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[color=FFC300]"Thank you, very much."[/color] Anastasia took a small cup from a man in a food truck labeled "Rockie's Ice Cream Parlor" and placed a five dollar bill into the tip jar. Inside the cup was an overflowing amount of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with two little pink spoons pressed into the top of the dessert. [color=FFC300]"Looks so good!"[/color] She complimented the food trucks handiwork, grinning despite knowing she would never be able to finish such a large amount of ice cream all to herself. Still, this had been one of the first enjoyable things she had experienced in weeks. Ice cream was her weakness. 

Making her way over to a nearby bench underneath the shade of a pine tree, Ana tucked her blue dress neatly underneath her bottom and slowly began to chip away at her ice cream while she observed the rest of the festival from her quiet little corner. The atmosphere outside felt so nice, not at all humid like she was used to, and the people entering the festival seemed genuinely happy. Kids were laughing, parents were smiling, birds were singing, the sun was shining. Not much to complain about, it seemed. Still, her mind liked to wander back to Chicago. It was hard not to dwell, but she tried her best to redirect her thoughts elsewhere. 

Ana's blue eyes quickly darted to her right as she heard the sudden eruption of screaming cut through the air, disturbing the peace. Her body tensed as her heart beat faster and she froze in search of the source of anger. Soon she found two red-headed individuals who appeared to be siblings, one of them was berating the other until the small girl took off and the brother chased after her. Ana let out the breath she had been holding on to and forcefully relaxed her body. [color=FFC300][i]'It's nothing... relax.'[/i][/color] She thought, focusing her eyes down on her ice cream as she took another bite.  

Taken out of her own thoughts, Ana breathed in deep as she smelt a familiar aroma approach. A cigar. She looked up from her ice cream to find a man had decided to post up nearby one of the building alleyways, only a foot or two away from her bench. He wasn't currently smoking, but the smell followed him. She looked him over, noting his suit and the quiet demeanor. Handsome, too. She knew the type of man he was all too well. The smell of the cigar that lingered on his clothing was conflicting. It felt like home and yet it reminded her of the terrible times she had too. Old habits died hard... 

Against her own rationality, Ana addressed him. [color=FFC300]"Are you looking for a quiet spot away from the crowd too?"[/color] She laughed a bit and offered him a warm smile, her golden blonde hair lightly flowing in the breeze as it passed through the trees. She looked back towards the crowd which seemed to grow larger by the minute. [color=FFC300]"It's a little over whelming."[/color] She paused and looked to her ice cream, still with one extra spoon sitting on top. [color=FFC300]"Want some?"[/color] She reached out to offer the cup of the ice cream to the stranger, pointing to the untouched spoon with her own spoon. [color=FFC300]"They must have assumed I was sharing with somebody. This is way too much!"[/color]

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[right][sub][@Zora][/sub][/right]