episode 4.. Shane's perspective
496 Words
I don’t care about the new girl.Everyone’s been talking about her like she’s some kind of second sunrise in this town, like we’ve never seen someone plant turnips before.Marnie asked if I’d met her yet, if I’d “give her a chance.”I said sure, then went back to stocking Joja cans in the fridge.
She showed up at the store last Tuesday.Bought some bread and stared at the soda machine like it might confess its sins.I didn’t say hi.She didn’t either.
Honestly, that should’ve been it—two strangers keeping to their lanes.But then she showed up again.Again.And again.
Never said much.Just nodded, sometimes smiled.Quiet, the kind of quiet that fills a room without trying.
She asked once if I liked my job.I laughed—like, actually laughed.“Sure,” I said, “if you like fluorescent lights and back pain.”
She smiled like that answer made sense to her.Like she wasn’t judging me for it.
That’s when I noticed—she’s not like the rest of them.She doesn’t talk to fill space.Doesn’t ask for anything unless she means it.
And that’s rare around here.People ask how you are but they don’t want the real answer.They want “fine.”They want easy.
One day, I was sitting behind the counter, half-asleep and mad at everything when she dropped off a sandwich.“You look like you missed lunch,” she said.
I stared at her.She didn’t blink.Just set it down and left.Didn’t even wait for a thank-you.
I didn’t eat it right away.Thought it was a trick, or charity, or whatever.But around 3pm I caved.Best damn sandwich I’ve had in months.
I asked Marnie about her later.Said the girl’s name was Avery.Not Sage—Avery.A different quiet.She moved into the old trailer near the woods, fixed it up herself.No fuss.
Marnie said she’s been helping Linus plant wild herbs, even offered to repair Jas’s swing.She doesn’t do it for credit.That bothers me more than it should.
Because people like that—people who don’t expect anything back?They’re dangerous.They make you wonder what you’ve been doing with your life.
Last night I saw her by the cliffs, looking at the stars like they were telling her secrets.I stood there, thinking maybe I’d say something.But what?
“Thanks for the sandwich?”“Why are you nice to someone like me?”I didn’t say anything.I just stood there like an i***t, watching her breathe.
She turned, met my eyes like she already knew I was there.And said, “It’s peaceful, huh?”
And yeah…it was.It really was.
So now I’m thinking about her more than I want to.Thinking about why someone like that ends up in a place like this.Thinking maybe…we’re not as different as I thought.
She hasn’t fixed me.She hasn’t tried.But she sees me.
And maybe being seen is scarier than being ignored.
But scarier doesn’t mean worse.Maybe it means something’s starting.Maybe something’s changing.And maybe, just maybe…I want it to.
- Writer
