The crash echoed through Sophie’s tiny apartment, followed by a muffled curse. She stared at the toppled Christmas tree, ornaments strewn like glittering casualties across the floor. Her first Christmas in her new place wasn’t going as planned.

A knock on the door startled her. Brushing stray tinsel from her sweater, she opened it to find her neighbor, Liam, standing there with a curious smile.

“Everything okay? Sounded like a battle in here,” he said, tilting his head toward the mess behind her.

Sophie hesitated. Letting in a stranger to witness her chaotic decorating failure wasn’t high on her list of plans for the evening. But her sigh betrayed her. “The tree hates me. Want to help?”

Liam grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Within minutes, they were shoulder to shoulder, propping the tree back up and securing its wobbly stand. The scent of pine mixed with the faint aroma of gingerbread from the cookies Sophie had attempted earlier—and burned. The atmosphere lightened as they untangled string lights, Liam cracking jokes that made Sophie laugh in spite of herself.

“Tell me about your worst Christmas,” he said, handing her a shimmering ornament shaped like a snowflake.

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Besides this one? There was the year my cat tried to climb the tree and knocked it over on Christmas morning. Yours?”

Liam’s face lit up. “Two words: exploding eggnog.”

Their laughter filled the room, and before Sophie realized it, hours had slipped by. They sat cross-legged on the floor, sharing takeout and sampling the charred cookies. Liam insisted they weren’t that bad. Sophie insisted he was a liar.

When the tree finally stood resplendent in the corner, glowing softly with twinkling lights, Liam reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small, hand-painted ornament—an old-fashioned key.

“I brought this as a housewarming gift,” he said, holding it out to her. “Merry Christmas, Sophie. Here’s to new traditions—and maybe more nights like this?”

Sophie took the ornament, her cheeks warm despite the cool winter air slipping through the window. She hung it on the tree, near the top where it caught the light just right.

“Merry Christmas, Liam,” she said, her smile matching the glow of the tree. “And here’s to seeing where this goes.”

As the night deepened, Sophie looked at the tree that had started it all—and realized it might not have hated her after all.

The End