Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Roseanne beamed, defending her choice playfully, "Come on, it does look like you if you squint a bit." She shook the little figurine, and Owen couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, maybe not so much now."

In the end, Owen accepted the gift and thanked her.

Roseanne said, "No worries. The light's green..."

...

When she got home, it was the early hours of the morning. Before leaving, Roseanne had ensured her apartment was spotless and arranged for a cleaning service to come by while she was away. It was as if she had never left.

After taking a shower, she lay in her soft, large bed, inhaling the scent of her body wash, blissfully closing her eyes. Indeed, no matter where you go, there's no place like home. Meanwhile, Owen was still awake. He was at the final stages of the experiment's first phase, recently swamped with work, barely squeezing in the time to make it to the airport. Thus, he planned to shower, change clothes, and return to the lab. As he put on his shoes in the entryway, he saw the figurine Roseanne had given him.

Upon entering his apartment, he had placed the little figure on a shelf above his shoe cabinet, surrounded by books. He suddenly smiled, admitting that it did indeed resemble him.

in a heavy snowfall, turning the world outside Roseanne's window into a pristine white wonderland. Past eight in the morning, neighborhood kids had formed groups to build snowmen. The

designs neatly arranged. The largest one looked dazed, with two nutshells for eyes and a pink

back, embedding a cherry from her basket as its nose. Stepping

she found some fresh, affordable beef ribs, perfect for making spicy beef strips, with the rest ideal for a stew,

Knock.

off her apron

the neighbor from the third floor. All smiles, her eyes crinkling at the corners... "Hey, Anne, you in? My daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby

always looked out for Roseanne, seeing her living

thanked the neighbor and fetched some of her homemade oat cookies and beef jerky to give

was surprised and delighted, and she protested, "Oh, it's very kind of you. I didn't expect anything