Work Text:
Somewhere, a clock struck midnight on December first. Two young girls of about eight raised their heads as their alarm clock played the sound of jingling bells. The elder of the two, Lucy, had long, cyan hair and wore a red-and-white Santa hat, a red long-sleeved dress with white faux-fur trim, a black belt with a green buckle in the shape of a Christmas tree, white gloves, white leggings, and black boots. The younger girl, Gabriela, had her cyan hair in a bob cut, freckles, and wore a reindeer costume complete with a fake red nose, an antler headband, and black gloves and boots. The two girls looked at each other with identical, excited grins and exclaimed, “IT’S THE JOLLY MONTH!”
After performing their special “Jolly Dance”, the two girls dashed downstairs where their parents were. Their parents, Luzcretia and Silas, were curled up together on the couch. They looked up as their daughters entered the room.
“Hey girls,” Luzcretia greeted. “What’s got you two so excited?”
“Because it’s Jolly Month!” the two girls exclaimed.
“Oh, that’s right!” Luzcretia gasped. She jumped up from the couch and started performing the Jolly Dance. Silas, in good humor, joined her. Lucy and Gabriela then went outside, where snow covered the ground and fell lightly from the sky. The girls watched the little white flakes in wonder before Lucy turned to her sister.
“Let’s watch a Christmas movie!” she suggested. The two girls dashed to the theater, where a holiday movie was playing. After the movie was over, Gabriela turned to Lucy with a suggestion of her own.
“Let’s watch the Christmas lights turn on!” And so, the two girls went outside and back to the residential part of their neighborhood, where they watched the festive lights decorating the various houses turn on. They stared at the beautiful sight for a few moments before Lucy turned to Gabriela with another idea.
“Let’s leave out cookies for Santa!” The girls went back inside their houses, where they set a plate piled high with chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk on the coffee table complete with a note reading, “For Santa”.
“Let’s wait for Santa to bring us our gifts!” Gabriela suggested excitedly. The duo dashed upstairs and dove into bed. A few hours later, they shot up and dashed downstairs. Once they got there, they stared in wonder at the presents underneath the Christmas tree. They happily opened the gifts addressed to them and, after admiring them and playing with some of them, they decided to go see what their parents were up to.
Luzcretia and Silas were sitting on the couch in front of the TV. Luzcretia was counting down, and Silas seemed to be doing the same, only silently.
“5! 4! 3! 2! 1!” Luzcretia counted down before jumping off the couch in celebration. “Happy New Year!” She grabbed her husband and planted a kiss on him, which, though a bit surprised and flustered at first, he accepted.
Lucy and Gabriela just stared. It was already January? Jolly Month was...over? The two girls looked at each other--and broke out into huge grins. “IT’S A JOLLY NEW YEAR!” they exclaimed, as they launched into their Jolly Dance once more.