𝐎𝐃𝐃 𝐄𝐘𝐄 ! stranger things ¹ [rewriting]

017. merry christmas, i guess?

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
EIGHTEEN!
merry christmas,
i guess?
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

───────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────────

It had been a whole month since William Byers had returned home to his family in Hawkins.

The chill of the autumn weather had drastically changed into the sharp coldness of the Indiana winters. The amount of warm clothes has doubled since the beginning of December and the added feature of the wet powdery snow made the cold seem even worse.

But no amount of snow or the freezing cold temperature could dampen the spirits of the citizens of Hawkins as it was nearing the jolly holiday of Christmas.

Christmas was a special time in Hawkins and the families of Hawkins, took the holiday very seriously.

Every corner of the small town was adorned with some sort of stringed lights that hung from building to building. A large evergreen tree that shed piles of sharp needles, about ten feet tall, stood in the centre of town square. The tree was completely covered in glittery ornaments placed by the local families and wore a monstrous gold star on the very top.

But that was just the outside, each household had decorated their interior with the most outrageous decorations to show off their love for the cheery holidays. Dozens of Christmas trees, nativity scenes, rainbow coloured string lights and piles of gifts were present in every single, no matter the financial status.

Christmas time was the most celebrated and beloved holiday in Hawkins and even across America for one single reason. This holiday held strong values of family, love, gratitude and generosity.

This was one of the only holidays of the year that could miraculously cause families to put all of their differences aside and come together to celebrate the love and gratitude they hold for each other. The exchanging of gifts and the sharing of a large fulfilling dinner was enough to invite dozens back to celebrating said holiday year after year.

But Christmas would be completely different this year. Especially for the Harrington family.

The Christmas of 1983 would be the first holiday the family would be celebrating without little Wendy. Her one month death anniversary had already passed and the wound of her death was still fresh in Thomas and Stanley's minds.

The atmosphere was no longer filled with the same happiness it once held and Christmas seemed to make life feel even worse. The added stress of the festive holiday and the negatives of her empty presence, made the holiday so unbearable to the point that they were contemplating not even celebrating.