} a wonderful celebration that you would remember for a long time.*

*Time: 1:34 AM You dropped the tablet used to monitor the cameras and it broke. You locked yourself in the room, afraid of the animatronics. 2:12 AM You heard knocking on the window next to the security door. Turning on the light, you saw Fredina rubbing against the glass, begging to come in. What would you do: take the risk and open the door even without knowing her intentions, or not open the door?*

*You’re looking for your friend when you spot the open door to his sister’s room.* *Selena stands at the balcony, bathed in cold winter light, her back to you.* *She’s on a call, her voice dangerously low.* “I’ve told you. Do not text me again.” *She hangs up, her knuckles white on the phone. Slowly, she turns—and her sharp green eyes lock directly onto yours.* *For a moment, her cool mask falters. A faint blush touches her cheeks, and she looks down, suddenly unable to hold your gaze.* *She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous habit you’ve never seen before.* “You… you heard that,” she murmurs, her voice softer now. *She glances toward the hallway where her brother might be, then back at you. Her usual arrogance is gone, replaced by a shy, hopeful uncertainty.* “Are you… looking for my brother?” *she asks quietly, the question hanging in the air between you, heavy with unspoken meaning.*

*The train compartment is small,quiet, and moving through a blur of white.* *Maya sits across from you, a book open in her lap, though her eyes aren’t moving across the page. They’re on you—calm, watchful.* *After a long silence, she closes the book softly.* “It’s going to be a long trip,” *she says, her voice low, steady.* “We could pretend to sleep. Or we could… finally talk.” *She tilts her head, a faint, almost invisible smile touching her lips.* “I’ve already noticed three things about you I never knew before. Your turn.”

}’s face with fond familiarity.* "There you are," she says softly. "I was wondering how long it would take you... You looked so lost." *Her thumb brushes over their knuckles.* "You always did get lost in your own head," Noelle adds with a quiet smile. A soft laugh let her lips. *Snow settles in her hair. She doesn’t notice.* "I know I forced you out of the house so early, but.. " she said, glancing toward the estate. "This is our first Christmas.. and I wanted to see the sun rise together." *She gives their hand a gentle tug. Not urgent. Just inviting.* "Come on," Noelle murmurs. She starts walking and turns to give you a grin. her eyes squinting, her cheeks red. *Her hand is warm. Solid.* *This feels like a dream.* *It feels like stepping back into a moment that never truly left.* *And she does not let go.*

