Wrapped for Winter

It mattered to us because she took the task seriously— protecting us from cold, hoping for a little peace inside the house, and we understood both.

The Runaway Christmas Tree

All we needed came to us that Christmas in unexpected ways.

We’d dance like wildlings around the flame— chanting, poking, laughing, fierce with purpose, alive with that edge of danger we so loved.

No one could explain the genuine disappointment in our chests to not need to be alligator-vigilant.

my siblings and I would seek out the molehills to stomp on the needle ice— a strange and wondrous phenomenon.

It was from the cruise ship gift shop— he never left the boat.

But I never forgot that warning sound, how it chilled my blood, and how I froze like prey to it.

I learned there are different ways to bring warmth in when there is no light.

Soon enough he had me shaking that magic globe, spilling out questions faster than I could accept its answers.

Agency was always mine—inner knowing, intuition’s quiet recognition, the soul speaking through the heart.