Coastal Chills | {Eponine}

It hardly feels like winter, then again, it hardly ever does. If it wasn't for the cold winds that the coast blows towards the district, I'd still think it's summer time. Most of my days start like this, a shawl wrapped around my shoulders as I sit at my piano, which happens to face the ocean. I let my fingers play along the familiar surface of the instrument, dashing to and fro, the soft pounding of the keys carrying a melancholy sound. This sound must've echoed into my father's bedroom, because he walks in the living room rubbing his eyes. I pause for a second as I turn around and greet him, "Good morning, Dad." I turn back to the piano and continue the song until it's over. I feel his hands on my shoulders as I end the song, and I grab both of them and look up at him. His gaze isn't directed towards me but outside to the window, towards the sea. "How was your sleep?" I ask him as I stand and head towards the kitchen.

He shrugs and sits at the table, lifting his glasses over his nose as he picks up a stray book lying on the middle of the circular table, flipping the pages to his last spot. "Better than most," he comments as I place his cup of tea in front of him. He sips it, before pushing it away.

"Do you want some toast, instead, dad? Cereal?" He shook his head, not even bothering to look up from his book. In desperation, I sit across from him and clasp his hand in mine. "Dad, you have to eat something." I think he's ill, he's lost his appetite for the past few months and he's becoming weaker and weaker. I haven't failed to notice his sickly frame, either, but he denies his declining health and,even more so, constantly declines my offers to accompany him to the doctor. One of these days, I swear, I'm going to call a doctor to come here and surprise him.

He looks up from his back and puts his hand over mine. "Honey, you spend too much of your time taking care of me." I sit there, not saying anything in denial, because I know it's true. He chuckles and leans back in his chair. "If you really want to feed me, then, Lori, why don't you go ahead and buy me some those crabs we had last week for dinner? I've done nothing but crave them, since."

I smiled at him and complied, raising from the table and heading towards the door. I grabbed my coat from the coat rack and put it on. "Do you want anything else?" I say as I go back to the kitchen to grab my bag.

He waves his hand at me in dismissal, still not looking up from his book. I smile and leave him in peace. As soon as I open the door a gust of cold air blows through me. I walk down the road while buttoning my jacket up. The smell of salt water near spreads an undeniable smile across my lips, and I take a deep breath of it in as I stroll along.

However, I bump into someone while this happens, almost causing the both of us to fall into the floor. "Oh, jeez, I'm sorry." I apologize as I examine the person I hit. . .