Prologue

 

 

 

“This is the last one.”

Meredith looked at the box Emily sat on the table and opened it. “Oh, this stuff is old,” she said, looking in and waving her hand at the dust wafting from the box. She reached for a ball of tangled Christmas lights, tossing them aside before digging further into the box.

A few mismatched ornaments she’d never thrown away lay within, old Christmas cards, crumpled wrapping paper, smashed bows and an assortment of ribbons and gift wrap tags. It was all junk.

“I don’t think there’s anything worth using in this one. Its just rubbish.”

“Maybe Nicolas could use some of it for that little tree he has in his room.”

Meredith smiled. “Oh, he’d love that. I’m sure he could find something in here,” she said. “There’s certainly enough to decorate one small tree.”

Digging to the bottom, Meredith’s hand stilled when she eyed an old paper angel. Her eyes widened when she saw it and she reached for it, carefully pulling it from the box.

The origami angel had been made with a page from a magazine, the colored ink fading to a dull brown. The angel itself was crumpled and bent but it wasn’t the shape of the handmade ornament that sent Meredith’s thoughts racing.

She smiled and held the angel in her hands as if it were made of glass. Of every holiday decoration she’d accumulated over the years, this one brought the best memories.

The memories of that first Christmas.