My Cardboard Balcony

No Refunds by Belinda Roddie I wasn't sure if I had added enough ribbons and bows to your present - all the reds and golds and silvers flashed like my life before my very eyes. When you opened your gift, you found it "charming," "practical," and yet the gaping gash in my chest begged to differ; call it cliché and Wham!-esque, but I figured that giving you my heart for Christmas wasn't exactly the same as offering you a functional pump.

A Merry Christmas to you all. I hope you all are happy and healthy. I hope that the company you keep is the kind that loves you for who you are, regardless of whether or not they're linked to you by blood. I hope you see light in the continually swarming darkness. There's not much heat left in this metaphorical winter, but perhaps sitting by the hearth and sipping hot chocolate with the people you trust and adore will at least give us some temporary peace.