“Why did you leave?”
“I’m sorry my mess found its way into your life, Sebastian. I understand if you can’t forgive me,” she stops talking when he takes another step.
“Langdon is a sick man. We will pray that he finds the help he needs, but none of that is your fault, and you know it.” He stares hard at her intending to leave her standing there, but she stops him with her next words.
“I didn’t use it,” she glances away from him and touches the warm iron. “I thought about it.” She steps from the heat of the light and into the cold. “Asking it to make you love me. You can’t imagine how desperately I want too, but this is bigger than a wish.”
“It is?” Hope flutters in his chest.
“Sebastian, what I feel for you and Tinley is better than a wish, because it’s alive and real. When I play my music, I feel it all. Love, hate, passion, but all of that pales in comparison to how I feel when I’m with you, and it terrifies me.”
“You need to ask yourself if your music fills the void in your heart, Aiylin or is there enough space for us?” Sebastian pulls her slowly towards him and kisses her, not giving her a chance to answer.
“Don’t hide behind it, keeping the world at bay. I need you, Aiylin. The world is a messy place. It can hurt you. It can shame you and tear you down.” He traces his fingers over her face. “But it can also, cherish you, lift you up, protect and honor you, if you let it.”
“Sebastian how can you be sure? We’ve only known each other for a short time.”
“My heart knew when I looked out in the pouring snow and saw you running towards me, Aiylin,” he smiles and touches her face.
“Your heart knew what?”
“That my wait was over, Aiylin. Is yours?”
“Yes,” Sebastian lifts her up in his arms and kisses her again. They smile and burst out laughing when cheers erupt from the house. Aiylin hides in Sebastian’s neck as he carries her to the house. They stop and stare when the lantern flickers.
Elizabeth grins at her granddaughter, “Who knew that a promise, a blizzard, and a secret wish for a new mother would bring Christmas magic.
“I did, Oma,” Tinley spins and stops to smile at them, “but I didn’t wish for a new mommy.”
“What did you wish for?” Charles asks.
“A sister,” she giggles at the look of shock on their faces. “Oma says that wishes take time to come true. I’m still waiting.”
They are all laughing hard when Sebastian walks inside, holding Aiylin’s hand.
“What’s so funny?” he asks after introductions are made.
“Nothing,” Elizabeth says, wiping her eyes.
Epilogue
Tinley holds Laney’s hand and helps her climb into the window seat. “Now, will you tell me the story?”
“I don’t know if I can remember it Laney,” she teases. “It’s been four years since we’ve been here for Christmas.”
“You remember,” Tinley frowns and puffs, blowing a golden curl from her turquoise eyes. “No one knows…”
Tinley laughs, “No one knows where the lantern came from, nor do they understand the source of its power.”
Laney nods and listens with rapt attention.
“Some say it’s the Magic of Christmas that gives it light, others say if you make a wish under the lantern, your most secret wishes will come true,” Tinley glances out of the window thinking of her grandmother’s story.
Sebastian and Aiylin stop outside the door and listen as Tinley tells the story of her Christmas wish.
“Once, when I was a little older than you, I snuck out.”
Laney gasps, “No!”
“I know it was naughty, but Papa was so lonely. I had a secret wish in my heart, Laney and I didn’t know what to do to make it come true.”
“What happened?” Laney asks softly.
“It was the clearest night, and the brightest stars were shining in the winter sky. I was sleeping in this very room,” she points to the bed and holds her sister’s hand. “The lantern sent a beam of light into this room, painting it in a golden glow. It woke me and that’s when I heard it.”
Aiylin looks to Sebastian in surprise and they both step closer to listen.
“Make a wish,” it said.
“Were you scared?” Laney asks.
“No. Oma had told me the magic was special. It helped her when she was little. I dressed in my boots, coat, and gloves, not forgetting my scarf, for the wind was up, and I didn’t want to be sick at Christmas.”
“Was the lantern glowing?” Laney asks.
“Yes, a brilliant glow that seemed to light the path from the front door to the lantern.”
Laney glances out the window and back. “You were very brave, Tinley,” she whispers.
“Sometimes, we must be brave, Laney.”
Sebastian wipes his eyes. They lost Elizabeth this past spring and the wound is still fresh in his heart. Hearing his oldest child now, he sends a prayer of thanks to heaven.
“I made my way to the lantern and stood beneath it, closing my eyes tightly. I made my wish, and the lantern flickered!”
“It did!”
Tinley nods, “That very next morning, Mama found us!”
“I can’t wait to make my wish!” Laney yawns and glances out of the window.
“You were the best wish I could’ve ever made,” Tinley grins.
Laney leaps at her and throws her arms around her shoulders. “If I’m not brave enough, Tinley, will you go with me?”
“Of course,” she pats her.
“Is that a promise?” Laney asks.
“Yes, I will give you a promise for Christmas, Laney. I promise to love and protect you today, tomorrow and always.”
Aiylin doesn’t try to wipe her tears she turns into
