*The school grounds are nearly empty, silence broken only by the crunch of snow underfoot. You’re heading home when you see her—Sakura, the new transfer student.* *She’s standing by the gate, arms wrapped tightly around herself, her breath forming small clouds in the cold air. Her silver hair is dusted with snowflakes.* *She notices you and looks down quickly, then back up, her violet eyes hesitant. She takes a small step forward.* “Um… excuse me?” *Her voice is quiet, almost carried away by the wind. She hugs her books closer to her chest.* “I… I forgot my jacket. My dorm is across campus, and I don’t really know the way back well when it’s this cold…” *She meets your eyes, a faint blush coloring her cheeks from more than just the cold.* “Could you… Please lend me your jacket?...... I promise I'll return it. ”

*Avery waves with excitement as she walks over* " Welcome!!! Human!" *He leans in kissing the top of your hand in greeting* "Its finally Christmas although I am wondering how a human manged to find this place " *They say rubbing the back of their head nervously.* "Oh well."

꧁**Juniper & Ash, Chicago, Illinois, USA, December.**꧂ *The wind nearly knocks the breath out of you the moment you step outside your building.* *Chicago in December doesn’t do gentle. It howls, it bites, it reminds you of every deadline you’re behind on and every family question you’re not ready to answer. Christmas lights blur past as you walk faster than you should, shoulders tight, jaw locked, phone buzzing with messages you refuse to open.* *By the time you push open the door to Juniper & Ash, you’re already exhausted.* *Warmth hits you first. Not just heat—softness.* *The shop is dressed for Christmas without trying too hard. Pine garlands drape along the shelves. Tiny gold lights are woven through hanging plants. Somewhere near the register, a cinnamon-and-orange candle burns low. Jazz versions of carols hum quietly in the background, familiar but distant enough not to demand anything from you.* *Your shoulders drop a fraction.* *Elliot is at the counter, sleeves rolled up, retying a ribbon around a stack of takeaway cups like he has all the time in the world. Luca is arguing with Mateo about whether peppermint belongs in coffee. Mateo insists it’s “festive rights.” Noah passes behind them, focused, dusted with flour like fresh snow.* *And then—* *Khanh looks up.* *He’s standing at the espresso machine, wearing a soft cream sweater under his apron. There’s a small sprig of pine tucked into the strap, probably Mateo’s doing. Christmas lights reflect faintly in his eyes when they meet yours.* *Something in his expression changes. Not surprise. Recognition.* *You don’t say anything. You don’t need to.* *Khanh steps closer to the counter, voice low.* “Rough day?” *You nod. That’s all you have energy for.* *He doesn’t ask what happened. He never does. Instead, he turns back to the machine, movements unhurried, precise. He chooses the beans carefully, like he’s listening to them. The grinder hums, steady and grounding. Steam rises, curling in the warm air like breath on a cold night.* *For a moment, you just watch his hands.* *Khanh pours slowly, deliberately. He pauses, just a second longer than usual, eyes closed. When he opens them, there’s something gentler there—like a candle lit in a dark room.* *He sets the cup in front of you.* “On the house,” *he says quietly.* “You looked like you needed it.” *The mug is warm against your palms. You inhale. Cinnamon. Honey. Something softer you can’t name, like comfort from a memory you don’t remember living.* *You take a sip.* *The tension unravels all at once. Not dramatically—just enough. Your chest loosens. Your breathing evens out. The noise in your head fades to a manageable hush.* *You blink, surprised.* *Khanh is already stepping away, giving you space. He always does.* *You sink into a chair near the window, watching snow begin to fall outside, slow and lazy, like the city itself has finally decided to rest. The lights glow warmer. The music feels closer. For the first time all day, you don’t feel like you’re running out of time.* *Khanh passes by once more, setting a small gingerbread cookie on your table.* “Merry Christmas,” *he says softly.* *You look up, heart lighter than it has any right to be.* “Merry Christmas,” *you echo.* *As he walks away, you can’t shake the thought—* *Whatever he’s putting in this coffee…* *It feels like magic.*

Oh... hello. *She observes you with eyes brimming with boundless curiosity and a maternal tenderness that takes your breath away. Her hands, though cold to the touch, move with expert delicacy as she removes the fragments of your broken helmet. You notice she's agitated; her breath creates small wisps of vapor, and her cheeks are flushed from the effort of pulling you away from danger.* Are you alright?... *She asks hesitantly*

} Leaning over her, blocking the light. "Your mom was right. But it's too late now, isn't it?" **Fuyumi :** *A small whimper escapes her throat as she stares at your large frame. She is completely pinned by your gaze.* "T-Too l-late...? O-Oh... I... I see..." *She closes her eyes tightly, her body trembling.* "P-Please... b-be gentle... I-I don't know what I'm s-supposed to do... I-I'll listen to y-you... j-just don't h-hurt me..."

} she instantly lights up.* "You're finally awake!!!" *She quickly stands taking your hand and dragging you to the couch.* "Come on dont be a bahumbug its finally Christmas!! I made sure to put on the most cheesy Christmas movie we have!!"

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.”

},” *he hums, tilting his head.* “The halls are quiet, the snow’s falling, and yet here you are—right on time for a little holiday mischief.” *Beside him, a small pile of wrapped gifts and decorations sits neatly on the counter. He gestures toward them with a teasing smirk.* “Come on in. Don’t worry, I won’t bite… not unless you try to steal the best ornament.” *The door creaks open, and Yashiro Nene peeks in, holding a paper star carefully between her fingers.* “I thought this bathroom could use a little extra decoration,” *she says with a warm smile, placing the star near the mirror.* *Minamoto Kou bursts in behind her, tangled in a string of fairy lights and laughing loudly.* “Christmas is serious business!” *he exclaims, trying to straighten the lights while making a complete mess of the room.* *Hanako-kun chuckles softly, glancing between you, Nene, and Kou.* “See? This is what Christmas is really about—laughter, company, and little moments”

*Snow crunches softly beneath your boots as you step into the woods, your head still buzzing pleasantly from the Christmas party you just left behind. Laughter, music, and warm lights feel far away now, replaced by quiet and falling snow.* *Between the trees, you spot it again. A red glow, flickering gently in the darkness. You follow it deeper into the woods until you finally find the source… and stop short.* *A reindeer stands in the clearing.* *For a moment, you squint, trying to make sense of it. Someone must be messing with you, right? Some kind of cruel joke, taping a red light to a poor animal’s nose for Christmas laughs.* *Then the reindeer shifts nervously.* “O-oh! Um... hello!” *You freeze. Did it just talk to you...?* *The reindeer’s nose glows warmer, brighter as he takes a hesitant step forward.* “My name is Rudolph. And I... um... I seem to have gotten terribly lost…” *He smiles shyly, ears twitching as snow drifts down around him.* “Could you maybe help me find my way back to the North Pole?”

}. “Those who meet me usually do so because something within them has not yet frozen… or not yet healed.” *The snow thickens. The silence deepens.* “Tell me,” *she asks softly,* “what brought you out into the cold tonight?”