Raquel’s head snapped up and, yes, the woman was completely serious. Raquel laughed. “I am afraid that wishes don’t work that way.”

Mrs. Bennet nodded excitedly. “Honey, you’re in Christmas Cove, where dreams come true.”

“Seriously?” Raquel asked, her eyebrows raising nearly into her hairline.

Mrs. Bennet smiled. “In Christmas Cove, magic is in the air, especially at Christmas time.” It was a week before Christmas and there really was magic in the air. Raquel could feel it. “Anyway…,” the woman continued, “what could it hurt? Just make a wish and see what happens.”

Raquel smiled, shaking her head. “What would I make a wish on? The Christmas tree?” Raquel flailed her arm toward the Christmas tree in the lobby where the lodge collected gifts for the Christmas Cove Children’s Home year ‘round. In fact, this tree and another tree in the restaurant were both bursting with so many gifts that they started lining the walls. Raquel had never seen so many gifts before in her life.

“No, silly!” Mrs. Bennet laughed. “Don’t you know? A wish made on Christmas Eve always comes true.”

“But Christmas is a week away.” Raquel chuckled.

Mrs. Bennet shrugged. “Then make a wish on a falling star.”

Raquel raised an eyebrow. “And if one is not falling?”

A sly smile spread across Mrs. Bennet’s face. “Then pick one.”

Raquel laughed, organizing some more papers. “Well, I have better things I could wish for than a man.”

“Well....” Mrs. Bennet’s face suddenly turned serious. “There’s no harm in making a wish for yourself every now and then.”

Raquel nodded. “Thank you, Mrs. Bennet.” Then she pulled her in for a hug. Over the few months that Raquel had worked there, the woman had become a mother figure for her.

“Well, mark my words.” Mrs. Bennet pulled away. “There’s magic here in Christmas Cove.” She shrugged. “You just have to tap into it.”

Raquel chuckled. “I could use a bit of magic in my life.”

Mrs. Bennet chuckled. “We all could.”

***

“You’re still here?” Mr. White asked Raquel later that night.

“I just thought—”

“Go home, Miss Torres,” Mr. White joked, turning her around. Then he picked up her purse and her coat and shoved them into her arms. “There’s the door. What’s your hurry?” he joked.

“Mr. White....” Raquel sighed. “I just want to do my best.”

“And you do,” he replied, looking at her with kind eyes. “Now. Go on home. You have an early shift tomorrow and I want you rested.” He pointed at finger at her playfully. “And that’s an order.”

Raquel laughed. “Yes, boss.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

“Don’t worry.” Raquel smiled. “I won’t.” She slipped into her coat and hurried out the door as a rush of cold air ran through her coat. Luckily, it had stopped snowing and the night was reasonably clear. She quickly unlocked her truck, slipped inside, and then cranked up the heat.

Then she slid the truck into gear and headed down the private drive leading to the main road. After making a right, she drove back through the town square, now lit up with Christmas lights. The gazebo was lit up with twinkling lights along with the Christmas tree, and lights adorned the stores, stretching from one end of the square to the other. It really was a Winter Wonderland.

Her stomach growled, but she told herself to wait to eat until she got home. After all, she had food in her freezer. She never ate in the restaurants, wanting to save every dime she could. Raquel drove past the town square and headed straight to the other side through the neighborhood, decorated with twinkling lights of every color for the holiday. But then again, the town had been decorated since she had moved there. It was one of the things that had attracted her to Christmas Cove.

She pulled down the dirt road leading to her cabin... her little slice of heaven. In her cabin, she hurried to turn on the heat, rubbing her hands together for warmth. After all, she wasn’t home all day, so why run the heater when she wasn’t there? But then again, it never took long for her cabin to warm up.

On a whim, she pulled a saucepan out from under the cabinet and measured out some milk, cocoa, and sugar, in the mood for hot chocolate. Raquel took a frozen dinner out of the freezer and popped it into the oven, and then poured the hot chocolate into a cup and sat at the small kitchen table, settling in to wait.

Blowing across the steaming hot cocoa, she wondered what she would do for the holidays. Christmas was just a week away, and she didn’t even have a Christmas tree. But living by herself, she didn’t need one. Christmas Cove was her Christmas tree. Every time she drove through the square, she imagined that the living Christmas tree was hers, so she didn’t need one at home.

Soon, the timer rang, and her dinner was ready. She took it to her small table and sat back in one of the two chairs, settling in to eat her dinner. She dipped a French fry into her hot chocolate and ate it, something she had learned when she came to America. She finished her dinner, thinking of what Mrs. Bennet had told her and smirked, shaking her head.

“Make a wish? Seriously?” she asked herself. When she was finished eating and the dishes were done, she poured the rest of the hot chocolate into her cup and then looked out the window. It was a gorgeous night. “Why not?”

Raquel set down her hot chocolate, slipped into her coat, and then took her cocoa outside. She sat on the wooden bench by the frozen lake, wondering how it would look in summer. If it was half as beautiful as it was now, then she couldn’t wait to see it. But she wished she could freeze this moment in time and stay here forever... that is, if she didn’t freeze to death first.

Raquel looked up. The dark sky was clear, and the stars were out along with the moon, casting a blue hue over the frozen lake and pristine snow. She was watching the stars and then, suddenly, a star shot across the sky. She quickly closed her eyes.

“I wish I could find someone to love, and a family of my own.”

When she opened her eyes, the star was gone, having disappeared into the horizon.

And for a split second, she believed in magic. She just hoped the universe felt the same.