The celebration hall was decorated with beautiful holly garlands, and the table at the far end of the room was filled with small snacks. As far as I could see, aside from Malù, no one was missing.

  Edune, Bianca, and David sat in armchairs near the crackling fireplace, chatting quietly. The image of three wise elders gathered around a fire, discussing the fate of the world, flashed through my mind and made me smile.

  The four men, Preon, Cole, Tristan, and Tao, were standing in front of the table, talking among themselves.

  “We’re heeere!” Liz ran straight toward Cole and kissed him on the cheek.

  “Good evening, everyone.”

  As soon as I stepped inside, I noticed a small table off to the side piled with packages, so I took the chance to leave mine there before joining the others.

  “Finally, girls. We were starting to lose hope,” Tristan teased with a laugh.

  David turned toward us and shot Liz a disapproving look. “You could have avoided being late today, at least.”

  “Oh come on, Dad, the world won’t end,” she replied, grabbing a small flatbread from the table. “Besides, you didn’t even wait for us before starting to eat, so we’re even.”

  The evening passed peacefully. It was the first time I had seen everyone gathered in a single room, and the feeling stirred something strange inside me.

  I was truly happy to feel part of something again after so long… but at the same time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t belong here at all.

  I was still lost in those thoughts when a hand gently shook my shoulder.

  “Hm?”

  I turned and found Tao smiling at me, holding a rectangular package.

  “This is from all of us. We hope you’ll like it.”

  Behind him, Tristan and Cole raised their arms in agreement, grinning enthusiastically.

  Around us, everyone else had begun exchanging or opening their gifts.

  I unwrapped mine. Inside was a hair clip with a beautiful white bow attached to it. I brushed my fingers over the soft, delicate fabric.

  “Thank you, guys. It’s beautiful…”

  The words slipped out unconsciously, in Elvish.

  “Was that in your language?” Liz’s voice popped up behind the tall men blocking her view. She was practically bouncing, her eyes sparkling.

  I lowered my gaze and nodded, too embarrassed to answer. I didn’t even know exactly why it made me so uncomfortable.

  Perhaps it was the same thought from earlier, that I didn’t truly belong in this village.

  I had never spoken in my own language in front of the others before, except with Preon, even though my accent was clearly different from theirs.

  Once again, my spiral of thoughts was interrupted by another shake of my shoulders.

  This one felt like an earthquake.

  “Will you teach me your language?! Pleeease Aryaaa!”

  Liz had grabbed both my shoulders and was shaking me back and forth dramatically.

  Before I could even respond, she dragged me toward the armchairs in front of the fireplace, which had become free in the meantime. Edune and Bianca were busy sorting through the packages on the table, while David had joined the men at the food.

  “Oh right! Don’t you want to give Preon your gift?”

  Liz suddenly jumped up again, ran to the table, grabbed my package, and brought it back.

  “This one, right?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  I took the gift and stood up, looking around for Preon.

  He was talking with Tristan and holding what looked like a red and black checkered shirt.

  I waited nearby until they noticed me.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Um… this is for you.”

  I handed the gift to Preon and, without giving him time to open it, slipped away and returned to Liz’s armchair.

  I didn’t even know why I had run away. The anxiety that he might not like it froze me.

  What if he was disappointed?

  Liz and I talked for an hour or two, getting up every now and then to grab more food.

  We had started a sort of game: she would say a sentence in the human language, I would repeat it in Elvish, and she would try to imitate it, never quite succeeding.

  It felt like going back a few months to when I practiced with Preon, only now our roles were reversed.

  After a while Tristan and Cole stepped onto the small stage.

  They picked up two instruments from their cases and prepared to play.

  “Come on, everyone! Time to dance!” Tristan called.

  He stood holding a stringed instrument that produced a sharp, vibrant sound.

  Cole, sitting down, held a much larger instrument resting against his leg. He kept opening and closing it as he played.

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  The music filled the room, blending together beautifully.

  David and Preon bowed to Bianca and Edune respectively, inviting them to the center of the room. The two couples began dancing in time with the music.

  Liz, still sitting in the armchair, clapped along and softly sang the melody.

  I let myself be carried away by the magic of the moment, captivated by the music, by Liz’s unexpectedly beautiful singing voice, and by the couples spinning gracefully across the room.

  Tao approached me and offered his hand with a smile.

  “As long as my wife doesn’t find out… would our Guest grant me a dance?”

  He winked jokingly, though for a brief instant I noticed a shadow pass through his green eyes.

  I stood and took his hand.

  “Look, it’s not that hard. Just follow my movements and have fun!”

  His explanation was quick, but carried by the excitement of the moment I wasn’t afraid of making mistakes.

  I glanced at the other couples and copied their hand positions—one hand in Tao’s, the other resting on his shoulder.

  With the best coordination I could manage, I tried to imitate his steps.

  Soon I began to remember them.

  Behind with the right foot, behind with the left, then together. Right, left, together.

  As we moved, I looked around.

  It felt like I was inside a dream.

  Still focused on my steps, Tao suddenly lifted the hand he was holding and spun me around.

  My heart beat fast and wild.

  I felt an overwhelming urge to laugh, maybe even shout with joy.

  Soon the partners changed.

  Edune returned to her seat, while Bianca and David kept dancing. Liz replaced Cole on the stage and began playing an instrument identical to Tristan’s.

