XiaoJie sat by the window with her elbows propped up, supporting her head as she watched the snow fall from the sky, enveloping the city in a white blanket. Her eyes focused on a patch of snow on the rooftop of the opposite house, watching it fall to the ground as more snow landed on the roof.

“Mummy, when is Daddy coming back?”

Turning around, she spotted her twins, Max and Mark, standing in the frame of the doorway of her bedroom. Their bedroom. Heaving a sigh, she shook her head slightly.

“I don’t know, my dears, I don’t know. Its already Christmas today and Daddy is still at his business trip… I don’t know if he can come back in time.”

Xiao Jie, as a businessman, often goes on business trips overseas. However this December, he was sent on one of the longest business trip he ever had that lasted for almost a month. He had promised his family that he would try to make it back by Christmas, but well, some unforeseen circumstances could always happen.

“Well if Daddy couldn’t come back tonight, Mummy will call him, okay?” Smiling at her kids, she walked over and took them by their little hands. “Go and dress up, Mummy will bring you guys out for a Christmas lunch.”

`

Walking on the streets with her kids on hand, they admired the festive lights and decorations that were put up all around. The snow had stopped and many people could be seen shoveling the snow outside their homes. ‘Probably preparing for their parties at night,’ XiaoJie thought.

Walking into a restaurant, they were immediately greeted warmly by all the staff that said in unison, “Merry Christmas!”

XiaoJie laughed. “Thanks, and Merry Christmas to all of you too.”

Leading her children over to a four-seater table, Max seized the menu and started flipping through the pages. Mark then started a small bicker with his brother over the menu.

“All right, all right, stop arguing, here’s another menu,” XiaoJie handed her menu over to Mark. Not in a hurry to place her orders, she whipped out her phone to check for any missed calls or messages but to her dismay, there was none.

‘Xiao Jie, how are you now? Its already Christmas,’ she wondered in her mind but was shortly interrupted by Mark.

“Mummy, I want this!” he chirped, pointing at a picture of a turkey ham baked rice in the menu.

XiaoJie could not help but smile at the similarities Mark had with his dad. Xiao Jie would always eat that every time they came to that restaurant.

“I want that too, Mummy!” Max butted in.

Pushing her thoughts of Xiao Jie aside for now, she quickly decided on her order before calling the waitress over to take their orders.

`

It was snowing again that night. XiaoJie was again sitting by the window, watching the full moon that nestled itself among the clouds.

‘Where are you, Xiao Jie? I missed you so much.’

She shifted her gaze to the streets. Many of the houses are lighted up and many shadows could be seen across their windows. Some were dancing, some were eating, some were drinking… everyone is happily partying at their homes this Christmas. While she was at home, waiting for a certain someone dear to her. At that moment, the clock struck ten.

“Mummy! Time for our bedtime story!” Two voices were heard behind her.

She sighed. It was already ten in the night and Xiao Jie was still nowhere to be seen. Getting up, she approached the twins’ bedroom for their bedtime story.

After the twins had fallen asleep, XiaoJie went back to her room to get ready for bed. Lying down, she faced the other half of the king-sized bed which was currently unoccupied. Feeling her fingers against the soft mattress, she let out a sigh again.

“Merry Christmas, Xiao Jie,” she whispered before drifting off into slumber.

`

“Ding dong! Ding dong!”

Not long after Xiao Jie had fallen asleep, the doorbell rang. Rubbing her eyes, she reached for the switch of her bedside lamp and turned it on. Glancing at the clock which showed eleven at night, she grumbled silently under her breath.

“Who could it be, its so late at night already,” she muttered darkly.

Despite her displeasure, she trudged out of bed. Fumbling for her bedroom slippers and slipping them on, she made her way to the front door. Grabbing the keys that hung at a side hook, she turned the doorknob to open the door, only to be crushed with a surprise hug.

“Merry Christmas, dear,” No doubt, it was Xiao Jie’s voice she heard. Unable to believe her ears, she struggled out of his grasp to look at him. She was wide awake instantly and fell into his arms again.

“Merry Christmas to you too,” she mumbled into his chest. Joy could be heard clearly through the tone of her voice.

~

Well, that's the end! I hope you guys enjoyed it. And credits to mushiemonster @ tellmeyourwish for the lovely poster and background! Its cute, pretty nice :) Oh and I work as a reviewer at that site too, so feel free to request reviews from me!