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Wrench was sitting in a chair, staring at the clock on the wall. Numbers died five years ago, and yet he still turns on the TV out of habit. Reaching out, he took a bottle from the table and sipped.
"Another senseless year comes to an end" - he thought grimly. He used to love Christmas. His companion, however, did not really share his passion, but honestly tried to portray joy. After what happened 5 years ago, he took a couple of attempts to celebrate Christmas, but the holiday spirit was gone. After his escape from the hospital, he spent the first year in hiding, constantly waiting for the raid. When he made sure cops are not interested in his person anymore, he returned to his parents' house, and since then though plunged into a trance. Some homebrew psychologist would call it some clever term, such as "emotional coma," but for Wrench, to be honest, there was no difference. He tried to distract himself, having started repairs. When it was becoming unbearable, he boozed to unconsciousness.
And now alcohol was slowly clouding consciousness, immersing him in the pleasant bliss.
"Funny though" - Wrench thought lazily. - "I used to be the one who's laughing at Numbers and his addiction".
Rising, he walked to the front door - it was necessary to dismantle the pile of brochures, which with an enviable stubbornness slipped on his doorstep. Well, there it is - opening the door, he found a very impressive bunch of garbage. Grabbing a piece, he returned to a chair and began to look through.
"Penis enlargement, emergency veterinary care, discount on funeral services for people over 60 .. nothing useful, as usual" - Wrench chuckled to himself, tossing leaflets one after the other. But one of them still caught his attention - primarily the fact that it was completely black. Examining small white letters with great difficulty (and assuming alcohol finally acted), he read: "Christmas miracle exists as long as you believe in it. Ask for it- and you will be heard. " Neither the phone nor the name of the organization.
"Must be those damn Jehovah's Witnesses again" - flashed an angry thought. Christmas miracle .. He has requested all known gods to deliver him from his father, who regularly slapped him regularly, ashamed of his son and his deafness. He remembered them and at that time, when the father tried to kill his mother. And God knows for how lond did he pray for Numbers to survive.. Yep, it still hearts. Christmas miracle.. what a garbage.
Taking another sip, he threw the leaflet into a pile to the other and staggered over to the window. The sky was overcast, and because of that the night seemed growing draker than usual. Snow, which was dropping so quickly a few days ago, now almost completely melted, leaving only the memory of his small white islands. Wrench sighed. No one taught him how to pray, so he simply closed his eyes and said clearly in his head: "Listen, whoever is up there.. I do not particularly believe in this nonsense, but since my company is only varying alcohol with different degrees, maybe you can turn your attention to me. I need to go back in time, because.. because I need to. Every day I get up at the same time and do the same things, and it's driving me crazy. If it.. Lord, what am I even doing? Well.. If you sent me this leaflet, then I beg you - do what I asked you to, please. Can you hear me? Bring Numbers back!"
Ashamed of his own delusions, Wrench opened his eyes to find himself, of course, alone and in the same place.
"Right, fuck this then" - he thought, returning to the chair and leaning back.
"If you can not bring me back to the past, just kill me, it'll be much easier to do" - appeared the thought somewhere in the back of the mind, and then he finally fell asleep.
The first thing he felt waking up - severe pain in his back.
"Maybe falling asleep in a chair wasn't the best idea" - thought Wrench, squinting in the unusually bright light, which was filling the room. The room was a mess.
"I wonder how much I actually drank yesterday.." - flashed a thought in his head as he rubbed his eyes. Pulling out of the back the pillow, which seemed to turn into stone during the night, according to the sensations in the back, he threw it into a bunch of stuff on the couch. Rising, he was about to go to the bathroom, when he froze - a pile of things on the couch stirred and Numbers' head appeared right from the pile. He looked around gloomily, identified Wrench and pulling out a hand, demonstrated the middle finger.
"Could you please stop acting like a jerk for one day - after all Christmas is your favorite holiday, right?" - he signed, still frowning. Wrench stared blankly at him, trying to understand what is happening. With a groan, his partner rose from the couch and walked right up.
"Hey, are you paralyzed?"
