Nothing excited Teodora quite like the Christmas season.
Well, that wasn't quite true. All her life she had been wild for every manner of holiday, and particularly those which most leant themselves to grand and glittering celebrations. She approached Easter with unrestrained abandon. Bright colors and flowers, the creeping warmth of a deepening spring, garden parties and egg hunts and lace-- but it was no Christmas. Candles and dancing, holly wreaths and evergreen trees and the crinkle of package paper, and the dresses... oh, but the dresses simply made Teodora's heart sing.
She had opted for a gown of crimson that day, and the warmth of her heaviest coat. Not a new ensemble, but a well-kept favorite meant specifically to draw the eye. The summer season bore no fruit for her this year-- not even the low-hanging picks of the year previous-- and she was determined to make her impression before the next one came around.
Of course, that all went straight out of Dora's head once she set foot in the seemingly endless enchanted forest of soon-to-be decorations. Her feet carried her wherever her eyes fell, drawn in by the magic of fresh snow and chatter, and at some point before she noticed she'd lost track of her own companions. Dora scarce had time to find herself alone before a strange came careening around the corner with a flurry of snowballs hot on his heels.
"Oh!" Dora yelped, took several ungraceful steps backwards but found her reaction too slow by half. The cluster of tiny creatures chasing him dove into the snow once more, filling their hands with a shower of snow which covered Dora from head to toe before she could slip and stagger her way behind one of the trees. She wound up sitting in a snowbank, white powder trapped in every crease of her gown and tangled into her dark hair, just a little stunned.
Well, that wasn't quite true. All her life she had been wild for every manner of holiday, and particularly those which most leant themselves to grand and glittering celebrations. She approached Easter with unrestrained abandon. Bright colors and flowers, the creeping warmth of a deepening spring, garden parties and egg hunts and lace-- but it was no Christmas. Candles and dancing, holly wreaths and evergreen trees and the crinkle of package paper, and the dresses... oh, but the dresses simply made Teodora's heart sing.
She had opted for a gown of crimson that day, and the warmth of her heaviest coat. Not a new ensemble, but a well-kept favorite meant specifically to draw the eye. The summer season bore no fruit for her this year-- not even the low-hanging picks of the year previous-- and she was determined to make her impression before the next one came around.
Of course, that all went straight out of Dora's head once she set foot in the seemingly endless enchanted forest of soon-to-be decorations. Her feet carried her wherever her eyes fell, drawn in by the magic of fresh snow and chatter, and at some point before she noticed she'd lost track of her own companions. Dora scarce had time to find herself alone before a strange came careening around the corner with a flurry of snowballs hot on his heels.
"Oh!" Dora yelped, took several ungraceful steps backwards but found her reaction too slow by half. The cluster of tiny creatures chasing him dove into the snow once more, filling their hands with a shower of snow which covered Dora from head to toe before she could slip and stagger her way behind one of the trees. She wound up sitting in a snowbank, white powder trapped in every crease of her gown and tangled into her dark hair, just a little stunned.
Alvin Bixby
![[Image: iLRrfG5.png]](https://i.imgur.com/iLRrfG5.png)