Under the Stars

40. Meant a lot

Chapter 40: Meant a lot

Mia's POV

*****

I loved Christmas. If there was ever anything in life which could ever make me forget about all of the stress, anger and pain which I constantly feel, Christmas had to be it. I loved the feeling of waking up in the morning and knowing that I was going to be having lunch with my grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

Not only that, but I also loved the fact that the lunch was a big one. It wasn't everyday that I ate a three course meal.

Christmas was the time where I could truly feel connected to my entire family, and where I could feel in touch with myself and who I really was. I hated being the girl who constantly studied and barely had time for herself.

Exams were coming up, and I knew that. But on that day, none of that mattered.

The immense joy I felt whenever I would wake up on Christmas morning was something indescribable. I felt peaceful, and happier than any other day of the year. It was the day where I could wake up early and not mind. Where I would wear fancy clothes even though I was not going anywhere, and where I could enjoy that wonderful time with my family.

Julia also loved Christmas, probably as much as I did. It was the one day of the year where we would not argue at all.

Both Julia and I kept back from speaking our feelings out loud. We loved each other, but we barely told each other that. On Christmas, we didn't have to.

As we grew older, we started loving giving each other gifts. Every single year I would be more looking forward to seeing my sister's reaction as she opened my present than I was to receive the present from her. The huge smile and sparkle in her eyes was as great of a gift that I could ever possibly receive, and that was enough for me.

I was the kind of person to hate spending money on myself. I was always one who loved to save up, and would constantly get shocked at how quickly other people spent their Christmas money. Especially Sophie, whose money would be spent practically the next day.

When it came to buying gifts for other people, on the other hand, I wasn't that hesitant with my money. I loved making people happy, much more than I loved buying something for myself which I knew that by time I would no longer use.

That was why I was so excited the second I opened my eyes on Christmas morning. I did not know why I was always the first one to wake up on the day, but it had become like a routine for me to wake up at 6 a.m. on Christmas.

I was a weird person. I hated people finding out that I bought them a gift before the day that I was supposed to give it to them. It was pretty much a certain thing by then that everybody knew that I had bought them a gift, but I would never put it under the tree before Christmas morning itself.

Peeking out of my room, I made sure that nobody was up. Seeing that the coast was clear, I tip-toed downstairs to the living room, four bags in my hands. Gently, I put the bags underneath the Christmas tree before taking a step back to admire the decorations.

It was a pity that we would be taking them down after New Year'. I was in love with the atmosphere that all of the decorations created.

Satisfied with the sneaky completion of my task, I walked over to the sofa and turned on the TV. Another of my traditions was that I would lie down on my couch and watch Harry Potter till everybody else woke up, and then let it play in the background as we all opened our presents.

I didn't know what it was about Harry Potter, but for me, Christmas would not be the same without it.

It wasn't common for me to just take some time for myself. If I wasn't speaking with Theo and Layla, I was studying or doing homework, going to sleep shortly after. I rarely checked in with myself to truly see how I was doing.