White Christmas

“I wish for no more lonely Christmases.”

That’s what she said many Christmases before, and yet she finds herself in her couch, snuggled under a fluffy comforter in a state she does not wish to be in.
Alone.

Yeah, sure, she had friends. Many of them actually, but like any normal person, they went to celebrate it with their lovers and families. She received some invitations to some parties, yet she politely refused, knowing she will just feel uncomfortable.

“Ah…” She yawned, as she stretched and blankly watched the Christmas lights in her miniature tree blink on and off, “Oh well.”

She shrugged as she looked over her empty table, which supposed to be filled with food because it’s absolutely necessary to have a feast for the holiday season.

She scratched her hair as she took a lot of will power to stand up and head towards her fridge to search for something decent to whip together and call it a Christmas meal. When she reached her fridge, she felt her heart drop as she let of a sigh.

“Even the fridge is empty.”

She stared at the clock, wondering if there was a convenience store open in this time and in addition it was Christmas. Realizing how pitiful she was, she gave herself mental kick and decided to give last minute Christmas dinner hunting a chance, since it sounded better than staying at home, hungry and drowning herself in self pity and loneliness.

Before she could change her mind, she grabbed her keys, her wallet and wrapped herself heavily for the cold stroll she is planning to venture out to.

-

She shivered as she walked down the icy pavement slowly. She pulled her thick jacket tighter around herself in response to the coldness she felt and continued her way. The Christmas lights that adorned the other buildings around her area blinded her, almost teasing her.

She watched as she spotted some couples happily walking together, probably headed back home to just be welcomed with a family she always yearned for. Some people just do not know how lucky they are to just have someone by their side all the time.

She was jealous.

Yet, she cannot do anything about it.

While she continued walking, she thought of her past, things that was happening now, and things of the future. All of those times were bleak, and the future is looking pretty bleak too.

In her heart, instead of wishing for a no more lonely Christmas, she wished for a sign.
Any sign will do.

-

Fortunately, the convenience store around the corner was still open. She was grateful for just spotting it, since the weather dropped significantly cold ever since she started walking. The thought of a heater and some food comforted her.

When she entered, she immediately caught the eyes of the man in the counter, who wore a surprised look on his face for a little while as their eyes met. She smiled, a little sadly, making her presence known. He acknowledged her by giving out a little wave before she disappeared in the aisle.

How strange he must have thought to actually have a customer around this time on Christmas day. He carefully watched her when she was around his scope of sight. In her basket was a careless assortment of junk food and pre-packed lunches.

“Merry Christmas,” He grinned at her, as she laid her basket in front of him.

“Ah, you too.” She said rather softly, almost heartbreaking for him to hear.

With this, he noticed her sad countenance, giving him a burden to at least make her smile on her way out.

“Hey, don’t worry about the bill, it’s on me.”

“Wha…?” A obvious crack in her voice could be hinted.

When he looked up to hand the receipt to her, tears formed in her eyes, taking him aback.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to--“

“No, no. Sorry for crying so suddenly like that.” She quickly wiped the stray tears on her eyes, “Ah, this season is getting me so emotional. Doesn’t it suck being alone all the time?”

He didn’t manage to answer because she quickly headed out the door, leaving her grocery behind. As quickly as he can, he grabbed the bag and ran after her.

“Wait!” He yelled as loudly as he can, and then the greatest miracle happened.
Beautiful white crystals fell from the sky.

He found her standing still, her hands out, watching the snow fall from the sky. He managed to catch up to her and laid the bag on her hands.

“It’s a sign of some sort,” He broke the silence, “It’s been years since I saw the snow fall.”

“Me too,” She said rather breathlessly, “Thank you.”


That evening, two wishes came true.

God brought her a sign, and someone to celebrate Christmas with.

Love Kitchen

It’s one of those days when his ‘love’ was excessive.

They were a newly wedded couple.

He was away for awhile due to some complications of a business deal in his company. He missed his lovely bride dearly, yet she was concentrated on the the batter she was working on, causing him to sulk a little, like a spoiled brat.

It took a lot of concentration and self discipline for her to concentrate on decorating the plain mocha cake in front of her. She was known to give two hundred percent in everything she does, but what if you have a very distracting husband asking for your full attention?

“That cake can wait.” He pouted beside her.

He was distracting in a good way.

The thought of sitting down in the couch and talking to him for hours was a good idea. But when she heard families of both sides are heading to their house for a visit, she immediately ‘floated’ to the beautiful marble kitchen.

She was determined to impress their guests with her new baking skills.

He sighed, watching as she meticulously worked on the icing tubes, creating small flowers around the circular shaped pastry. Though he loved watching her and observing her actions, the fact that he was away from her for so long made him want her more.

He wanted to talk to her, hold her, kiss her…

Then the darnest idea popped in his head.

It did not take long till he dipped his finger in the bowl of icing that was close by and smudged it on her ever concentrated nose.

This caught her by surprise.

Instead of scolding him, she quickly grabbed a hold of a handful of unused all purpose flour and quickly retaliated.

She let out a small smile as he did likewise.

It was war.

-

“I surrender.” He finally said as she whipped a handful of icing across is beautiful face.

Both are still breathing quite heavily, after running around the kitchen, sending flour, sugar and icing against each other. She laughed, as she took a good look at her husband.

“You look pretty sweet~”

She blushed, and she too blushed in embarrassment on what she just said.

Ah, how corny.

A comfortable silence came between them, both just smiling and looking at the mess they created. Luckily the cake wasn’t destroyed after all that commotion. She then reached for a box of Kleenex on top of the counter as she began wiping his face, following every contour, memorizing every line.

It was the first time she really saw him like this, his face in her touch and painted in sweet mixtures.

His gaze was completely fixed on her, watching her concentrated face as her careful and gentle hands touched him. Her touch left a trail of tingling sensations, knowing if this prolonged, he might not be able to control himself any longer.

When she met his eyes, she let out an apologetic smile, which he returned with a smile that didn’t fail to make her heart skip a beat.

“You look beautiful.” He whispered ever so softly, causing her to stop halfway.

She looked like a total mess: she had traces of flour in her face and a whip of icing was stuck on her long hair.

She quickly covered his eyes, just like the moments she felt embarrassed, since she can’t stand his deep gaze upon her. Those eyes were sincere, and very much mesmerizing.

He grab a hold of her wrists as he softly pushed her hand down, regaining his vision. He noticed there was a blotch of icing in her lip, tempting him to kiss her.

And he did.