One Complete Heart

Chapter 18

The next morning was supposed to be the most magical day of the year, or so Dimentio was told. When Mimi described it the night before, she said that there was a special kind of feeling that came with Christmas. She described waking up when the sky was still dark and waiting with anticipation for morning to come before sneaking out and seeing that Christmas tree with presents beneath it. 

Dimentio found the story slightly unbelievable because Mimi wasn't exactly a morning person, but surely enough, she was up hours before the sun was supposed to rise.

Dimentio hadn't yet fallen asleep. He was watching through the window, waiting for the storm to lighten up. Everyone had been trapped in the count's cabin. Luckily, it was big enough to fit all the company, but that didn't change the fact that Dimentio felt like he was being trapped. He and Mr. L planned on staying awake together to watch the storm, waiting for it to lighten up enough for them to escape, but the man in green ended up falling asleep sometime around midnight.

"Hey Dimmy," Mimi excitedly squealed from behind him. Her voice was hushed, but not quiet. She squirmed with delight as she looked at the tree, which seemed to glow in the darkness with its rainbow lights. 

She was practically beaming with joy. Dimentio envied her. Perhaps he too could have felt that way had he not known so much yet so little at the same time. He wished he could just forget everything and celebrate with her. He wished he could sit and watch as his closest friends unwrap the Christmas presents he forgot to give them. He wished he could see Mr. L's smile as he opened up that telescope O'Chunks bought, despite already having one. He wished he could hold a box adorned with thin wrapping paper and tear it open to be greeted by something that someone else got specifically for him.

He couldn't, though. 

The man in the window told him to wake up - to please wake up. 

The man in the window wasn't there, though. 

Please, wake up.

Dimentio could hear him. He didn't know what his voice sounded like, but he could hear him. Or, he could see him in his mind, mouthing the words. He could see him with his hands pressed to the glass, the tears from before still in his eyes. Or maybe they were new tears. 

He turned away from Mimi, then walked over to the corner Mr. L was currently curled up in. The jester kneeled down, then harshly shook his shoulder.

"Please, wake up," Dimentio whispered. 

Mimi had gone to the Christmas tree and started shaking the boxes with her name on them. O'Chunks had gone in and placed his presents under the tree while she was asleep. Dimentio saw him. Although, he had no idea how O'Chunks got these gifts. Had he stashed them in the count's cabin the whole time?

Mr. L groaned quietly to himself, shifting slightly. It took a few more moments before he could bring himself to open his eyes. 

"Merry Christmas, Dim," he muttered.

"We're going," Dimentio whispered before the man in green could fully bring himself to consciousness. 

The man in green yawned, then slowly sat up and started to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. His hair was messy and there were bags under his eyes. Dimentio noticed him tossing and turning all night, although he couldn't tell if this was normal or if this was just because he was uncomfortable sleeping on the floor. 

"Is the storm gone?" 

"No," Dimentio answered. "It won't ever be. We have to go anyway. Now."

He couldn't explain the frantic feeling inside him, but he knew that if he spent Christmas morning the way he wanted to, surrounded by the people he loved most in the world, he'd never want to leave. He'd leave behind all the questions for the perfect world.