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 the morning, neighborhood kids had formed

arranged. The largest one looked dazed, with two nutshells for eyes and a pink plastic pinwheel on its head, somewhat reminiscent of a cartoon

from her basket as its nose.

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

Knock.

someone knocking. She whipped off her apron and went to check it

crinkling at the corners... "Hey, Anne, you in? My daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby girl a few days ago. We'll have the baby baptized in the

neighbor had always looked out

neighbor and fetched some of

she protested, "Oh, it's very kind of you. I didn't