I hadn't set eyes on Eleanor in two days.

It wasn't a big deal, no, not at all. I mean, it wasn't like we made a pact to see each other everyday or something. And it wasn't like I desperately wanted to see her either.

Nope, I was totally fine with watching the snow drown the world around me, while I shivered from the icy weather in my unheated room while binging on nothing but cheesy foods and even cheesier romcoms.

Yes, I felt the cold now. My powers wore off after a day, kind of like how the curse of the werewolf reversed after the full moon. My moon was now blotched out by thick clouds and a massive snowstorm. The same ones that had the power lines down those last two days.

They were back up again though, and they acted as a reminder that I had to call my family.

Instead of directly calling my parents like I always did, I turned my attention to calling my little brother. I didn't have the capacity to make the phone call directly because of my depleting funds, so I decided to put the school's WiFi to use--other than the occasional Netflix binge fests where the screen and actors end up watching me sleep instead of my eyes rather being on them.

I pulled out my phone and went to my brother's Instagram page. It never failed to make me cringe and I was shuddering within seconds. The tongue-out, peace sign, one-eye-closed blurry selfies were more than an eyesore and I quickly tapped the message tab so as not to linger longer than I should. I sent him a text asking if he was free and he sent me an emoji in response. An emoji which wasn't even a face one. A tree.

What did that even mean?

I went ahead to call him and fortunately, he picked up, his face filling half the screen.

"Your head keeps getting bigger," was what I greeted him with. He looked a lot older than when I had seen him five months ago. I wanted to comment on the little moustache he was growing, but that would make him feel like it was noticeable. Which it wasn't, unless you squint hard enough.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "If that's what you called to tell me then I'm ending the call," he said in Twi.

"Wait, wait, that isn't the reason."

"Then? Hurry up and talk because I'll be going to Kofi's house any minute."

It was a little baffling to find out that he was going out by that time of day. Especially in this season where families spend time together. But of course, he'd rather go to Kofi's house and spend the money he had on playing with a ps4 instead of staying at home.

"Okay, I've heard." My hand went up to my hair, picking at the tangles and stretching them out as I leaned back. From the way I sat, it looked like I had a double chin so I lifted my head a bit higher and sucked in my cheeks.

"Ah, I don't have time for this o. You'll make Farida and Salim catch up to me and follow me when I leave," he complained.

I figured those were the cousins my mother mentioned were spending Christmas. Still, I took a deep breath, and popped the question which this entire call was based on.

"Joe, Dada ho ye?"

Instead of telling me about the state of my father's health like I asked him to do, my brother decided that the topic was irrelevant. And that complaining about cousins I had never met was more important.

"All they do is eat, eat and eat. Eat and complain about how East Legon is a better place than here," he rambled. I could hear the utter disgust in his voice as he recounted on instances where the 'extremely fat' one pretended that they hadn't already had a serving of food, and how the 'small , annoying' one followed him everywhere he went, like some lost puppy.

"Joe--" I started, meaning to direct him from the bash-the-cousins fest he was having. Well, he wouldn't have any of what I had to say.

"Wait, do you know that they normally go to La Palm every Christmas?" he asked. I didn't figure out how I would know that they spent their holidays at a resort--recounting the fact that I didn't even know what they looked like--but some way, somehow, Joe thought it would be something I would be interested in discussing.

"Hey, Joe--"

"And they said that they have been going to McDonald's all the time and that--"

"Joseph!" I screamed. "They haven't been going anywhere because there isn't even McDonald's in Ghana," I added, rolling my eyes. Come to think of it, those kids had probably been lying about everything to impress my brother. A feat of folly, just cooking up wahala for themselves to gain the favour of someone who indebted his life to you if you sacrificed your can of Fanta to him.

Yes, Joe was that pathetic. But at least that reduced by a fraction now that his mouth wasn't running again. For a while...

"Why are you screaming my name, ah?" he screamed back. "

"I asked you a question, what's with all this plenty talk?"

"He's fine," my brother grumbled. So he heard me the first time. And he had gone on to talk about all that stuff instead of answering. 

I had to bite down on my tongue in order not to call him a name for something he, no doubt, was. I cradled my head in my hand and asked, "He's not sick?"

"No."

That blew away a lot of the weight that stood on my shoulders. Hearing that there was nothing wrong with my father. My mother was probably being--

"Nanso asem aba o," Joe's voice had an edge to it, and I had to hold my breath and brace myself for bad news. He said there's a new development, a terrible one I presumed.

My dread wasn't misplaced.

"There was a big case," he started.

"I thought you said Da was fine."

"Let me finish!" His nostrils flared and he rolled his eyes. "Debt collectors came."

"Shit," I mumbled in English. I wasn't sure there was even a word for it in Twi. Everyone said it as it was.

"Yes. He got put in a cell for a while, but he's okay."

"Oh."

I didn't have any more words, and that made the rest of the conversation pretty one-sided. Joseph got tired of my stillness. I didn't realize he had disconnected the call until much later.

It was  an accident, like Joe said, she ran into the street. But it still didn't lessen the haunting nature of the matter. The poor girl's family must be heartbroken, especially since it happened at this time of the year.

The holidays were indeed cursed. Not just for me.

Heavy and sodden with thought, I decided to step out and clear my head.

It didn't work as well as I expected it to. I felt slushy, not in a good way. Maybe being alone contributed to the nagging thoughts so I decided to move towards the small crowd of people who were gathered in front of the study hall.

I was a few feet away when I noticed that a table was set up and people were handing out flyers and cards of some sort. A chubby lady waved me over and proceeded to hand me one. I was still in the process of receiving it when I heard someone call my name, making me turn abruptly. The flier fell.