Without waiting for an answer, Nгmbers rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom. Wrench watched him and went to the window, still confused as fuck. Outside, there was a thick white blanket of snow. A hanger near the front door was decorated with white bags from Walmart. Under hanger there was something indescribable, wrapped in brown paper. Wrench made a mental note to ask Numbers about that thing and returned to his chair. On the bedside table there was the same leaflet about the Christmas miracle. Twisting it in his hands, he looked on it in the light, but, to his regret, found no secret messages. Meanwhile, Numbers seemed out of the bathroom and went to the kitchen. Wrench followed him.
"Your stare was funny 5 years ago. And now it's not" - signed Numbers, closing the fridge.
"I'm sorry. I think I'm going crazy" - Wrench answered.
"Not surprised. Remember the times you once pulled out man's eyes?"- Numbers grinned and turned to put the kettle on the stove.
Wench went close to him and touched his shoulder. Feels warm. So, it' all real.
"Holy shit, looks like that leaflet actually works" -thought Wrench, and only then he noticed that Numbers is gesticulating animatedly.
"..irdo, I told you a hundred times already! The first rule - do not sneak up from behind. The second rule - do not stare at me when I'm eating, sleeping, reading a book, driving a car or watching TV"
Wrench set down at the table.
Still taking furtive glances at his partner, he noted with satisfaction that an irritated expression on his face changed to guilty one.
"Hey.." - said Numbers, walking close to Wrench, "I certainly get that without me here you felt very sad and lonely, but you must understand that I'm not staying here for a long time"
"?????!"
"Jesus.." - sighed Numbers - "Do you remember that you made a wish yeasterday?"
Wrench nodded slowly.
"So. Firstly, I want to tell you that you're an idiot - you could ask to give you the ability to hear or a second pair of hands, but you for some reason asked me to come back. Which means that we're gonna have fun today. I pla .. "
"Wait" - Wrench interrupted. - "So you're saying that I somehow mysteriously managed to resurrect you?!"
"Well, not really. More like recover an old memory." - Numbers shrugged.
Wrench looked at him in disbelief. "Wow, so now I have a zombie friend!"
Numbers rolled his eyes. "Lord, help me.."
"Wait, so your replica about the guy and his eyes, and this hanger, and a gift - did you preapre all of this in advance?" - Wrench asked, trying to keep up with a partner.
"Wrench! We're not in one of these fucking Christmas movies!"- Numbers threw his hands up in anger. - "Yes, I tried to repeat the Christmas tree, which you made a long time ago, and the box was intended to portray the gift, but I didn't have time to make everythig look as it's in your memory"
"Okay, I did not understand a damn thing, but now, where are we going?"
"We're going fishing? I thought that what you had been dreaming about for 5 years? "
"But what about the equipment?"
"Everything is already prepared. So, please, hurry up - you can alway ask me more stupid questions as we would reach the lake."
Somehow made their way through the snow and came close to the lake. Wrench saw two chairs, a huge bag and a spinning.
"Why is there only one spinninhg" - asked Wrench, as they approached the chair.
"Because you're going to fish. And I'll hang around the lake and whine that I'm cold and fishing is a shitty thing to do. Have fun!"
After finishing preparations, Wrench fixed spinning and sat down in a chair, smiling broadly. Numbers perched in a chair nearby, with his eyes closed. Wrench carefully touched his hand.
"Any more stupid questions?"
"How does it feel.. being.. there?"
Numbers raised an eyebrow.
"Where exactly?"
"Well, out there!" - Wrench gestured upward.
"No idea" - yawned Numbers. - "But if I ever find out, I will tell you"
"I thought you.."
"Wrench, especially for you I'll repeat- it's not a Christmas melodrama. In addition, nobody canceled the Law Of Silence. The time will come, and you will see everything, I promise you."
"I really do hope it'll happen soon" - suddenly signed Wrench and observing partner puzzled look, he added - "Since rom the moment you were.. you are.. not here, i can't say I feel the best."
Numbers sighed.
"Well, let's say, if I was a Life-coach or a Messiah, I would have told you: "Oh. foolish mortal, it's you who are limiting yourself every day and chewing the pain again and again. You aren't healing the wound, you're slowly and methodically picking it.".. Well, and so on. But, since I'm not a Life-coach or a Messiah, I'll tell you like it is - get a grip! You had 5 consecutive years of sleep, crying and boozing, and in the intervals between those actions you were reinforcing the house, but secretly hoped that one day the roof would fall on your head, and it's all over, and.. "
He stopped when he saw tears in Wrench's eyes.
