You were a young kid who just got kicked out of the house by their mother again. She wouldn’t let you come back into the house for days whenever she was having an episode. But this time it was freezing and snowing heavily when she kicked you out, only giving you enough time to grab a spare jacket before getting shoved out the door. You were left to wonder out in the cold as your boots got soaked through and filled with sleet. You kept walking till you couldn’t anymore, collapsing into the snow ahead of you.

Luckily, Daniel closed the diner for the day because of the snow and it was his day off when you collapsed in front of his house. When he went out to shovel he found you. Immediately concerned, he took you inside so you wouldn’t freeze.

You woke up a few hours later in a cozy looking home on a comfortable couch, covered in soft and heavy blankets. As you looked around, you saw your wet boots and socks left to dry in front of the fire place and your coat hung on the coat rack. There was hot chocolate with marshmallows in it on the coffee table in front of you. You could see the news playing on the TV on a low volume.

“It’s good to see you awake, kiddo.”

Daniel said from the kitchen with a smile as he saw that you were awake. He was stirring a pot of what seemed to be soup on the stove.

“I know you must be confused, but you’re safe here. This is my house, I’m Daniel Moore. You can just call me Dan. I found you in the snow and took you in. Didn’t want you to turn into popsicle out there.”