~..Silent Wishes..~ A Ninjago Christmas Story Collection.

~A Wish To Have~

  "Kai! Kai, get up!" Nya screeched, jumping on her older brother's bed. Kai moaned, and pushed his sister off, Nya sprawling out on the wooden floor of their bedroom, giggling all the while. "Kai, it's Christmas eve!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. Kai gave her a weak smile, and nodded, getting out of bed.

 "Yeah, I know..." He mumbled, brushing his hair out of his face.

 "Let's go get a tree!" Nya cried, jumping around the bedroom.

 "Can I wake up first?" Kai snapped. In a much gentler voice, he said, "Anyway, Nya, I need to work today, alright?" Nya stopped bouncing, and sat down on her bed.

 "Why do you need to work?" She asked, kicking her feet.

 "We need the money. Mother and Father would be proud of us, if they came back to better circumstances than they left to." He nodded firmly, liking his answer. "We may just have to skip Christmas this year, okay?"

  "Skip Christmas?" She asked quietly, playing with the hem of her nightgown. "But, what if mommy and daddy come back tomorrow, and we have no tree for them!" Nya defended, jumping to her feet. Little siblings always seemed to have a knack at winning arguments.

 "Please, Nya?" Kai said, his voice cracking. Thought she was right, Kai doubted they'd come back; he didn't want to tell her the truth, though. How could someone tell a little girl that their' parents are gone? "Go get yourself some breakfast. Maybe you can help me decorate the blacksmith shop later." Nya nodded, and ran out of the room. She doubled back, and threw her arms around her brother.

 "I love you, Kai!" She told him, giving him a squeeze. Kai patted her back, and shooed her out of their room, closing the door. He never wanted her to see him cry...she couldn't find out, not at Christmas time. A few weeks ago, he had received word that his parents had been killed, leaving their two children behind. He slid down the back of the door, tears in his eyes, pulling his knees to his chest. What if he couldn't take care of her? What if he and Nya got taken away, and separated? He wouldn't be able to live with himself. He buried his head in his arms, and cried.

***

  "Here, Nya... Go wrap this garland around the post." Kai said, giving Nya a string of sparkly, red garland. Nya nodded, and ran over to the post, giggling gleefully.

 "I love decorating for Christmas!" She said, giggling. "It's so sparkly! Why aren't there more blue decorations?" She questioned. "It's my favorite color..."

 "I don't know. Ask someone else." Kai mumbled, taking a nail from a box he left on the table. He held the nail to the top of the door frame, hammer in the other hand, and he swung down to hit the nail, but missed by less than an inch, hitting his thumb instead. He cried out in pain, dropping the hammer and nail with a clatter.

 "What's wrong, Kai?" Nya asked, very concerned.

 "Nothing.. I just hit my hand." He said, shaking out his hand. Nya took his hand in hers, and looked at his thumb. The nail had cracked at the top, already turning black and blue, and it had begun to bleed.

 "No, you lied. You hurt yourself." She furrowed her brow, and ran back to the house. Kai waited for a moment, before she came back with a small first aid kit. She opened it up, and took out a bottle of antiseptic spray.

  "Be still." She told Kai, spraying a bit on his thumb. He winced at the stinging pain of the spray, and then the spray felt cool, relieving the pain. Kai sighed, and Nya smiled up at him. She took a monster truck band-aid from the first aid kit, and wrapped it around Kai's thumb.