Chapter 3

    She was close.

 She could feel it in her bones. It was finally time to unmask the man she had been looking for. It took her three years to get to this point. 

Year glanced over to her violin case and then back to her notebook. She opened to the part where she had written about him. 

Secret santa: the title reads. She didn't know who it was but it was finally time to meet the person who has been gifting her Christmas for the past four years. 

Fourteen years old Year stood up and walked over to the board that she used to track her progress on finding her secret santa. 

She had been going block after block, apartment after apartment, house after house searching for a man that would fit the description for the last three years.

 Her town might not have been that big, but looking for a single man was like looking for a needel in a haysack. But she kept looking. And after three years she had two more houses left, assuming that the person does live in town. She ran out quickly and went to the first house but found no one that fit her secret santa. Now Year was sure that the next house was the house.

As she was making her way to the last house, she felt nervous. She slowed down to stop her head from spinning. What if she didn't find him? And even if she did, what proof could she present to show him that she was the girl he gifted. 

Soon, she realized that she had an evidence. The violin. She had to go back home to get it.  This way her secret santa can know who she was as soon as he saw her. 

She felt confident in her plan. Excited, she ran home. This was it, she thought as she made her way to her front door. 

The joy she felt as she pictured meeting him filled her heart. She just couldn't wait until she could get to her violin. She jumped the staris with joy and opened the front door. When she walked in, her gaze immediately landed on her parents who were sitting on the couch infront of the TV that wasn't turned on. 

Then her eyes moved to see the suitcase that stood next to her sitted parents.

  "Year, sit." Her mother said in a cold tone.

Year gasped for air because she had been running but the tone in her mother's voice send a chill rolling down her spine.

 It was obvious that she was going to get punished for something she did. She just couldn't remember what it was. Slowly Year sat wondering to herself 'what did i do this time?'

  "Do you remember Maria who used to live across the street from us?" Her mother asked.

Year thought deep for a while and remembered. 

Maria was a sweet old lady who was very close with her family and had moved away to Newyork almost eight years ago. Year might have been six when she last saw her but she remembered her.

 "Oh, yes. Aunt Maria." Year replied. Her parents looked at eachother and then back at Year. Now Year started to worry. 

  "Did something happened to aunt Maria?" She asked. She was really fond of Maria because she was one of the few people in this town that actually cared for her. 

  "No" her mother said "you are going to be staying with her at her place in Newyork." 

Oh, that's not so bad, she thought. She even got excited.

  "Are we going on a family vacation?" Year asked wondering how long it has been since they did anything as a family. 

But the failer to get an answer worried her once more. Her smile completely disappeared as she gazed at the suitcase again. It didn't look big enough for a family of five. She looked back at them shocked.

  "Am i the only one going?" She asked worried that she might already know the answer. Year started breathing harsh as if she was running for hours.  

  "For how long?" She asked again. She could see the guilt in her mother's eyes but soon the guilt was masked with a cold gaze. Looking straight into Year's eyes, her mother told her "Soon!"

What the hell are they saying? Are they really sending me away? It's not possible. 

Year's tears begged to be released down her face. Her heart was beating as a drum in her chest. Her breath grew shallow by the minuet. She was panicking.

  "Why?" She whispered but got no answer from either of them.

 Year wanted to demand for an explanation but she felt too weak to speak. Her tears finally washed down her face. She couldn't even get herself to stand up and run. She felt utterly defeated.

  "You will be leaving today." Said her mother after a long silence. There was a knock on the door.

 A man walked in "The car is ready." He announced.

All three turned her eyes on her. "Go grab what you want. Your clothe is already in the suitcase." Her mother explained and tried to walk away. Year's mind went black and before she knew it, she jumped down and wrapped her arms around her mothers left leg.

  "I'm sorry, mom" she started begging "Please don't send me away. Please..." her voice kept cracking as she attempted to talk and cry at the same time. 

Year's crying voice filled the house, but her mother didn't even flinch. She ruffly freed her legs from her daughters grip and walked away.

Year's father had kept his silence in all of this and if her mother didn't listen, she thought at least her father would. 

But as she desprately crawled to his leg she cought a glimps of his eyes. He was cold as a dead person. He had no guilt or expression on his face. So she know it was a waste to even try.

As she was told, she went to her room and started looking around. Her gaze landed on the violin case that laid next to her bed.

 She felt a knife go through the middle of her chest when she remembered that she had gotten so close. She failed to her feet and sobbed her heart out. 

Year held her chest with both her hands to stop it from hurting. She knew there was no way out of this, she was really getting cast out of her own family. 

She suddenly stoped crying. She took only the violin and made her way to the car. Her eyes were red and swollen but her face lack any plead to stay. It felt as if she cried her soul out of her body as well. 

That day she left hoping that her parents would bring her back soon. But they never did.

And now, ten years later, she found herself sleeping in her old friend's house, in a town she never wanted to come back to, looking for the man she never thought she would see in a life time.

How ironic.