Michael's Wish, part 1

Year 35: Michael picked tinsel off his clothes as he went to find Morgan. The festive December spirit that overtook the household every year grew as the children did. Michael loved it. However, there was always one shadow that fell over it, and Michael found himself every year wishing that Morgan could spend Christmas Day home with him and their family. There was a very old photo of them when they were four or five sitting with their father in the large drawing room. Morgan was actually smiling in it. Michael could not remember another December twenty-fifth when Morgan was present. He presumed that their mother would drag him away just to deny him the innocent joy of the season.

As they grew older, Morgan would show up on December twenty-sixth beaten and bloody. The wounds grew progressively worse over time. The effect on Morgan's spirit was noticeable. He stopped partaking in the festivities leading up to the holiday. He'd become morose at the end of November. Any attempts to engage him in activities would lead to a stilted, almost mechanical, participation.

There was one small, but salient, exception. As practicing Anglicans, they often were willing to aid their congregation. Their parish was never short funds. So, on Christmas Eve, Morgan traditionally sang for the evening mass. They would then go back to the small church at the barony and he would repeat his performance in a common mass. Then, at some point between compline and midnight, he would disappear.