It had been almost three years since the incident at space colony ARK. Then, why couldn't he forget about her? Her large blue eyes and blonde hair… she was the only real friend he had ever had. She was the one who gave life a meaning.
Shadow the Hedgehog was staring through his window at the snow falling. A bright yellow moon could be seen in a gap through the clouds. 'Maria…' he thought to himself. 'It's always this time of year when I start thinking of you. My first Christmas… I'll never forget it…'
He remembered the bright, green and red lights. A giant pointed tree was in the middle of the room, and under the tree were parcels of many different hues. Maria was under the tree, shaking the packages, and the Professor just stared at her, smiling.
"What is all this?" Shadow asked Maria whilst walking towards the tree. She looked up from the package she was holding, and she cocked one of her eyebrows.
"Oh!" she suddenly realized. "This is your first Christmas, isn't it, Shadow?"
"Chris-wha?"
"Christmas, silly," she giggled. "Hmm… oh, how can I explain this to you?... well, at this time each year, everyone spend time to realize what's really important to them."
"And what, pray tell, might that be?"
Maria then embraced the hedgehog. "All of their friends and family, and the love that they have for them."
"What are the parcels for?" Shadow asked quickly, mostly to change the subject.
"Those are just little tokens of the caring that each of us has for each other. Here, I asked Daddy to make these for you." She held out a rectangular box covered in red paper. "Go on, take it."
Shadow slowly opened the gift from his friend. He opened the box and peered inside. "Shoes?" he asked, picking up the pair of jet shoes from the box.
"Yes. They're specially designed to help your speed. Maybe now you can beat me in a race," she said with a smirk. "Go ahead, try them on!"
The black hedgehog slipped the shoes on his feet. He started walking around, to test them out. He started to jog, and the shoes were still fine. When he started to run, however, energy jets burst from the bottom of the shoes, causing Shadow to lose his balance and slip, face first, onto the ground in front of Maria.
The young girl started to giggle. "They'll take some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll control them in time."
The hedgehog blushed. "Thank you, Maria." A sad look then crept upon his face. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I didn't get you anything."
"That's okay." She said, embracing Shadow once more. "All that matters is that we're all together, as one happy family. Merry Christmas Shadow the Hedgehog."
Shadow snapped back into reality. He looked down at his shoes, and then slowly turned to the sky.
"Merry Christmas, Maria," he whispered.
Well, that was my first fanfic. I hope it wasn't too horrible. R&R please!