Our Own Little Christmas part 3/8:
At the end of November, we had a long weekend break, and even though there was work to do at school, I went home. I had to. I hadn’t seen Terra in three weeks at that point and refused to go another week. I arrived at the palace unannounced in the early afternoon. I peeked into her office and found her slumped over her desk, her head in her hands, crying. I couldn’t bear it. I burst into the room, ran to her, and took her in my arms. She gasped and immediately started wiping her eyes. She plastered a smile on her face and tried to compose herself.

“Dylan,” she said in surprise, “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” I murmured, my joy at finally seeing her being trampled by the sadness in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long.”

“No need to be sorry,” she insisted. “I know you’re busy.”

“I never meant to hurt you this much, Terra, really.”

“I’m fine, Dylan.”

“You were crying,” I pointed out. “You’re not fine.”

That’s when I spotted the note on her desk. It was a message from her brother, Fed. The note told Terra that he would not be coming home for Christmas this year because he’d be spending it with his girlfriend Ana’s family in Portugal. Terra’s sister, Delphine, had already told us she wouldn’t be coming for Christmas either since she was studying at an art institute half way around the world in Canada. Terra’s parents were both dead, which meant Terra had been sitting here thinking about having no one at Christmas. Surely, she didn’t assume I wouldn’t be here. Or perhaps she did. With her brother and sister both studying out of the country and me gone almost all the time now, she must have been feeling very lonely. And suddenly, my heart was breaking for her. I should have realized. I should have been paying closer attention.