Christmasland - Anne-Marie Meyer Page 0,4

as I started to turn, I heard a loud and persistent honk. Glancing down the road, I saw Em’s bright-blue Volkswagen Bug as it cut off a Camry. She pulled up to the curb and jumped out.

“Where are you going?” she asked as she rounded the hood. There was some freshly fallen snow on the road, and in her haste, she lost her footing for a moment. Desperate to keep from falling flat, she grabbed at the hood of her car.

It was like watching a slow-motion movie. I stepped forward to help her, but I was still a good ten feet away. Thankfully, she was able to catch herself and a moment later was upright again.

I raised my eyebrows as she offered me a perky smile. Her cheeks were flushed, but there was a twinkle in her eye. She was excited, and there was no way I wanted to take that away from her.

“I’m okay. I’m okay,” she said as she hurried over to me.

“It seems like a bad omen.” I held onto my suitcase for a moment, but Em was more determined than I was and eventually yanked it from my grasp.

“No, it’s not. It’s actually good luck,” she called over her shoulder as she made her way to the trunk.

“Falling on your butt in the snow is good luck?”

“It is,” she yelled as she disappeared into the trunk. I heard her shuffle things around, and then a moment later, she popped back up as she slammed the trunk closed. “All set,” she sang out.

I took in a deep breath. This was fine. I was fine. I could do this. After all, it was just for a few days.

Em had sent me close to a hundred emails depicting what we were going to do at Christmasland. I think she feared I was going to back out and wanted to get me excited. Her emails did nothing of the sort. Instead, they freaked me out.

Christmasland was a small town in Vermont. Apparently the entire town had transformed into the embodiment of every holiday cliché. They didn’t give a lot of details about what they do, just that you are “guaranteed the quintessential Christmas experience.”

Lord help me.

I dragged my feet a bit more, but Em wasn’t having it. She hurried over and hooked arms with me. She pulled me toward the passenger side of the car and shoved me inside.

Once we were on the road, I tried to relax, but that seemed far-fetched. I was pretty sure I was going to spend the entire trip as a jumble of nerves. Thankfully I had writing to do, and from what Em said, she’d been given the master suite at the North Pole bed and breakfast. The perfect place to rejigger my creative juices and get the inspiration flowing again.

I was stuck in my story, and I feared I would never get out of it.

I leaned against my headrest and listened as Em rattled on about what we were going to do. Christmas music played softly in the background, and as I stared outside the window, watching the snow-covered world pass by, I actually began to relax.

I wasn’t going to have work or the stress of living in the city for the next few days. I might as well enjoy that freedom even if it came with a town full of people who thought I loved Christmas as much as they did.

“Fifteen miles away!” Em sang out as we passed the sign for Christmasland.

I glanced over at her as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel, and a crazed smile passed over her face.

“Calm down,” I said as I shifted to sit up in my seat. Trees spanned out in both directions. They were covered with white snow, and with the sun shining down, it made the world feel brighter. And I had to admit, it helped my mood.

Suddenly, the sound of something exploding mixed with car jerking to the left had us both screaming. Em took charge and pulled the car onto the shoulder and threw the car into park.

My heart was pounding as I took in deep breaths. When I glanced over at Em, she looked as terrified as I did.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She nodded and turned to stare at me. Her eyes were wide, and for a moment, she looked worried until her lips tipped up into a…smile? “It’s starting.”

I blinked. “What?”

She giggled as she hurried to unbuckle her seatbelt and climbed out of the car. I moved