Dear readers,

This Christmas, I wish each and every one of you to be enveloped in an aura of love, peace and joy. May the magic of this season illuminate your hearts and warm every corner of your lives.

May hope be reborn in every dawn, bringing with it the certainty of better days and the strength needed to overcome any challenge. May generosity be the common language we all share, creating indelible bonds of solidarity and compassion.

Remember to appreciate the simple moments, for it is in these details that the true essence of life lies. May gratitude be the path that guides your steps, reminding you of the blessings that permeate every journey.

This Christmas, I wish that every gift exchanged is more than just a pretty package, but a symbol of the care and affection we nurture for one another. May the lights that adorn the streets be shining reflections of the lights that dwell within each of you.

May the celebration of Christmas be an invitation to reflection, renewal and hope for the future. May harmony and understanding prevail in your homes, creating a welcoming environment full of love.

I wish you all a Christmas filled with precious memories, shared smiles and heartwarming moments. May the magic of this period last not only this season, but throughout the year, guiding us with the light of compassion and understanding.

Merry Christmas, dear readers. May this message resonate in your hearts, making this season even more special.

Enjoy the Christmas chapters I'm leaving for you today, and next week I promise there will be more...

With love,

Heila Hans Shefter.

CHAPTER 54

Laura was overjoyed, her wish to be someone like her teacher Elizabeth had come true and it was precisely because of her teacher that this had happened. Today, as a graduate, she was very proud to say that if Professor Elizabeth hadn't stood up to her father and convinced him to let me study, I would be nothing today. And it was because of this attitude that I will always have the greatest respect for her.

It was to show the value of that action that I studied so hard, I often stopped sleeping to study, because studying her subject and the complementary distance learning was very complicated. And now, a few days ago, when I picked up my diploma as a distance learning teacher, I discovered that I didn't have a free scholarship, as my father and I had always thought... in reality, I had a guardian angel who funded my studies all along, and that guardian angel was my teacher Elizabeth.

Today it's my turn to show her that everything I've learned from her, every good deed I've received, every piece of advice, I'm going to pass on to my students. I'm going to repay all this kindness with the students she loves so much. My classrooms are for the smallest pupils, all aged between five and seven, while Mrs Thorton, I mean Mrs Grant, is in the next classroom with pupils aged between eight and seventeen, and it's very difficult, there are children of all ages, each with a different learning experience, each at a different level... I had to take my hat off to her because her teacher was a wonderful professional and an expert in strategies, because for each pupil, she had a program.

For Laura, those last few months teaching those children were the realization of a dream, but she missed something...

She missed little Jack. She loved that little boy, and from the day he was born they were together. She saw his first teeth, his first steps, his colds and fevers, but today, with her new job as a teacher, unfortunately she couldn't be with him anymore. I missed being close to that little boy, feeling his hugs or having him ruffle my hair completely...

Laura smiled at the thought of little Jack. Today her students were very well-behaved, writing their lessons. Thanks to her teacher Elizabeth, she had learned a few things about how to hold her pupils' attention.

But little Jack kept popping into her head...

She knew that the boy was in good company; his sister Alien happily took his place. Whenever she saw the two of them together, she could see the affection and love between the siblings. I think that if they were blood siblings, they wouldn't be so close. That little boy, when he saw Alien even from a distance, would run out on his little legs and throw himself into his arms laughing...

She knew that Professor Elizabeth was paying Alien the same amount that she had always paid me, and that caused a strange moment in her family. I remember Alien telling me that she didn't want to accept it and Nathan didn't think it was right either. But Elizabeth said that every job should be valued, and even though Alien loved him and cared for him with the love of a sister, she was going to pay him the same salary as an employee, and that this money should go into savings, so that she could invest in her studies or maybe, when she thought about getting married, she would have something to spend on her trousseau.

When Alien told me, we laughed a lot, after all only she and I, Cody and Robert, know about her relationship with Robert, well at least that's what we think, because Professor Elizabeth seems to have a crystal ball...

"But why is it that time passes, and I still call her Professor Elizabeth even now that I'm a professional colleague?"

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door, and I saw a small smiling figure looking through the small opening in the door... she was very funny and very special, knowing that she respected me as a professional friend was impressive. I was under her command at that school, she could come and go or give orders, but she always asked permission, or suggested something or asked for an opinion.

She had persuaded Lee to make a room at the back of the school so that I could have my own class, because according to her, "that was my class and its rules..."

- Hello, teacher Elizabeth!

- Laura... laughed Elizabeth. I told you to call me Elizabeth...

Laura, her cheeks red, smiled and said:

- Oh, not in your wildest dreams. You're my teacher, Elizabeth, and you will be until the end of my life. You are my inspiration.

- But Laura, are we friends by profession? Elizabeth said.

- I know we are. And it's thanks to you that I'm here. You shaped me, you taught me in the classroom, and you paid for my studies, because I figured it out.

- Laura, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to cross the line, I just wanted to help you and your father.

- I know, I know. You've been everything in my life. When my mother died, I thought I'd never be able to love someone else as much as I loved her, and today I see that I was wrong, you were a mother, a sister, a friend, a teacher, you were the guiding light in my life like a shining star, the one I've followed so far.

- Oh! Laura... tears welled up in Elizabeth's eyes, and she immediately hugged her friend and former pupil. All the children in the room looked at the two women in awe.

Elizabeth was very proud of Laura, Emily, Cody and Robert, because they were all doing so well, and she knew that another former student, Gabe, would be arriving in town that evening.

- Laura, I ran into Emily earlier today and she said she couldn't meet you. She was very happy, because Gabe was arriving from Hamilton tonight.

- I'm very happy for her. Their love is very beautiful, and all these years while he's been away, they've kept in touch a lot by letter.

- I know, Laura. He once told Jack that he was going to marry her. He was just a young boy and she was a sweet girl. Jack laughed and said that maybe when you grow up, you'll change your mind, but Gabe laughed and said that when you love, time is just a pot where that love accumulates, and he would marry her...

Elizabeth passed on all the information about the school work and to her surprise she heard:

- Professor Elizabeth, I'm going to tell you something, I miss little Jack so much that my eyes water when I think of him. I was wondering if he and Alien could sleep at my house tonight, we could make muffins and have a picnic at the cabin. My dad would love to have Jack over.

- Of course, Laura. I'll let Alien know. I think it'll be good for her to get out of the house for a bit... I think she's missing a certain young man a lot.

- I... I... Laura stammered.

- Young Laura, do you think I never noticed those two? What kind of teacher do you think I am? Or rather, what kind of mother do you think I am, who wouldn't know about my daughter's feelings? Do you think I don't know that he's her first love and her first boyfriend? Elizabeth laughed.

- Mrs. Thorton, I mean Mrs. Grant...

Laughing even more, Elizabeth said:

- Calm down Laura, I'm not going to say anything. But I still have to think about how to talk to that father of hers, because that man is purely jealous of that girl, and he doesn't seem to notice that she's becoming a beautiful woman.

- Well, Professor Elizabeth, I wish you luck with him. Maybe today, alone at home, you can use some tactics to convince him.

Elizabeth's cheeks reddened and she burst out laughing, telling Nathan that she would take the children to his house in the early evening.

"But Laura's idea was very positive and could be very good for both sides..." thought Elizabeth.