25 Days of Ambrollins

Koziar's Christmas Village

 Dean shivered as he walked through the pathway of festive Christmas lights. He had been more than happy to take his sister and her friends to the Christmas Village, but he realized about two minutes in just what a mistake it was. It was freezing, and all he wanted to do was get home, throw on his favorite sweats and a sweatshirt, and relax.

"Oh, the kissing bridge is this way!" one of the girls said. "I've heard that people even get married on his bridge, how cute is that?"

"I heard there's a legend that if you bump into a stranger, that stranger is your soul mate," another girl added. They giggled and continued on the path. The idea of a bridge specifically for couples made Dean gag, he had kinda sworn off dating recently, and happy couples just made him bitter. As they made their way up the few steps, they awed as they saw a couple locked in an embrace, their lips pressed together. Dean walked on ahead of the girls to wait on the other end of the bridge, but as he moved, the guy they saw kissing his girlfriend turned to walk away and walked straight into Dean.

"Oof, sorry man. Didn't see you the-" he began and looked straight into Dean's eye, his words faltering as they locked eye, "-re," he finished softly as if he lost his train of thought.

Dean forced himself to shut his mouth that hung open, "S'fine. No big deal, no damage done." The man struct Dean, a feeling he'd never really felt washing over him. It occurred to him that maybe he wasn't having any luck with the women in life because none of them looked like the man standing before him. A beard grew in along his very perfect jaw, a mustache sat atop the lips that Dean had a very sudden urge to kiss. Half his hair was brown, which was obviously his natural color according to his facial hair, but the other half was dyed bleach blonde. His eyes, Dean noticed, were a beautiful brown that glowed perfectly in the light of the village. All of this Dean took notice of in the few seconds he was so close to him for, but then the man gave a nod and then walked off with the girl he'd been kissing.

"What was that?" Dean's sister asked as they walked over to him.

Dean shook his head, asking himself the same thing as he did, "Nothing, just some guy. Bumped into me when he was leaving."

"Omg, just like the legend Well, where is he?" one of her friends asked.

Dean waved her off, "Nah, can't be. He was with a girl, obviously his girlfriend."

"Legends are legends for a reason, Dean. Whether you or he know it or not, you're soul mates," his sister said. He looked at her for a moment, thinking over everything before they turned to walk away, the image of that guy ever present in Dean's mind.

The group walked on, looking through the windows of the small buildings that displayed Christmas themed rooms. One room was Santa's Workshop, another was the North Pole letter room, and another was a Raggedy Anne and Andy Ice Cream Shop. As they walked, Dean noticed they weren't far behind that guy he'd run into, and every so often, the guy would turn around and spot Dean. It became almost a game of trying to find the other and look at them without the other noticing. Dean also, noticed, however, that the guy's girlfriend was getting increasingly annoyed each time the guy turned away from what they were looking at. She'd go to say something, and there he was, looking off in the distance to find Dean again.

"Oh, we should stop here and get some hot chocolate!" one of the girls exclaimed as they came up to a building advertising snacks and drinks.

They led the way inside what looked like a very busy room, "Go on ahead, I'd rather not stand in there with it being that crowded," Dean said. The girls nodded and walked on without him, leaving him to stand in the cold. He fished out his phone and kept himself distracted while he waited. At least, he was trying to keep himself busy, but he kept thinking about that guy. If they stopped, which they had, there was no way he'd see that guy again, not in a crowd this big and especially since they hadn't stopped. He huffed, chastising himself; obviously, he was going to have to get over this guy, but man, was it hard.