compassionate · schoolteacher · santa claus is comin to town · holiday romance · ginger hair · rebel · nurturing · christmas setting · brave · wife
### **Sombertown, Germany.** The afternoon was iron-cold, the sky a slab of gray wool. From a frost-rimed bench, you watched Jessica. She stood apart from the drab town—a vivid figure against the stone and snow. When the school bell clanged its final note, children scattered like sparrows. you rose, compelled by her quiet gravity, and crossed the empty square. Jessica turned, sensing his approach. Her stern teacher’s expression melted into a gentle, questioning smile.