Nina woke up the next morning, feeling strange. She looked around, somewhat expecting to be in the guest room in Santa and Mrs. Claus's house. Then, she remembered that she was at her mother and stepfather's home. Perhaps that's why everything seemed peculiar. Even though the room she had slept in the night before used to be her own room, she was still out-of-place. It had been so long since she slept in that house that she didn't have much of a connection to it.

There were a lot of things in Southtown that she no longer felt a connection to. Change was a part of life, she knew, but everything was changing so fast. Stores opened and closed, new homes had been built, people she knew were aging, and people she didn't know had moved into the town. Nina felt like the only thing that hadn't changed was herself. Maybe she actually had but didn't notice it since everything else around her had changed, as well.

As she got ready, Nina thought about how much she'd miss seeing Snow Miser. His visits always cheered her up, and she could have used some of his encouragement right about that time. The day before had been difficult enough to go through. Today was going to be just as rough, and she could have benefited from Snow's humor and kindness. However, she kept in mind that she had to make this journey alone and that this was all for the best.

Nina picked up her snowflake necklace off the nightstand and put it on. The object gave her comfort and reminded her of her new friends. She also missed Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the elves, and the ornament made her think of some of the best moments in her adult life. They had all, without knowing much about her, allowed her to celebrate with them, and for those moments, she had almost felt like she belonged somewhere. Feeling slightly more confident than before, she looked at herself in the mirror, finally ready to face the day.

Nina went downstairs, where she saw her mother cooking breakfast and her stepfather reading the newspaper. They greeted her, cheerfully, and Nina said good morning to them.

"Breakfast is almost ready," Marilyn told her, and she turned off the stove. The three of them soon ate and chatted.

Sometime during the conversation, Richard brought up, "Nina, if you're looking for a job, Southtown could use a good delivery pilot."

"Oh?" Nina asked after taking a bite.

"Yes. I know some businesses that would hire someone to take some goods out-of-state. That's something you could do, if you're interested."

"It's a good idea," Marilyn stated. "You could live in town, yet still travel and make a career out of it."

Nina sat in silence for a few moments. "I'll have to think about it. I'm planning on visiting some friends after I leave Southtown, but I will consider it."

When she was done eating, Nina said goodbye to her mother and stepfather and told them she would return later that day.

Nina left the house and took her time, mentally preparing herself. She walked a few streets away, stopping at a rather fancy home. She knocked on the front door, consciously trying to hide her anxiety.

A young man opened the door, and he looked displeased when he saw her. "Nina? What are you doing here?"

"Ben, I'd like to talk."

"Nina, there's nothing to talk about. Our relationship is over."

"I know, but..." She tried to choose her words, carefully. "I'm still struggling with it, and I need closure. You didn't give me much of an answer as to why you wanted it to end."

Ben rolled his eyes. "You can't take no for an answer, can you?"

"I don't want you back. I just want to know why you threw me away."

He sighed, leaning against the doorway. "You want to know why I ended it? Fine, since you won't stop bugging me. You're not wife material."

"What?"

"You're too free-spirited. You cared more about your plane than anything else. You wouldn't stay in one spot, not even for me."

"I did stay here after we began dating," Nina mentioned.

"But you always talked about leaving and going on trips."

"I've been working through my issues associated with going away so much."

"Good for you. No one wants a woman who's too independent, though, nor one that doesn't want to have children." His voice was filled with spite.

Nina was hurt. "Snow Miser wouldn't treat me this way," she stated, not thinking.

Ben looked at her, confused. "What wouldn't?"

Nina paused, her eyes widening. Then, she cleared her throat and frowned. "No one you would have the honor of knowing. Goodbye, Ben."

"Goodbye." Ben slammed the door in her face.

Nina should have expected this to happen. She should have been happy that she finally got the answers, and therefore, closure she needed. However, all she felt like doing was crying. She walked back to her own home and began cleaning it as a distraction. Mostly, she just needed to be alone.

As much as she tried to push the thoughts away, they kept resurfacing. Nina reminded herself that she needed to let herself feel so she could get through it quicker. She and Ben had had some issues, but he had never expressed those thoughts exactly. "Not wife material," she murmured. Nina didn't even know if she wanted to get married. Maybe she was too independent, but was it really true that no one would ever want to be with her?

Of course, it was. Deep down, she knew he was right. Even if she was more docile, she still knew she never wanted to have children. The only person she had ever expressed that wish to was Ben, and he had nearly laughed in her face when she had told him. "How ridiculous!" he had exclaimed. "You'll want children with the right man."

Nina shuddered at the memory. He was wrong when he had said that, but he wasn't wrong that no one would want her. No one would love someone like her, not even...

Her thoughts suddenly drifted to Snow Miser. She missed him a lot, though she had only been gone for a little more than a day. She missed talking to him and all the fun things they did. She missed his laugh and his care.

Snow Miser didn't mind that she liked to travel.

Snow Miser didn't mind that she was independent.

"Snow Miser wouldn't treat me this way," Nina repeated her statement out loud from earlier.

And gradually...

Slowly...

Nina unearthed yet another feeling she had kept buried from all in the world, including herself.

She was in love with Snow Miser.

The weight of this thought made her unable to move, and she sat on the floor in the almost vacant room. She stared out at nothing, her entire being flooded with the realization that she had feelings unlike any she had had before, even for Ben.

Nina was truly and deeply in love...with someone she couldn't have. After all, what was she compared to Snow Miser? It wasn't that he was better than she was; it was simply that he was a god of some sort, and she a human. Besides, even if they were both gods or both humans, her ex-boyfriend's words were still a painful reminder that no one would want her. Nina could never tell Snow how she really felt.

She was tempted to just stay in Southtown or travel somewhere else in the world and avoid the North Pole altogether, but she had to keep her promise. Even though she had to continue to hide her feelings, she still wanted to be Snow Miser's friend, as difficult as it may be now. She couldn't lose anyone else.

Nina spent the rest of the day cleaning her house, then went back to her mother and stepfather's home that evening. She spent the next few days spending time with them, visiting her father's grave at the cemetary, and going around town to the shops. One day, she saw Ben at a store with another woman. At first, Nina felt hurt seeing her ex-boyfriend with someone else, but then she was relieved that she herself was no longer in a relationship with him.

At the end of the week, Nina told her mother and stepfather that she was leaving to see some friends. Thankfully, they didn't ask Nina who those people were or where they were from. Nina promised them that she would return soon, and all three of them looked forward to future visits.

Exactly a week from when she arrived in Southtown, Nina left.