Stepping out of your quaint little apartment and onto the pavement, you loved the crunchy sounds of the leaves under your boots and you found yourself staring at the ground as you walked, admiring the brown and orange leaves that were a gift from autumn itself. The chilly October breeze that circled you whipped up your long tresses and caused you to wrap your red plaid scarf a little tighter around your neck.

Since the festive season was around the corner, you wanted to switch up your interior décor a little and you decided that candles would be a good start. Stepping into a shop that glowed warm orange, you greeted the familiar lady behind the counter and she smiled widely upon seeing her regular customer here. Walking down the aisles you knew so well, you began picking out the scented candles that you wanted. None of them really stuck to you except for a caramel brown one. It reminded you a warm hearth and sweet treats, giving you a sense of comfort. Just as you were about to turn around, a little girl came burst out of nowhere and had your legs trapped in her tiny hold as she embraced you with a hug. She had her faced buried in the fabric of your jeans but you could make out her next word clearly.

“Mummy!”

Instead of being flustered, warmth filled your heart at her cute mistake. Your maternal instincts kicked in and you gently her silky brown hair but before you could say something to her, a man burst out from one of the aisle, apologising to you as he gently extricated the young girl from you.

“Sophia, that’s not mummy… let go of her now…”

Once he had gotten her in his arms again, he turned to you to apologise.

“Miss I’m really sorry about that, I’ll keep a better eye on this little one in future.”

“Oh no it’s alright! No harm done.”

You gave him a tiny smile to show your sincerity and he followed suit, giving you a shy, sweet smile as further apology. As you walked down the aisle towards the cashier, you decided that it was alright to say goodbye to Sophia and you bopped her nose, causing her to erupt in bubbly giggles.

Stepping out of the store, you didn’t manage to get far before the familiar weight crashed into you. Peering down, you found Sophia clinging on your legs like a koala and the same man from before ran up to you and simply looked upon the situation with a sign of defeat.

“She really likes you… so may I have the honour of bringing you out for some hot chocolate?”

You had opened your mouth to reply him but someone else had beaten you to it instead.

A muffled “Yesss~” came from Sophia, whom still had her face buried in your jeans.

-

Watching Sophia as she bounded towards the play area with the other kids, you focused your attention on the man in front of you. Dressed smartly in a maroon turtleneck and dark grey winter coat with his forehead exposed, he looked like he had just stepped out of the cover page of some business magazine but yet he exuded a family guy kind of vibe. Just based on his appearance, he was a man with dual charms and you were sure he had more charms to show. The more you looked at him, the more Sophia showed resemblance to him. They had almost the same facial feature, especially the smile. The only thing that was different was the eyes: she had bright, doe eyes but he had sharp, feline eyes. You assumed the young gentleman was Sophia’s father, which begs the next question – where is her mother?

Turning his attention back to you, he lapsed into an easy conversation with you.

“I apologise for her repeated actions. I can’t figure out why she thinks you are her mother.”

“It’s alright; sometimes there are just some things that children can see that we as adults can’t you know?”

“Perhaps you’re right. Despite caring for her for 3 years, I can’t seem to figure out how she works.”

“It must be a very happy 3 years for you and your wife. She’s such a lovely girl.”

Now, it was his turn to turn bright red.

“You’re mistaken… she’s not my daughter and I don’t have a wife. Sophia’s my sister’s little daughter.”

As the cogs in your brain slowly turned, you realised your grave mistake. Sophia was his niece, not his daughter.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. She looks so much like you I just made assumptions…”

“It’s fine, happens all the time. You get used to it.” He chuckled afterwards, making your embarrassment melt away a little. Sticking out his hand, he decided to introduce himself.

“Hi my name’s Brian.”

“Y/N. It was nice to meet you Brian”

-

After that fateful day, you had the entire weekend to yourself before your first day of work started at the day-care centre and for the third time in your life, the same familiar weight crashed into your feet.

 Little Sophia was hugging your legs again and you looked up to see Brian looking upon the cute sight with surprise.

“Wow what a coincidence. Who’d have expected to see you here again?”

“I agree. But it’s good to see the both of you again.”