Merry Christmas
Blue hues darted open upon the sound of horns blaring past her. A chill ran through her body, causing the shaking systems of her insides to become knowledgeable. Taking the holey jacket draped over her, Juniper wrapped it around her slender frame. By the pitch blackness outside, it had to be around three in the morning, which meant it was Christmas.
When she had said that her last Christmas would be the one in the asylum, she had imagined it would be much better than this or that. But to be honest, Juniper would almost rather be there than here on the streets in the cold, sleeping on top of snow and ice. It hadn't been long since she ran, a few months maybe, not quite a year yet. She couldn't say she had much of a Christmas anyways. What she did have was when she was little with her maids family rather than her own. But she screwed that up for everyone. Juniper was always great at that, screwing things up.
Standing up, she grabbed her bag and started walking. If she walked, she'd keep warm and maybe even find a few bucks floating around somewhere. Making her way down the sidewalk, cars rushed passed her on the road, causing a constant wind to hit her face, causing the tip of her nose and the apples of her cheeks to go numb. The blonde constantly chewed on chapped lips, trying to distract herself from the cold. If she could just make it to an establishment, she could get warmer.
As time passed, feet carried her until she stumbled upon a twenty-four hour diner. Moving in, she instantly grabbed a booth near a heater vent, rubbing her hands together and huffing on them to warm them up. As the waitress approached her, the blonde shook her head. "I don't have any money," she told her in a hoarse whisper.
"If you don't have money, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the old lady spoke, an irritated tone painting her words.
"Give me a moment, please. I've been walking all night, sleeping on the snow. Please." Juniper muttered, young blue hues looking to the female.
"You need to order or you need to leave," the gray haired woman, spoke, not budging despite Juniper's begging.
"Ok-"
"You, sit down and get warm. And you get her whatever she wants, I'll pay for it." A middle age woman interrupted Juniper before she could get up. Both hues met the woman, who smiled softly. She was dressed in cheery holiday spirit and it definitely showed. "Merry Christmas," she told Juniper, nodding her head as she left enough money on the counter for Juniper to fuel up on food before leaving.
"T-thanks!" Juniper's voice trailed the woman quickly, before looking to the waitress who seemed annoyed.
As the blonde got to eat her first warm meal in a few weeks, she couldn't help but wonder why the woman helped, why she was so into the holidays, and just why she would help a stranger didn't know. What if she knew what she had done in Oregon? Would she still help her? She didn't know. All she did know, was that she was thankful and would hopefully repay the kindness when she wasn't in a bind. Juniper had her stomach full and a warm place to sit for a while. Maybe it wasn't going to be a bad Christmas, after all.
