(Journal) Thanksgiving 2026 | Page 2

Freya's green eyes slowly opened as the afternoon sun lit her room through the bedroom window. The first thing she grabbed, like every other normal people in this age, was her phone. Her eyes fixed on the screen for some time before she exhales "Thanksgiving, huh? It's already that time of the year again." She went to grab a towel and went into the showers with thoughts on her mind.

Being an holiday originally celebrated in Canada and the US, it's strange to her that British people also celebrated the occasion. But having lived in America for straight three years meant that she also have to deal with this kind of thing every year. Stepping out from the cold shower, she wrapped the towel on her head and checked her phone once again. Still no calls, no messages, sigh. Not that she expected any from her family, but come on, that's 3 years consecutive worth of record!

Freya threw her body into the bed once again, face drowning in the pillows. "No, I'm not doing any streams today" she decided. This has been a tough year for her, after the whole thing with Terrasphere and having to deal with papers and resumes to get her degree. Everything seem stopped, the time, the space. But actually it moved faster, even faster than she imagined.

It was late, she woke up once again after inadvertently slept the whole day without having a single meal. With her stomach now rumbling, she considered ordering a pizza and maybe jump into Terrasphere. There might be people like her, who had nobody to spend time with. As she reached for the phone, someone knocked on the door. Time-traveling pizza guy? Couldn't be. She doesn't remember ordering anything few days back, though. After few more knocks, she decided to check it out. Slipping her feet into the bunny sandals, off she go to the front door. "Wait a second, I'm coming!" she shouted.

The door was unlocked and she pulled the handle. There stood a man in the front of her apartment, someone she didn't expect to be here at all. "Father?" she asked "What are you doing here?" It's quite weird to see her father here, like, her parents gave her that disliking look the last time she met them. Her thought was quickly swept off as the man with the slicked-back hair replied "It's Thanksgiving. Is it weird for a father to pay a visit to his own daughter, eh, Freya?" she quickly hugged him, words cannot express how grateful of her that he was here. "All the way to the US, for me? Why is mother not here?" Freya asked, almost sobbing. The father looked her in the eyes and smiled "How about we go for a dinner, and while we eat I tell you why am I here?"

She nodded. In her heart she thanked God for this day, for it was a good day in the dark year.

 

Leah didn't have much care for Thanksgiving, beyond it being quite a nuisance. She wouldn't begrudge people their holidays and spending time with their family, but the lack of everything available during Thanksgiving was annoying. It wasn't like it was the end of the world. On the plus side, an article that she was working on wouldn't be due until the next Monday, so she had a bit of a break where she could just do nothing all day.

Eugh. That sounded... worse than boring.

She didn't feel like heading into Terrasphere. No doubt that it'd be quieter there, with a lot of people doing whatever they did at Thanksgiving. And she needed a break from the game anyway, after all that had just happened.

So, Leah decided to head out. The weather was getting colder, but that was fine. She pulled on a jumper, packed a scarf in case the wind got too biting, grabbed a few small necessities like her wallet and keys, and ventured out.

The city was so quiet like this. It felt nice. Maybe she should head out more, on the days where things weren't quite so crowded. She found a coffeeshop that was still open, despite the occasion, and slipped in to order a drink. There was nobody else around, and the barista didn't feel like chatting, so all in all, it was perfect. Settling down on an outside chair to enjoy the cold weather, Leah just relaxed.

 

Most of his life, he spent them using his smiles as a mask to hide his cautious and cold persona. But for this holiday, this was the only time that he can truly smile without being cautious to everyone. Besides, it's not every day for him to reunite with his parents and his extended family at his parent's house in New York. Most of them lived in France while some lived in Boston and New York, so it was rare for him to meet most of them under one roof.

As his parents helped out their siblings on the Thanksgiving dinner, he ended up looking after his young nephews as they ran around the living room playing tag. And unfortunately for Armand, he was trapped as they are circling around his legs with no space to walk by. So far, he has no luck on passing through the hyperactive twins despite he had to spend a few minutes trying to talk them out of their mischievous selves. "Mon Dieu! Alicia, will you do something to these kids?!" He shouted as he tried not to fall down from the chaos beneath him.

"I don't know, Armand. I really don't want to ruin their playtime. Though I am disappointed that I can't join you. They seemed to be very happy with you around." Well, he can understand her words since she was busy setting up the table. Yet her little smile made him knew she just wanted her kids to play with their uncle for a while. Needless to say, this wasn't helping his situation.

"I can't really say that you're disappointed or not. I'm a college professor, not a babysitter. Not to mention that I have a low tolerance to noises like THIIISS!"

Without any warning, he found himself on the floor as the twins laughed at their little mishap while laying beneath Armand. Unfortunately, this made him frown as he struggled himself to get up as Alicia also laughed at his misfortune with children. "Oh, lighten up, Army! You did wish this reunion to happen this Thanksgiving. So try to loosen up and have fun for once! It's very rare for some of us to meet up in New York, you know?"

