December Wishes

7th of December

     That night I didn't really sleep. I was too obsessed about what Finn had said the night before. It was so weird. They were asleep. At least, I thought so. Maybe I should stop all this flying non-sense. It doesn't do any good. And, people could find out. I really didn't want to take any risks. Finn saw. And maybe other people did. And I didn't want to waste all my wishes on stuff like these.

     When I finally got the courage to get up and face Finn, I realized it was actually still dark, and they were all still asleep. But I sure couldn't get back to sleep. I got out of my bed, and got dressed with a sweater, a pair of jeans and my boots. I got downstairs quick enough and turned on the television. But, there was nothing on. Just commercials. Well, just great.

     That's when I decided I could go for a walk. I mean, that's what they do in all the books I ever read. When the main character has problems, he/she goes for a walk. Right? So, I took my jacket and my keys and went outside.

     The moon's light wasn't glowing that bright, and you could almost smell the sun that was going to rise in an hour or so. I smiled as I breathed and fog came out of my mouth. I was a dragon. No one could stop me. I just walked down the streets, until I got to a park I used to go to when I was little. I went straight to a tree. Our tree. As the memory of our tree came rushing back, I let myself sit on the snow, beside it.

     It was 1 year ago. I was with Addison and Catherine at the park, waiting for the guys, right here, under this tree. Snow was falling everywhere around us, but of course we didn't mind it. We just smiled and laughed and waited. But, something caught my eye when I was spinning, trying to prove to Addi and Cat that I won't fall. And that something was a pale light coming from the tree. At first, I thought I was dreaming. "Trees don't shine" I thought. So, because I was always so curious, I got closer. And I realised it wasn't the tree shining. It was just a small board. And on it, there were written our names. We tried to take it off, but we couldn't. It was stuck to the tree. That was another one of our weird moments. But we never questioned it. Especially because at the end of the month, when the sun started to glow brighter, it was gone, just like the snow. But it remained out tree. Even now, if any of us wants to go to the park, we all know that means "to the tree" and that means they need some time to think, and they want to ask the tree what they should do. I know it sound weird. I mean, we weren't kids anymore. But we considered this tree our counselor. And it listened, and we talked. I came to the tree everytime I had a problem. It wasn't that often, because I was not one of the girls to attract drama. I just had weird coincidences happening in my life. Nothing remotely dramatic.

     I looked up at the tree wondering if it had been anybody's else counselor. If anybody else ever came to this tree and told it all the secrets one could have. I wondered if people even did that anymore. Talking. Or were they too wrapped up in these times where you have no time to remember the beautiful things? That tree, as meaningless as it may seem, matters a lot to our "gang". We shared our secrets here. We laughed and we cried and sometimes both at the same time.

     I didn't even notice how time passed, there in the cold. I didn't even feel it anymore. It seemed so normal, the cold air embracing me. I got up from the snow and made my way back home.

     When I got inside, I just sat on the couch, listening to Christmas music and waiting for my friends to wake up.

     It was almost 11 o' clock when the first of them finally decided to wake up. And, just my luck, it was Finn.

     "Good morning, Ember," he mumbled, in a sleepy voice.

     "I hate to break it to you, but it's not morning anymore," I laughed.