28/12/2025
The Tale of Two Midnights
The difference between having everything and having nothing can sometimes be measured just by the thickness of a wall, or the turn of a page.
11:59:50 PM. December 31, 2025.
In a cozy living room, the air crackled with anticipation and the sharp, metallic smell of burning sparklers. The Miller family was a portrait of abundance. Three generations were packed onto a comfortable grey sofa, a tangle of limbs, laughter, and festive hats.
"Ten seconds!" shouted the grandfather, raising his glass of champagne. The digital clock on the wall glowed red, counting down the final moments of the year. They had everything they needed right there in that room: warmth, safety, and the unbreakable safety net of each other’s love. They were charging headfirst into 2026, full of hope.
At that exact moment, in a different city, on a street where the stones were slick with winter rain, time felt entirely different.
It was midnight there, too, but there were no sparklers. There was only the biting cold that seeped through the thin, torn wool of a little boy's jacket. He sat on the unforgiving curb of a magnificent boulevard. Behind him, the massive glass windows of Chanel and Louis Vuitton glowed like golden shrines to wealth, displaying handbags worth more than he would ever see in a lifetime.
The shoppers hurried past him, their eyes fixed on the luxury displays, ignoring the small, smudge-faced shadow on the ground.
The boy didn't look at the expensive stores. He only had eyes for one thing. In his grimy, trembling hands, he held a treasure far more valuable than diamonds.
It was an old photograph. It was creased, water-damaged, and fading sepia. It showed a family—a mother, a father, and two smiling children. It looked so much like the Miller family's reality, only captured fifty years ago. It was a window into a past where he, too, had been warm. Where he, too, had belonged.
Back in the living room, the clock struck 12:00:00. A roar of "Happy New Year!" erupted. Hugs were exchanged, kisses planted on cheeks, and promises for the future were made in the warmth!!!!
