Holiday Bonus Chapter - A Lonely Christmas

The girl looked at the softly spiked, dark jade rope of fir interspersed with pinecones encircled by its own needles. Her sister had draped strings of holly berries around the coniferous cord, making the living room seem encompassed by red-beaded curtains. The evergreen speckled in lights that stood off center next to the coffee table extended firmly its leaves though burdened by countless boxes of ornaments and coinciding tinsel. That too was her sister’s handiwork.

Fingering the dangling threads of a knitted doll brought back from travels in Russia, the girl pondered distractedly about the innumerable quantity of sparkly trinkets in relation to the tree itself. Her sister had always loved hanging them up, but also later trimmed down the adornments. Shifting her hand above the doll she began removing a nearby piece as one by one the tree became rationally decoration-proportional. Once completed she took a slight step backwards to survey her work. Drooped eyes of emotional weariness beheld the cheery tree, a faint frown upon her lips. 

Her sister wasn’t here with her today. 

Nay, in fact it had been years since she witnessed her sister’s Christmas embellishments; just returning an hour before from her flight she just missed the family leave for relatives.

Exhaling a world-worn sigh her eyes flicked away from the bedecked leafy cone, her feet towards the couch a few meters away. Descending upon the coach as a languid wind she crossed her fuzzy socks and looked up at the ecru ceiling, hands behind her head.

Tones of star-touched light and shadow of night sky flurried in her eyes as they stared, and then closed.

~Forever Waiting~

She didn’t know how long she slept for, only knowing she was awoken to a loud rapping at the door after a rather restful doze. Blinking the somnolence from her lids she heaved upright on the couch and glanced towards the entrance. The knocking had ceased, but a soft shuffling was vaguely distinct right beyond the door.

Eyes now clear and focused upon the guest, or intruder, she wondered who would come so late at night and on Christmas Day. For sure not a burglar, they wouldn’t have knocked, neither a delivery man for she hadn’t ordered anything, nor anyone in this town as she was a stranger here.

Curious yet alert she rose towards the door and unlocked it, revealing a young man not more than seventeen standing in the eddying snow through the screen door. Her hand still on the brass knob she stared dumbfound at him until he grinned and motioned a little wave. Coming to her senses she swung the outer door open and the boy walked in, shaking little drifts onto the welcome mat.

“R-Raine! What’re you doing here? Wha- I thought- you..!” the girl stammered.

Black locks speckled with white bobbed to the side as he cocked his head with a wide smile. 

Thrusting an inexpertly wrapped package ribboned awkwardly towards her, he replied, 

“Merry Christmas Esteire~!”

Author's Note

It was the holidays when I originally wrote this chapter, and funny enough, it's the holidays again now as I post this.