20days 10hrs 20mins 27sec...

She had awakened to silence.  It was so quiet, it was deafening.  She had only meant to take a little snooze on the couch, but apparently her body decided it would sleep longer.  It was now dark outside, and a bit chilly inside.  Slowly peeling back her blankets, Emma walked to the fireplace and started a healthy blaze.  There, she thought, it will soon be warm.  She hated being cold, especially in her own house.

Walking over to the corner, she plugged in two strands of lights.  Almost instantly the entire tree, along with half the room, lit up in a glorious display of twinkling lights.  Ornaments gleamed, and the room suddenly became cozy.  The air's a bit dry.  Emma was proved right after a quick glance in the mirror showed her static, messy hair.  Time for a little of mom's magic, she thought.  She took out an old pot, filled it with scalding water, and placed it on the glowing stove burner.  After selecting Allspice, Cinnamon, and Ginger from the spice rack, she dumped a handsome share of each (except for the Ginger: it was her least favorite) into the water and stirred.  Eventually, the water would boil and evaporate, and thus humidifying the room with a rich scent.  Her mother had taught her this trick when she was a little girl.  She remembered how good it had smelled when she came home from school to find the boiling pot on the stove top.

The door banged open.  A cold gust of wind gushed in, along with a bundled up figure.  Emma rushed over, closed the door, and turned around to face the figure.  "I thought you had to work late," she said.
"So did I, but the deal went better than expected and we finished early."

Smiling, Emma brushed the snow from his hair and hung up his coat.  She looked outside and realized that it was snowing.  Big, white flakes floated lazily down to earth.  It was the pretty kind of snow.
"Whats for dinner?"
"Candy canes," she said as she plucked one from the tree.  He slid his arms around her.
"Mmm, nice and sweet," he said just before kissing her.