Counting the Stars

Chapter 8 - A Distant Midnight

December had always seemed to be the slowest month for me. Maybe it was because I had so many different events to look forward to, all of which I had to wait for until the end of the month grew closer. This time around, it would surely last longer, since it was the first winter season I would spend on my own. Firstly, there was the obvious day of December twentieth, the day that happened to be my brother's and my birthday. It was going to be the first birthday that I would spend miles and miles away from everyone I had ever known, and while there was some excitement in trying new things, there was no denying that there was definitely something lonely about knowing I would be spending my special day by myself.

After the short period of five days after my birthday came the well-known, commonly celebrated holiday of Toy Day. In my family, Toy Day had been a day never to go unnoticed. I could almost still see the tree that was set up in the left corner of the living room next to the couch every year that had always towered over me in my youth, glittering and sparkling with elegant holiday lights. I often spent my evenings in my puppyhood in the living room around the holidays just for the excuse of seeing such a lovely sight. Shortly after the tree had been put up for the month, colorfully wrapped gifts would begin to appear underneath it one by one leading up to the day they would be opened, and this only added to my excitement for the day to arrive. It had been one of my favorite days of the year for as long as I could remember, but not for the gifts I received; it never failed to fill me with delight to see the entire family gathered in one room at the same time with such a joyful, uplifting atmosphere.

I might not have had my family to celebrate with this year, but at the very least, I still had a friendly community and even a tree to look at. It was not in my own home, but it was the familiar pine tree in the main square that reached high up towards the cloudy sky. I spotted it frequently as I passed through the square many times, whether it be for errands or general walks, and always found it glistening with vivid festive lights wrapped around it from the bottom to the very top. With the holiday lights that illuminated the square even on its darkest days from clouds conquering the endless skies and the soft snowfall that showered around it with every passing day, it was truly a heavenly sight to see.

But then again, the beauty was part of the distraction. As the enchanting month of December slowly slipped by, I was gradually coming up on the one-year mark since I had left home. As much as I enjoyed the sights that the winter season had to offer, a day couldn't go by without the occasional jab of homesickness in my gut, even more so now than ever. It was as if the thrill of my new adventures had cycled back around and now I wished for something I no longer had. It was going to be painful to try and get through the holiday season without Digby or my parents, but if I had made it this far, I could make it through the month.

As the days of the longest month of the year dragged on, I found myself becoming restless, aching for the special events to come and go. After all, there were multiple important events waiting before me; the complicated year of 2013 was finally coming to an end, I would soon face the challenge of experiencing the holidays on my own, and I was about to begin the eighteenth year of my life. The concerns and excitements of the late month could not arrive quickly enough, piling up in my thoughts as the days bled into each other, and on top of this, it seemed like I was the only one alone. There wasn't a single animal I could see that travelled by themself throughout the town, constantly surrounded by a close group of friends, faces lit up with bright smiles wherever they went.

In my temporary period of solitude in the midst of such a social bunch, I couldn't help thinking of Redd from time to time. He had once again vanished from the streets with the calling of his work on other islands and had been missing for nearly two weeks now, but I wasn't worried. This wasn't the first time he had been away for weeks at a time, and surely it wouldn't be the last. And so, instead of distressing over the fact that he was gone, I managed to keep my hopes steady and waited for the day when I would be lucky enough to see him again. With the slowly approaching turn of the years, I could only muse the possibility of his return before the end of the month to start the new year rather pleasantly. However, it was understandable if he couldn't make it back in time, as he needed to do what must be done for his work, though I still wished for his reappearance nonetheless.