Title: Home for Christmas
Author: Tanya Miller
Email: roguemarie@usa.netRating: PG
Summary: AU of my Gemini series. Sarah searches for her sister.
Disclaimer: Not mine. No way, no how. If it was then I would be making money on this stuff and not just giving it away! *smile*Author's Notes: Those of you that have read my Gemini Series, you will recognize Sarah. This is an AU of Sarah's search. I doubt that I will be doing the whole series as an AU. This is just something that came to me while trying to work on Silent Scream. I had most of this written as a part for Silent Scream when I decided that, although I liked it, it didn't work for that story. So I made in an AU and finished it up. Let me know what you think.
A solitary figure, walking along the road, scuffs the snow off her cold feet with each tired step. She had been walking all day now, looking for some sign that she was going the right way, that soon she would find her sister. It was Christmas eve and everyone she passed was too busy with last minute shopping to notice a tiny girl, lost and alone.
Sarah shivered when an icy breeze blew right through her cloak. It was going to be a cold night, that's what people had been saying all day as the light snow turned to frost in the chilling dark air. The girl passed a frosty golden window with colored lights from a Christmas tree illuminating the otherwise dark blue night. She thought about what it must be like to sit by a warm fire on a night like this. The smell of roast turkey made her stomach pang for something to eat. She hadn't eaten in a few days now and she almost forgot what it was like. As she passed each house her steps became heavier and heavier.
Sleep, she thought, might help her so she could continue her search tomorrow. Yes, sleep, she could dream of a beautiful Christmas in front of a warm fireplace and her sister, Marie. She walked through an iron gate in a stone wall that blocked the icy wind. She laid down her tired body, folding her frostbitten hands together. Her eyes began to slowly close. Thoughts of Christmas morning with Marie laughing, shiny wrapping paper, popcorn strings, a crackling fire and a warm soft bed drifted through her weary mind. She closed her eyes and went into a deep sleep. As she lay in the snow a light shone through the curtain of snow that fell silently.
Sarah dreamed of the things that she had seen that day. The twinking lights on the trees, the smell of baking, the jangling of bells on the sleigh that had passed her in a park. She heard the sound of the bells getting closer. Sarah's eyes drifted open. She looked up and saw the most beautiful sleigh before her led by two grey horses. At the reins was a man who looked half wild. His hair stuck up in points on his head. Sarah thought sure that she must have been still dreaming because they almost looked like ears. In the back of the sleigh, in pile of hay, were a group of teenagers. Sarah squinted her eyes as she looked at them. Marie! One of them was Marie! The big man got down and came over to her.
"You ok, Kid? What are ya doin' in the snow?"
Unable to speek, Sarah gave in to sleep once more. She felt herself being lifted and placed in the hay with the others, blankets being tucked around her. She was rocked gently as the sleigh made its way back up the lane. When she opened her eyes again, she was being carried into a huge house and there, in the center of the entrance, was the biggest tree that Sarah had ever seen. Through a doorway, she spotted a crackling fire. Her journey was done. She had found Marie. What a grand Christmas it was, indeed!
The End