mara-harper:
**
She held out the bag for just a couple seconds more to allow her the opportunity to change her mind before placing it neatly back in her cart. “Mara,” she introduced herself. “I, uh, I suppose it’s been a while. I usually come back for the holidays, but everything gets so crazy then.” She’d never been the most outgoing person; people were far more likely to know her brothers, and then she’d be lucky to be noticed as a shadow. “But I grew up here. Townie, as they say. How long have you been here?”
“Lacey Sun,” she introduced, still not taking the coffee until the other woman finally put it back in her cart. “Understandable.’ Holiday seasons were the only time Lacey had really been around Asteria as a child, so she hadn’t known any different until this year. “I’ve been here about ten months, but I spent a lot of time here when I was younger. My step-father’s family lived here so we would come for holidays and over the summer. Doesn’t seem to be many people that come here without some sort of connection to the place.” That was the nature of small towns.














