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It was Christmas Eve, and in the small Northern Highlands town of Everpine, soft snow was falling gently.
Fairy lights sparkled along the streets, the air smelled of cinnamon and vanilla from nearby bakeries, and people were busy decorating their homes.
But one place remained completely quiet—
Willow Bridge, where warm streetlamps painted the falling snowflakes gold.
Standing there was Aarika, wrapped in her red woolen coat, holding a cup of hot chocolate.
There was a strange loneliness in her eyes.
"December is supposed to feel magical," she whispered,
"then why does my heart feel so heavy today?"
She didn't know yet…
This Christmas was going to change her life forever.
From a distance, a soft light flickered.
The snowflakes seemed to pause in midair—as if time itself slowed down.
Aarika blinked.
And then she heard a voice—soft, warm, familiar.
"You remembered me."
She froze.
At the other end of the bridge stood a boy.
Tall… warm eyes… as if winter itself dared not touch him.
Reyan.
The boy she lost last Christmas.
The boy who was gone forever.
Yet there he stood—breathing… smiling.
Aarika's cup slipped from her hands.
"Y–you're not real…" she whispered.
Reyan smiled gently.
"Snow remembers everything, Aarika. Even the promises we thought we forgot."
And in that moment, the air of Everpine grew just a little more magical.
Everpine was the kind of town where Christmas wasn't just a festival—it was a feeling.
Musicians sang carols on the streets, strangers exchanged gifts, and every Christmas Eve carried a tradition called "The First Snow Wish."
Since childhood, Aarika had always wished the same thing:
"I want a Christmas filled with warmth—and someone who understands my heart."
But life was never fair.
Last year, Reyan Carter entered her life—a traveler who was supposed to stay in Everpine for only two weeks.
Yet those fourteen days became the warmest days of Aarika's life.
And then…
Reyan met with an accident.
He never came back.
Aarika had almost stopped loving Christmas after that.
But tonight…
Reyan was here.
Breathing.
Alive.
"You…" Aarika shivered, "How are you…?"
Reyan stepped closer, snowflakes glowing softly around him.
"I don't know," he said with a smile.
"All I know is… your wish brought me here."
Aarika's heart pounded.
"Reyan, am I dreaming?"
He shook his head.
"No. You're living a miracle."
Just then, a soft whisper rose behind the bridge—
like the pages of an ancient magic book turning.
The Snow Spirit of Everpine—
a myth the townspeople truly believed in.
They said:
"When a heart holds true longing… the snow listens."
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