"Alicia, hey!" Eleanor.

"Hi."

Eleanor was in a white dress which flowed down to the ground, blending in with the powdery snow. Her hands moved to tuck away strands of hair. The wind blew into her face before she looked up at me again, twinkling eyes appearing brighter with the wide smile that grew on her face.

I knew I was staring when her eyebrows lifted and her smile stretched even higher. I knew I was speechless when I couldn't even tell her how much I thought she looked like an angel in that dress, with that aura, with that face, that lopsided smile. The halo that hovered atop her head on the thin line of her headband didn't even need to be present for me to confront that fact. She had always been such an angel.

And I wanted to tell her, instead, all that came out was "Why are you dressed like that?"

My teeth bit onto the insides of my cheek as I mentally facepalmed at my fumble. Immediately, I busied myself with retrieving the flier from the ground. But she understood, as always.

"There's this Carols Service tonight at St. Anthony's. I'm performing."

"You're singing?" I flipped the paper over to find out that it was the same event Eleanor was talking about.

"God, no," she said, starting to laugh. "I wanted to, but the choirmaster cut me out as soon as I had sang the first lyric of 'O Holy Night.'"

"Which is?" I asked even though I obviously knew. I figured it would be funny to have her say it.

It was.

"Oh, 'O'"

I held back a snort. "So you're..."

"I'm talking. Two lines."

"I see."

"Sorry for not keeping in touch since the other night. I was a little caught up with rehearsals..." she trailed off. "And I just realized I don't have your phone number."

"Sorry for not keeping in touch since the other night. I was a little caught up with rehearsals..." she trailed off. "And I just realized I don't have your phone number."

I hadn't realized that until she mentioned it. I didn't have any communication with her outside of physically meeting. "I don't have yours either."

"Can you come to the show? I'll give it to you after; I still have to finish up some stuff."

I nodded and we flashed smiles, before her name was mentioned and she ran towards the call.

I hadn't stepped in a church since I came to Washington. Well, I had... once, or twice.

The way services were held here were very different from back home. Less of the noise. Less of the extensive preaching. Less of the loud speaking of tongues and deliverances. The best part of all these, was the fact that the church service didn't last for over three hours.

But it was all so different from all that I knew that I stopped going altogether. People here weren't as warm or welcoming and I constantly felt alone even when I was in the midst of hundreds.

I found comfort in doing church online, through the livestreams held on the church's social media accounts.

There was calm and mellow singing when I walked through the doors of St. Anthony's. A balding man handed me a printout of the programme as I entered. He smiled. I smiled. We told each other 'Merry Christmas' and then I was finding a seat in one of the middle pews.

Dim yellow glows highlighted the stage while a string of colourful fairy lights trailed around the interior of the church. A manger was set up in the front and Christmas trees were placed in each corner. The church had a homey air about it as the organist placed a slower melody to Carol of the Bells.

More than half of the pews were filled when the programme started. There was prayer, gospel readings, hymns and carols. A reenactment.

Then I saw her. The angel.

Her voice was bold and clear as she told Mary she was going to carry the unborn Christ. The visitation, the same thing she had given me the day she kicked my door in and announced that it was all part of God's plan. I was Mary then, she was still the ethereal being she was now.

Eleanor's eyes met mine as she was walking off the stage. She made a sign I interpreted as 'stay for me.'

I did exactly that.

After the show, I sat still and waited as the church emptied. I shook a couple of people. More 'Merry Christmas' greetings. Another visitation.

Eleanor came up to me and we walked out of the near-empty church side by side. She told me her family couldn't make it and was glad that I showed up.

"It's no problem," I responded. "Your two lines were great."

She held my hand and squeezed it fondly.

The distance from the church to the college wasn't far, but with the snow that had piled up outside, we were bound to take a long longer to get home.

"Aren't your feet cold?" I asked Eleanor as we trudged forward in snow that went up past mid-calf length.

Everyone on the stage had on sandals or slippers, and since most of them hadn't changed back into their regular clothes, they probably still had those on.

Eleanor lifted her dress high enough to let me see what she wore underneath. Calf-length boots.

"Seriously?" I couldn't hold back the laugh that bubbled up my throat. All I could picture now was her back up on the stage, being a heavenly being with an angelic aura and a keen sense of fashion under her plain white dress.

"Seriously." She took a curtsy. We walked in silence, but Eleanor spoke up after we crossed the road and got to the sidewalk on the other side. "Do you have your phone?"

I assumed it was to call one of the twins to come pick us up but she reminded me of the promise to exchange contact numbers.

"It's dead," I sighed. "You have yours?"

"It's with Jacob." She held onto her dress as we stepped over a ledge and turned a corner.

"I don't think the universe wants us to call each other."

"Probably because the universe prefers us being together in real time." Eleanor stopped in her tracks and looked up at the sky, clasping her hands in a praying gesture. "Thank you, universe," she whispered.

I mimicked her and also whispered a silent thanks.

We were almost at the main gate of the college when Eleanor put another petition in front of me.

"Tomorrow is Christmas eve, we have this tradition of driving around rich neighbourhoods and ogling at their expensive Christmas lights." She cocked her head to the side. "You down?"

"If we can judge the ugly ones among them I'm down."

"You know what, that's exactly what we do every single time." Her Cheshire Cat smile told me otherwise, but it was entertaining to see her pretend that I started smiling too.

~~
This update came much much later than expected because the season caught up to me.

I hope you liked it!

Don't forget to vote☆