A Winter's Tale

December 24, 2021.
Dear Diary,

My name is Gianna Brooks. I am thirteen years old, 5ft.6inches with dark brown hair, dark blue eyes and dark skin.
I'm also the eldest of three children, we're two girls and a boy. A year ago, I attended the community high school, my family was the average kind, we didn't have much but we had each other. My mum was a nurse in the community hospital, and my Dad was a railway worker.
However, on this day a year ago, something changed my family's life forever, and made me see Christmas in a totally different way.
I title that experience "A Winter's tale"..Here it goes.

1 year ago (December 12, 2020)

I dropped my book on my nightstand, reluctant to remove my hand which was now admiring the texture. It was one of my favorite books because it had a padded cover. It was titled "Christmas magic", daddy bought it for me when I was ten. I love reading this book every winter because it just felt right.
It somehow ignited the Christmas spirit.
I smelt the aroma of tomato soup, and I assumed we're going to have pasta tonight. Turning off my lamp, I head downstairs, halfwalking and half running because I am really famished.
I look into the kitchen and see my mum turning the soup. I suddenly felt admiration for my mother because despite her tight schedule, she still had time for us. She looked exactly like me. She had dark brown hair, blue eyes and light brown skin.
"Mom I'm so famished. Can I just have a taste?" I said with puppy eyes hoping she would agree.
"Oh baby, why don't you just set up the table. Just give me five minutes." She said chuckling.
I grabbed the plates, cups and forks from the cupboard to set up the table. After I finished, the food was ready.
My mum served it into large dishes and brought it to the table.
"When is Daddy going to get home?." I asked opening one of the dishes to inhale the aroma fully.
"Well I don't know, but I hope he comes back soon". She said with furrowed brows.
"Why don't you get your siblings?" She said, quickly changing her confused look to a small grin.

"Joseph! Sandy!! Come down, it's time for dinner." I said with a loud voice.
"Okay". They chorused.
Joseph is the second child and Sandy is the youngest. Joseph is ten and Sandy is just six. They are both sweet children. Joseph is a carbon copy of my Dad, while Sandy resembles my mum.
I see them coming down the stairs, and I can't help but "awnnn" at Sandy as she had her brown hair in a cute messy bun. Her blue eyes brightened as she sighted me adoring her. She smiled with her incomplete but very white set of teeth.
We all sat down at the table, and just then there was a knock at the door. My Dad entered, hanging his coat on the stand. He went to the kitchen to wash his hands, before coming to sit with us at the table.
"I'm so sorry, you know Christmas is approaching. Everyone is travelling, the station is packed". He said with a small grin.
"Okay, it took you long enough. Why don't we eat". My mum said massaging his palm.
The dinner went by quietly with everyone bringing up little chats, sharing hearty laughs and clanking of plates.
At exactly 9:40pm, while everyone was still eating, something unexpected happened which made me and my family's lives miserable for a long time.
Sandy fell off her chair shaking uncontrollably. Everyone rushed to her side trying to still her shaking frame. My mum knelt by her side checking for a pulse, while my dad called the community hospital hotline.
Ten minutes later, an ambulance parked outside our house. They put Sandy on a stretcher and placed her at the back of the ambulance, with my father and mother with her.
Joseph and I stood frozen at our doorstep, staring at the ambulance until it vanished out of sight.
Joseph soon started crying, I couldn't console him because silent sobs also came from me. I just walked him up to his room, stroking his face gently and whispering that Sandy would be okay until he finally fell asleep.
I went back downstairs and cleaned up the table. When I was done, I sat down in the living room, gazing at the ticking clock before falling asleep.

December 13, 2020.
5:30am.
I woke up to the sound of the flapping curtains. I had forgotten to close the windows, I was technically freezing. I strode over to the window, peeking at the falling snow, cold tears falling from my cheeks.
Suddenly, the door burst open, letting in a wind of snow. My mum entered, falling to the floor sobbing loudly. I rushed over to her, crouching to my knees.
"Mum, what happened? Where is Dad and Sandy?".
"Your father is at the hospital with her". Mummy said wiping the tears from her eyes before sitting up and trying to take deep breaths to calm down.
"What happened to her?" I asked perplexed.
"Baby, she is going to be fine. The doctors said she was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, that is blood cancer. But I promise she's going to be fine". My mum held back her tears.