She vanished just as the year ended.


The countdown that sounded all over the square had finished. The fireworks had been set off, lighting up the dark midnight sky. People were celebrating, families were kissing each other on the cheeks, kids were laughing happily, dogs were barking, all signifying the end to yet another year.


She felt it too. All the negative energy of 2024 leaving, like a leaf being blown away by the breeze. Every argument, every tear, every raised voice, left in 2024. No time to mourn them.


2025 was a year for happy memories, blissful moments, new beginnings.


Which is how she found herself in this situation.


She didn't even wait to celebrate with her parents, didn't care enough for that.


They barely cared, too, so it really didn't matter. Instead, she shot him a quick text, like they'd planned.


Where are you?


Right by the big Santa. There's mistletoe.


She let out a giggle at his reply, shaking her head, then looked up to find the huge Santa their city decorated every year.


He was, of course, not difficult to spot in the midst of all the excited people still celebrating, considering he was triple their size. So, she slid away from her parents, without them noticing, and made a beeline toward Santa, who had her gift waiting for her.


She pushed past couples hugging, past people talking animatedly, past children jumping around, holding all kinds of different balloons. Finally, she made it to Santa, the back of a familiar head of brown hair visible. She smiled as an idea formed in her brain, and she went up to him from behind, quietly. It would be hard to make much noise in this chaos, anyway.


She reached her hands forward and her palms found his eyes, covering them so he wouldn't be able to tell who it was.

His hand that was scrolling through his phone fell as he straightened up, and she could feel his eyes crinkling with a smile through her palms.


"There's literally no one with hands colder than yours."


Defeated, she removed her hands and he turned to face her, as her lips formed a pout.


"They're not that cold," she complained.

As if to prove her wrong, he took her hands in his, his own bigger ones engulfing hers, attempting to warm them up.


"I'm about to get hypothermia," he joked, looking down at their intertwined hands, then back up at her with a grin.


"Shut up." She smiled back, despite herself. "Happy birthday," she said, changing the subject.


Her first wish of the year was a happy birthday to the boy standing in front of her. Not a happy new year to her relatives, or her friends. This year, someone else mattered more.


"Thanks." He squeezed her hands, smiling softly at her. The light above them was illuminating his features so beautifully, she felt like he was an angel falling from the sky. Her cheeks heated up. "I wasn't joking about the mistletoe." He raised his eyes, pointing with them to a mistletoe that hung on the curved lamp, a red ribbon tied around it.


Was it possible for cheeks to get even hotter? Because she felt hers blazing.


"Oh," she breathed, forcefully removing her eyes from the plant, and looking back at him. His eyes were already on hers, soft and tender, as if waiting for her approval. Year of new beginnings.


With a breath to ease her nerves, she spoke. "Well, you know what they say."


His lips tugged into a smiled after registering her words, and he wasted no second. He let go of her hands, his own wrapping around her waist instead, pulling her close so their lips could easily connect.


Her first kiss with him, and the circumstances made it even more magical. Her first New Year's where she made the rules, the first birthday of his that she'd celebrate and in the city they met, almost ten years ago. How did she not see him sooner?


They pulled away shortly after, their cheeks flushed, either from the kiss, or from the cold. They couldn't know.

His open mouth pulled into a lopsided grin as he took in what had just happened, and she found herself doing the same.


"We should've been doing this ages ago," he remarked, reaching out to brush a stray strand of her hair from her face.

"We should've," she agreed, shivering at his slight touch.


She stared into his eyes for a second, his warm brown eyes, as if trying to absorb all of him. He stared back with the same intensity, trying to figure her out.


Her eyes widened slightly as she remembered what was residing in her purse, pulling her back to reality.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I almost forgot, I have something for you," she spoke as she rummaged through her purse to find what she was looking for.


"You got me something?" he asked, his eyes lighting up. "You didn't have to-"


"Shut up." She finally found the gift, badly wrapped in a piece of Christmas wrapping paper she'd found in her drawer. She handed it to him, not suppressing a wince. "Sorry. I'm not very good at crafts."


"Are you kidding?" he asked as he accepted it. "I've never received a better wrapped gift," he joked, which received a punch to the shoulder from her.


He unwrapped it just as messily as it had been wrapped, to reveal a pair of long, red Christmas socks, snowflakes adorning the top half, a reindeer's face taking over the bottom half. Tiny horns were attached just above the reindeer's face, giving the socks a 3D effect.


His jaw dropped, whether from genuine surprise, or from kindness, she didn't know. She appreciated it nonetheless.

"You're joking. They're perfect," he said, looking them over. She smiled shyly, pleased with the slight praise to her gift giving abilities. "Thank you," he continued, looking back at her.


"You're welcome," she replied in a small voice, making eye contact.


He closed the distance between them once again, though this time to pull her in a hug so tight she could barely breathe. But, the good kind of breathlessness. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him just as tight, under the mistletoe, under the street lamp, amidst all the happy people celebrating the coming of a new year.


And just like that, her New Year's was different. Different and better, in every way imaginable.