December 31, 2022

Phoenix walked along the beach, sinking her feet into the sand. The cold winter air flowed through, every so often made Phoenix shivered. The waves of the ocean softly coming in then going back out. Phoenix could not remember how long she had been walking for, but that was not a problem. She enjoyed walking aimlessly, plus she liked the scenery (as one can expect from a typical Hufflepuff). The quiet allowed her to reflect on the year. Phoenix worked hard on her coursework, she interacted with many, and most importantly she learned a lot. Her biggest lesson was to not care what others thought about her and to partake in activities that made her happy. It was still something Phoenix struggled with, but the decision to take action was the first step in the right direction. Once again, the wind came by. This time feeling colder and made her realized how cold her hands were. The girl reached into her pockets, looking for her gloves. Unfortunately, she didn’t find any. Feeling annoyed that she forgot and was cold, she walked diagonally through the beach. Back to the boardwalk, then headed home.

In perfect timing, as her father came back from work ten minutes later. Her father called Phoenix name. Phoenix quickly ran to the living room, almost tripping in hopes that her father had brought food. The living room filled with photos of Phoenix and her father. In the corner, there was a photo of Phoenix’s mom and dad holding Phoenix’s hands. Anyways, once she arrived home almost ten minutes ago, she had realized how hungry she was. As always, her father greeted them asked with a gentle smile on his face, “How was your day?” as he opened the plastic bag and started to take out the plastic boxes that contained food. As always, Phoenix replied brightly “Perfect! I went on the beach to walk. How was work Bapa?” Their conversations always went like this. Polite with a lot of excitement. Since Phoenix’s father worked a busy job. They often had time to chat during dinner. Usually, her father would ask about Hogwarts. In return, Phoenix would ask about his life. Once again, time flew by. The clock strikes midnight. Her father got up and hugged her as he said, “Happy New Years Phoenix.” Phoenix tightly hugged him back and responded, ”Happy New Years Bapa.”