The child, dressed in clothes he found lying around the city, peered through the window. Inside were three people: the adults were important, he knew that from seeing them around the city (the woman in police uniform and the man in a suit); the youngest person, a girl around the boy's age, sat between the two adults. The little boy felt envious; she was surrounded by warmth, love. She smiled brightly, her cheeks tinged pink. The woman's hand stroked the little girl's hair lovingly, a small smile tugging at her lips. The man had his arm wrapped around both his companions as he used his other hand to explain something to the two.

A breeze blew through and the boy shivered, pulling his torn jacket tightly against his small body. He always watched the man and woman when they were in the city and had decided to "join" them for Christmas. He did this to a different every holiday. He enjoyed seeing families love each other, even if it was just for one day. The happiness seeped into him, energizing him. It also made him sad sometimes, but he preferred to think of happiness instead of sadness.

This family was different, though. While all the other families he's visited before were happy, this family was just…different. They sat on the floor, a large blanket draped over them. Unwrapped presents lay before them, but they paid no mind to them; their attention was solely on each other. The little girl lay her head on her mother's chest and the mom smiled, bending to plant a kiss on her head. The man looked at the woman and smiled, it was the type of smile the little boy had witnessed countless times before – a lot of teenagers looked at each other that way – but this smile was different. It was warm, loving, and adoring. He looked at her like he couldn't believe she was there.

Then the man leaned toward the woman and moved her head so she was face-to-face with him. The woman smiled, as if she was expecting this, and then they kissed. The little boy gasped at the display of affection, but the little girl between the couple merely rolled her eyes, as if they did this frequently.

The little boy watched them for a while; he watched them eat leftovers and share stories; he watched them one-by-one fall asleep on the floor, curled around each other. He watched them until his eyes became heavy and his stomach hungry. Finally, after a last look at the happy family, the little boy smiled and walked away.