I sighed long enough for him to notice, and I ignored their teasing. “Huh… it’s still sad, tho, knowing Santa’s not real,” I muttered because it was sad! The day I found out four years ago, it felt like one of the cruellest lies ever.
“I can be your Santa if you like,” Zioh’s gentle voice greeted my ears. His hand was still on my cheek, drawing me back to him.
He locked eyes with me, “I want to beyourSanta,” he said, this time in a whisper, leaning closer.
Raising an eyebrow, I stared back into his deep eyes. “Really?”
“Really.”
I studied him for a long moment before murmuring, “Hmm… so if I’m good all year, I’ll get a present?”
He shifted closer, adjusting himself so we were properly face-to-face, his hand closing around mine. “Well, that’s the difference,” he said, his smile lingering. “The world’s Santa only gives presents if you’ve been good. But my version… doesn’t need a reason to give you a present.”
“Why?”
“Because you’represent-able.”
Huh?
He held my gaze as he leaned in, his whisper brushing my ear. “And this Santa…” He pointed to himself, then to me. “Only yours.Only for you.”
“Only for me?”
He gave me a firm nod. “Only for you.”
A wide and unstoppable smile broke across my face. My heart pounded, and warmth bloomed inside me like sunlight.
I melted under his gaze, and we shared smiles. My heart brimmed until a scoffing sound broke the moment.
I turned to find Zeraiah rolling his eyes, muttering something under his breath, while Tsabinu only smiled at us.
Zioh’s hand tightened around mine, drawing my attention back. “So… for the next Christmas present,” he said, “what do you want, Sophie?”
Smiling so wide, I tapped my finger against my bottom lip as I thought. There was something I’d wanted for years now, though part of me hesitated to say it aloud. I looked at him, needing to be sure. “Anything?”
“Anything,” he nodded. “Whatever you want most.”
I grinned, my heart beating faster. “I wanna see snow! I wanna touch snow!” I burst out with excitement. “I’ve never seen it before, and I want to feel what it’s like, build a snowman with it—that’s my dream! And I want to enjoy it… with you. Us. Together.”
Every Christmas film with snow made me long for it even more. I imagined sipping hot chocolate in the cold, where it would taste a thousand times better. I remembered the photos of Zioh and Zeraiah smiling as they skated or skied on snowy hills, and I wanted that so badly.
Zioh’s smile softened, and he gave me a firm nod. “Alright then. I’ll take you there, and you can do whatever you like with the snow, for as long as you want.”
A gentle heat spread from my toes, creeping through my entire body. My smile grew so wide it almost hurt, and my stomach fluttered with butterflies. Zioh was a hero. I didn’t know how, but his words were spells that would one day come true.
I remembered how I had once told him how much I’d wanted to know what it felt like to walk through a park with autumn leaves falling over my head, but Indonesia didn’t have an autumn, so it had always felt impossible. But Zioh had shaken his head and said something like, “It’s not impossible at all, Sophie.” I had laughed, thinking he was just trying to make me feel better.
Until that Sunday.
I’d run to his house to find him after church. And the moment I stepped into the park beside his house, something dry and light suddenly dropped onto my head.
Dry leaves were raining down on me.
I froze for a second before bursting into laughter. They were sooo preeeettyy. Bright red, shaped like little starfish, long golden-brown streaks, and dark, crunchy leaves crackled under my shoes. I had never seen leaves like those in my life! I jumped around, spinning, trying to catch them midair. And when I looked up, there he was.
Zioh had been standing on the balcony, smiling so wide while tossing handfuls of leaves over my head. Our laughter filled the air until Zeraiah came out wearing a scrunched-up face in confusion. He looked up at Zioh and said, “So this is why you were collecting dry leaves in London last month, like a desperate bird building a nest? For this?”
Zioh was a hero full of magic.
