chorizo sandwiches and roasted chestnuts. It was the smell of winter, of snow and Christmas. El Cerro was a small and humble town, mainly populated by people of the land, but they were not going to stop celebrating the holidays because of that. Every year the square was adorned with colored lights that were like garlands of throbbing fireflies. There were also several stalls, all of them with green and red awnings and wrapped with bright tinsel. They sold everything, from figures for the Nativity Scene, to decorations, joke items and handmade crafts. Not to be missed was the traditional fir tree with its balls, an old tree that continued to endure being dressed up year after year.


    As was obvious, the townspeople had taken to the streets to enjoy the decorations, the carols and the good atmosphere. The town''s churreria was completely packed, with people even waiting in hopes anyone would leave so they could snatch a table. Because of that, Sofia and Sara had ordered their ration of churros and their hot chocolate to take away, and had sat down on a bench to eat. Despite how early it was, night had already fallen, but the moon had not yet risen. Better, because in a couple of days it would come out completely full, and whenever that happened, in the days before and after, her energy stirred restlessly.


    Sofia pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. To be honest, she was starting to feel really stupid, because she had already checked it four times, but she was still holding to that little sliver of hope. Again she skimmed through her SMS, focusing on the ones she had shared with her friend. ''I gt smthin 2do dunn if I can'' he had replied when she asked him if he wanted to go to the Christmas market. That had been the last message she had received from him. Letting out a quiet sigh, she put the device back in her pocket and continued eating her churros with chocolate. She could have asked him again if he was coming, and in fact she was tempted, but she didn''t want to seem annoying.


    “Nothing new?” asked Sara in a voice that didn’t make it so clear if it was a question.


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    “churro.


    “Sara...” Sofia let out a quiet sigh before continuing. “We have agreed that we are just friends, and it''s better this way. I still have a lot of problems and I don''t want to get into a relationship right now, and he has his own stories to deal with and he doesn''t want to commit to anyone right now either. But...” she stared at the churro in her hand, which was dripping hot chocolate into the plastic cup.


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    Sara didn''t tease her, like other times. She knew that this was an important step for Sofia, and showed a respectful seriousness to encourage her to get her feelings off her chest, which is exactly what she did. With a shy smile on her lips, Sofia nodded and the blush on her cheeks deepened. A pleasant warmth spread across her belly. She was starting to get used to the sensation, but she didn''t mind because she found it pleasant. It was like a gentle tingling that appeared whenever he smiled in her direction, or when he brushed her hand.


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    “And he''s like totally hot, he has a motorcycle and he''s simply really cute. He''s a real catch, and you had to take him,” said Lola, who had just arrived and was carrying a piece of handmade pastry she had bought at the street market.


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    “Your foolishness about wanting to see our relationship as if we are the protagonists of a romance novel almost fucked up our friendship,” she blurted out, standing up abruptly and barely managing to suppress the growl that had risen to her throat.


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    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


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    “churros with chocolate and threw the containers in the wastebasket. “Where do you want to go? There are stalls over there, and there are a few places to have a drink but they''re full. They serve churros here but there''s a long queue now, although if you feel like it we can get some.”


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    “Hey, wait a minute, I didn''t invite her. Where are your friends?” Sofia asked, turning to Lola.


    “Visiting the family, but don''t worry, I wasn''t trying to intrude in your date. I was just taking a walk and came over to say hello,” said Lola haughtily.


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    For a while they wandered among the stalls. There wasn''t that much to see, it was just trinkets, decorations and gag items, but it was a multicolored curiosity highlighted by the music of the Christmas carols. There was quite a crowd, not as much as on Witches’ Night, but enough to make walking not so easy. They both stopped next to a stall full of figurines for the Nativity Scene. Sofia didn''t care about the human figures, but she loved to see the water mills, houses and farms made in the style of a primitive Middle East. Among those little sculptures, of course, was the traditional ''caganer''.


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    That was all the answer she got from her friend, though his body screamed with his posture and gestures. He gently put down the sheep he had been looking at next to its shepherd and turned to walk away from the stall. His shoulders were slightly slumped and he rubbed his chest with one hand, evidencing his nervousness. His breathing also seemed a bit labored, as if he wanted to pant but was controlling himself. Biting her lip, Sofia fell into step with him, and he gave her a smile that she could tell from miles away that it was forced. He was still trying to actively participate in the stroll, but he looked very uncomfortable.


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    With their fingers intertwined, barely aware of whether the other two girls were following, Sofia walked away from the Christmas market area and the square itself. Just on the other side was the park where Sara''s sisters had made the queimada. The trees had already been stripped of all their leaves, leaving the branches completely bare, although the town hall had decided to cover them with garlands of cold blue lights. The pale luminosity reflected off the snow, resembling silvery moonlight. Normally the park was darker, but between the Christmas lighting and the snow itself there was a brightness so dazzling that it felt uncomfortable to Sofia''s eyes. She wasn’t the only one. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her friend squint a bit and frown.


    With a sudden thought running through her head, Sofia decided to look for an area away from the lights’ brightness. As they walked away from the main path, the snow crunching under their footsteps, Dave lifted his head to the sky and took a deep breath, sucking in the cold winter air in one long inhale. The crescent moon hadn''t risen yet, and Sofia knew it would still be a little over an hour before it did, so the sky looked like a blanket of dark blue dotted with bright stars. That was the beauty of El Cerro, that it was so far from the big cities and so small that it allowed one to see the sky in a way that was not possible if one lived closer to Madrid, or in a large town. The bad thing was that, far from the stalls and the people, the cold was more noticeable and Sofia began to shiver a little.


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    Sofia wanted to protest, she wanted to say that nothing was wrong, that she was fine, but all she could do was snuggle further against the boy who gave her warmth and reassurance. Tucked in his arms and with her head resting against his chest, she was able to hear his heartbeat, and she found that sound soothing. If she had been in her right mind, and not immersed in feverish delirium, she would have been horrified by what she was doing. At that moment she just wanted to fall asleep listening to that accelerated heartbeat and breathing in his scent, his lovely musk that seemed to be loosing that intense forestaroma.