  For the second time that evening, I was surprised by how talented she was.

  Preon approached me with a smile.

  “Are you tired, or can I have a dance too?”

  Before I even realized it, I was spinning through the room in his arms.

  The sounds around us seemed to grow distant.

  For a moment, I felt exactly where I had always wanted to be.

  Preon’s blue eyes seemed to swallow me whole.

  I lifted my hand from his shoulder, trying to touch his cheek, but I lost the rhythm of my steps and stumbled over his feet.

  If not for his quick reflexes, I would have fallen.

  Instead, with one strong arm behind my back, Preon held me suspended midair.

  He leaned over me, our faces dangerously close.

  “Make way, lovebirds!”

  Cole and Tao, left without partners, had begun dancing together while mocking each other.

  Preon pulled me upright effortlessly, leaving me even closer to him.

  The two men spun past us, brushing my hair and sending a shiver down my spine.

  Tristan soon approached, having stepped away from the stage to grab more food, leaving Liz alone up there, still singing and playing without missing a beat.

  “Sorry about those two idiots,” Tristan said, handing me a glass of water. “Did you get hurt?”

  I accepted gratefully, only realizing then how thirsty I was.

  “I’m fine, thank you. I just tripped on my own.”

  I turned to Preon, who responded by gently placing a hand on my head.

  “You must be tired. Maybe you should sit down for a bit. Want something to eat or drink?”

  “I’ll just have a piece of olive flatbread.”

  “I’ll get it. Go sit by the fire.”

  Without arguing, I sat beside Edune.

  “Are you enjoying yourself, dear?” she asked with a warm smile.

  “Enjoying myself is an understatement! It feels like a dream. Everything is wonderful! And the music, the dancing… it’s fascinating. We have dances and songs too, of course, but they’re so different. It reminds me of festivals back home. We danced in the forests and the clearings, around bonfires, feasting all night. After all these years… I didn’t think I’d ever feel the way I used to feel at home again.”

  I took a breath, trying to contain my excitement.

  “And Liz! I had no idea she could sing and play like that!”

  Edune laughed softly.

  “You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you this enthusiastic. Liz learned to play thanks to Cole. He was her teacher. Do you know what that instrument is?”

  With my mouth full of flatbread, I shook my head.

  “That’s a violin. The bow you see moving across the strings makes the sound. And the one Cole was playing is an accordion. It opens and closes, and the keys on the sides change the notes.”

  She smiled apologetically.

  “I’m not much of a musician myself, but if you want to learn more, you should ask those three, they’re the most skilled.”

  With dreamy eyes, I focused on Liz’s performance, letting her voice carry me away.

  Images of my homeland surfaced in my mind, my village, my friends, my family.

  I let myself drift in that warmth, in those distant memories.

  “Arya… are you crying?”

  Liz had come to sit beside us.

  “Huh?”

  I touched my cheeks. They were wet.

  “Oh… sorry. It’s just… you… the violin… you’re amazing, Liz…”

  My voice cracked slightly as I tried to reassure her, while she tried to comfort me instead.

  “Good night, everyone. Cover up, it’s freezing outside.”

  Bianca said goodbye, followed by David.

  Edune had already left a few minutes earlier.

  “Shall we go too?” Preon asked, approaching the stage where Tristan and I were sitting.

  For the last half hour Tristan had been talking to me about music. He had even let me try holding both instruments and playing a few notes.

  It was safe to say I had no natural talent for them.

  “In fact, it’s getting late,” Tristan said, packing away the violin. “You must be tired after all this celebrating.”

  Just thinking about it made me yawn.

  Tristan laughed.

  “You can study all you want tomorrow. For now, I’ll take the young lady back.”

  Before either of us could object, Preon lifted me effortlessly, one arm behind my back, the other beneath my knees.

  “So, tomorrow then?” he asked the others. “Lunch here or later in the afternoon?”

  “Lunch,” Cole replied.

  Tristan nodded.

  “Good. See you tomorrow. Good night, everyone.”

  “Aryaaa! I love youuu!”

  Liz rushed over and hugged me tightly. Preon set me down so she could.

  “I’ll play for you whenever you want. Edune told me about your home… and even if I don’t know why you’re not there anymore, I never want you to feel alone again.”

  She squeezed me as if she might start crying.

  I hugged her back and kissed her cheek before freeing myself.

  “Come on, Liz,” Cole said, placing a jacket on her shoulders. “You get too emotional when you’re tired.”

  I watched the scene with a smile, both tender and amusing.

  Then I felt the weight of a coat settling on my shoulders.

  “Thank you.”

  Preon was already ready to leave.

  After one last round of goodbyes, we stepped outside the inn, surrounded by the white snow that had fallen throughout the evening.

  “So… did you enjoy yourself?”

  “Very much. Thank you for inviting me. And the music… I feel like dancing all night.”

  I tried to imitate the dance steps from earlier, twirling with an imaginary partner.

  Preon laughed, but I kept going.

  Suddenly he grabbed my waist and lifted me, spinning around.

  “Weren’t we interrupted earlier?”

  I found myself suspended in his arms, our faces close, our breaths mingling.

  Snow fell softly around us, slowly but endlessly, beginning to settle on our hair.

  Preon set me down and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, brushing the snow from my hair.

  “Let’s go home before you catch a cold.”

  Hand in hand, we walked quietly along the path that led back to the house.