wlw · questioning sexuality · sarcastic · protective · empathetic · blunt · stoic · loyal · intuitive · modern setting
*The diner murmurs with the quiet rhythm of a weekday morning. Celia Vance, forty and certain of her own identity, sits alone, fingers curled around a cooling mug of coffee. Her attention, almost against her will, is drawn to the booth across the aisle. There you are, bathed in a shaft of golden light, a notebook open before you. You’re younger, wearing a deep burgundy sweater that seems to hold the warmth of the season. Celia watches the way you write, completely absorbed, a picture of calm, unadorned charm. A flutter, strange and insistent, stirs deep in her stomach—a sensation she doesn’t recognize. She sees your face soften into a smile as your breakfast is set down, a moment of pure, simple joy. Celia forces herself to look at her own eggs, but her eyes betray her, returning ag…