Continued Silence

Thirty-six : absolutely everything and nothing

25th December, 2018

Daniel Steve:

To die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die
And I wish that we all find our star in the dark sky

"I'd never felt so good before", I said, the glass of beer in one hand, while my other arm was badly broken and plastered, and added,
"It's good to be with you all."
Everyone cheered their mugs of strong beer and we all shouted,
"Merry Christmas!"

Me, William, Sarah, Harry and some of other bunch of people were gathered in Tony's home, that was previously Grace's, for Christmas celebrations. The walls of his tiny lounge were decorated colourfully, and a beautiful bright Christmas tree stood at the corner, reminding me of my childhood when me and Chris would decorate the tree.
My dad would always lift me up, with a star in my hand to place it on top, and I would always say to him,
"Higher dad, higher!!"
He would lift me up to the highest point, and I would carefully set the star on top, as if it was something fragile. I would always get so happy and clap excitedly, as if I had won an Olympics.

William, who was seated next to me, shouted,
"It's time for gifts!"
He really sounded like a drunk Santa, ready to rain gifts on you.
We all gathered around the tree and sat on the hardwood floor, while still drinking oh-not-so-sweet-but-it's-fun beers. Songs were also playing, making me feel warm and secure. That frame, of a quote, that said,
"Do not fear death, rather the unlived life" was still there, hanging peacefully.
I smiled when the memories came back, and my heart cracked, yet I tried to believe.

William started giving gifts to everyone, while I watched the faces of people getting bright due to a stupid smile on their faces as they received their gifts.
When he was about to give the gift to Sarah, he said,
"Close your eyes!"
Sarah, who was dressed in all red and green, carefully placed her hands on her green eyes, like a two year old. Well, Sarah was the kind of girl who was pretty much perfect. Her hands were the colour of the honey, and her skin so flawless without a single freckle. Even when she moved, she had a reason.
But all that perfection still couldn't be compared to Grace's imperfect, cracked vessel.

William, his eyes gleaming with happiness, placed something blue-black in front of her. It was a beautiful pendant, with their names etched on it. Sarah was so excited that she jumped off and they both started kissing in front of everyone.
Yeah, I liked those people who would be themselves even in the swarm of others.
Honestly, they were cuddling up together like a ball of snow, which reminded me of her, when I'd given her that bracelet. I wondered if she still had it.
As I watched them, my own mouth became dry, and my tongue rolled up like a titanium sleeping bag.

When they were finished, William looked around for a second, and said,
"Oh yeah, sorry. So let's see who is next, oh yeah, so my last gift is for my bro, my everything."
I smiled effortlessly and he said,
"Dude, if you keep that beautiful smile on your face, I'm sure so many hot girls will lose their minds."
Anyways, I still smiled, even larger.
William said,
"I have not just one, but two little presents for you!"
I swear if I had smiled even more, I would have blinded that Christmas star on the top, so I maganed on a little, stupid smile.

But oh--have you seen her smile?
Mine was nothing as compared to Grace's.
If mine was made to blind a small Christmas star, hers was made to brighten the whole world.

William brought out a small fragile package, in rainbow colours, while everyone was eyeing it with suspense, as if he was a real Santa.
William smiled for a second, and said,
"So, this is the first one."
I nodded and was about to open it, until William shouted,
"WAIT!!"
Tony laughed off, saying,
"What now?"
William replied, while biting his lips,
"Uh, nothing much. Just wanted to say that I love you, bro. Thanks for being the person I could always turn to. Even all of the colours of rainbow and vastness of this universe cannot be compared to our little infinite friendship."
At that moment, the whole lounge was silent, even Harry stopped playing pinball.
I smiled once more, not caring for that Christmas star and hugged him tight.