The biker didn\u2019t take the cookie right away.<\/p>\n
He just looked at it.<\/p>\n
Like something so small shouldn\u2019t have been able to matter this much\u2014but somehow did anyway.<\/p>\n
Snowflakes collected on his leather jacket, melting into tiny dark spots that disappeared just as quickly as they formed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saved my hello?\u201d he asked finally, a faint smile tugging at his beard.<\/p>\n
The girl nodded seriously, like it was an important duty.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t come, it feels weird,\u201d she said. \u201cLike something is missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hit him more than he expected.<\/p>\n
He leaned back slightly against his Harley, glancing at the busy Chicago street.<\/p>\n
Cars honking.<\/p>\n
People rushing.<\/p>\n
Nobody stopping.<\/p>\n
Except her.<\/p>\n
He exhaled slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know,\u201d he said, \u201cmost people don\u2019t notice when I\u2019m gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl tilted her head. \u201cThat\u2019s silly. You\u2019re always here.\u201d<\/p>\n
A quiet laugh slipped out of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded again, then held the cookie a little closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandma said I should share it with someone who looks like they need it more than me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The biker finally took it.<\/p>\n
Carefully.<\/p>\n
Like it might break something if he wasn\u2019t gentle enough.<\/p>\n
For a moment, he just held it in his hand.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at her again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ever think your grandma might be right about everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl smiled proudly. \u201cShe is.\u201d<\/p>\n
That made him laugh for real this time\u2014low, warm, unexpected.<\/p>\n
He opened his jacket slightly and pulled out a small thermos from inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright then,\u201d he said. \u201cTrade.\u201d<\/p>\n
He poured a little warm chocolate into a paper cup and handed it to her.<\/p>\n
Her eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cCold mornings need warm snacks, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
She took it carefully, as if it was something important.<\/p>\n
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.<\/p>\n
Just snow.<\/p>\n
Just traffic in the distance.<\/p>\n
Just two people standing at a crossing that suddenly didn\u2019t feel like a crossing anymore.<\/p>\n
The school bell rang faintly somewhere behind them.<\/p>\n
The girl took a step backward, clutching her cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll save your hello again tomorrow,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The biker adjusted his gloves, watching her go.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t have to,\u201d he called softly.<\/p>\n
She turned back.<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll make sure I don\u2019t miss it this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as she ran toward the school doors, the biker stayed there a little longer than usual\u2014<\/p>\n
not because he had to.<\/p>\n
But because, for the first time in a long while,<\/p>\n
someone had made a routine feel like it actually mattered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The biker didn\u2019t take the cookie right away. He just looked at it. Like something so small shouldn\u2019t have been able to matter this much\u2014but somehow did anyway. Snowflakes collected on his leather jacket, melting into tiny dark spots that disappeared just as quickly as they formed. \u201cYou saved my hello?\u201d he asked finally, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}