Mioko laughed. “Your moms saved my life. I don’t know where I’d be if they hadn’t found me that day.”
I looked up from the pinecone I was placing. “What day?”
She met my eyes, her expression serious. “When I was sixteen, I ran away from the cult, my family, and everything I’d ever known. I ended up in Maple Crossing not because I chose it, but because that’s as far from home as my bus fare would take me. I was considering sleeping on a park bench for the third night in a row, when I saw a ‘Help Wanted’ sign in the candy shop’s window, and the rest is history. They offered me a job and a place to stay, no questions asked.”
The casual way she said it—like it was normal for a sixteen-year-old to be homeless and desperate—made my heart ache. “I didn’t know that.”
“You were away at college. I was a weird girl in a homemade dress working the cash register.” She was making light of it all, but thesadness in her eyes made me want to hug her, to protect her from all the bad things.
“Sixteen,” I repeated, the implications sinking in. “That’s young to be on your own.”
She nodded, fingers working the ribbon, though her eyes were distant. “Edie and Maggie told everyone I was eighteen so no one would ask questions and discover I was a runaway. I was scared the town elders would find me and drag me back. They helped me get my GED, helped me start over.”
“Jesus, Mioko. I’m sorry.” I felt a wave of shame for how dismissive I’d been of her over the years. “I had no idea.”
“You already apologized.” She shrugged. “And at least you didn’t try to marry me off to a forty-year-old church elder when I turned sixteen.”
My hands froze over the box I was folding, my stomach turning at the image she was casually painting. “Is that why you ran away?”
Mioko nodded, her smile tight. “My parents said I was called by their scriptures to be his bride. When I refused, they locked me in the prayer room for three days with only water. Said I could come out when I was ready to be ‘obedient to God’s will.’”
“Fuck,” I whispered, the urge to take away all of her trauma growing stronger. “What did you do?”
“I climbed out a window on the third night and ran. Didn’t take anything but the clothes I was wearing and the thirty-eight dollars I’d saved from selling eggs at the farmer’s market. Bought a bus ticket to Maple Crossing.”
“Have you... have you ever gone back? Or talked to them?”
Her laugh was hollow, nothing like the warm sound from earlier. “Fuck, no. The compound was pretty isolated. No internet, no regular contact with the outside world. It’s too big of a risk to go back there inperson.” She sighed. “The funny thing is, my parents weren’t stupid or uneducated. They grew up in a wealthy suburb in California. They met the church leaders while they were both at Cornell.”
“Have you reached out to their families?”
“Nah, I haven’t been able to find anyone who was still alive. And what would I say, anyway?” Her voice cracked a little, but her hands stayed steady and sure. This woman, with her nimble fingers and messy braid, had survived something unimaginable. She had built a life from nothing but her determination and the kindness of my family.
“How are you so... normal?” The question came out before I could stop it, and I winced. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. You seem so well-adjusted. Happy, even.”
Mioko smiled, and this time it reached her eyes, crinkling the corners. “Loads of therapy? I’m a lot of things, but I’m pretty sure ‘normal’ isn’t one of them. As for happy... I choose to be. When I was younger, I found hope in small places, and came to believe I could find a new family. I collect good people, like Edie, Maggie, and Lori.” She elbowed me. “Maybe even you, Luke.”
We worked in silence for a few minutes, the rhythm of our hands creating a soothing pattern. Fold, tuck, place. Tie, loop, pull. The scent of cinnamon and maple wrapped around us like a blanket, and I found myself relaxing, the tension from the encounters with Eli melting away.
“Look at me. All day working at Tapped Amber, and not a single fight with either of my moms.”
Mioko laughed, the sound bright and clear in the warm candy kitchen. “I like you, Luke Merrick. When you’re not being a corporate robot or calling me ‘cult girl,’ that is.”
“I like you too,” I said. In just a few days, Mioko had slipped past my defenses, making me laugh and think and feel in ways I hadn’t expected.
She finished another bow, then glanced at me with a mischievous expression. “So, what are you doing tonight?”
“Uh, relaxing at home?”
She shook her head. “Nope. You’re coming with me on a winter sleigh ride. Lori gave me the tickets she bought for her and Joe, and I have to use them with someone.”
“A sleigh ride?”
“Lori bought the tickets before she was put on bedrest. She’s very grumpy about not using them, so I volunteered. I figured, why not? When was the last time you did something fun?”
I couldn’t remember, which was answer enough. “Fair point.”
“Come on, Luke. One night of small-town Christmas magic won’t kill you.”
