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Tori looks around her living room with a scowl on her face, regretting allowing Michael to decorate it. “It looks like the spirit of Christmas threw up in here,” she complains to Michael as he walks into the room with their cat, Solitaire, following closely behind him.
“Which one?”
“What do you mean, which one?”
“Tori, you should know just as well as I do that almost every single culture has their own lore regarding Christmas. And they don’t even all call it Christmas.” Tori raises her eyebrows at Michael, knowing that she is in for a full history lesson. “Pagans celebrated the Winter Solstice, and there have been legends around figures bringing presents to children, long before the idea of Christmas was even invented.”
Tori had heard of all of the things that Michael is talking about, though not in so much detail. She had to admit that the idea of Yule being a time to celebrate the hope of returning light and life is nice… though she wouldn’t admit it out loud. Before Michael’s rant, she knew about Krampus, but he educates her on all of the other figures of lore that reportedly are used to keep children in line. Gosh, there sure are a lot of cultures that have stories designed to scare children into behaving! Krampus isn’t the only legendary entity that throws bad children in his sack and runs off with them, and more than one of the legends involve kids getting eaten for being naughty.
Michael then tells her about his rituals surrounding the Winter Solstice, and how he views it as a time for cleansing of the soul. It’s all about entering a new cycle of time, so to speak. She finds it interesting how many Pagan rituals have been co-opted into other holidays - Yule alone has inspired Christmas and New Year’s.
During that first winter together, Tori watches on as Michael performs various rituals and spells that are all focused on preparing his life - and home - for the coming year. She hates to admit it, but she enjoys all of the candles and food and everything else that goes into celebrating the Winter Solstice. Growing up, Christmas had often been a tense holiday in her household, mostly because of her mum’s parents, so she enjoys getting to form new traditions with Michael, and she hopes that in the future, she can invite Charlie to enjoy it as well.
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By the time Tori approaches her tenth Winter Solstice in Michael’s presence, so much had changed since that first year. First off, she’s married to Michael, not just dating him. And more than that, her little brother Charlie is married to Michael’s childhood bestie Nick Nelson. As if their lives weren’t intertwined enough, two years ago she gave Charlie and Nick the ultimate Christmas present - a baby. Thanks to Nick’s sperm and her egg, Annabelle Nelson-Spring looks like Nick and Charlie’s child, and Tori is still so happy she was able to do that for them.
This is going to be the first holiday season that Annabelle has a chance of remembering it all; last year everyone delighted in how excited she got about the pretty tree and other decorations - and of course she loved the presents - but this year she’s actually starting to become a tiny human with a chance of remembering some things about the festivities. Unlikely, but possible!
Tori’s parents, Jane and Julio, have mellowed out as the years have gone by, and now Christmas isn’t as fraught of an affair as it was when her and Charlie were growing up. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t dread the fact that her parents will be staying in her home for the holiday. At least Nick, Charlie, Annabelle, and her other brother, Olly, will all be in attendance as well. Her parents dote on Annabelle, so with any luck, they’ll be so focused on the toddler that Jane won’t have any energy to annoy Tori or Charlie.
At least everyone won’t arrive until after the Winter Solstice. For one, the less time spent with her parents the better. But Tori also doesn’t think she’d ever hear the end of it, if Jane Spring found out that Michael is meeting up with a bunch of witches he found on a Discord server in the middle of the woods to perform a ritual. She knows he wishes that the Winter Solstice fell on a Full Moon this year, but at least he found other witches to spend this one with! Michael invited Tori to come with him, but as he left in his green cape, his crown of holly wrapped into his wild curls, she finds herself happy to be staying inside, where it’s warm, with her cat Solitaire.
She falls asleep before he returns, and when she wakes up in the middle of the night, Tori realises that Michael has tucked her in with the blanket. Getting up to go find him, she finds him in their bed, fast asleep. Peaceful energy seems to be radiating off him, and in the morning, she finds that the ritual went even better than planned. Michael and his new friends have already made plans to get together for the next Solstice, and he excitedly tells Tori all about how he wants to bring them in for some bigger spells, if they’re willing. Tori rolls her eyes at her husband, but her lips betray her by curling up into a smile. She really is quite fond of him.
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Come Christmas morning, Tori doesn’t feel fond of anyone at the moment. Her home is in chaos, and Solitaire has taken to hiding underneath her bed to stay away from Annabelle, who is getting quite proficient at walking - and running. It doesn’t help that the last time Annabelle took a tumble, she all but fell on top of Solitaire. So, yeah, Solitaire is over the crowded house, and frankly, so is Tori.
Looking around her living room though, as her family passes out presents for people to open, she finds her annoyance slipping away. Her parents are looking at their granddaughter with such fondness, Olly is on the floor playing with her, and Nick and Charlie are wrapped up in each other’s arms. She swears, since the first day they met, she doesn’t think they can go a single moment without being in contact in some form. Currently, Charlie is sitting on Nick’s lap on one of the sofa’s, drinking his coffee while he watches his daughter open up her presents - all on her own this year!
Tori’s annoyance comes back in a few hours. Annabelle is stroppy that Solitaire won’t play with her and based on the way that the little girl is rubbing her eyes, all of the excitement has made her ready for her mid-day nap much earlier than usual. All of a sudden, Annabelle starts wailing, and nothing that anyone is saying can stop her cries. Until…
Annabelle is rendered speechless, eyes wide with wonder, as her presents from this morning start to float above her head. All of her new dolls, and the blocks that she received, and the books that Charlie and Nick will end up reading to her, start to dance above her head in a festive circle. The room is silent outside of a familiar melody coming from somewhere, and Annabelle’s occasional gasps of disbelief and joy as a large toy truck – one that is large enough for Annabelle to ride around in – joins the rest of the toys. Annabelle starts clapping her hands in glee as all of her toys dance around in a circle surrounding the truck.
Tori is almost always grateful that she found Michael, that fateful day. The local townsfolk always thought that she was The Witch of The Woods, but it was always Michael. People are often afraid of magick, and her parents have been no different. Michael’s innate talents have been a taboo topic amongst the Springs because of Jane’s ignorant beliefs and opinions on the matter, but as Tori watches her mum take in the magical scene unfolding before them all, she thinks that her mum finally gets it.