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“Wow! This is amazing! The guys have to see this!”
Emil hurried as fast as he could to the base camp on the outskirts of Seafront. He carried with him a book of very ancient drawings, perhaps from hundreds or thousands of years in the past. He had found it on one of his many excursions to the hidden library in the Sanctuary. Normally, he would only look at the images and be impressed by the many colors of some illustrations, but the caption that accompanied a photo of a pine tree decorated with multiple shiny objects caught his attention.
“Christmas Tree”
Christmas. He certainly didn't know that word, at least, Weiss had never mentioned it to him, so it wasn't a code between books, or some kind of magic.
Emil continued his way, went down a hill and finally arrived at the shores of the sea. Where once there was a great stranded ship, now there was only a pleasant and peaceful postcard… maybe too peaceful.
“Kaine! Weiss! You have to see this!”
Emil settled down next to a makeshift campfire in the sand, it was still not yet dusk, but just in case they always kept it lit.
He placed the book on the ground and showed the picture of the tree to his friends.
“Christ-mas-Tree... Yes! I did some research on it, apparently Christmas is a holiday from a long time ago.” He said as he flipped through the pages. “Lots of food! Presents! Family! It's amazing! How did I never knew about it? Why didn't you ever tell me about it Weiss?”
He asked looking over to the other book that sat on the campfire. A thick leather book with what appeared to be a face drawn by a small child.
The book didn't answer.
“I'm speechless too! You always talk about the boring things that were lost in time... weapons, magic, languages... but I found something much more important... if only we could go back in time to live it…”
A gust of wind moved what seemed to be a set of stones with a “humanoid” appearance.
“Kaine! That's a great idea! We can make our own Christmas! How did I not think of it before?”
Emil got up and quickly went to a poorly built shelter, formed by a jumble of cone-shaped stones and covered with multiple carpets.
He picked up a pile of books and carried them to the campfire. He tore out the first page of one of the books, it was blank, so it was perfect. And he started a list.
“Well... “CHRISTMAS LIST”... no, it lacks emotion. “LIST OF INGREDIENTS TO CELEBRATE A SUCCESSFUL CHRISTMAS”... too long... emmm... “EMIL’S CHRISTMAS JOURNEY”... Yes! That 's it!.I hope the guys don't get jealous of me appropriating the name hehe.”
Accompanied by the ancient book, he began to write down everything he was going to need in order to experience the holiday.
“First of all we need the most important thing of all, a tree, preferably a pine tree... What is a pine tree?”
He looked at the book with a drawn face. The book remained immobile where it was.
“You don't know either, huh? Well, a tall tree will do. Next: Food.”
Emil looked towards the sea, the fish were jumping to the surface and then diving back into the depths.
“I think that's covered. Okay, gifts, this is easy! You have me!”
Emil began to laugh innocently, looking at the set of stones and the book with a face.
“Ahh... I love hanging out with you guys, you're the only ones laughing at my comments. So, where were we? Presents... Well, I have a lot of books at home that I was saving pointlessly and I never asked you if you were interested in reading them... I would love to receive something like that... It's done! Books it is. Finally the last item... a... a fa...mily…”
Emil felt a shiver run through his body. He felt as if he was crying, as if tears might come out of his eyes, but it was not the case.
“Family... oh, really don't know what I'd do without you, you guys are my family, you and Nier... I hope he comes back soon.”
Emil rubbed his eyes with his coat and got up ready for the adventure.
“First! the tree!”
Emil scoured the plain for hours, looking for a tree that looked as much like the one in the picture as possible, he was among several candidates, but ended up settling on a tall cypress tree full of leaves. He turned the lower part into stone and carried the specimen on his back, as if it weighed as much as a backpack.
He arrived at the campfire that marked the meeting point, “Kaine” and “Weiss” were not there.
“I knew they wouldn't be able to fish without me... they are too dependent, they have to learn to do things on their own.”
Emil placed the tree in the sand and sealed the surroundings in stone on the ground, forming a kind of improvised natural pot.
“Ready! Now, let's see how they did with the fishing.”
The pile of rocks and the book with a face were near the ocean shore, with a stick tied to a thread pretending to be a fishing rod. Emil arrived by their side, and with a look of annoyance, he floated into the water and dove in at full speed. He came out of the water minutes later with dozens of fish in his arms. He placed them next to the campfire, and then moved his friends towards it.
“Guys... could you help me with this... it's important to me” He said a little frustrated. “No... it's not fair to treat you like this... besides, if I say something wrong, Kaine won't stop cursing at me and Weiss will say those weird things in languages I don't understand.”
“Kaine” and “Weiss” remained motionless in their place.
“Well... it doesn't matter, what matters is that you're here now, and we have a feast ahead! Let 's eat!”
They finished eating in the darkness of the night sky, illuminated only by the campfire and some shooting stars.
Emil took out two books wrapped in rags and carpets and placed them next to his friends.
“Merry Christmas, guys, open them!”
There was no movement.
“Please…”
Nothing.
“Well... ugh... I can... open them for you... yes!”
He first opened the gift next to the rocks.
“For my dear Kaine, a book of warriors of the ancient world, I didn't read it much, but it has many swords of different shapes, so I thought you would like it.”
He then turned to the book with the drawn face, unwrapped a colorful book full of shapes.
“I always thought you lacked a bit of color, and that it would help you express more emotions, no offense, but you always have the same face. I hope you like it, Weiss.”
He didn't receive any response.
“This is useless... I don't even know why I started all this... I never... I never should have made this list in the first place”
He started to feel that sensation of crying again, but this time stronger, making him kneel down and cover his face.
“I miss you guys... It's not the same since you're gone... Kaine... Weiss... N-Nier... you're never coming back are you? I'm never going to have presents... I'm never going to have... a family again... I wish I could see you one last time.”
His crying was interrupted by a strong light in the sky, not only was it very bright, but it seemed to be getting closer and closer.
“W-what is that...?”
The light was getting closer, flickering in a light blue color, as if it was talking.
“Guys... I can't believe it... you... for me? I… I really don't know what I did to deserve you, you're the best friends I could have wished for in this life.”
“Kaine” and “Weiss” stayed in their position without moving an inch.
“Thank you guys! It's the best Christmas ever!”
The light approached until it sank into the water, causing an explosion at the bottom of the sea. Emil quickly headed there, eagerly waiting to see the gift that his friends had sent him.