Winter

She quivered underneath the sheets. Pulling them over her head, the cold was still biting through. No matter how much she curled her legs to her chest, or how thick her pajamas were, the frigid air was poking needles at her and telling her it was time to get up. She brought half of her body off the bed with her eyes still half-closed, scratching her head and realizing that she might have forgotten to turn on the heat the previous night. She cursed under her breath. She slipped her feet into a pair of fuzzy white slippers and played hide and seek with the curtains, shielding her body with her own arms to push them to the side and welcome a morning of the new season.

Momo wasn’t a fan of winter. She disliked winter so much that if ever it was possible for her to hibernate along with the bears and the squirrels of the world, she would but she had important things to do that necessitated her wakefulness to accomplish them. She remembered being forced to be outside of the dorm those years when they were made to wear skimpy outfits in the most ironic of temperatures. Just wear this coat to make yourselves warm, but warm was out of the range. Rookies were never winter-proof and even as she was half a year away from being a decade-old idol she was still not strong enough to handle the cold, not even the cold of her bedroom.

So she came to her bathroom, in the quest of warmth. She let the warm water run to her body and a long waft of air came out of her lips. It was nice. Warm was nice. She also disliked having to shower early in the morning but if her options were to be eaten alive by the winter cold or be soaked she would take the latter any day of the week. She washed her hair and her body with the products she had been selling to the masses and felt her skin absorbing them and refreshing her soul. Now she was finally able to open her eyes wide and yet still cautious enough not to get any bubbles into them as it was another thing she disliked, nearly getting blind at one point from shampoo.

She wrapped herself in a thick towel and placed a smaller one in her hair. The shower glass was now fogged up and she drew a smiley face just before she went out. She stopped by the table beside her bed to check the time on her phone. It was still a quarter till 9. She had plenty of time, unusual for a person who would arrive late every now and then. She muttered a small congratulatory praise to herself as she wandered into her large closet to pick out something to wear for the day. Nothing too flashy, she thought, running her finger down the pile of shirts that were neatly arranged in the shelves. Her fashion sense was like everyone else’s. T-shirt and jeans and sneakers. It did baffle her sometimes how her friends took so much longer when they would be wearing the same thing as she because ten minutes later into that closet she was already complete. Putting on her coat, she was ready to take on the day.

***

The smell was drawing her closer and the sound of utensils clanging was to her ears. As she was only a stone’s throw away from her kitchen, she couldn’t contain her excitement. Nothing could compare to a home-cooked breakfast. That was probably one of the several times she had seen that area of her apartment used. She never cooked and could never cook. Maybe only when her mom was around did she see it utilized to its full purpose and only when her mom was around did she ever have something that wasn’t take-out or wasn’t ordered from a waiter. There was already a plate and a cup of coffee waiting for her on the table, a sight that she seldom got to see. Thanks to her new roommate, she was able to partake in some eggs, bacon, and waffles.

“Is it good?” Mina asked, watching her take full bites of the food.

Momo was filled with zeal. She loved food. “Yes. Very. Awesome.”

“Consider that my thank-you gift for letting me stay in your apartment until I find a place to move into.” She said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“You kidding me?” Momo mumbled through the waffle in . “If this is what I wake up to every day, you aren’t allowed to move out. You can be my personal chef.”

Mina laughed and Momo couldn’t help feel her heart flutter. “No, I think it’s time for me to grow up and start living alone. But while I’m here, I’ll do the groceries and cook for you. Your poor fridge has nothing but water.”

She never thought living with Mina would ever turn out like that. It was more splendid that she had ever anticipated. At first, she thought they would fight every single day and would probably even threaten to kick the other out of her apartment but no that never happened. They were living together harmoniously and those days had been only like that morning she was having. It was good and nothing that she hoped would ever happen. To have Mina by her side, even though lines had to be drawn, was the best decision she had made in a year.

“Aren’t you gonna eat with me?” Momo asked, seeing that Mina only had coffee in her hand.

“Nah, I don’t really have an appetite at the moment. Winter’s a and I feel really cold—”

Momo laughed. It wasn’t everyday anyone would hear profane from Myoui Mina.

“—But you enjoy. I was set in making that extra special just for you,” she continued sweetly, sweeter than the syrup on Momo’s waffles.”

There were waves of memories rushing into her mind, good memories that she had always kept dear to her. In front of her was a woman who was turning before her eyes into the girl she had seen at nineteen. It was like she was being taken back into that day she met her in the