(no subject)

The weather changes so quickly that it's almost as if the past two weeks haven't happened at all, as bizarrely disconcerting as the snow was in the first place. Julia has spent most of that time shut away inside, going out only when absolutely necessary during the brief windows of daylight they've had. Work has been canceled since the snow started, the store closed, and she hasn't had a chance to wonder what that's going to mean for her paycheck. There have been bigger concerns. Now that those have suddenly evaporated, apparently, it's hard to know what to do or where to start. At first, foolish though she would feel admitting it, she just sits by her window, opening a crack, unsure if she should trust this abrupt return to actual, seasonal weather.

Gradually, though, she sees and hears people start heading outside, and eventually, it starts to seem a little silly, staying cooped up indoors. She's long since gotten tired of staring at the walls of her apartment, and a little fresh air without freezing cold temperatures frankly sounds amazing, even if she doesn't entirely trust it yet. After two weeks of both the harshest and most unseasonable winter she's ever experienced, that much seems pretty well called for.

Without really thinking about it, she winds up heading towards the park. It's as good a destination as any, especially when she doesn't really feel ready to start doing anything yet. There are too many pieces to pick back up and it's too hard to know where to start. Here, too, it seems like everyone's had the same idea, and Julia is doing nothing but minding her own business (and contemplating if she should call her boyfriend) when a kid on a bike goes speeding down the path, nearly knocking her over. She steps — stumbles — back just in time, but winds up running into someone else in the process.

"Sorry," she says, wincing through a smile. "I guess some people are... very enthusiastic about getting outside."