It was Christmas' Eve and there was a party at the void deck. It was a Christmas party organised by the RC for the residents in the area. Sabine was there with her brother, Samuel. They had always been supportive of such events as they enjoyed the food, gifts and performance. After some dance performance by the different races, it was time for the all time favourite - magic show. Sabine and her brother pushed their way to the front of the stage to have a better view. The magician was dressed up as Santa Claus while his assistant - a teenage boy, was a reindeer. There were the usual disappearing and appearing of flowers, pigeons and ribbons. Santa Claus even ate fire and almost got his 'cotton beard' burn. Then for the finale, they 'showered' the audience with gifts. Samuel leapt up and managed to get hold of one. It was a lollipop. Sabine was too shy to reach out for it. Suddenly, a lollipop was thrusted into her hand. It was from the 'reindeer boy' who had noticed her hesitation. She whispered a soft 'thanks' and had a closer look at him. She thought he looked familiar but couldn't recall where she had seen him before. She held on tightly to the candy and stared at his rear as he moved among the audience. It was indeed an unforgettable evening for her.

Sabine was a 14-year- old gal who lived in a family that adored sons much more than daughters. Her younger brother was like the emperor of the house and everybody had to give in to his demands or he would complain to his granny - the Empress Dowager of the family. Though Samuel was a cute and chubby little boy, he could get on Sabine's nerve at times and whenever that happened she would miss the times when she was the only child. Then, she was the apple of everyone's eye and could have anything she wanted but all that changed when her brother came along. It was not that suddenly everybody loved her less but that they loved the latest addition to the family more, especically her granny who had always wanted a grandson. Being the elder sibling, she was expected to give in to him, in fact everything that the family did would be mainly to cater to his needs. Sabine felt unwanted and unloved and longed for someone who would shower her with love again.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and Sabine was at the playground with Samuel. It seemed that she was his only playmate as the other kids didn't enjoy playing with the unreasonable brat. Given a choice, Sabine would have preferred to be with her friends but that option was never opened to her. As she sat on the bench, watching her brother climb up the slide, she noticed a familiar figure from afar. It was the 'reindeer boy' who was walking towards the playground with what looked like his little brother. She looked away, not wanting to make eye contact and wondered how she could make herself invisible to him.

Andrew helped his brother up the ladder to the slide. He noticed that Samuel was on the slide too and asked if his brother could join him. Samuel welcomed his new playmate and the two of them were soon playing liked they had always been playing together. Just then, Sabine realised that he was walking towards her. She was about to shift her position when she heard his voice. She was ..................................