Free The Broken Window by Christa J. Kinde

for giant warriors like Taweel and Jedrick. And it seemed silly to get Harken a book when he owned an entire store full of them. “I wonder if there’s any instrument that Kester doesn’t have?”
    “I do not know. Should I ask?” Koji offered.
    “No, that would spoil the surprise.” She frowned thoughtfully, then sighed. “I don’t know what to get
anyone
! Maybe I could just bake for them again? But … that might not be special enough.”
    As she rambled, Koji listened with a thoughtful expression on his face, but he offered no solutions. Finally, she huffed and glanced at her watch. “I guess it’ll have to wait.Something will come to me. Let’s go! We only have an hour left, and I want to start looking for my ornament.”
    Koji had followed her in and out of some of the smaller shops, never complaining like her brothers might have. He seemed just as interested in the items lining the shelves as he was in the people perusing them. As she steered him toward one of the big stores anchoring the end of the mall, he asked, “Ornament? Are you seeking some form of adornment?”
    “I think the word you’re looking for is
accessory,
but no,” she replied. “I’m talking about tree ornaments.”
    “Your brothers have spoken extensively about your family’s Christmas traditions,” Koji noted, reaching for her hand as they joined the throng of shoppers entering the department store. “I am to be afforded a sock of my own.”
    “Stocking,” she corrected. “And
of course
you’ll be included. You’ll be added to our gift exchange too!”
    “Yes,” he confirmed. “Your mother already invited me to participate. I am interested to see how the lots shall be cast.”
    With such a large family, the Pomeroys didn’t even attempt to have everyone choose gifts for everyone else at Christmastime. Instead, the siblings enjoyed an annual game of Secret Santa. Prissie shook her head in amusement. “We pull names out of a hat.”
    “Why do you require an ornament?” Koji asked.
    “It’s a tradition,” Prissie proudly replied. “Grandma Nell started it with Aunt Ida when she was a girl, and they included me when I came along. Every year, she buys us one special ornament. We’ll choose one for Auntie too, even though her collection is in the attic right now.”
    “I see.”
    “This way,” she said, pointing confidently at the small forest of artificial trees just ahead. “Sometimes, Auntie sends me ornaments too. She knows just the kind that I like best, so they’re always really beautiful. Oooh, pretty!”
    Prissie let go of Koji’s hand as they reached the store’s impressive display of seasonal ornaments. She drifted between trees of different heights, eagerly inspecting the offerings. He trailed after her, but soon became distracted by the incredible variety. She nearly ran into him when they both circled the same tree in opposite directions.
    “There is much to see, but I do not understand the purpose of many of these adornments.” Koji pointed uncertainly to a tree decorated entirely with birds. “I do not see how this connects with the Savior’s birth. Is this a celebration of the fifth day of creation?”
    She laughed softly. “It doesn’t really have anything to do with
anything
,” she explained. “Some people collect ornaments according to a theme.”
    “Like you?” he asked.
    “Well, sort of,” she conceded. “I’ve always chosen ornaments that I really liked, and they’re all different shapes and sizes. But most of them are colored glass … like this.” Prissie pointed helpfully to a glass sphere with swirls of pink and gold covering its surface.
    “Will you be searching for an ornament based on appearances again?”
    She could tell there was a challenge lurking in his tone, and she impulsively took him up on it. “I think
this
year, I want an ornament that reminds me of
you.
”
    He blinked. “It is not the season of
my
birth.”
    Prissie gently touched a pink-frosted