“Let it go, let it go!” Mina sang with the animated queen, her small voice full of joy. She snuggled close on the couch, clutching her soft, old blanket. It was our first calm moment since I came home for the holiday break, and I treasured every bit.
“Still your favorite film, huh?” I teased, gently messing her reddish-brown hair.
She giggled. “Always!”
Mina was only eight, but she’d been through a lot.
After Mom passed two years ago, it was just Dad and us for a short while. Then Lenna came.
She wasn’t mean, but cold and distant.
Her smiles were just for Dad; with us alone, she got snappy. I left for college a year later, leaving Mina, which always troubled me. But now, we were together, watching her favorite movie again.
“Have a good Christmas?” I asked, keeping my tone easy.
She nodded happily. “Yep!
Daddy got me a doll. Lenna gave me pencils.”
“Pencils?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” she chirped, shrugging.
“The twisty ones. They’re okay.”
A spark of worry hit me. “What about Grandma and Grandpa?
Or Aunt Talia?
Did they give you anything?”
“They gave me money,” she whispered, her voice quieter. I smiled warmly.
“That’s awesome, Mina! What’ll you buy?”
Her face fell, and she fiddled nervously with her blanket.
“It’s gone.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, leaning closer, heart racing.
Her voice dropped low. “Lenna took it. She said I had too many gifts.
She used it for groceries because Christmas dinner cost a lot.”
My stomach twisted.
What happened next changed everything… FULL STORY on the next page.
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