My sister and I have always loved each other, but we really didn’t like each other until I moved out of the house. During a few of the rare occasions we were “getting along”, we created a number of stories about a pair of sisters whose strained relationship reflected our own. The infamous Sarah and Anna series.

In every iteration, Sarah was the obvious parental favorite, while poor Anna suffered in her shadow. That’s it. There was never any type of redemption for Anna, her situation always stayed the same. Whether she was left at home when the rest of the family went to a party, or had to give up her favorite clothes because Sarah looked better in them, or even had to have Sarah’s favorite meal on her own birthday, Anna was the underdog no one rooted for. It definitely doesn’t take a psychologist to figure out that was because my sister and I each fancied ourselves a Sarah, and had no desire to throw any type of bone to the lesser sister. And so, since it’s the holidays, what follows is a summary of The Sarah and Anna Christmas story.

Sarah and Anna woke up on Christmas morning, eager with anticipation to open the huge stack of presents under the tree. When they got downstairs, however, the girls realized that the presents were actually separated into two piles; one that consisted of only a single gift, and the other a huge tower of brightly wrapped surprises.

Of course, the sisters immediately knew the sky-high pile was for Sarah, leaving Anna with just the single present. Long used to the neglect, she was grateful to have anything at all.

That’s when their parents came in, wearing their matching bathrobes and slippers, pulled the gift out of Anna’s hands, and exclaimed, “So sorry! That must have fallen off Sarah’s pile.”

Happy holidays to everyone – may you always be the Sarah in your story. And a special shout out to my sister, Anna.

Emily Littlewood lives with her dog, Animal, and husband Jason in Raphine, Va. After getting a degree to teach English, Speech and Theater, she began working in banks. She is currently copy-editing for Streetlight and working back toward her passions.