Christmas Mouse by Rachel Spangler

Author:Rachel Spangler [Spangler, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brisk Press
Published: 2022-10-15T21:00:00+00:00

“Outside?” Bex asked, not sure she’d heard Ava correctly.

“It’s tradition,” Ava declared as she held out her coat.

“I don’t know this one, but I trust you.” She slipped into the jacket and glanced back at the tree they’d just placed a golden star atop. “It’s very pretty from in here.”

Ava followed her line of sight. “I honestly believe it’s the best tree I’ve had in years.”

“You’re not saying that to be polite to the city mouse?”

“Not at all. I love everything about this one. The height, the shape, the way it holds up when decorated, the way it filters light. When I do it by myself I get in a little bit of a rut, putting things in the same places each year. You brought a new eye, and I like it.”

Bex nodded, more than a little satisfied with the explanation. She’d enjoyed taking turns hanging various family keepsakes from the boughs and watching their styles blend. “Good, now explain to me one more time why placing the star on top means we need to go out into the cold, dark night?”

“Okay, I guess it did come out in a bit of an excited rush the first time,” Ava admitted, then began talking just as fast again. “Stars are made for wishing, and Christmas stars are even more powerful because it’s such a hopeful time. So, when we put the star on top it’s only fitting to send some of our own hopes and dreams out into the world, but that star on the tree isn’t a real star—it’s a representation of all the things we celebrate.”

Bex nodded along. “Which means this star reminds us of the real deal, which is outside?”

“You got it.” Ava held open the front door, and Bex’s stocking cap. “You’re going to need this.”

“No kidding.” The cold hit her even before she stepped across the threshold. Her breath clouded and hung in the air, and she grew momentarily hypnotized by watching it waft away in the moonlight, but as her gaze followed it skyward, she saw so much more.

“Wow,” she whispered softly as the night spread dramatically overhead.

“Worth the trip outside?” Ava stepped up to the railing so close their shoulders brushed together.

“Understatement. I’ve never seen this many stars in my life.” The sky seemed infinite, and she didn’t know how someplace so dark could also be so bright. A million pinpricks of light shone small and far away, and yet like some impressionist rendering, they whirled together to create something so expansive she couldn’t comprehend its fullness. “It’s like there’s a cloudy haze of pure iridescence.”

“The Milky Way.”

“Seriously?” Bex finally tore her eyes off the heavens to meet Ava’s.

She nodded. “Have you never seen it before?”

“No. Is it a thing people see all the time?”

“In remote places without light pollution.”

“Light pollution.” She repeated the strange phrase, tasting its foreign combination. She’d always thought of light as a good thing, not waste, and certainly not a hindrance, but then again, she’d never seen light quite like this before.

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