Hi everybody!
Here the new and last part of the Mermaid of Copenhagen. Once again, it's a new prompt in the series written by Dr-Cokebottles JVH624 Meggyhashope Daphnecs8 rainingmeteors
The prompt here is "Christmas"!
I hope you'll enjoy!
The Mermaid of Copenhagen – Part 4
Shancai didn't notice that Christmas day came so fast, even if the Hansen's Advent wreath should have helped her. This crown was composed of spruce sprigs adorned with red berries and topped with four white candles. Every Sunday before Christmas, the family members lighted one candle.
The four candles were lighted without Shancai being aware of it, and she stared at the wreath with mixed surprise and delight. Inside the house, everything was transformed with a richly adorned Christmas tree, candles – besides the Advent crown – wooden, woolly, ribbon, red and white decorations everywhere in the house. Some Danish Christmas elves representations, Julenisses, inhabited the home with their beanies lowered on their noses and their beards falling on their feet.
The whole Copenhagen city glittered, turning into winter feerie. Even if she already saw some Christmas decorations in Shanghai, Shancai never saw it so present and so beautiful. She never really celebrated that feast because she wasn't Christian. She might have learned one or two English songs at school, she studied the European customs during her lessons, and her mother cooked a more elaborate dinner on Christmas eve.
Once, when she was in High School, all the girls tried to knit some scarved for the boys they loved – and they were rewarded with their teacher scolding them. The students exchanged a few gifts, and Shancai even bought a card for a boy she liked – she eventually gave it to her father because it was a sad story.
Xiaoyou knitted gloves for hours for a boy who barely glanced at them. She cried for days, and Shancai comforted her as best as she could before she managed to make the boy fell in a mud puddle during an Athletics competition.
But none of that was similar to the magic of Christmas that invaded all Copenhagen. It was the "Hygge" like Hansen or even Helle and her friends happily said; a positive state of mind, a nice feeling, a joyful spirit, and an intimate and cozy ambiance.
Birgit and Ole regularly drank their glögg – a spicy mulled wine – near their chimney fire while their children drank hot chocolate or tea. Shancai preferred not to dring alcohol and chose the same drink as Svend or Mette. She was feeling it too, but the Danish people weren't the only ones to put her in the "hygge."
Since she took him on a tour of Copenhagen, Daoming Si managed to see her regularly. Every weekend, she showed him a new place, and they even moved beyond the confines of Copenhagen, doing a boat ride on ponds and rivers, going by the seaside, experimenting Drakkar trips, and visiting even more castles.
Quickly, Shancai realized she enjoyed these gateways, and she couldn't do without Daoming Si. She felt guilty to think like that, she knew that things would be complicated, she would inevitably struggle, and she risked to see her friends suffered. But she couldn't help herself; she felt good with Daoming Si, she was happy, as it was her place. He was her "hygge."
