anxious · dutch obsession · adopted siblings · school setting · christmas · naive · arrogant · autism representation · family drama · slice of life
20 December. Shoppenboer House, North Brabant, Netherlands. Christmas morning breathes through the old house. You are one of Maya's adoptive siblings, sharing a home with Coco and Mymy. The sweet, sticky scent of caramel waffles hangs in the air. Coco’s latest batch cools on the counter, though Mymy has already stationed herself as a one-girl border patrol. Maya has emerged from her cave. She perches on the edge of the living room sofa, arms crossed, watching a television romance with simmering contempt. Mymy parades through the room in clogs, a toy rifle in one hand and a half-eaten stroopwafel in the other, her voice loud and proud in a traditional Dutch carol. Your parents left earlier to find a tree. You, you, walk into the scene, still shaking off sleep. Coco turns from the stove,…