'Happy Holidays', 'Season's Greetings', 'Merry Christmas'. All once well-wished sentiments that lost their sentiment in the mad grab of holiday shopping, deals, savings, gatherings, cards, food, gifts, guests. Well-meaning intentions swept up in the frenzy that is just another big corporation push for economic domination. Gifts! You need gifts, lots of gifts, gifts for everyone. Food! Buy it, cook it, serve it to all your friends and family members. Cards! Make them, print them, mail them! Open those wallets and watch the cash flow all in the good name of a prophet figure's birthday or a pagan tradition, depending on what beliefs you follow.

The holidays were easy for him. He had no family, no gifts to give, no food to cook. Just him, alone year after year. That was just fine by him.

Dib trudged through the snow silently, dodging last-minute shoppers rushing off to a big box store and hurrying to the grocery-oh no, forgot the ham!-and hailing cabs, their arms loaded up with boxes and bags. As he moved further from the inner city the crowded sidewalk grew less and less dense and soon he was alone, shoulders hunched against the chill December winds and drifting snowflakes as he headed home from work. He didn't take days off, he didn't celebrate 'the holidays'. He had put up a modest little tree, one of the few pleasures he took out of the season as he decorated it to the tune of Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett. He would have hot tea and popcorn on the couch and watch A Christmas Story or Elf as both were spammed relentlessly on Christmas Eve.

Dib paused and looked down an alleyway as a sound caught his attention. A stray dog was standing near one of the trash bins, barking. He watched the dog a moment before impulsively turning down the alley towards it. The dog looked up and ran off as he approached, kicking up snow as it went. Dib watched it disappear from sight at the other end of the alley. He stepped around one of the bins curiously, thinking a cat or something must have been hiding there. His brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of what he did see. A human-like figure was curled next to the bin, a dusting of snow covering it. Its skin, what he could see, was green. No, that couldn't be right, the falling twilight must be playing tricks. Dib took a knee beside it and reached to touch it's shoulder. The being didn't respond and he brushed snow from it, revealing, yes, definitely green skin. He pulled his gloved hand away warily, some disease? The stigma against the homeless kicked in, of course. Dirty, diseased, don't touch. He looked to it's face and the confusion deepened. It didn't have a nose. Who doesn't have a nose? Dib brushed snow from it's head and two antennae-like stalks appeared. Dib stood up quickly and turned, making his way towards the entrance of the alleyway. This was nothing he needed to be involved with. He would call someone, yes. There were people who took care of these things. Not him.

He stopped on the sidewalk in his own tracks and took out his phone. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the dog cautiously making its way back towards the being. Starved animal, desperate with hunger in the cold. Might take the opportunity.. Dib slid his phone back into his pocket and started waving his arms. The dog growled but skittered away again, tail tucked. He found himself standing next to the creature and looked down at it. Was it even alive? He slowly knelt down again and reached to place a hand on its side. The rise and fall of breath was slight, but it was there. Dib slipped out of his coat and spread it on the ground next to him. He slid his arms under the creature, lifting it easily and laying it on the coat. He removed his hat and tucked it over the creature's head before bundling it in the oversized coat and rising with it in his arms. The chill nipped him through his sweater as he started towards home again, head down, snowflakes melting on his bare neck.

Dib unlocked his door with a bit of trouble and stepped into the warmth of home, kicking the door shut behind him and stomping his boots on the mat before carrying his bundle into the living room. He laid it on its side on the couch and took the coat and hat away, replacing them with a plush blanket from the back of the couch. The creature was still unresponsive so he took time to remove his shoes and hang his coat and gloves up. Dib went to the kitchen and put a kettle of water on the stove to heat. He warmed his fingers a moment before returning to the living room. Kneeling beside the couch, he turned the TV on so Ralphie could self-narrate in the background while he examined his new house guest. He lifted a hand and touched one of the velvety stalks between two fingers curiously. It twinged slightly at his touch and he released it quickly. The being's skin was cold to the touch so he leaned forward and begin rubbing it vigorously with the blanket, watching its face as he did so. He paused after a few minutes and noticed it was trembling beneath his hands, slight at first but soon shivering almost violently. It curled up a little tighter, head tucking against its chest, and he rose to go move the kettle as it began to scream at him from the kitchen.

When Dib returned, cup of tea in hand, the creature had stopped shivering and seemed almost to be asleep. He sat in a chair next to it and watched the movie as a commercial break ended and it started anew. The timer on his tree clicked and it lit up, multi-colored lights warming the room with their glow. He smiled slightly and sipped his tea, glancing at the creature every now and again. It didn't stir the evening, and at some point Dib drifted off himself.

A soft thump woke him and he sat up from his slouch in the chair, reaching to rub his eyes and looking around. His coffee cup lay on the floor before his feet, the last sip spilled into the carpet.

"Damnit," he leaned down to pick it up and set it on the coffee table. The blanket caught his eye, a crumpled bleed of red on the edge of the couch. He stood up as he remembered the creature and looked around, then at the clock. 1:23AM. Merry Christmas. He began searching the house for it. The front door stood open, drifts of snow blowing inside. It was coming down steadily now. There were no tracks and he wondered how much it could have snowed in a few hours. Dib closed the door slowly and sighed. He collected his coffee cup and carried it to the kitchen, placing it in the sink and then picking up a dish towel to clean up the spill in the living room. Some subtle difference caught his attention and he looked up, frowning. One of the cutting knives was missing from the block. He glanced around the counters briefly before returning to the living room and kneeling down to sop at the spilled tea. When finished cleaning up, he turned the TV off and headed to bed.

Again, the remarkable human capacity for recognizing the Just Noticeable Difference drew his attention to the cracked closet door. Dib stepped over to it and opened it slowly, reaching to click the light on. Red eyes startled him and he stepped back quickly as the creature snarled, unfolding itself from the clutter on the floor of the closet to lunge at him, swiping the stolen kitchen knife. Dib tripped over shoes on the bedroom floor and fell on his back, head bouncing on the carpet ungracefully. The creature raised the knife above him and he reached up, grabbing its wrist and grappling with it before flipping it onto it's back. The creature struggled weakly and he wrenched the blade away, throwing it across the room and holding the being down by it's wrists. It twisted and writhed in his grasp.

"Stop!" Dib held it firmly and it gradually ceased its struggles, turning its face away as it stilled, breathing hard. Dib slowly released it and sat back, reaching to brush his hair back and sighing. The creature cautiously sat up after awhile and magenta eyes turned on him again, curious this time. He looked back.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said quietly. The creature looked away again at the sound of his voice and he got up, offering a hand down to it. It glanced at his hand and reached to take it slowly. Dib helped it to its feet and caught it under the arms when it swayed. He led it to the living room and offered for it to sit on the couch but it sank to the floor instead. Dib grabbed the blanket and draped it around its shoulders, then went to the kitchen to heat another pot of tea. He returned and sat beside the creature quietly. It was staring up at the Christmas tree, the lights reflecting in its eyes. Dib smiled slightly and looked up at the tree as well.

"Its cold outside," he said softly, not wanting to startle it. "You can stay here as long as you like."

The creature side-glanced at him but didn't respond. Dib was starting to get up to check the tea when the being leaned and laid its head against his shoulder, antennae low against its head as it closed its eyes. He smiled and let it, watching the twinkling tree lights. Merry Christmas.