Christmas Memories

A Short Christmas Story of Love lost and Found again

Christmas Mmories

Lancer Tower, London – Ten Days Before Christmas

Jake closed his laptop with a sigh. Bob leaned over his desk, grinning.

“So, what are you doing for Christmas this year, Jake? Taking the lovely Constance somewhere exotic?”

Jake smiled faintly. “Not this time. I’m going alone—to somewhere I’ve been putting off for far too long.” His tone darkened, and Bob’s grin faded.

“Jake, not this again. Every year you say it, but you never go. Let the past be.”

“This time, I mean it. And I don’t want Constance—or anyone—knowing where I’ve gone.”

Bob raised his hands in surrender. “Fine. But if you vanish, your mother will hound me, and the press will scream CEO missing at Christmas.”

Later that evening. Snow drifted down as Jake drove slowly through the village street toward the inn. From ahead, Emily, the owner of The Holly Inn, walked past, her scarf pulled close against the cold, auburn hair catching the glow of his headlights.

A clerk greeted him at the desk. “Good evening, sir. The owner’s out at the moment, but I’ll show you to your room.” Jake followed her upstairs and set down his bag. He couldn’t help but feel anxious about returning after all this time.

The next morning, Jake came down to the dining room. The inn was quiet, the smell of coffee and fresh bread filling the air. At one of the tables sat the same woman he had passed the night before.

She looked up as he entered. “Good morning. I’m Emily—the owner. I trust you slept well?”

Jake blinked, startled. “Yes… Thank you. I didn’t realise…”

Her eyes lingered on him, searching. Then, quietly: “We’ve met before. You don’t remember me, do you?”

Jake frowned, confused. “I’m sorry, I’m sure I would’ve remembered if we met before.”

Emily’s expression turned vaguely hostile. “Oh, I may be mistaken, then—sorry.”

Later that day, Jake wandered further into the village. His feet carried him to the edge, where the old mansion stood—the house he had grown up in. The gates sagged, the drive was unkempt, and the windows stared blankly into the winter air. He paused, staring at the building that had once been his world. Memories flickered—Christmas trees in the hall, laughter echoing through corridors, and a promise made long ago. He felt the weight of what he had lost. The time before the accident was a blur to him. Memories tugged at him teasingly, but wouldn’t come. Jake turned away, unsettled.

It was mid-morning three days later, and Jake was conversing with Emily about what she planned for Christmas at the inn. The inn door opened, and A tall raven-haired woman entered, brimming with irritation. Jake sighed in exasperation, Constance, how did you find me?“

It wasn’t easy, I had to threaten Bob that I would tell your mother you both planned it,” she snapped. “Do you realise how it looks, the CEO vanishing days before Christmas?”

Constance turned to Emily with a calm smile. “And you must be the innkeeper. Charming place… quaint, really.”

Emily’s jaw tightened. “We do our best here.”

Constance’s eyes flicked over her, dismissive. “I’m sure you do. But Jake is a CEO with little time to waste in little villages like this.”

Jake bristled, sensing the sting in her words. Emily withdrew, her resentment rekindled.

Despite Constance’s presence, Jake found himself drawn back to Emily. Snowy walks through the village triggered flashes of memory: laughter, a promise, the screech of tyres, the crash.

One night, Emily placed a small box on the inn’s counter. “I kept this,” she whispered. Inside lay a silver locket. “It was meant for you. I never understood why you didn’t come.”

Jake’s breath caught. The memory surged back—her face, her gift, the promise, and then the accident that stole it all. Tears filled his eyes. “Emily… I remember now.
I didn’t abandon you. I was hurt. I lost the memory of that day.”

Emily’s eyes widened, her bitterness faltering. “So, all this time…”

Constance scoffed. “Really, Jake? You’re chasing ghosts.”

But Jake shook his head. “No. This is real. This is what I lost.”

Snow fell thick and silent across the village green. Jake left the inn alone, his footsteps crunching on the frozen path. He carried a small package in his coat pocket, his heart heavy with memories that were only now beginning to surface. Elsewhere, Emily walked through the same snow, her scarf pulled tight, her pace steady. She had not told him, but she knew where he was meant to go—where they had once promised to meet.

At last, they both arrived at the old oak tree, approaching from opposite directions. For a moment, they stood apart, the silence between them filled only by the tolling of the church bells.

Jake’s breath caught. “Emily… this is where I was meant to meet you.”

Her eyes widened, tears glistening. “You do remember.”

Jake drew out the package, his voice breaking. “I found this in my mother’s attic. I meant to give it to you then.” Inside was a book of poems, its pages yellowed but intact.

Emily opened it with trembling hands. “After all this time…”

Jake stepped closer. “I’m sorry I never came. I was hurt, and the memory was lost. But even without it, something in me always knew.”

The bells rang on, echoing across the frosted rooftops, while the village lay hushed in Christmas peace. In that moment, past and present folded together, and the promise they had once made was fulfilled.

Jake whispered against her hair, “This time, I won’t let go.”

Emily held him closer, her tears mingling with laughter. “Then let this be our Christmas beginning.”

The End