"I woke up early next morning, as usual. After revising that day's lectures until late at night, I hadn't gotten much sleep." Dawn had sat back down on the small table, swinging her legs as she was talking. "But this time was different. I didn't have to force myself out of bed, telling myself giving up and staying in wasn't an option."

"For the first time in years, my first thought wasn't 'maybe I'll find it today.'" She leaned back, supporting her weight with her arms and looking upwards. "Instead, I thought 'I finally found her.' Sure, I wasn't yet certain what exactly I had found, just that it was her."

"Cindy wanted a friend, and I had decided to be that. And should the opportunity arise, I'd let it become more." Dawn took a deep breath and whispered, "Heavens but I hope I'll get to be more than that."

She quickly shook her head, "No. No, I should forget about her. You see... I haven't seen her in a few weeks and I can't reach her phone. Don't worry, I'll get to that eventually. For now, I should continue. I... surprisingly enjoy telling you about all of this." Another small smile on her mother's face. Was she accepting the story?

"Anyways. So I got up to hop into the shower and start my morning routine. I didn't really notice it at that time, but looking back, I put a lot more effort into my looks on that day. I even spent some time standing in front of the big mirror before putting my clothes on after showering - and I realized something."

Dawn looked down at her hips and chest. "My body never really... matured. Cindy is all womanly, compared to her I look like a child."

"I was always fine with having a dainty build, but I feared Cindy wouldn't like that. So naturally, I tried to make myself look older."

As she was reliving her memories, Dawn noticed she was fidgeting with her lip again. Her finger was covered in red smudges of lipstick. That first encounter had really changed her.

"You know that I never used to wear makeup. I only borrowed Leia's lipstick and nail polish at the café when possible, but I didn't want to spend money on this." A tissue was turning pink as she cleaned her fingers - that was proof that at least that her view on makeup had changed.

"There was something that I had saved for special occasions - which occurred so rarely that I had never even looked inside before. I'm referring to the drawers on your bedside table, of course."

Dawn giggled, "I was actually kind of afraid of opening them for one reason or another. I had taken over most of your clothes at this point, hell I had taken over your entire room. But the drawers with your underwear and makeup seemed so... personal."

"However, desperate times call for desperate measures. So I dared to take a peek." Dawn reached down to her bag and took out a small pouch. It carried some of the makeup she had snatched from the drawer.

"Aside of a... tool that I don't want to have any business with, I actually found your stuff to be very useful. It took me some tries to apply a decent looking eyeliner, and the push-up bra felt weird at first. I was already somewhat experienced with nail polish and lipstick, so those were no problem." She was looking into a small pocket mirror she had put into the old-fashioned bag.

Her usually thin eyes were made to look gigantic, and her eyebrowsfixed to look perfect. Her mother's makeup was carefully chosen to fit their beige skin, which now had a faint red blush on the cheeks. Even after all this time... Heavens, but was this mature woman really her?

Dawn didn't feel like she recognized herself.

"I felt like I was betraying myself in some way by altering how I appeared. However, what bothered me most about it was..." the woman took a breath, "that I looked like you."

"I was standing in front of that mirror, gazing into your eyes. Not really yours, but... heavens we look similar. We have the same black hair, the same round face, the same build. My eyes are a bit darker, but what difference does that make? Some of our neighbors at times even call me by your name on accident." No wonder. Her mother also used to leave early with her cup of coffee.

"Anyhow, after playing around with your makeup for a while, it was getting late." Dawn looked outside. It really was getting late. "I still had to fix up the coffee for the day, so I rushed to brew a simple cocoa and get ready. When I was done, my watch showed five past. I was making Cindy wait."

"I grabbed all my stuff, pulled on my coat, and ran for it. I had everything prepared beforehand next to the door, but still couldn't shake the feeling that I had forgotten something." Dawn trembled at the thought of what she was to say. How had she let that happen?

"For the first time since Dad disappeared, I left the table empty. I was so preoccupied with Cindy, that I... forgot about my own parents." She had to place her cup on the table, fearing that her trembling had would spill the coffee. "When... When I got back home in the evening, I immediately went to clean the cups, as on any other day. Only then I realized what I had done."

Just like back then, a tear rolled down Dawn's face. She quickly brushed it away and continued, "I shouldn't skip ahead. So, I ran out the front door..."

×××

As she turned the key to lock the door, Dawn looked at the watch on her wrist. "Seven past..." she muttered under her breath.

Pulling out the key, she started into a sprint and hopped down the stairs of her front porch. She immediately sunk into the snow - halfway up to her knees. It's been ages since we got this much snow in one night. Mother's boots are barely long enough.

Slowed by the masses of white, she made her way to the street. Snowplows were hard at work, trying to keep the falling snow at bay. She could barely see through the gliding flakes. There she is.

A red beanie and scarf glowed near, covering hair that faded into the surrounding white. Cindy was standing there, looking unsettled as she kept turning around, until she saw Dawn emerge onto the sidewalk. Tension disappeared from Cindy's movements.

Dawn dashed up to her and the girls greeted. "I almost th-thought I went to the wrong house. It's... weird... without my bicycle..." the pale girl trailed off as her eyes were fixated on Dawn's face. The makeup is working. I caught her attention.

"Heavens I'm so sorry for being late. I know we said we'd meet at seven in the morning." The shorter girl acted as if everything was normal.

"It's a-alright. I got here a minute late too. Didn't know how l-long I'd need like this."

"Let's talk while walking, we need to get to college after all." Both started walking down the road. "So you came without your bike because of the snow?"

"Uhm, yes. T-That and..." only now as she had gotten closer, Dawn saw that Cindy had a bandaid on her cheek, right above her scarf, as well as a bandaged hand. "Something happened."