Dear Reader,
These chapters were written to be a pause—a warm room after cold air, a moment where nothing terrible is waiting just beyond the page. Stories like this matter to me because they remind us that joy does not need to be loud to be real, and that kindness, when chosen deliberately, can be its own form of magic.
However you mark this season—or even if you don't at all—I hope you find warmth where you are. I hope there is comfort, and gentleness, and at least one moment that feels like being welcomed in without explanation or expectation.
May you be held lightly.
May you be given more than you brought.
And may the longest nights pass surrounded by quiet joy.
~Salome