Titles Are Overrated

WARNING: This story has some themes that are alluded to and are pretty dark. The main dark theme is SA. Please do not read if these themes will be hurtful to you. <3

Maria put the last ornament on the tree, humming under her breath. The song had been playing itself in her head on loop all day. It was Snowman by Sia. She always had music in her head, along with the chaos of her thoughts. She took a step back, admiring the Christmas tree. It was tall, and fake, but it was beautiful. The lights were multicolored, illuminating the room with an array of bright colors that reflected off the metal ornaments. There were huge silver snowflakes, red ribbons, and a glowing star at the top. It looked like a stereotypical Christmas tree, which wasn't a bad thing. She glanced at the floor, where two blankets were stretched out with pillows facing the TV that was playing Home Alone. Her two twins, Singe and Ember were sleeping peacefully. They were both tiny, only 4 years old. They were her joy, the two people she loved more than anyone in her life. Singe was a shy boy, who always seemed stuck to her when they were in public. Ember was a hot headed girl who barely ever paid attention and got into trouble A LOT. She ran off often, and it was hard to wrangle her. She was close with her brother, though, and she never meant any harm. They got along surprisingly well. Maria remembered that she was not as kind to her siblings as a young child.

She couldn't wait for them to wake up and see the shiny brand new object in their living room. She was so proud of it. Her cat wandered down stairs, stopping to stare at the tree for a moment with round yellow eyes. He started to rub himself on her legs, purring. She knew he would be trying to climb it sooner than ever, and then she felt like he was thanking her for his new toy. She reached down and pet him, enjoying the feeling of his soft fur on her fingertips. He was a black cat, and she had named him Void, since he always seemed to disappear and teleport to somewhere random. His favorite person seemed to be Singe, and he would lay with Singe all the time. It was like he was Singe's other twin. It was ADORABLE.

She smiled, about to sit down on the couch and relax when the doorbell rang. She quickly went to the door, trying to stay silent so the children didn't wake up. She opened the door to see the postman, Jerry. He was a good guy, and quite handsome. He always had a corny joke to share or a smile that spread to everyone around him. That smile was present this morning, as always. "Good morning Mrs. Shandi," He said, dipping his head. She pressed a finger to her lips. "Their sleeping" she whispered. He grinned, nodding understandably and handing her an envelope. She thanked him quietly and walked inside, looking down at it. When she saw the name she almost dropped it. The name brought back memories. Bad ones.

Oliver Z~

She opened it with shaking hands, her heart racing. His face started to return to her face, but she tried to push it away, not wanting to remember what came with it.

dear Maria..

I fear I have an apology to make. I made a mistake. 3 years ago, on December 25th, I committed the worst crime a man can. I hurt you, and I never gave you a choice in the matter. Then I left, and never came back. I was in a rough time, in a panic, and I wasn't thinking right. That doesn't, however, excuse what I did. It was a horrible thing, and I am truly, genuinely sorry. I know this won't help, but I really just wanted you to know. I have sent a small gift, an unworthy show of apology if you will. If you decide you want to talk, my new phone number is next to the gift. I would love to see you again, I miss your face. Your beautiful face.

I miss you, and love you,

Oliver

Maria pulled out the "gift". It was cash. She counted it, her eyes growing wider as the number went up. 2,000 dollars. Holy shit. She thought. She was struggling with money lately, being a single mom with two kids. This would help her buy new clothes for them, and maybe she could start saving to send them to a daycare during the school year. She glanced at the other slip of paper that had a phone number on it. She wondered if she should contact him. It was courtesy to at least thank him for the money... After all, it was a huge sacrifice, and she couldn't just act like it wasn't, even after what he did. She hesitated, reaching for the slip of paper. Then she stopped.

No.

She couldn't. She just couldn't. She wanted nothing to do with him. She'd tried so hard to forget him. His face had haunted her for so long, and she had finally gotten rid of him from her mind. She wasn't going to give that up because of a dumb letter. She put the cash in her pocket and walked to the fire place, gripping the envelope that held her only connection to him. I will never forgive you, Oliver. No matter what you do. You deserve your fate, you deserve to never see me again. You will never get forgiveness, and you will never see your children.

The paper burned almost as fiercely as her will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jerry came home from work exhausted. It had been 10 years since he married Maria, and he had been working late so that he could get time off for Christmas. He had 2 jobs now, adding a job as an emergency dispatcher to his job as a postman. When he got home Singe and Ember were sitting on the couch, watching Home Alone 2. Their little sister, Spark was sitting between them, petting their cat Pepper. Void was dozing near Singe. The poor old cat seemed to be getting fatter by the day due to all the over feeding he got.

Maria was in the kitchen, making cookies. Jerry came to her, pulling her into a hug. "Hey Princess" he said, smiling and resting his head on her shoulder. She smiled back, her green eyes full of affection. "Hey," She pulled away from the hug, mixing some ingredients in a bowl. He watched for a bit, humming a song. He couldn't remember what the song was for a long moment, then Maria started to hum along and he remembered it.

Snowman.