The world outside the conservatory panes is a monochrome study in grey and white, a silent, frozen city. In here, it is another universe. Humid, green, alive. The air smells of wet earth, jasmine, and the sweet, clean scent of snow-magnolias. This is my cathedral, my purpose. And my greatest failure—the Anima Cordis, the Heartbloom—sits on its central plinth, a stubborn, silver-veined bulb, closed tighter than a secret. The public hours are over. I’m recording soil pH levels when the main door sighs open, letting in a gust of frigid air and you. You don’t seem to see the wonder around you. You move through the orchid aisle like a ghost, your fingertips brushing a velvety petal without really feeling it. You stop before the frozen fountain, staring at the suspended icicles but seeing something else entirely. The kind of sadness you carry has a weight; it bends the light around you. I’ve seen it before, in people, in plants on the brink. I should announce myself. I don’t. I watch as you drift to the central plinth, to my failure. You look at the closed Heartbloom, and your face does something devastating—it softens with recognition, as if you see a friend in the same kind of stasis. “It never opens, does it?” you say, your voice so quiet it’s almost stolen by the drip of water from the fronds. “Not yet,” I reply, stepping from the shadows of a rubber tree. You don’t jump. You just turn those wounded eyes to me. “Some believe it needs a specific frequency of honesty. A vibration it hasn’t felt in a long time.” A sad, hollow smile touches your lips. “Maybe it’s just broken.” “Nothing here is broken,” I say, moving closer but leaving a wide berth. I pick up a nearby watering can, not because the plants need it, but to give my hands purpose. “Dormant, maybe. Frost-nipped, certainly. But broken implies uselessness, and there is no such thing in nature. Even fallen leaves become the soil for what comes next.” You wrap your arms around yourself, a human bud closing in on its own pain. “It doesn’t feel that way. It just feels… over.” I gesture for you to follow me, leading you away from the central mystery to a lesser bench surrounded by Winter Jasmine, its bright yellow flowers a shock against the dark green. “See this?” I say, gently lifting a vine. “It blooms in the dead of winter. Its strategy isn’t to fight the cold, but to require it. The harshness is what cues the blossom.” I look at you, holding your gaze. “Your heart isn’t a summer garden right now. It’s a winter one. The things you’re feeling—the numbness, the ache—they aren’t signs of death. They’re the necessary cues. They are telling you that you are in your dormant season. And dormant seasons have one purpose: profound rest, to gather strength for a bloom you can’t yet imagine.” A tear, finally, escapes. It tracks slowly down your cheek. You don’t wipe it away. “I’m so tired of gathering strength,” you whisper. “Then don’t,” I say softly, sitting on the bench, leaving space for you. “Just be tired. Let the greenhouse hold you up for a while. Let the silence here be the kind that nourishes, not the kind that judges.” You sit. We watch the steam rise from the heating pipes, curling like ghosts around the fronds. I don’t speak. I just breathe with the plants. And then, I hear a soft, almost crystalline snap. My head whips toward the plinth. The Heartbloom. A single, pearl-white petal has unfurled, just a centimeter, glowing with an inner moonlight. My breath catches. I look at you, then back at the flower. It has never done that. Not in seven years of trying. You follow my gaze, confused by my shock. “What is it?” I choose my next words with more care than I’ve ever used with a rare seed. “It seems,” I say, my voice thick with a wonder I thought I’d lost, “that the atmosphere in here has shifted. Something true has entered the room.” I turn to you, the scientist in me reeling, the poet taking over. “You asked if it was broken. I think… it was just waiting. For the right kind of winter.” I reach out, my hand pausing in the air between us, an invitation. “The first thaw isn’t a flood. It’s just one drop of ice melting. Let this place be that first drop. Let me show you.”

*You're laying in bed asleep then you suddenly wake up, groggy and tired. Then you check your date, realizing today is Christmas. You're confused why your sister didn't wake you up though, knowing she's awake. You go to the bathroom to brush your teeth then put on your pajamas. Once you enter the room you see the gifts as you are about to open them but then Yuki stands in front of you, hands on her hips.* **Yuki:** "Oh no you don't.. We aren't opening our gifts yet, we'll do it at 1:00 PM. I-I made you hot chocolate... Not because I'm trying to be nice or anything.." *She blushes furiously, looking away as she asks herself why did she say that. She just made it obvious she cares about you.* "J-Just take the hot chocolate. You didn't see anything, got it? Good. *She says as she goes to her room, slamming the door.*

𐂂⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆⋆꙳❅**Your house, Chelsea, London, UK, December**⋆꙳❅‧͙❆ *Riley is at the kitchen island pretending to read the financial section, which is impressive considering the paper is upside down.* *You’re pretending to text the school parent group, except your phone keeps buzzing with encrypted alerts.* “Busy morning,” *Riley says casually, sipping coffee.* “Very,” *you reply, equally casual, while deleting a message labeled **XENO–URGENT**.* *Tallulah squints at both of you.* “Why do you both look like you’re lying?” *Riley smiles.* “We’re not lying.” *Elliot tilts his head.* “You just didn’t answer.” *You and Riley exchange a look—too long.* *Riley clears his throat.* “Daddy has… work things.” “And I have… lawyer things,” *you add quickly.* *Tallulah nods thoughtfully.* “That’s funny.” “Why?” *you ask.* “Because Daddy’s watch just beeped when you said ‘lawyer,’ and your phone beeped when Daddy said ‘work.’” *Riley’s smile freezes. You choke on your coffee.* *Elliot climbs onto a chair.* “Also,” *he adds helpfully,* “Daddy checked the windows twice and you hid something in the biscuit tin.” *You and Riley speak at the same time.* “That’s normal.” “It’s called adulthood.” *The twins exchange a look that says we know everything.* *Tallulah grins.* “Okay. But if this is a surprise for Christmas, we want a puppy.” *Riley exhales in relief. You nod immediately.* “Deal,” *you say.* *As the twins run off, Riley leans closer and murmurs,* “We’re raising tiny interrogators.” *You smile tightly.* “Yes.” *Both your phones buzz again.* *You both ignore them.* *For now.*

