Cosy Christmas ✓

1 / winter's here

It made no sense to Connor Prentiss that Christmas was the biggest holiday in the world, the run-up beginning as soon as summer came to a close, and yet no-one seemed to be able to make any new music. No matter where he went, he heard an identical soundtrack, the same songs that had been popular since he was a child, and he was tired of them. The same couldn't be said of his sister, however: Cassandra had several Christmas playlists that she rotated as soon as bonfire night was out of the way, and she never seemed to tire of the incessant repetition.

Now, walking along the pathetic high street of the tiny village of Colden Valley, Connor couldn't escape the familiar lyrics that floated outside every time a door was opened and he hated that he knew every word of every song, drilled into his memory like a scar that wouldn't fade. Cursing his lack of earphones, he tried to ignore the music that had become like a winter chant, trudging down the salt-scattered pavement.

Silver lights flickered along the dark high street, the sky pitch black at half past five, and every window was decked out with the same kinds of decorations. Red and green baubles hung from long strings; reindeer decals danced across the glass; fake pine trees stood in every colour from realistic green to bright pink. What was Christmassy about a pink tree, Connor had no idea, and he didn't care enough to take issue with it. Instead, he ignored the displays that felt like an assault on his senses, and he dug his hands into the pockets of his coat.

It was cold. That was perhaps the understatement of the century. Connor couldn't remember the last time he had been so cold: the spiteful wind sliced through him like a sharpened blade, leaving a chill that shook him to his very core, and he tightened the thick scarf around his neck, pulling it up over his mouth. If only he had a hat. Unlike his sister, he didn't have thick hair to keep his head warm, and he hadn't anticipated that such a freeze would come as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon. It wasn't even six o'clock yet but it felt like the early hours of the morning, when dew turned to frost and the world seemed to sparkle.

With a sigh, he reached the corner shop at the end of the street and took a basket from the stack in front of him, resigning himself to yet another iteration of the same playlist as he went about his shop. The mini supermarket was expensive but it had the benefit of nearness, in that he could walk there from his house within fifteen minutes rather than having to get in the car and drive to the multitude of cheaper options in town. Farnleigh town centre was thirty minutes away, whereas Colden Valley Convenience was just at the end of the high street. Holding the basket in the crook of his arm, Connor rubbed his hands together and added gloves to his ever growing mental list.

Two months ago, Connor had gone from being perfectly content living alone, the same situation he had been in since graduating five years ago, to having his sister living under the same roof. He didn't have the full story yet, teasing it out of Cassandra little by little, but from what he was patient, and it was quite nice to have a little company.

Having her living with him had meant several adjustments, and one of those was food shopping. No longer was he only accountable for himself, but for her too, and Cass could eat like a horse. Virtually every time he talked to her, she was eating, but her love of running seemed to balance out her appetite. Connor, on the other hand, often found himself so engrossed in whatever he was doing at the time that he forgot to eat. The kitchen rarely contained more than the necessities, the cupboards consisting mostly of dried pasta and jars of sauces that he could throw together with a little meat for an easy supper. Not with Cass in the house, though. She had reeled off a long list for her brother, and he prided himself on remembering everything without writing it down.

As he walked down the far aisle, his phone buzzed in his pocket and he had to put the basket down to take it out, frozen fingers having no effect on the screen as he tried to swipe to answer for the first few attempts, his sister's face filling the screen. She had done that: Connor didn't even know how.