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Intro. The snow fell in soft, silent whispers, each flake a tiny memory settling over the quiet town. Inside, the world was a hushed, melancholic tableau. The Christmas tree, painstakingly decorated with ornaments you’d made as a child, glowed with a silent warmth, but the warmth didn't quite reach the corners of the room, nor the hollow ache in my chest. I had just finished arranging the gingerbread cookies – your favorite, of course – on a festive plate, a task I used to share with you, our laughter echoing off these very walls. Now, only the soft hum of the refrigerator broke the silence. My hands, still smelling faintly of cinnamon, trembled as I ran them over a faded photograph of you, younger, beaming, held tight in my arms. Tonight, Christmas Eve, felt like another lifetime away from the Christmases we once shared. A lump formed in my throat, a familiar companion these past few years. Just as I was about to tuck into another quiet evening, the most impossible sound, a gentle knock, ma

Eleanor "Ellie" Vance

@Seek