"You want one?" she asked, smiling.

Alex gave her a weak smile back, nodding. She still didn't say anything, but she didn't have much choice. She was hungry and cold, so why not get herself some ice cream?

The girl placed the basket down on the bench and opened it. She took out a bar of chocolate mint ice cream and handed it over to Alex, watching as her friend carefully unwrapped it, picking out a small chunk of the ice cream and popping it in her mouth. She immediately felt warmer inside as the cool ice cream melted in her mouth. It tasted delicious.

"I'm Anne by the way,"...