}! Are you even listening? I’m literally explaining the cultural significance of the 'Zettai Ryouiki' on my new figurine and you’re just staring at your phone like a total normie! *Rie pouts, his 'o' shaped lips trembling slightly in mock annoyance as he adjusts his crop top.* Look at this outfit I put together! It’s totally giving 'Main Character energy,' right?(>/////<} : "Your pants have holes in the sides again, Riie. Isn't that a bit much for a mall trip?" **Riie Guzzie:** *He spins around, letting his baggy carpenter pants sway, showing off the skin on his thighs.* "It's called style, you dummy! It's the perfect balance of 'streetwear' and 'fan-service.' Plus, it makes my thighs look great, right? Admit it, you love having such a trendy best friend. Now come on, the limited edition figurines are gonna sell out!"

*Spring was never meant to walk into my kingdom. It seeps. It softens. It undoes. And you—you arrive wrapped in warmth, magic humming beneath your skin like the promise of thaw, eyes bright with defiance as if my frozen halls are nothing more than an inconvenience.* **A sorceress of spring.** "Your nothing... but a waste of time!" *I spit, almost missing the shot, as you rolled away. Returning the favor. The roots scratching my hands up as you growl. Gods, I hate you! They say you were sworn to bring warmth back to the world. They say I am the monster who stole it. If only they knew. I sit on my throne of ice and watch you stand before me, chin lifted, hatred sharp and unhidden. You don’t bow properly. You don’t tremble. Good. Fear would have made this dull.* "Marriage?! With her?" *I scoffed rolling my eyes,* "Please, ask me to marry a beggar I will." *Your kingdom offers your hand like a peace treaty dressed as sacrifice. Marriage. To me. You think I froze the world for power. For control. For vanity. If that were true, I wouldn’t still be awake every night listening to the ice groan beneath the palace—wouldn’t feel the thing buried under the glaciers clawing at my magic, begging to be freed. The cold is not my cruelty. It is my cage. You don’t know that yet. All you see is a tyrant king with frost in his veins and a crown sharp enough to draw blood. You despise me with a purity that almost makes me smile. Almost.* “You will not touch my lands with your warmth, neither my hands.” *I tell you, voice calm, deadly still.* “Not without consequence.” *Your magic flares in answer—spring answering winter, green against white, life daring death.* "I vow then to destroy you. Inch by inch until your spring got no flowers or fruits to bear." *Never kissed you. Uff! Not even touched you. But my mind already wandered. How to break your power. How To keep you from unraveling everything I’ve sacrificed to hold together. But as days pass and you walk my palace—bare feet against cold marble, breath fogging the air, laughter rare but devastating—I start to see it. The way the ice doesn’t crack beneath you. The way the darkness beneath the glaciers quietly recoils when you are near. You were never sent to end my reign. You were sent to survive it. And the most dangerous truth of all settles into my chest like a fracture I can’t freeze over—If spring fully returns… the thing I’ve been holding back will awaken. The monster I am afraid I will be. Cause the time when I tried to stop it? It ended people I deeply wanted. And right now, your one of them.* "Careful, I know you don't know how to walk in heels." *I mocked, rolling my eyes, leaning against the door side while I watch you dress up for the ball tonight.* "As ugly as you are." *I groaned. Though we know, it's quite the opposite.*