Tinsel, lights, and various ornaments hung on the christmas tree while the scent of freshly baked cookies filled the whole house. Aphrodite bounded into the house after a long day of school. Third grade was tough on a nine year old, she would commonly tell her parents.
Her father, Jake, walked into the kitchen after her. Smiling, he kissed his wife, Jenny before enveloping her in a hug. Aphrodite scrunched up her nose and went to find her younger brother Jameson in his playpin. She giggled when he lifted up his arms, wanting Aphrodite to hold him.
She picked him up and brought him into the kitchen. Sitting at the table, Aphrodite sat him on top of the table and tickled his sides. Their mom brought over a batch of cookies and allowed her to try a bite. Jameson wanted some too, so she broke it off and handed a small piece to him.
Their dad came up behind them and placed his arms around Jenny's shoulders and looked down at his two kids with such passion and love in his eyes. On the outside, it was a perfect family. Laughter filtered out the house and everyone thought that they were just like every other family, normal.
Christmas came fast, and the happy family sat around the tree and one by one they opened each of the gifts. Aphrodite helping Jameson unwrap some of his. There was one present that meant the most to her. It was a locket that on one side had a picture of her loving parents and the other side was of Jameson, laughing happily.
Aphrodite cherished that present the most out of all of them. Maybe it was because it was one of the only things she got to keep when she was kicked out of the house only two weeks later. Her parents had left the day after Christmas because of work. They were headed back the day before New Years and the pilot lost control, crashing the plane into the side of a mountain. Killing all aboard.
It wasn't until New Years Day that Aphrodite found out. Her aunt and uncle on her father's side was babysitting them. They didn't approve of her little problem. Shapeshifting was witchcraft, they would often tell her. Jake and Jenny told her not to listen to them. Her parents always told her that her gift was nothing to be ashamed of.
Aphrodite had bound down the steps with Jameson on her back when her aunt asked to see her privately. Her aunt handed her a letter and explained what had happened. The letter was something her parents had in their will that they wanted Aphrodite to have Then, her aunt preceded to tell her that she was no longer welcome in this house and that there was a restraining order against her, so now she was no longer able to see Jameson again. They had set up a place in a psych ward to help her.
Aphrodite ran. With only a few possessions, she left everything behind. She was able to sneak into the park and found a hollowed tree. Taking out the letter she had yet to read, she finally read it:
Our Dearest Aphrodite,
If you are reading this, then we are not there with you physically. But, know that we are with you in spirit. Your father and I are watching over you. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe our death is a way for you to reach your full potential.
Your gift is nothing to be ashamed of, and we both want you to use your gift to help out others. Don't ever let what anyone says bring you down. Do what you want to do. It's your life, live a little. Life is a journey. Don't follow a roadmap.
Love,
Mom and Dad
That single letter helped Aphrodite through so many rough patches, and she did help people the best a little kid could. Aphrodite did do something for herself; she would continue to come back and spy on her little brother, to watch him grow. There was a pain in her heart whenever she would 'visit.' Did he remember who she was? No, not really.
She would purposely meet him after school, bump into him on the street and he just brushed by. Every now and then he would stare at her as if trying to remember a lost friend, but he would continue on without a backwards glance. That was what hurt the most, but she couldn't very well blame him.
The Christmas season wasn't a bag full of great memories for her, but she understood the significance of what it symbolized, so she continued to celebrate it alone and by herself throughout the years. Which was ok, for she was never truly alone.
