Even The Darkness Has Arms

I looked up from my manuscript to see a woman in a white dress.

- Chandra Pepino

DAY ONE. “Can I say something?” I looked up from my manuscript to see a woman in a white dress. “Your music is too loud. Even through those headphones. Please turn it down.” She pivoted before I could open my mouth to apologize. I’m not entirely sure what came over me— possibly the caffeine, probably the breakup—but later that evening, she was locked in my arms. I smelled a familiar strawberry scent in her hair, the same shampoo Bettina used to leave on my bathroom shelf. This would have to do for now.