To her right, she could see the lights in the once abandoned warehouse shining away. She smiled. Her 'boy child' working so hard to get it all going the way he wanted. A far cry from the timid rabbit she attacked last year. He had grown as well, and had help of his own now. She did her best not to meddle in his dealings for she knew he had his own pride to contend with. Despite the occasional pang of guilt over turning him, she was so proud of him and what he had blossomed into. She knew he was not alone, so her feet kept moving North.

She stopped in front of the building with a large 'STORE FOR RENT' sign hanging in the window. The outside looking sad with neglect as she walked up the few steps to the door and peered into the window. The overhead signs had finally been removed and put into storage, thankfully. Inside the darkened storefront she could still see the small garbage can she had tossed away trash into sitting where she left it. She doubted the landlord even did anything to the place save for put the sign up once she had cleared out. Curiosity lead her to the side of the building and she counted bricks mentally before reaching to the wall and tugging. The brick still slipped free and hiding behind it was her spare key. She was tempted, but perhaps another night. She palmed the key and set the brick back into place and kept walking. Ironic, the landlord raised the rent when Eden had opened in the neighborhood-forcing her to move out. But now she had a shop to put this one to shame and her old one sat begging for someone to take her place. She wondered if he wished he could find her again and discuss a new lease.

As if.

She continued on. Now the building that held her home came into view. It was such a big deal when she finally got it. Ground level too! The first night of moving in and discovering someone who lived there as well was stranger than she was told her she made the right choice. A new apartment and a new best buddy thrown in for free. She adored that girl right up to the end. Now her apartment was silent as she walked the halls to her own. The silence was all wrong to her. She missed her.

As she approached her decorated door, the cell phone in her pocket began to trill. She froze in mid step and began to pull it out. If it was her love, she would have whispered to her thoughts instead of calling. The annoying device sat in the palm of her hand-face down-and continued to chime for attention. She debated for a moment before slipping the casing open and plucking the battery out which silenced the little mechanical brute. She dropped the parts back into her cloak pocket and let herself inside.

She found her love was already here. Silently she shut the door as she watched her adding decorations to the tree they had set up. The room was lit from various lights as well as the fire glowing in the hearth. She felt warm for a moment and almost alive again. Her cat was curled up by the fire as if watching the decorating like a furry four-legged foreman on the job. She took a step closer and spied her love's phone on the desk sitting next to her purse. A purple shaded fingernail pressed the power button and held it till the device shut down. Arms encircled the woman's waist from behind as she left a hint of purple lipstick on her cheek as she kissed her. "Miss me more?" her thoughts playfully danced across hers as her smile finally blossomed into life again.