A Green Christmas

The Visitor

It was three days before Christmas when the Whytown citizens heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and they all looked around in surprise before noticing a stranger emerging from the nearest forest. The guest's name was Nicole Juniper, a young woman in her mid-twenties who found Whytown after passing under a snow-covered willow tree back home. Even though she was surprised to see the strange-looking houses all decorated for the holiday, her expression quickly vanished when a young-looking couple approached her and asked about her. After introducing themselves as Roscoe and Clara, Nicole tried to explain how she wound up in Whytown, and they welcomed her with open arms before the rest of the town did the same. The last one to welcome her was the Mayor of the town, who happened to be Cornelius Why-Me.

 After Nicole shyly thanked everyone for their kindness, since she wasn't used to being welcomed in such a festive way, Cornelius apologized before having the citizens give her space. With that, most of the citizens went back to their shopping and Christmas preparations, but Roscoe and Clara invited Nicole into their house. Before she could follow them, Nicole looked past them and saw the snowy mountains on the outskirts of the town, and she asked why one of them had a large door near the top. Judging by the resounding gasp she heard from everyone in earshot of her question, Nicole wondered if she said a dirty word, but that's when Cornelius approached and politely pointed her attention back to the mountain in question.

"There's a monster up there... the notorious being known as the Winch. He has eyes like the devil, mossy-green fur that hasn't seen a brush in at least a decade, and the hardest heart known to mankind. If you think about venturing up there, let me give you one piece of advice: don't."

After nodding in understanding, Nicole smiled and followed Roscoe and Clara into their home, where she was surprised to find pictures of a fuzzy green fella all over their house. When she asked about who the hairy creature was, the couple told Nicole how they had raised a little boy with green fur whom they named Oran. They then went on to explain how Oran ran away from Whytown when another student gave him a razor at their school's Christmas party, and Nicole's eyes widened when she realized that Oran was the same creature that the Mayor warned her about. Now that she had both a sweet backstory and a negative description of him, she wanted to know whose perspective was right about the Winch, so she decided to ignore Cornelius' advice and travel up to see him herself.

Even though Roscoe and Clara were quite shocked at the fact that she'd actually go, they helped Nicole by bundling her up in a sweater and puffy jacket before getting a hat, scarf, and gloves on over that. After promising that this would only be a short visit and that she hoped to return before the town's Christmas Eve party, Nicole thanked Roscoe and Clara for their help before heading out the back door. The two of them then wished her luck before watching her leave for the mountains, almost going along the same path Oran did when he left Whytown as a youngster.

The journey to the Winch's cave wasn't challenging or treacherous at all, and while Nicole was making her way up the mountain, someone was watching her from a higher point. Thanks to a periscope he had installed during his time away, Oran was watching the young visitor as she climbed over uneven rocks and slippery slopes, and he was impressed by her bravery in such an unusual climate. Unfortunately, the harsh winter breeze was making Nicole's fingers numb, and she was starting to rapidly lose body heat through all the warm layers. With that in mind, she only climbed faster, ascending the mountain while Oran looked on. He could see how frostbitten she was becoming, and while he was worried about her situation, she only focused on getting up to the cave... until everything went black.