Author's Note:
This is a story I originally published three years ago but unpublished again. I felt inspired today and edited the story ... I only wanted to make small changes to make my old writing less cringey but it ended up taking me a whole day and I rewrote almost everything, so here we are now. :D
I hope you like the story. It's based on the song Christmas in my Heart by German singer Sarah Connor. It's one of my favorite Christmas songs that I listen to every year.
Happy holidays!
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Just as Karlie arrived at the S-Bahn station, she got a text message from Taylor.
Sorry, I will be a few minutes late. The trains aren't running, as usual. Hope you haven't left the house yet!
As if on cue, an announcement sounded through the speakers that there was an interruption of train service. Wir bitten um Ihr Verständnis.
Karlie grinned and texted a quick 'ok' back to Taylor. Around her she could see people pulling out their phones with annoyed looks on their faces. She grabbed her headphones out of her purse and started listening to music while walking up and down the platform to keep warm. It was cold, and she pulled her scarf closer around her neck.
I'm on the train now, I'll be there soon!
Karlie replied with the thumbs up emoji. She knew that Taylor hated being late and was probably freaking out about the delay. Karlie herself was used to public transport in Berlin by now. Like any other major city, it never really ran smoothly.
Eventually, a train arrived and Karlie was swallowed by the mass of people exiting it. She used her height as an advantage to try and spot Taylor. Sure enough, she spotted a tall girl with curly blonde hair trying to make her way across the platform. She waved excitedly. Taylor's face lit up and she waved back, and moments later they crushed each other in a big hug, earning stares from strangers bumping into them.
"Sorry for being la-" Taylor started apologizing, but Karlie cut her off.
"No worries. It's so good to see you." They smiled at each other.
"How was your week?"
They made their way onto the street level, and Taylor told Karlie all about her week.
"I finally got that essay for English literature done! God. It took forever. I almost dropped out of the class" she said in her usual dramatic fashion.
Karlie rolled her eyes. Taylor went on about her classes, and then proceeded to tell Karlie about all the shenanigans her cats had gotten into since the last time they had spoken. In fact, Taylor had sent Karlie pictures of her cats just the day before, but Karlie let the girl ramble on. She could listen to Taylor all day, no matter what it was about.
They walked down the street between a mass of people who all seemed to share their destination. Families, couples, groups of friends. It was a Saturday afternoon, and the sun had long set. Yet, the streets were adorned with bright lights.
They crossed the street at the intersection and walked towards the entrance of the Christmas market.
Taylor looked around in awe.
"This looks so beautiful!"
At this time of the year, there were Christmas markets all over the country. Yet, Karlie found that this one in front of the Charlottenburg palace was one of the most beautiful ones, if not the most beautiful one in the city.
