So, this is based on a prompt I got from my school's writer's club, which I'll post at the bottom. It isn't the best because I had a half-and-hour time limit, but here it is.

"'This Christmas, I wish for a bunny," I read aloud, glancing at my little sister curled up under the blankets. It was dark outside, and the shaded lamp beside her cast an orange light across her pale face, turning the white walls a light sunset color. "I really want a bunny, because it can hop around.'"

There was a noise from the bed, and I realized it was my sister scoffing.

"That's a dumb reason to want a bunny," she told me. I laughed and closed the book. "Really?"

"Yes." She sounded firm in her decision.

"Well, what would be a good reason to want a bunny?" I asked.

"I don't know." Lily pulled herself into a sitting position and adjusted the knitted cap over her head. "Because it's furry, or because it's cute. Not because it can hop around."

"Maybe you should write a book then," I teased. Lily nodded, looking out the window, where snowflakes drifted gently in soft swirls of white.

"Yeah..." she said slowly. "'All the reasons to want a bunny'."

"I would read it," I said, putting the book I was holding on the bedside table. "You could probably sell it to our neighbors too. And I bet Aaron would buy a copy."

At the mention of her friend's name, Lily's cheeks turned a light shade of red. "I don't think so."

"Oh yeah?" I grinned. "He's already come to visit you several times."

The blush on Lily's cheeks darkened. "Yeah, I know."

There was a short silence, and I searched my sister's down-turned face. She was young, only about ten, but she had the wit and sass of a teenager. She had blue eyes that were always sparkling, and I pictured the curly blonde hair, and the way it had framed her face just like mine, before the treatments had taken it away.

"Maybe you should bring him here," Lily said suddenly, her voice quiet as she stared at her hands, her expression no longer embarrassed--it was more of a sad and grim acceptance. "So I can tell him how I feel, before..."

She didn't finish, but she didn't need to.

"Hey," I said quietly, trying to make my voice firm and comforting, instead of the shaking fearful way it wanted to be. "Don't talk like that. You'll be fine. And next year, you can come home and have Christmas with us, just like it used to be."

Lily gave me a smile, but it seemed like a way to make me feel better. "Okay. I believe you."

And maybe she did. I don't know. But I stood out in the hall, my hand still on the doorknob as I recited a single thought.

This Christmas, I hope my sister comes home.

And with that, I shut the hospital door, listening to the beep of machinery and my sister listing off all the reasons to want a bunny.

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Prompt: This Christmas, I wish for....

Tag me if you use it, I'd love to see what you come up with.