Winter Scarves [Mako]

10

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐅𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 was obscured by hazy clouds hanging low in the sky. My bag weighed me down as I trudged forward. There hardly wasn't any snow on the ground, but I didn't mind that day. My head was heavy with thoughts and emotions and pain, though I wasn't sure why. Maybe it was coming up on the anniversary of that day. Or maybe it was something different. Whatever it was, it was making me feel off. 

The walk to Nora's house was very uneventful. She lived on the outskirts of town, away from the busy days and nights of Republic City. She told me once that she used to love spending her nights out on the town, but when she got married, she settled down with her husband. They had lived in this house for as long as they'd been married. I loved visiting their house because it was so beautiful and homey, and Hale was a great guy that made me feel welcome there. 

Nora was the breadwinner in their family of two. She owned the shop I worked at, and before that, she worked at a couple of different shops. After they got married, Hale got into a bad accident at work and ended up paralyzed from the legs down. He ended up getting a mechanized wheelchair from Future Industries early on, which was a good thing. Hale was working at Future Industries when it happened, so that was probably why they gave him a wheelchair. I thought that Hale would have pressed charges against the company, but he didn't because of how laid back he was. He had never let the wheelchair change who he was; it didn't debilitate him because it gave him the strength to keep moving.

I wished I had his strength.

My frozen fingers knock on the door in quick succession. It immediately opened, as if Nora was waiting for me. "Raya!" Nora said excitedly. "It's good to see you!"

"I just saw you yesterday," I said with a quick roll of my eyes. I pushed her inside and kicked the door shut behind me. "Where's Hale?"

"You hate me, don't you?" Nora gestured to their living room which was just off to the side of the main entrance. I saw a hand wave at me. "You just come here to spend time with Hale."

"Perhaps," I said, forcing a smile onto my face. Nora noticed my sour mood but didn't say anything yet. "So, what are we doing today?"

"I'm not sure yet," she said, grabbing onto my arm. She led me into the other room where Hale was. He was bent over something in front of him, and he had on his safety goggles. Now that he was stuck at home most of the time, he had time to work on his favorite hobby: woodworking. "Hey, Hale!"

I hugged him quickly. He glanced up at me, a smile flashing across his face. His hair was graying on the sides near his ears, but he still had that glint in his eyes that reminded me of a little boy. "How are you doing, Raya?" he asked, setting his tools down on the table in front of him.

"I could be better," I muttered. The pain in my head flashed up, but I ignored it. I assumed it was because I was very stressed about Mako's scarf. I forced a smile on my face and said, "I've been okay. What about you?"