The smell of the fire drifting through the air, the crackling of wood resonating through the house, and the warm light it gave off lighting the room in that special cozy way. This was it, this was what bliss felt like.

Ruby yawned as her eye slowly drifted open, sitting up off the couch and unwrapping the blanket that she had been snuggled up in. She could hear the snowstorm still outside, battering away at her small apartment building. It had been going for a few days now, but she didn't mind. She finally had some time to focus on her projects.

After making some coffee for herself, she made her way to the bedroom, sipping away as she took a seat in her office chair, tapping randomly on her computer's keyboard to wake it back up. The light from the monitor stung her eye for a second, showing all her unfinished sketches and designs open on her desktop. She stared at it for a moment, thinking about what she should put her time into today-

BANG BANG BANG.

…The door. Someone was at the door.

BANG BANG BANG.

And evidently, they weren't very patient. Ruby sighed as she set her coffee down on her desk. Making mental guesses as to who could be at her door at this hour, which, from what her wall clock said, should be around three in the morning. She made a mental note to try fixing her sleep schedule again. Standing back up, she begrudgingly made her way to the front door, looking through the small peephole.

On the other side, she could make out a short old woman, with tightly pulled back hair and tanned wrinkled skin. Her landlord, she quickly realized. She quickly fumbled with the lock and opened the door. "Y-Yes, Ms. Calavera?"

"Finally! Was wondering whether you were still alive in there. Shame on you, making an old woman wait like that!" She shouted back, stomping her cane on the ground.

"I'm sorry ma'am, b-but I think people are trying to sleep still." Ruby whispered.

"Hmph." Ms. Calavera looked up and down the hall. "I suppose you're right. Anyways, what are you doing up at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing ma'am."

"Well, if you must know, I was on my way back from the convenience store, I'd run out of firewood you see." She motioned to the bag sitting at her feet, how she was able to carry it all the way back from the store by herself Ruby would never understand. "When I noticed your lights we're on. So, I thought I should check on you, like a good landlord."

"Well, as you can see, I'm doing fine, but thanks for your concern." Ruby motioned to her empty apartment. "See? I've just been getting work done, I guess it's messed with my sleep schedule a bit. I'll work on it."

Ms. Calavera was silent for a moment. "…Ruby dear, I don't believe I've seen you out of your room in quite a while, even before the storm. Are you sure everything is okay?"

Now it was Ruby's turn to be silent. "I… Y-yeah, of course!" Ruby's heartbeat sped up a bit. "I-I just get really invested in my commissions sometimes, kinda forget about the outside, y'know? It's nothing to worry about ma'am, I promise." She stuttered out.

Her landlord eyed her for a moment, silver meeting silver. "Hmm, well, I can't make you come out." She said, bending down and hoisting the large bag of firewood over her shoulder like it was nearly empty. "But I'll leave you with this. There's this quaint little café a few blocks east of here that just opened, when the storm is gone, you should visit it. I think you'd like it." She turned to walk down the hall. "It's called… Lighthouse, or something like that. You'll see it!"

Ruby stood in the doorway as her landlord marched back up the stairs. "L-Lighthouse?" She turned back inside and shut the door. Her shoulders sagged, and her head felt heavy. "Has it really been that long since I went out?" She spoke to herself as she walked back over into the living room, fire still crackling away. Her eyes were slowly drawn to the framed photo sitting over the fireplace, from a camping trip maybe three years ago now. Dad took the center, the very top of his head going out of frame, with left shoulder wrapped around her, and his right shoulder wrapped around… Yang.

Yang.

Tears began welling up in her eyes, and her heart pounded in her chest, feeling like it was burning. She couldn't, she wished that… Her thoughts became cloudy and messy as she looked down at the ground, tears falling onto the carpet. Her head swimming with emotions, she stumbled to the kitchen sick, flipping the water on and splashing it in her own face. She took deep breaths, in and out, in and out.

After a minute or two, Ruby could think straight again. Well, straight enough to make something to eat. She wasn't good for much cooking, but she knew how to make an egg at least. A few more minutes passed and she couldn't feel the burning in her chest anymore, as she sat back down on the couch, munching away at her egg sandwich.

She thought about what Ms. Calavera had asked of her. A café a few blocks away. She could walk that, maybe? No need for a car anyway. Of course, she'd still have to find it. But she figured it would stick out if even her nearly-blind landlord could see it. She took a deep breath, and reached deep down for any confidence she might still have in her. She could do that much at least, it was just getting a cup of coffee, anyway.