The Celestial Night

Kiska York moved from a small, rural town in Pennsylvania, to the town of Astrid in 2019. The town is as beautiful as its name suggests. Astrid is known for its scenic beaches, birch tree forests, along with its waterfalls and the wildlife that roamed there. The town was a pleasant, warm coastal place with strong family centered values. This place was heaven, especially to Kiska, who was a photographer, and she really enjoyed the local wildlife that would wonder onto her lawn.

She worked for a travel magazine by the name of Call of the Wild Travel; this allowed her to not only photograph what she loved, but it also let her travel the world. Kiska had ventured to India, Japan, Italy, France, Thailand, Singapore, and Peru. She was planning to visit Kirillov, Russia, in the spring of 2020, but sadly that was brought to a halt in May of that year, with travel restrictions due to the Corona Virus. Now, she was left with her own devices, she would have to make due with what was local, Astrid was known for its spectacular forests, one of which was very close to Kiska's house. It fact, she could just wonder into the wilderness, and just let her intuition lead her, photographing anything that strikes her fancy.

So, she decided to do just that, taking a fully charged camera, a tripod, her cellphone and an extra charger, she left her house with her house keys jingling in her front pocket of jeans. While she passed her garden, which was full of carrots, turnips, butter lettuce, and other vegetables, she spotted a small grey rabbit nibbling on her tomato plant, which she thought was quite adorable, so she took a quick snap shot of it, and went on with her voyage to the forest. She made her way into the wild, soaking up all of the natural beauty. She could smell salt in the air, as she moved closer to a clearing which led up to a beach. Rich green moss covered grey and silver colored stones, and the crystal clear ocean water in the shoreline revealed the small fish and crustaceans that lived beneath. The day was warm, as it was already mid April, and the sky had darkened from a powder blue, to an extravagant silver with a bluish tint. As Kiska dipped her feet into the water, her cellphone had chimed with a notification.

The notification was from a dating site she had been using called Light My Fire, which had its share of pretty bad seeds on there, but occasionally, she would find a decent, good looking guy on there from time to time. To Kiska's surprise, she had been messaged by a man named Logan. Upon talking to him, just for a little while, Kiska learned that he worked in finance, he loved dogs, and he was quite partial to traditional home cooked meals, such as meatloaf. She giggled to herself, and replied back, "You're lucky then, cause I am a great cook!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, I may just have you cook for me sometime! I'd love to get to know you some more definitely!" Logan replied back, and to this Kiska felt a bit of excitement build from within her. She hadn't been on a date in three years, and it was time to get back out there; at least that's what her friends always told her. She swiped through his profile on the app on her phone. He had a warm smile, gorgeous hazel eyes, and the most luxuriously thick hair she had ever seen. Then she had received another message.

"Are you free tonight? I live fairly close to you, we should meet up! Somewhere safe, of course! " Logan had suggested having a picnic up on the dock of the Chesterfield Bay, just a few minutes travel from Kiska's residence, and to this Kiska agreed. She looked towards the sky, and noticed that it had turned from silver, to a slate blue, indicating that a storm was brewing. So, she quickly replied back to Logan, inviting him over for a homemade meal at her house.

"Hey," her reply read, "I've just realized that a storm is about to start! How about you and I have a home cooked meal at my place tonight! We can watch a movie, and maybe even have a bit of wine! How does that sound?" As she anxiously awaited a reply, she went over what she could cook for tonight's dinner, it had to be special. Logan replied back, first agreeing with her assessment of the weather and he also asked if he could bring anything to accompany their supper.

"A bottle of merlot, please! I love red wine!" Kiska replied and she then packed up her camera and tripod, and made her way back home. Thankfully she didn't venture out too far. As she returned home, she quickly searched her refrigerator for some really great steaks. She had bought some freshly cut porterhouse steaks just the day before, and she was going to pair it with some roasted red potatoes that she grew herself, a salad, and homemade biscuits. In the middle of cooking, she received a text message from her best friend, Emilie.

"I hope he is not a catfish. Your safeword is 'Doggy' if he is, and if he is, Kiska, I'll come and save you." Kiska laughed and brushed off Emilie's comment. "Remember, what I said! Your safe word is 'Doggy', and please be safe. I love you, and tell me everything tomorrow!" Emilie's last text was read for the night. After about an hour and a half, there was a knock on the door. Kiska's heart seized, it was Logan. A grin pulled at her cheeks, and she rushed to her door, there he was. She was pleasantly surprised to see that he was not a catfish, nor did he smell like hot dog water as Emilie predicted. She smiled as she lead him into her home. Even more wonderful, was the fact that he had also brought a black forest chocolate cake for desert, along with the merlot that she had asked for.

"I hope you like Folk & Fable from Bright Cellars, its my personal favorite. Do you want me to pour you a glass, while your still slaving away on that hot stove?" Logan asked. Kiska quickly nodded her head with sweet smile. As Kiska minced the garlic for the potatoes, Logan opened the French doors, which lead out to the patio. The warm breeze was fantastic, and light classical music played in the background. She pan seared the steaks, then finished them off in the oven, with some aromatics. Logan silently watched as she skillfully basted the steaks in butter and herbs.

While they sat down for supper, Kiska asked Logan, "How is your food?" She asked "It's delicious, and you were right, you are a damn good cook! I've never had potatoes so flavorful. It's hard to pass up a porterhouse steak though. I think I love you already." Logan joked. "Kiska, what kind of name is that?" He said while finishing his potatoes.

"It's Russian. My mother is one hundred percent Russian, and my father is Jamaican and Cuban. My name means pure." Logan listened to her, in awe of her. They ventured off to the patio, under an indigo sky, covered by a veil of thousands of twinkling stars, while listening to the whales in the harbour sing. It was a perfect night, full of romance, and wine. It was the perfect first date.