Sona opened her eyes. It was…morning… She sat up. She was in her bed. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the bus with Taemin. Had he carried her inside? Her next thought made her laugh like a giddy little girl.

It’s Christmas!

She stood up and walked out of her room. “Taemin, wake up, it’s…!” She stopped and looked around. “…Christ…mas…”

He wasn’t there. She checked the kitchen and the bathroom. He was gone. He had left, maybe in the middle of the night while she was sleeping.

Awww…he didn’t have to leave… But maybe he remembered something! Maybe he figured out where his family was.

She walked back into the living room and saw a present sitting on the couch with a note. With a confused grin, she sat and read the note. It was from Taemin.

Dear Sona,

   Thank you for your hospitality, but it is time for me to go. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. A wonderful, kind girl like you shouldn’t be sad on Christmas, so please smile for me, ok? Remember all the things you have to be thankful for and know that I am praying for the health of your little sister. Stay hopeful…miracles can happen…

Taemin

Sona smiled with tears in her eyes. She had only met him last night, but she knew she’d miss his angelic smile. He had opened her eyes and given her something to celebrate on Christmas. And now suddenly he was gone as thought he had only been a dream. Sona opened the little box with a bow on top and inside there was a charm bracelet with little silver angels and crystal beads with one charm that said, “Live, Laugh, Love”. Sona put the bracelet on and watched it sparkle in the sunlight that shone through her window. She ran to get her phone and called her mom.

“Hi Mom! Merry Christmas! I love you!” She smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time. “I miss you so much! How are you? Aw, well thank you! I sound different? Really? Hm… What? Seriously? The doctors said the treatment is working?! She’s getting better?! She can go home after New Years?! That’s great! I’m so happy! well, can I speak to Ye-Jin? Is she awake? Ok…”

When Ye-Jin spoke into the phone, her voice was sleepy, but delighted.

“Hi Sona!”

“Oh, hello Ye-Jin? How are you doing? I miss you so much!”

“I miss you too, Sona. I love you.”

“Aw, I love you too, Sweetie. Momma tells me you’re getting better. How do you feel?”

“Better, now that you called. Hearing your voice makes me feel a lot better.”

A single tear rolled down Sona’s cheek. “Oh, Ye-Jin, you’re so wonderful…”

“What did Santa bring you for Christmas?” Her little sister asked.

Sona grinned and pictured finding Taemin in the sleigh last night. She thought of how he sat with her when she cried. She remembered all the children he took her to see at the hospital. Even if he wasn’t truly Santa…

“He brought me…the will and the strength to move one…to overcome…to be happy.”

“Oh, well that’s good. He gave me a pretty doll.”

“Oh, how nice! Well, I’m glad you’re having a good Christmas.”

“I am. I definitely am now. I’m really glad you called, Sona.”

Sona wiped her tears away. “Me too.”

     When she finished her phone call, Sona wondered about Taemin. It was mysterious how she had suddenly found him, he gave her the will to celebrate Christmas, and then he suddenly disappeared. She looked down at her bracelet and wondered if maybe he was angel or something. She didn’t quite believe this thought, but it made her smile. She quickly called the friend she had turned down yesterday, and explained that it was silly after all to not celebrate Christmas, and accepted her invitation to a Christmas party. She scrambled to find a dress and a grab-bag present. All day, she smiled, simply because she could.

She looked at herself in the mirror before leaving for the party and said to herself, “If I can look at myself and smile, then it’s a good day.”

All the while, from the top of a nearby city building, she was being watched. As she left her apartment in high spirits, a boy with starry eyes and a beautiful smile wished her a Merry Christmas in his heart, then spread his shinning white wings…and went home…