Karina’s stomach grumbled audibly as the doors to the cafe she entered slowly closed behind her, hitting the chimes once more making the tinkling sounds melt with the soft music inside.

It smelled sweet and homey inside, making her stomach complain even more (and water a little bit).

She sat at a small table with one chair next to a window at the corner of the store; a slightly large, leafy plant sat across from her - which she preferred. She didn’t have to stare into nothing; or worse, start staring at others. She had a bad habit of people-watching. Not that she judged them or anything like that. There were just some people who she found interesting.

She looked around anyway. There were only a few tables occupied - a couple of students, like her, with either their books or laptops out; a man sitting cross-legged reading a magazine about business (or travel, she really couldn’t tell); two elderly women sharing a table (and what seemed to be “deep conversation” over coffee).

Grumble. Grumble.

Karina placed a hand on her stomach, as if to quiet it. She looked around at the people again before standing up to walk over to the counter. 

“Hi! What can I get you?”

Karina almost jumped from shock. She looked at the face across the counter where the voice came from. It was a girl about her age with a small face, bright eyes and beaming smile.

“Hi! Uhmm…” Karina looked at the cakes and pastries on display again; suddenly not knowing what to get - there was so much to choose from (and there was this girl carefully watching her). “I’m sorry…but would you suggest anything?” she said, gesturing at the display.

The girl smiled even more, her eyes almost disappeared. “I’d suggest these,” she said, pointing at a plate of sugar cookies. “I made them myself. This is a fresh batch,” she said, looking at Karina; her eyes almost twinkling. 

“From scratch?” Karina asked. The girl nodded proudly.

Karina looked at the cookies. They were simple, round cookies with pink royal icing and white icing piped to form a smiley face. She wasn’t a big fan of sugar cookies (too basic, in her opinion) but she didn’t have the heart to burst the girl’s bubble.

“Okay, I’ll have one of those then…and one iced coffee, please.”

“Coming right up!” the girl piped as she pirouetted around. “I’ll just bring them over to your table so you can go ahead and sit down!” she added as she busied herself with Karina’s order.

“Alright,” Karina said softly as she returned to her seat, thinking about the cheerful girl behind the counter.

~

Karina barely got to the next page of her notes when a shadow appeared over her notes. She looked up to see the cheerful girl with a tray. Karina cleared her table.

“Here’s your iced coffee…and your sugar cookies,” the girl chirped as she placed each item on the table.

“Thank you,” Karina said, smiling up at her.

“Enjoy!” the girl said, before walking away.

Karina looked at her food and noticed there were two cookies on her plate.

“Wait!”

The girl quickly turned back, her eyes wide with confusion.

“Is there a problem?” she asked, her voice considerably softer than before.

“No… It’s just that - I only ordered one cookie and you might have mistakenly put two on my plate,” Karina explained.

The girl giggled. “It’s no mistake,” she said. “It’s my first day here and you’re the first person to buy one of my cookies so that one’s on me.”

The girl leaned towards her, surprising Karina. “I’d say on the house but I don’t really own the place,” she whispered.

Karina smiled nervously. Her eyes darted to the nameplate on the girl’s apron.

WINTER

“Oh but I’d be happy to pay for it,” Karina said, rummaging through her purse for her wallet.

“No, no! I insist,” the girl replied, touching her hand to stop her.

Cold name, warm hands.

“Thank you,” Karina said softly. “Oh, and congratulations on your first day!” she added, regaining composure.

The girl smiled sheepishly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’ll leave you alone now,” she said before going back behind the counter.

Karina picked out the bigger sugar cookie, examined it then took a big bite. She tasted the milky butter, the crispy dough. As the rich and sweet icing melted in , she felt a surge of warmth and giddiness explode in her chest. She looked at the counter and saw the girl, Winter, watching her with a satisfied smile on her face.

Karina gave her a thumbs up as she chewed more of the cookie, a kind of happy and energetic surprise taking over her with each bite. It tasted like sunshine, first day highs, rollercoaster rides… like finding money you forgot about in your pockets… like birthdays, the night before a field trip, a baby’s laughter… like hearing your favorite song play on the radio, first dates, Christmas… like finding a kindred spirit in a random stranger.

The cookie tasted “tickled pink,” just like the cheeks of the girl who made them.

~

It was two in the afternoon but it felt like seven in the evening. The sky was a very dark shade of grey and Karina heaved a sigh of relief she had not forgotten her umbrella today.

Afternoon classes were canceled so she hurriedly walked along the sidewalk, looking at the sky every now and then. 

Her determination to get home before the rain poured was broken when she caught a whiff of something familiar as a lady opened the door to one of the establishments along the sidewalk. Just her luck, the rain started pouring. Just her luck, she was in front of the cafe she was at a few months ago. A cup of warm tea never hurt anybody, she thought to herself as she walked in.

Like the last time, only a few tables were occupied. Karina walked straight to the counter to look at what they had to offer for the day. 

It took a few minutes before she noticed her - Winter - sitting behind the counter. Unlike the last time, she did not look cheery or excited. She was staring into nothing.

Karina cleared . Nothing.

She tried again, a little louder. Still nothing.

“Excuse me,” she said softly, not wanting to startle Winter. This seemed to wake her from her stupor.

“Oh. Sorry. What can I get you?”

Karina noticed the difference in Winter’s approach from their last encounter - her voice was soft (and maybe a little sad?); she avoided eye contact; her fingers were nervously (impatiently?) tapping on the the display as she waited for Karina’s response. Karina realized Winter probably did not even remember her.

“Did you make any of these today?” Karina tried. She didn’t see any sugar cookies but Winter could probably whip up other things too, she assumed. 

“Oh. Just these peanut butter cookies,” she pointed at a plate of golden cookies with fork lines. “I didn’t have a lot of time today,” she added, like Karina asked for an explanation.

Karina nodded. “I’ll take two,” she said, holding two fingers up, hoping to stir a reaction from Winter. “And a cup of Earl Grey tea.”

She noticed the other girl smile a little, but it was nothing like her beaming smile on her first day here. Karina wondered what had happened and hoped it was just a bad day.

~

Karina took a bite of the peanut butter cookie and it crumbled in her hands. She grabbed a paper towel to try and catch the crumbs falling from her chin. She dropped the remainder of the cookie back on her plate and chewed the crumbs that actually made it to . She frowned a little. She didn’t want to say it tasted bad. But it also didn’t taste good. 

She looked at the counter to see if Winter was watching her but Winter was busy tapping on her phone, her eyebrows furrowed.

Karina took a sip of her tea, hoping for the unpleasantness to leave . It helped but only a little bit.

She looked at the other cookie on her plate  and slightly regretted getting two. But if it made Winter smile (even just a little bit) then so be it.

Just like the crumbs rushing to escape , Karina saw Winter rush outside the cafe, haphazardly putting on her parka as she ran to heaven knows where.

It was still drizzling outside and Karina silently prayed it wouldn’t pour again until Winter got to wherever she was going to.

Karina bit into her second cookie, and just like the first one, it crumbled and made a mess of her clothes. She figured out what the cookie tasted like as she swallowed the cookie along with the lump in - it tasted like deadlines, final exams, rush hours…like being late on your first day of school, fire alarms…like overdue bills and student loans…it tasted like stress.

She gulped down the rest of her tea then headed home.

~

It was another two months before Karina entered the cafe again. It still looked the same; smelled the same.

Winter also still stood behind the counter. Her mood? Karina could not decipher from where she stood.

She slowly approached the counter and noticed Winter was in a different