Zootopia: Undercover Pursuit

Chapter 18: Nostalgic

Chapter 18: Nostalgic

The first day of Christmas promised to be really wonderful. In spite of the fact that the first rays of the sun appeared on the horizon earlier in the morning, which were quite cold, it was nice to look at the blood-orange sky, which formed during the sunrise. The clouds, although not big, were dark grey and heralded that sooner or later it would start snowing.

Judy didn't get up until 9a.m. when the sound of children playing on the ground floor started to come from downstairs. On Christmas Eve, when her younger siblings had already gone to their rooms to sleep, she stayed in the kitchen with some of her older siblings to talk to them a little longer. They were only supposed to talk a little at first, but they had such a pleasant and relaxed conversation that their talk ended around 1a.m. (so very late). They would have talked even longer, but Bonnie then reminded them that Judy's presents still needed to be unwrapped under the Christmas tree so that the children would already have their presents delivered the next day. When they were done sitting around the table, they all went into the small room where all the wrapped presents were kept. Everyone took a dozen or so presents and went up to the Christmas tree to lay out all the presents they had in their hands. It generally took them about half an hour to carry all the presents. Once all the packages were placed, a beautiful little island of packages, wrapped in Christmas paper, formed under the tree.

When Judy opened her eyes and saw the watch she opened her crocodile eyes wide with amazement when she saw the time.

"'I haven't slept this much in a long time' thought Judy. She sat up on the bed, stretched for stimulation, then stood on her feet looking for some outfit to show off in. From the wardrobe she pulled out a white shirt, grey trousers and a red jumper covered in Christmas patterns that were sewn onto the fabric. She walked out of her room, the sound of children playing instantly amplified. Judy giggled quietly because she knew that the kids had already opened their gift packages and were already playing with their presents. And so they did. As Judy looked out over the stairs leaning against the banister she saw a pile of torn Christmas paper resting abandoned on its side. By the fireplace, a group of children were showing each other their gifts and another group, after presenting their gift, was playing with it with their siblings. Judy, seeing this warm family sight, smiled at the sight.

She looked around for her parents, who were sitting somewhere in the crowd. Eventually, she found them sitting at a table, watching a bunch of children. She decided to go down to them to talk.

"Hi, Mom, Hi Dad!" Said Judy sitting down next to them taking a seat across from the fireplace.

"Hi Judy, how holy?" Stuu asked.

"Great! It's been so long since I've been excited about Christmas!" Replied Judy excitedly.

"Yes...it's certainly a special Christmas" replied Stuu.

"Every Christmas is special, only this time Judy won't be with us afterwards...just Judy, when are you coming back?" Bonnie asked.

"Unfortunately tomorrow," sighed Judy. Although on the one hand she was glad, she would be able to see Nick again, something she had missed all this time, but on the other hand she would be leaving her family. It had been an amazing few days that she had experienced here. She was able to feel like the kid again, which deep down inside, she is.

"Ah...come to us more often than just for Christmas".

"I seriously wish I could, but I can't. Police work obliges..." Replied Judy with a light laugh.

"We know, but can't you find more free time?"

"Ugh...seriously it's not that easy..." Replied Judy thoughtfully. Yes, sometimes she has days that she has time off, but then she's with Nick all the time, so there's no chance of her coming to this place...at least not now.