Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Knowing the dramatic change in temperature from her previous destination, Roseanne pulled out her long down jacket before the plane landed, wrapping herself up.

Yet, it was a miscalculation. A freezing rain had fallen a few days ago, leaving icicles hanging from trees and telephone poles. They looked light and fluffy, but once they landed on you, it didn't take long for your wet clothes to turn into ice.

The street was normally busy, but in the freezing cold of winter and late at night, traffic was whizzing by too fast for her to flag down a taxi.

Shivering, she took out her phone to check the ride-sharing app. What was supposed to be a five-minute wait three minutes ago had turned into half an hour.

She glanced at the map, glowing red, showing the driver stuck some distance away. As she debated whether to cancel, a car slowly stopped beside her.

The window rolled down, revealing a familiar face with gentle, clear-cut features. Owen was wearing a deep grey turtleneck sweater, the outline of his Adam's apple partially visible. From Roseanne's angle, his profile seemed cast in shadow, adding warmth to his otherwise aloof demeanor.

"It's hard to get a ride around here at this hour. I'm heading home, too. Hop in."

Once inside the car, noticing Roseanne was cold, Owen cranked up the heating to the max.

Remembering he had a heat pack in the glove compartment, he handed it to her. "Warm up with this for now."

and the warm air circulating inside the car, she gradually felt life seeping back into

sniffled, recalling how Leda had offered to arrange her a driver. Not wanting to bother anyone, she

significant conference in town, so there's a bit of a traffic clampdown, including the ride-shares. That's why it's

taxis on the road. I thought I had landed

toward Owen, she asked, "And you? How come you're here at the airport

"A family

I came to

her and

cab before I

tired of waiting

heading back, only to see Roseanne standing in the cold because glare in his rearview

nodded, not prying

Owen asked,

bit

embave spent a few

in the