Twenty Years Ago, I Played Santa for a Little Girl – This Christmas, She Came Back for Me

And they meant every word.

Mia took my hand as we walked downstairs. “Mom already updated the paperwork. The lawyers have everything ready.

You’re not alone anymore.”

That night, I stayed. We ate Christmas cookies and watched an old movie. For the first time in years, I felt like I belonged somewhere again.

Mia sat beside me and whispered, “That day, you gave me the only gift I remember from my childhood.

The only one that mattered. And now it’s our turn.”

I hugged her like she was mine. Maybe she was.

Mia’s mother passed away two weeks later.

It was peaceful.

We were both there, holding her hands.

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