Winter Solstice

Dear Imena,

Ty became a close friend, but I don't normally mix work with my private life, so my friends didn't know much about him. Finally, there was a party at my castle and Jay made me invite Ty.

In the Vail, we celebrate the changing of the season. The plazas in every kingdom are decorated in string lights that glow a soft white at night, and the hybrids decorate more according to the different traditions and cultures they practice. Earth is really the only realm with traditions and yearly celebrations, but nonhuman hybrids celebrate with their human hybrid friends or make their own traditions. The entire kingdom is filled with light and the beauty of so many cultures. Do you remember what my castle looks like during those celebrations? It's been years since you've been to the Vail. In the cultures I was raised with, we didn't celebrate the seasons, but there were celebrations within those seasons. My favorite has always been winter.

Every year for the winter solstice, I decorated my castle in luminarias, paper bags with lit candles in them. At night, the walkways are lined with luminarias, as well as the ledges on the roof. During the day, beautiful poinsettias grow along the walkways and are placed on every exterior window sill. Though it gets very cold and occasionally snows in the Vail, my prized rose garden that I tend to so often continues to grow through the cold snow. When it snows without the lights, the castle looks cold an empty. With the lights, it looks warm and inviting, a winter wonderland waiting for you to explore and enjoy its beauty.

Inside, the castle is decorated in various places with colorful string lights, and in the main sitting room there's always a beautiful pine tree that is decorated with string lights and various ornaments I've received as gifts over the years. But because I do have hired help around the castle, I actually invite my employees to throw in bits of their own traditions around the castle. I do this for every seasons change, but I feel like it's more special during the winter solstice since I have something to contribute as well. Through my many years of life, I've celebrated and experienced festivities, cooked, baked, decorated, learned, and heard stories from almost every culture on Earth itself.

Since my castle is so big, it's become a tradition among me and my employees to all work together and decorate the castle. During the specific year I'm talking about today, Milo helped us decorate as well.

For every change of the season I hold a big party. You probably only came to a few of them since you were so little when you visited the Vail, and they were big parties for such a small child. Friends, family, employees, Council members, soldiers, citizens, allies, and leaders from Earth that I befriended through my job all attended the parties. This time, I invited Ty and Milo as well. The only reason this is important in anyway is because it was an important night in Jay and Ty's lives.

I was hanging out with Jay and Milo when Ty walked in.

"Oh there's Ty." I said, and called Ty over to us.

"...That's Ty? Like, your general Ty?" Jay asked.

"That's what I said, yes." I said.

Ty walked over and I introduced him to Jay and Milo. Jay looked like he was going to faint. I got curious, so I asked Jay if he would come with me and bring everyone drinks. Jay came with me, and when we were far enough away I asked,

"What's wrong with you? You've been acting weird ever since Ty got here."

"Just...promise me you won't be upset." he said nervously, and avoided looking at me.

"I promise." I told him, but he didn't seem to believe me, so I grabbed his hand and linked our pinky fingers together.

"Pinky promise." I said, smiling.

Jay sighed and smiled sadly.

"Spirit, I...I kinda maybe...like Ty..."

"Ok." I said shrugging, "Do you want his number? I have it."

"Wait. You're not upset?" he asked.

"Why would I be?"

"Well, I don't know. That's a touchy subject for some people."

"Maybe it is for other people, but honestly I could care less. You're a good person and a good friend, that's all that matters to me."

Jay's eyes filled with tears and he hugged me. I laughed and hugged him back. When he let go of me I handed him a few bottles of water to take back to Milo and Ty, and we started to walk back.

"Do you really have his number?" Jay asked.

"Give me your phone and I'll put his number in for you." I said.

Jay quickly got his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me, and I put Ty's number in. We got back to the group and continued talking. Jay was giggling at every bad joke Ty said, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. Luckily, Ty thought we just really liked his joke.

-𝒮. 𝑅𝑜𝓈𝑒