She ordered a chocolate frosted chocolate donut, along with a hot coffee, with three sugars and two creams. She sat down by a window. She kept one hand on the coffee cup’s handle and never set down the donut, until it was gone. Eventually she left. I let her leave. Why? I have no idea. But she came back the next day at the same time, with the same order. And she came back everyday. Sometimes she’d get a muffin, or a different kind of donut. And everyday she went back home. Everyday I let her go. At some point we started to talk. Just about random things- nothing personal, that was- until I asked about her sunglasses.
“Why do you always wear sunglasses?” I had no clue.
“You couldn’t tell by the cane? I’m blind.”
“Oh- okay. Were you born blind or-”
“No. Uh… when I was seven my parents and I got into a car crash because my dad was drunk driving- and I hit my head. I was the only one who lived.”
“My parents are gone too. But they…” I can’t tell her about the murder, “they died of old age- nothing too tragic.”
“All death is tragic, Em. It’s hard to live without any guidance.”
“Anyways-how old are you now? I don’t think I asked before.”
“25, what about you?”
Several million but I can’t say that. “26” I reply. I’d say I look about that age. “What do you do now? Like- what’s your