He would protest her words, but she has a point. He did want for most of his family to gather up for a Thanksgiving dinner in his current home and he can't possibly be stern and cold in front of them. Besides, since he gave up on logging into Terrasphere for today, he needed to spend this time having a good time with his family. Even when he got up, he noticed the twins asking him to play with them. Guess he can't say no to a family and their needs. "Alright. But if you call me 'Army' one more time, I'll ask them to bother you instead."

It was more of a tease than a threat, but he really didn't like that nickname. In fact, he only got that name because his cousin named him after trying to make rhymes with his first name. Regardless, he played with the twins along with his nephews before he moved on to talk to other adults before dinner.

While he bumped into a few situations regarding his patience being tested from time to time, he was still happy that most of his relatives are here to celebrate with him and his parents this Thanksgiving. He did go through a lot from his job to the events in Terrasphere, but at least this year's Thanksgiving dinner was very memorable.

 

A trip to the Bahamas. A yacht. A luxury hotel. Pretty diamond earrings and even prettier girls. Violet flipped her hair, spoke with eloquence, and wore her mother's dress that fit her perfectly. Not a proper family reunion as much as a country club get-together. Families she's been trained to remember the names of and trained to get along dashingly with filled the beach. They ordered easily recognizable servants around with a flick of the wrist. Flaunted money, spent money, breathed money; Violet's pink hair might as well of been green just to indicate how her life would forever be haunted by riches. Unwanted? No. The life of an upperclassmen never failed to be desired by others, and thus she never took it for granted. Deserved? No. Not in your typical way, either, for not a soul deserves to see themselves with pure disgust born from a strong sense of self-hatred. She hardly if ever lifted a finger, with a maid constantly by her side, but faced an inner turmoil compared to a hurricane's wrath on the coastline. Eating very little to maintain a figure deemed appropriate to the times and her modelling career of no true interest. Keeping enemies and - what she has to call - friends close in order to build bridges rather than burn them. To set ablaze all connections or to rid of her persona and coat of despair or both, even: a Thanksgiving wish waved away by a God who decided to put Violet aside in the meantime. Facing threats and insults with an astonishing calmness only to further anger those who despite the pink-haired woman for no real reason other than the trophy on her arms, money in the bank, or crown placed upon her head at birth.

There were no tears to shed that day or any day. They were crammed back into the source by the irresponsible hands of careless parents and their talons of control that pushed their daughter into a corner with no escape. No light, no hope, and not an ounce of familial love on this Thanksgiving. Only Violet and her plastic smile and her cardboard laugh; a crafted perfection to please the masses.

 

The living room was dark, the only light coming from the flat screen mounted to the wall. The smell of turkey and pumpkin pie lingered in the air even though the leftovers had been packed away and refrigerated hours ago. The thermostat was cranked up making the room toasty. New York seemed to always become bitterly cold around this time of year. Two mugs of not-so-hot hot cocoa sat on turkey shaped coasters on the coffee table. Late night traffic blared from the streets of Manhattan down below. Serena often wondered how her mother could sleep through the horns blaring in the dense city, not like it was any better in Brooklyn.

Two lumps were sprawled across the couch, sharing a handmade quilt to keep them safe from the howling wind outside. Serena yawned, catching herself nodding off. She sat up a little, forcing her tired eyes to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for the fifth time that day. Tucked close into her chest, her daughter mumbled in her sleep about a fat turkey. Liliana was still dressed in her ‘Gobble Day’ sweater, a few stains from a pudding mishap decorating the collar. In her arms was her favorite stuffed duck, Mr. Ducky.

Serena smiled when her gentle gaze fell on the sleeping face of her baby. She pushed a few strands of her curled brown hair away from her face, smoothing it down in hopes it wouldn’t be a crazy mess in the morning. They had come to stay at Serena’s mother’s apartment for the holiday, deciding it would be easier considering Serena was on call tonight. The hospital had given her the day off to spend with her family, but once that clock hit midnight she’d be gone.

She felt guilty for having to leave her little family in less than an hour. She barely had enough time to spend with her baby girl as is, it only made it bittersweet to leave her here. Serena was worried that at some point Liliana would completely forget about her with how little she was around anymore. She worried that she'd think Serena was never there for her, that she didn't care. Liliana probably thought of her grandmother more as her real mom anyway. The thought made her heart hurt. Her little girl was her world, after all.

The watch on her wrist beeped, causing her shoulders to slump. Serena ran her thumb across Liliana’s cheek, smiling sweetly as a little grin appeared on her face. She pressed a tender kiss to the little one’s forehead, holding back a familiar wave of emotions as she pulled away. She struggled to wrestle herself free of the couch, careful not to wake up the sleeping four-year-old. She pulled the quilt up under Liliana’s chin, tucking her in to make sure she’d be nice and warm without her there. “Goodnight, my paperella. Happy Thanksgiving, I love you,” she whispered, before moving silently through the apartment to change into her scrubs.