Silver, thin, wispy snowflakes were falling from the heavens, signaling the close proximity of Christmas night. The strange girl steps in the picture, lies in the bed of snow, fluttering her arms in the snowy earth, making a snow angel beneath her, and somehow, against the motionless serenity, her midnight blue skin makes this a distorted image. She jutts her chin in the air, breathing in the pieces of the falling crystallines. Her tongue snaps out like a flickering whip, capturing a beautiful snowflake with the tip of her tongue, she wishes on the snowflake so ferociously, it melded with the heat of the saliva instantly.

An airplane tears through the snow up in winter horizon.

She scrambles up to her feet, runs full speed ahead onto the pavement. She runs and runs, panting and heaving, never bothering to stop to catch her breath.

Home is 10502.11 kilometers, 6525.71 miles away, the last time she visited was half a year, 6 months, 182 days, 4382.91 hours, 1.57785e7 seconds ago. She’s in Canada now due to education purposes. She left her heart back at home, it’s been far too long. To grow another seed to replace it is too time-consuming for a strange girl like her.

Homes. She runs, past the White’s mansion, the Green’s town house, the Grey’s villa, the Brown’s bungalow, and comes to a halt when she reaches the edge of the cliff Gold’s cottage. The family of Golds were out in the garden, throwing snowballs and dodging snowballs. They seem to be having a good time. It happened so quickly, and the next thing the strange girl knew, she was invited to the Gold’s Christmas Eve dinner by Elizabeth Gold, her philosophy teacher. She felt intimidated by the thought that she would later intrude a special family event, but despite that, she accepted the invitation politely.

With a gentle palm rested on the small of the her back, Evangeline Gold motions the strange girl into the living room, where the rest of the Golds are gathered. The family greet the strange guest zealously, shaking her hand, patting her on her back, embracing her body closely in theirs, as if she is an old friend, or even… a Gold. Her thoughts lingered on the notion for a split second. Her emotions took her to the beach on a warm summer’s day. She’s licking an ice-cream cone under the sun, catching the melting drops with her tongue as she savours the sweet taste.

In approximately seven minutes, she was introduced to a pair of couples, a young couple; a middle-age couple with two very tall sons who are in their teens, both with good senses of humour, and a dainty old woman. All of them assembled around the kitchen counter while they feasted on appetizers. To the strange girl, the plate of appetizers resembled a field of abundant crops harvesting under a fluroscent light. A minature christmas tree sculpture constructed out of raw broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes and baby carrots, held together in toothpicks, branching out from the core- an individual but strudy broccoli petiole. Another plate of colorful raw vegetables was aligned neatly on a dining plate next to the christmas tree; a cradle of crackers and chips in shapes of triangles, circles and hexagons; spicy black bean dip,salsa, corn beef dip, and ceasar dressing in saucers sat close by; the drinks: brandy, wine, soda, fruit juice and everything else the mind could imagine soaked amidst ice cubes were contained inside a bucket; there was a spinach cheese twister, its size as big as a tractor wheel , looking mighty majestic sat on a reflective silver dish. The strange girl marveled at the silver dish, surprised at the awe and content expression staring back at her. Magically, her complexion lightened, shifting itself into True Blue.

The Golds talked and laughed, exchanged conversations about their merry lives,exciting things that happened to them when they were on vacation, they spoke of pleasant and unpleasant people, the article Evangeline wrote, arguing against the promotion of a plastic drinking water bottle that is featured on the cover of a health magazine. Although the strange girl didn’t say much, she listened to the conversation with open ears.

Evangeline directed her to the dwindling stairs to the basement, where Evan, Jason, and Tate are fumbling with the xbox controllers fiercely, competing in a video games of a hockey match, race cars and manslaughter. Yelling joyously at the screen, for every goal they score, every success was shared, every laugh was genuine and authentic. The strange girl watched and learned to laugh along with them. Laughter was a part of the appetizer, I guess.She washes her hands before the main entry, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, is it just her, or is her skin azure now?

The main entry Dinner was served right after laughter, the christmas tree in blue and gold ornaments shone brilliantly near the dining table. Slices of bread, pieces of cabbage rolls, slabs of pork chops and neat cubes of roasted sweet potatoes. The Golds drew crosses in the air as they mutter, “In the name of the son, the father, and the holy spirit”, then bowed their heads to pray. Evan spoke for all of the Golds and the strange girl, thanking God for bringing the family together with Christmas, the affluent dinner they’re about to feast on and a new member. The strange girl looked at James, with wide-eyed wonder. Mrs. Gold notices, and places a warm hand on the strange girl and she relaxes at the warm gesture.

They played a game of darts, Scrabble ,and trivia game after the meal. The strange girl was easing into the spirit as everybody else in the room. Her team even won a game of darts. It was a delight to share your accomplishments, big or small, significant or insignificant with others- people who like you and appreciate you. They continued to play for the next hour or so- And soon it was time for dessert.

Evangeline’s grandmother- Janelle Gold brings to the table a lovely vanilla cake, layered with tangy pineapple slices, it wore a thick coat of homemade whip cream, pure white. Everyone was served a slice of the cake. The strange girl took a bite of the soft and fluffy cake, she thought it was God’s most divine creation. Mrs.Gold announces it was time for exchanging christmas gifts, she proceeds to pull out a red paper bag printed with a teddy bear in a santa hat and snowflakes twinkling in the background. She hands it to the strange girl. All eyes were trained on her, she blushes, unaccustomed to being placed in the spotlight, unwilling to hide the expectancy. When she opens the bag and finds a beautiful black travel bag, with an illustration of a Chinese doll along with the words “Hong Kong” printed on it. Elizabeth Gold explains this travel bag reminds her of the strange girl, and the travel bag will help the strange girl feel more at home. Inside the travel bag was a bottle of perfume, a tube of lipgloss, a packet of bath salts and a white bathing sponge. The strange girl wipes a tear from her eye, the next ten droplets trickle down her cheeks. The tears washed away the azure, exposing a layer of powder blue skin.

When she returns to her cottage, She asks herself this, What is the true meaning of christmas?, as she peers at the glowing alice blue skin in the mirror. She understands, and she answers proudly, “ It’s about showing kindness to those who need it, which is everybody. Someone loves and care about me. ”

In her bedroom, she falls asleep counting snowflakes drifting outside, feeling boundless love enclosing her, she dreams about the christmas she’ll remember for the rest of her alice blue life.

And the snowflakes are beautiful, like the Gold’s love.