"আলোর জাহাজ ফিরব ঘর আজ, বল না কতদূর?"

What spells Christmas louder than the church bells and the clinking of sherry glasses? 

The warm embrace of a friend who plans vacations just to see you. The thought put behind the one bringing you your favourite sweets knowing how you crave them on those particularly long nights. Christmas is neighbours coming together to deck the halls in ribbons and holly for that newborn kid whose smile lights up the darkest of days. It is the miser shelling out her coffers for that one coveted handbag for her beloved. It is the lazy man going out to buy the best wine for his lover and putting a crooked ribbon on the bottle in an earnest attempt at a bow. It is in that one girl calling her old friend knowing how alone she feels during the holidays. It is in the effort of a brother bringing his car around after a long day at work to drive his sister to the lane of lights. In that delighted smile of the househelp after taking a bite of the chocolate bar. In the crinkled old letter of a love long lost. In the excited thump of the golden tail of your streetside friend as she woofs to greet you every evening. 

And Christmas is in the faith of the estranged finding their way home. In the memory of shared laughter and exchanged smiles. In the knowledge of spring tailing winter. In my silent prayers and unsung songs. 

There will be roses albeit the thorns. Reds, maroons, yellows and pinks. Blooming and blossoming despite the winter snow. Raising their proud heads like the rebellion of spring heralding the eternal summer of our hearts. 

#reverie 

Dec. 25, 2022