A noise startled CC. Did I forget to lock the door? She thought out loud.

"No." came a voice.

"Uh.." she removes the wash cloth from her face. She saw the source of the voice in the middle of the room where she was. A ghost in a black trench coat with red hair looked to be somewhere in her mid twenties stood before her. She grabbed CC by the arm.

"Who? How?" CC looked down, she was wearing a blue chimer robe. "What?"

"This way."

"What if I don't want to?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Do what?" A clap of thunder and lighting right outside her window, made CC jump.

"Alright I'll come. Just after I…" but before she could move herself, they were swept away. They stood outside a window of her house in New Jersey where she grew up.

"Why here?"

"Just watch and pay attention." In the window of her house, what she saw was a young version of herself and her brother during Christmas time.

"I don't."

"shh…" the ghost placed a gripping arm on her shoulder.

"Ow…" CC let out.

Noël sat be the window staring out, watching the snow falling to the ground as a winter storm came though.

"They won't be back till late. Next week if that." Nanny Booboo called to the children. "Now it's time for bed."

"Can we stay up a little longer?" CC gave her nanny a sad look. "Please." Both of them whined.

"We promise to be quite." Noel added.

"Alright till nine then off to bed we will go." CC looked out the window for a minute then turned to her smaller brother.

"They're not coming home for Christmas this year. So why look for them." CC told her brother as she went to sit on the couch.

"I know but I can dream this year to be different." There was a bit of hopefulness in his voice. Her brother stared with those puppy sad eyes look. She knew that look. The look that he believed that by some chance their parents would be there. She knew for a fact that her parents were going to let them down again. They always did.

"They are to caught up in their own lives to care about us. So why should we care about them."

"That's not true. They'll be here." Whined her brother. CC walked over to him, took him by the arm and they went to bed.

"Maybe next year."

"If we go to bed like good children, they will come through the door, " Noel said as they reached the bedrooms. Nanny Booboo tucked them in.

"Why aren't things different? Never is. Never will be…" She shook her head as the nanny turned out the lights to the room. CC couldn't see anything after that but she heard her voice talking.

"Noel's right, things will be better if you two just go to bed now." Booboo called from the doorway. "Now you get some sleep dear, things will be better in the morning. I promise."

"Will you be here with us tomorrow?" Noel's voice was excited.

"Uh…um…"

"The answer no, isn't it." CC shot back.

"We will see what I can do honey." The door to the bedroom closed and the darkness went all around.

"I can't see anything now." CC called as she leaned closer to the window.

"Just listen to what you said after that." the ghost responded.

"I hate Christmas. A day with no family why am I even surprised at all. In a few days I'm back at boarding school so who cares right? I don't. Noël has dad to watch after him. And DD she's too young to under stand any of this. She just thinks that Christmas has to do with the presents everyone sends us. We never got a long anyway. She's the one got the better gifts and can do what ever she wants. She got every toy she wanted, while I'm stuck in boarding school. All I want is one lousy dinner with my family. Is that too much to ask? sobbing could be heard.

"Let me guess I cried myself to sleep that night."

The ghost just nodded. "Is that why I hate Christmas because my parents were never there? I never got the one thing that I wanted most?"

"Half." The ghost in the rags said.

"What's the other half?" CC questioned now intrigued.

"Halves CC, halves."

"Huh?"

"Just follow me." CC did what she was told.