“‘You sit down at the table. Everyone is gathered, they smile and toast. The adults laugh, toast to a Merry Christmas. You are tired of waiting, asking to leave the table. No one answers, but the glasses clink and the adults laugh. You turn to mom – “can I open one?” She nods.”

For Emma, ​​Christmas Eve was not always what she had intended.

The story has been submitted anonymously to Av-og-til. Learn more from Av-og-til (Norway, December 2020)