BECAUSE MISTLETOE IS TOO MAINSTREAM AND TOO JUSTIN BIEBER~~~
also, this is about Christmas, i realize, but not exactly the Christ part. just the commercial kind. no disrespect, and happy hanukkah to all who celebrate it, and all the other jolly festivities that other people celebrate. SEASON'S GREETINGS FROM A HUMBLE AWESOME EVIL GENIUS WRITER!
~*~
December 24th (1:04 pm)
“Excuse me, miss, but would you care to donate to the Salvation Army?”
Feeling sorry for the poor man standing in the cold all day, the girl reaches into her pocket and drops a dollar into his bucket.
“Bless your soul, miss! Have a happy holiday!”
She smiles slightly, but doesn’t say a word. She walks with the crowd along the snowy sidewalk; hands snuggled deep in the pockets of her winter coat. As she shuffles along, she watches the people around her; the last minute shoppers, the couples out for the festivities, the anxious-looking people hurrying towards their aunt’s/grandma’s/brother-in-law’s/etc’s home for the holiday. She wonders if there is anyone in the crowd like her, with nowhere in particular to be, no Christmas feast or family to speak of waiting for her.
Guess she was naughty this year.
Shaking her head at her shrewd thoughts, she reaches up to adjust the wool cap on her head, which was falling into her blue eyes. She catches a glimpse of herself as she passes a brightly lit shop window selling scented candles and Rudolph-blessed china. Dark curls spill out under her soft blue cap, her cheeks rosy from the cold air. She feels like a blown up marshmallow in her puffy coat, but at least she’s warm. The girl stares at her reflection, expressionless.
“Oh!” She gets jostled from the side as a child with blond pigtails barrel into her.
“Sowwy,” the child giggles, staring up at her. “I’m on my way to see Santa!”
“Sadie!” A distracted-looking mother appears, taking the child’s hand. “Sorry,” she says to me before glancing down at her child and saying, “Don’t run ahead like that again, there’s too many people here…”
The girl smiles as she watches the two walk away. She remembers when she was that age, whole-heartedly believed in the jolly old man that only has one jovial facial expression. Her smile fades slowly as she thought of the last time she was that innocent and carefree. That was a long time ago. Back when her parents were still together.
Sighing to herself, she lets the crowd push her along the brightly lit street. She sees the shining faerie lights, the smiling faces of bundled-children, the large bags filled with expensively-wrapped presents. She hears the laughter of friends out sight-seeing, the soft carolling of children drifting over the excited chatter, the distinct jingling of those jingle bells. She can practically feel the “Christmas spirit” thrumming from the crowd. But she can’t feel it. She can’t remember the last time she truly felt the magic of the holiday. She can’t remember the last time she truly believed.
“What the heck am I doing here?” she mutters to herself.
Crossing the street, she makes her way to the park. The trees are choked with lights, already lit to full power even at one in the afternoon. Here the crowd things, turning into couples holding hands, cheeks red and boots laced tight. The girl shakes her head, knowing she stands out like a sore thumb among these grinning pairs.
The giant oak in the middle of the park is done up like a giant Christmas tree, the star of the show. She lifts her head to look at the sparkling star at the very top. She wonders how they got it up there. But mostly she wonders how it’s like to be that star, so high up and removed from all this festive cheer.
It must be incredibly lonely, she decides.
She sits down on an empty bench a few feet from the tree, allowing her aching toes to rest from walking in the snow all day. She watches various couples go by, gloved hand in gloved hand, sharing scarves and frozen kisses on chilly noses. What’s it like to be one of them? She muses quietly to herself. So happy in love, they don’t even seem to care that they’re freezing their toes off. Maybe she’s been lonely too long. Or maybe it’s the whole world’s happiness on this day ticking her off, because she knows that no matter what she does, she isn’t going to be a part of it.
Shaking her head slightly, she rubs her hands together, her breath puffs of white in the frigid air. Stupid girl, she didn’t bring gloves. Why did she ever think it’s a good idea to go for a stroll through the neighbourhood on Christmas Eve? Is she that much of a masochist that she deliberately forgot about the singing crowd, the glittering lights, and the cheerful contented smiles everywhere? Isn’t it enough that she’d be spending the holidays alone, again, because neither parent bothered to call to make sure that she’s with someone?
Blinking rapidly, she stares up at the dazzling tree. To everyone else, it looks like she’s waiting for someone. But she knows that no one’s coming for her, and she’s been stood up too many times by now to bring herself to care.
~sorry for the sad emo girl thing... i know i've been told my characters are sad, but this is not about sad. not really. it's about hot chocolate, snow and xmas. so READ ON and meet the boy next part :)
also song on the side is "Lonely Christmas" by Eason Chan originally... yesh it's a chinese song and yesh that is a piano cover. the person's good, eh? i couldn't think of another sad christmas song that i liked, and the lyrics to this song is actually pretty good for noelle's situation. basically, there's no one for the guy to spend christmas with, and he's lonely while watching the world in its happy xmas-ing... yeah...
YEAH I'M ASIAN DEAL WITH IT -dancing like josh ramsay-
YOU ARE READING
Under the Xmas Lights
Short Story-because mistletoe is too mainstream- She doesn't believe in Christmas. Yet she's out here in the cold on Christmas Eve, wrapped up like a gift in her coat but with no where in particular to be, and no one to share the holidays with. Can a stranger...
