Page 43 of Christmas at the Little Cornish Bakery

Lola fought the urge to tell her to back off.

‘I guess, but it’s not meant to be romantic,’ Lola pointed out.

‘This is a way for us all to feel calmer, more in touch with our inner selves,’ she said, but Anna was only half listening as she scanned the crowd.

‘I’ll be starting soon but there’s a couple of people who I know said they were coming but are yet to arrive. Go and circulate.’

Anna didn’t need to be told twice, she grabbed her sister’s arm and marched her over to Tristan, immediately engaging him in conversation.

Hmm .?.?. Lola’s brow furrowed and her hackles rose as she noticed Anna briefly touch his arm as she laughed extra loudly at something he said.

Tristan had the good grace to take a step back.

As she watched Anna step closer to Tristan, Lola wondered why on earth she hadn’t just told Anna to get lost.

‘Where do you want this?’ Steve caught her attention by dumping something at her feet. He’d invested in an insulated urn to keep the mulled wine warm for the occasion. ‘It’s super strength to get the naked dancing going. I reckon if that fire gets any bigger we’ll all be stripping off.’

Lola rolled her eyes. ‘How many times do I have to tell you there’s no naked dancing, it’s a solstice ritual not a nudist one. But you know, if that’s how you wish to express your gratitude for the year, then by all means go ahead.’

Steve laughed. ‘Let’s see how the evening pans out. Shall I just leave this here or do you want me to start serving?’

‘Leave it there. It’s important to approach the ritual with a clear mind, it’s all about grounding yourself, reaching deep inside and getting in touch with nature.’

Steve looked at her as if she was crazy, which made Lola chuckle.

With an affectionate pat on his arm she sent him off in the direction of Alf and then took her place at the fire.

Lola scanned the crowd and counted roughly twenty people, which was more than she had expected.

She allowed everyone a few moments to greet each other and settle down.

When she was sure no one else was coming, she clapped her hands together to get their attention.

‘Welcome everyone. Come on, let’s all sit down, huddle up, it’s going to be cold. ’

As people settled onto the blankets they’d brought, the chattering dropped to anticipated whispers until the loudest sounds were the whoosh of the waves and the crackling of the fire.

Lola knelt in front of it and fed some more wood to the flames, transfixed by the way they leapt hungrily, taking her time to give gratitude that so many people were supporting her event.

Lola paused, glanced around at the gathering and smiled warmly at everyone.

‘Welcome and thank you for coming tonight, this is my first winter solstice ritual but I hope it won’t be my last,’ Lola began as she found her voice.

A few people gave a little round of applause.

‘Thank you. I believe it’s important at the closing of the year to give thanks for what has come to pass and also to set intentions for what we want from the coming year.

Today is the shortest day, our darkest hours, a time to reflect but also a time of hope.

Going forward the days will grow lighter as we head towards spring’s rebirth.

’ Lola passed a box to Freya. ‘Please take a pen and two slips of paper, but keep them safe. I’ll explain what they are for. ’

The box was passed around and everyone dutifully took their supplies.

Once the box came back to Lola she continued.

‘What I’d like you all to do is to take a few minutes to think of something you are most grateful for from this year.

Then I want you to write it down. Once you’ve done that I invite you to screw the paper up and put it in the fire, to release that gratitude. ’

Lola stared at her slip as everyone around her slowly began to write.

Love was the first thing that sprang to mind.

The love she’d received from Polcarrow, the love she’d helped Freya and Angelo find, and another kind of love, one she hadn’t expected to find herself.

Seeing that everyone else had finished, she leaned forward and tossed her piece of paper into the flames. Everyone followed suit.

‘Now we’re going to do a short meditation.

Please don’t feel any pressure to travel anywhere through this.

All I really want you to find is a moment of peace and stillness, a moment where there are no other demands on your life.

A moment to reconnect with nature, with the ancient spirits.

If you want to focus on something maybe focus on what you would like to bring into your life next year.

Meditate on it, imagine what that thing would feel like, that you are worthy of receiving it.

Close your eyes, I will bang this drum three times to begin the meditation and then three times to end it. ’

Lola watched as everyone settled in. She wondered how many people were here because they believed in the practice, how many were simply curious or wanted to try something new.

She noticed Freya and Angelo had linked their hands together and the sight touched Lola.

Confident that everyone’s eyes were closed, she beat the little drum three times and then closed her own eyes.

Almost instantly she settled into the moment, her tired brain giving up to the peace of meditation.

Her eyes closed off to visual stimulants her soul began to respond to the natural ones it sensed.

The crack and warmth of the flames, ancient and dependable.

The notion that for thousands of years people had gathered around fires for companionship and togetherness swelled in her heart as Lola reconnected with the simplicity of human nature.

In the background the waves continued their eternal ebb and flow, providing the rhythm of life since the world began.

Lola retreated into a calm, centred place.

A place that was comfort and love, where the embers of hope still burned.

She fed them with her secret desires for the year ahead, mentally nurturing the life she wanted to live.

Emotion swelled in her chest and the overwhelming sensation to cry, to release, ran through her as her soul travelled somewhere deep but safe.

Strength flowed back through her fingers, the warmth emanating into her body and a wave of positivity washed over her for the future.

It was as if her grandmother was there, speaking directly to her, tucking a stray hair behind her ear and telling her she’d made all the right choices. A blessing from the heavens.

A crackle of flames brought Lola swimming back up to the present.

Surfacing, she picked up her drum and beat it three times.

‘Come back to the light, to the darkness slowly. Take your time.’ She watched as her gathering rubbed their eyes, yawned, stretched and came back to the present.

Lola smiled to herself, pleased at how peaceful they all looked.

Briefly her eyes met with Tristan’s, snagging on a moment of truth that was larger than them both.

‘Now, I hope whatever journey you have been on that you travelled somewhere nice. Somewhere safe. I invite you to write one wish, or something you wish to manifest onto your second piece of paper. We will then offer it to the fire and pray that our wishes come true.’ Lola scribbled without daring to look or confront what she was writing, then balled it up tightly, less her secret desire snuck out.

‘I’ll go first.’ She knelt forward. ‘I give thanks and gratitude for everything that has been given to us this year. Community, friendship and love, these things all enrich our lives. I am blessed by everything you have bestowed on us. I thank you for watching over us this past year and offer up a prayer for love and protection for the year to come. Hear our desires for the year ahead, please guide us to help make these wishes come true. Namaste.’ Lola bowed her head in silent contemplation for a few moments before throwing her paper in the flames, watching as the fire devoured her wish, turning it to ashes.

Sitting back, she wiped away the tears that were leaking from her eyes. She hadn’t expected to have her emotions stirred so much. She was stronger, empowered, the universe had her back and the coming year loomed less ominously.

‘And now,’ she announced once everyone had thrown their papers into the fire, ‘it’s time to properly celebrate.’ The cheer that went up was like an embrace, a confirmation of her place in Polcarrow.