Xmas Advent Calendar 2022

Short story winner _strawberry_skies_

"𝘈𝘴𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥; 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸 7:7

───※ ·❆· ※───

Embers danced in the air, spinning gracefully as their orange and yellow glows grew dim. Brilliant orange flames flickered from the fireplace, devouring the firewood. Abigail sat from her spot on the couch, cocooned in her softest and warmest blanket, with her cat, Elle, nuzzled beside her leg. The Santa Clause played on the tv in front of her, but she barely paid any mind to it. Her eyes kept drifting to the small, but still beautiful, Christmas tree she'd spent two hours decorating the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas presents wrapped in inexpensive paper sat under the tree, ones she'd bought and wrapped for herself. There were some other presents for others alongside hers, but only so she'd know where they were until it was time to hand them out.

The soft white fairy lights twinkled beautifully against the glass ice cycles, pinecones, and the countless homemade and vintage ornaments she'd cluttered the tree with. Abigail couldn't help but smile a little every time she saw it. It was her first year buying and decorating her own tree, and she was proud of it. Elle seemed to like it too, seeing how she had yet to knock off any ornaments or lick the fake snow. Abigail sunk further into the couch and closed her eyes, picturing the scenes from the movie as she listened, and imagined what it would be like to be there too.

A groan left her lips when the doorbell interrupted her daydream. Elle perked up, and after a quick stretch, ran to go look out the window. Abigail begrudgingly removed the blanket and rose to her feet. The doorbell rang again, and she hurried to tip-toe to the door. When she got to the small window beside the door, she tried to stealthily peek from behind the curtain, but whoever was there wasn't visible from that angle. Abigail huffed, and, running her fingers through her hair, she unlocked and cracked open the door.

Her breath hinged in her throat, and her stomach twisted into knots so tightly she thought she might collapse. It was as if time itself had stopped as her hazel eyes met with those beautiful brown ones that went wide upon seeing her as well. He straightened his posture and cleared his throat. A wobbly smile made its way to his thin lips as he rammed his hands into his coat pockets.

"Hey, Abby," Thomas said, his voice meek and as wobbly as his smile.

Abigail could only stare. Blinking, she tried to offer a smile back, but the concern and panic she felt were eating away at her. It had been nearly three months since she'd last seen her big brother. When she had seen him last, he was asking if he could stay for a few nights since no one else would let him. Although reluctant, she agreed. She'd two days later she came to realize a credit card was missing from her wallet, along with twenty dollars. The first and only purchase made on the card since had been at a bar. They hadn't spoken since. She'd tried to reach out to him a few times, but he'd never responded or called her back. Abigail hadn't even been truly certain if he was still alive.

"Hi, Tom." She mumbled, then swiftly cleared her throat. "What, uh, what brings you here?"

Thomas flipped the hood of his coat off and ran a hand through his matching brown hair. His stare fell to the tattered welcome mat before slowly reconnecting with Abigail's.

"Um, may I come in? It's pretty cold out here." He asked, forcing a small laugh.

Thomas tried to ignore the way he felt his chest tighten when he saw the look of panic in his baby sister's eyes, the way she looked at him with such distrust. He couldn't blame her. He felt he'd more than deserved it after everything he's put her through. Thomas fully expected her to shut the door in his face, just as his former friends had done days ago. Abigail slowly nodded and held the door further open. Thomas nearly dropped from relief and shock, but happily entered the house. Abigail shut the door behind him as he unzipped his coat and hung it up on the coat hanger.