Show me the meaning

By EpitomeOfMisery

Chapter I: The one time of year

It was that time of year once again. Where the streets and houses were filled and decorated with colourful lights and sparkly decorations. Everywhere glowed like it had been sprinkled with fairy dust and there were smiles all round.

The shops were packed with people buying food and decorations and piles of presents.

With all these smiling faces, no one noticed the lone figure that felt the complete opposite of everyone around him.

The wind was strong and light snow fell all around. It was just starting to get dark but the streets were still packed with people, laughing, carol singing, children playing and running about, everyone having a good time.

Crimson eyes watched the people with interest. The way their eyes lit up with joy as they talked about this wonderful time of the year. Though intelligent, he could not understand why all these people were so happy. Why did everyone smile so much over this concept called 'Christmas'.

He knew the date of it, the twenty fifth of December. He understood why it was celebrated, but he didn't get why it made everyone so happy.

He thought back to his previous Christmas experiences. In the abbey they acted like Christmas didn't exist and it was just another normal day of training and harsh beatings. With his Grandfather it was a special day, but in a happy way. His Grandfather would lecture him, telling him if he dared to do anything remotely fun on Christmas he would punish him. He punished him anyway on Christmas day, saying it was his special present.

Kai swung his legs casually over the edge of the tree branch he sat on. From up here he could watch all the people down below without being noticed.

The other day he had been standing outside one of the big stores, just watching all the people come in and out. A young woman with a little girl stopped and asked him if he was okay. He had nodded, but the woman didn't look convinced. She asked him if he was lost. He shook his head, looking at the little blonde girl clutching a toy reindeer. The woman asked him what his parents were getting him for Christmas, he said he didn't have parents. The woman gave him a sympathetic look and told him she was very sorry, then she walked on.

He didn't know what had possessed him to stand outside the store like that. He just felt like watching everyone buy presents, maybe… maybe he was trying to imagine that he was going to get presents like that.

Not likely.

He'd never received a Christmas present in his life.

And it wasn't likely that he ever would.

It was five days before Christmas, the twentieth of December. The nights were now very cold and it was nearly dark.

He swiftly jumped off the branch, landing skilfully on the snow covered floor. Turning on his heel he made his way home.

Well back to what he had made like a home.

He pushed the old door open, stepping inside and kicking a few old cans out of the way. There wasn't a proper carpet, just a roughly cut blue rug that he had laid down as carpet. His 'home' was an old corner shop. It was abandoned after it caught fire and hadn't been done up again. There was no furniture inside, only a few piles of odd wood and bits lining the burnt walls. The shop was very small, just bigger than the size of an average living room, though the piles of burnt materials took up a lot of space so the floor space was even more limited.

He sat down on the old mattress he used as a bed. There was a thin navy blanket on top and an old pillow, both of which he'd found dumped at the side of a road. He had a three legged stool that he used like a little table and he'd tied a few more blankets to opposite piles of old wood to make a sort of tent over his head, as the roof leaked badly.

These were certainly not ideal living conditions, but it was all he had.

There was no one he could really turn to for help. He knew he could go to social services but he didn't want anyone snooping into his past and asking questions. It was just too much.

Lying back on the old mattress he put Dranzer beside him. His only companion. She made him feel safe through all the cold nights alone.

He sat up again and crawled over to the crumbling cardboard box he used to store the few odd bits of food he had. He chewed thoughtfully on a red apple, his eyes fixed on a little display before him.

In a little area of floor space he had spare he had set up a little tree in a pot of mud. It was a rough fir tree that was quite bare and dry, it was no taller than the seat of a chair and looked more like fir branch than a whole tree.

Still, it was the only little bit of Christmas he had. He'd found some tinsel that a shop had put outside for decoration and swiped it, it obviously wasn't a big loss as there were several new bits out then next day and vandals always tore it down anyway. The one piece glittery red tinsel wound right round the whole tree, giving the dull green a little life. On top was a yellow paper star he'd made himself.

There were, of course, no presents under the tree. Who would give him any presents anyway?

He spent Christmas alone.

A/N:

This is just a random idea that popped into my head. More on the real plot next chapter. I'm really bored so it will probably be up in about an hour. Please review and tell me what you think.