"And if you will cry, I doubt that I'll ever respect you" - He concluded. - "And have you noticed that your spinning is jerking?"
Recovering himself, Wrench quickly pulled the bait. I was lucky - the fish wasn't very big, but for the first trophy it was fine. He threw it in the bucket and put spinning back into place, furtively wiping his eyes.
"I thought Christmas miracles happen to inspire and to pull out of the depression," - he said, looking at Numbers.
"Hell no! I'm your Christmas kick in the ass!"
A couple of cups of coffee and three more fish later, they made their way back to the house.
"You have to deal with fish" - signed Numbers, taking off his coat. - "And I'll finish your gift"
Wrench beamed and went into the kitchen.
Having dealt with the fish in just one hour, he returned to the living room and was stunned - the hanger was now not only hung with bags, but also beautifully wrapped with lights. Numbers was sitting on the floor, trying to stick a bow on that same box that Wrench saw in the morning.
Noticing Wrench, he gestured for him to sit beside.
"So I, of course, whined enough about a crucified cinematic stereotypes, but, frankly, I was planning to give it to you 5 years ago. Remember the time you once took me to the Winter Fair, where I barely restrained not to kill everyone around me as you pinned a toy carousel from somewhere. Do you remember what I told you then?"
"Something like If I want to be a child, I should go to the fairground hairdresser and get rid of the hell of the sideburns. Also there was something about diapers.."
"Oh, yes, I always loved my sparkling sense of humor" - grunted Numbers. - "So, in memory of those wonderful times, I decided to give you this roundabout. I'm not sure about the sounds, but it must spin at least."
Wrench clicked on the button. Little black and white horses jerked and slowly started drifting forward. His mother brought him exactly the same toy in a desperate hope that he won't cry, sitting at home alone. Looking up, he noticed that Numbers looks at him with a very strange expression on his face.
"It would be .."
"I wanted.."
They both stopped signing. Wrench nodded.
"You know, I wanted to tell you .. I mean, I hope it's obvious, but still .. you .. you do realize that that's when I swear at you and yell and call you a jerk, .. do you realize I'm not doing it on purpose? And .. well, even though I'm still being afraid to seem sentimental, I want to tell you .. mm, thank you for being so patient with me and .. you're a good friend, yeah. And the good guys have to live on and move on, you know? "
Wrench looked at him with wide eyes, then abruptly sighed and hugged him.
"Well, well, it's already too much, you know me .." - Numbers signed, releasing. - "Think about how much you can do. For example, you can open a business. A cafe, eh? You always loved to cook. Then you'll get rich, buy yourself a woman prettier than ever and eventually will calm down. The main thing is never, I repeat, never forget that I am lov.. do you have health insurance?"
"What?" - Wrench asked, puzzled
"Insurance, sir, insurance! Oh God, is he deaf or what.." - signed Numbers with a straight face.
What's that smell?
Oh yeah.....
He left the fish to be fried......
Looks like he burned their Christmas dinner.
That's something Numbers will obviously be angry when he finds out.
"Poor guy" - the nurse shook her head, looking at him through the glass.
"No, I swear to you, I really do not understand how it happened!" - a short chubby man looked in horror at the police officer - "He appeared on the road so quickly, I'm telling you. I tried to dodge, but now .. now I have no car .. it is destroyed! "
"If I were you, I'd be more worried about the person you killed" - grimly snapped a policeman.
"Sir...., officer, don't you worry" - a doctor appeared in a doorway. - "No one is killed. He was in a coma, and ten minutes ago, one of the nurses told me that he had regained consciousness."
"My car was burnt!"
"Sir, come with me"
"Hmm, looks like it won't be his favourite Christmas" - smiled the doctor, joining the nurse, who was still near Wrench, who was lying on a bed being white like a ghost. - "According to the owner of the car, the guy was completely drunk when he jumped into the road. Good thing he ended up with only a couple of broken ribs and a concussion.
"Once he survived a blow of such force, he probably will recover soon," - said the nurse, looking on Wrench's face with a strangery familiar dark brown eyes.
"In any case, I really do hope so."