PARIS | lando norris

040. christmas with the santos family

CHAPTER FORTY
[ real life / instagram ]
❛ christmas with the santos family ❜

Marnie always loved Christmas in a way that felt almost excessive, almost embarrassing, like she never quite grew out of the childhood version of it and never really wanted to.

For her, it wasn't just a day. It was a feeling. One that started quietly, weeks before, settling into her chest the moment the air turned colder, and the light faded earlier in the afternoon. It was in the first hint of cinnamon in the kitchen, in the way she insisted on playing the same songs every year, in how she noticed every small thing.

She loved the anticipation as much as the day itself. The waiting. The rituals. The way everything felt slowed down, like the world was holding its breath for something gentle and good.

And more than anything, she loved what it does to people.

How voices softened. How much easier laughter came. How even the quiet moments felt full instead of empty.

Christmas, to her, was the closest thing to certainty she knew. It was something that returned every year exactly when she needed it, wrapping itself around her life in warmth and familiarity, reminding her that some things, no matter how much else changed, stay soft and bright and waiting for her to come home.