Somewhere, across snow and space and time, there was a light on in the window.
That's what Fai liked to think. He could hope, even in he couldn't believe. The light was from a white candle that his mother placed on the windowsill every night when his father was out too late with the rest of the miners. It was a warm orange glow that melted the frost on the glass, and she would let Fai light it right before he went to bed and after she put out the fire. He would pull the blue blanket around him and settle into the pillows, watching his mother's silhouette as she sat in the old armchair and waited up. It was a ritual, a security blanket for the whole family. If the candle was lit, Mommy was there and Daddy was coming soon. He imagined that it was still there, casting a hazy light across the pale snow outside. Somewhere, Mommy was still waiting in the old armchair, reading gardening books, and Daddy was still wading through the snowstorm.
But that was a lie. They were gone, by old age, famine, or war. Things changed, and there was no going back because life moved on without you. There was no candle here. Fai adjusted his scarf to keep out the cold and squinted into the snowstorm. Good thing he got groceries before it developed into a full-blown blizzard. The snow fell too quickly to distinguish from the night, merging into a blur of grey. He closed his eyes because they weren't doing him any good and walked slowly forwards, guiding his footsteps by the strong presence that Kurogane and Syaoran emanated. They were asleep by now, so he'd have to be quiet. The key was ice in his hands when he found it.
"Oi. Hurry up, you're letting in the cold."
Fai opened his eyes, startled. He was in front of the house, but the door was open. Kurogane leaned on the doorframe, holding a tall white candle in each hand.
"Cmon, this one's for you," he explained, offering one of the candles. "The power's out."
Fai smiled, and felt a little warmer despite the snow.
"Thank you."
And somewhere, across snow and space and time, the burnt-out stub of a white candle rested on the windowsill of an empty house.