Past Christmas

Once upon a time, a long time ago - said a young blonde, with blue locks, with a tender voice - a beautiful young woman, met a mysterious and daring boy... together, they faced dangers, storms and losses… but the couple's love never seemed to wane.

The young woman, owner of the voice, was sitting in a comfortable chair, with her back to shelves in a large room, surrounded by children. She pretended to read a book with a simple brown cover, which read in Dutch, "Snow White", while the little ones listened attentively, telling the story of a house's life, perhaps a little exaggerated.

— ... "It was then that a large wolf appeared, with a howl so strong, it could make the earth shake..." — The story continued, while the snow began to fall, calmly, on the large library window — … " The villain seemed defeated, and the couple was now preparing for new adventures, when one night, they knocked on the door of the house... "

As if rehearsed, they knocked three times on the dark wooden door of the room, which soon opened and caused several of the children to run happily towards it, ready to hug their fathers and mothers. The room quickly emptied, after the young girl, promised to finish the story next time, until she was left alone, with the sun, already almost setting, behind a mountain with snow-covered pine trees and at her foot, it was possible to see several cozy-looking huts.

— Haaaa... It seems like he was late today — she sighed as she put away some books, left scattered on the floor.

Her cell phone rang a soft chiming melody, and she hurried to answer it, taking it from the pocket of a jacket she had left on the chair. Without looking at the screen, she answered the call and held the device to her ear, brushing a bluish strand out of the way and asking — ... Brother? Hello? Will it still take a long time?

— Hi, Kaia, I'm sorry, I'm coming... is everything okay? Is the library still there?

— ...Ah, yes, that's okay..., in fact, I was going to help you close the place...

— Great, I should arrive in 5 minutes, but don't get caught in the wind, okay? I'm going to hang up, see you soon...

- Until...

The phone was silent, and the snow was still falling calmly through the window, when a beautiful girl, in her early 30s, redheaded, wearing a tight formal outfit and thick glasses, appeared through the door from before, pushing a cart of books and with a look on her face. Serious on your face. She looked around, parked the cart next to the window and turned to the girl, leaving the two of them facing the small European city through the window.

— Ready to close?

— Oh yes, Miss Megan, my brother is already coming to get me.

— That's good — she whispered, holding back a slight smile — ... It's been a while since you came here to read to the children...

— Yes, I like telling them stories, and it's a good way to pass the time — the girl replied, somewhat indifferently.

The librarian locked the classroom door as they walked out into the hall, while Kaia closed the blinds with one hand, holding her jacket with the other.

— ... I realized I don't know much about you... Do you live alone?

— Hmm... No, we moved here with our mother last year... but she works a lot.

The cheeks on Megan's small face began to turn pink, while her breathing began to appear — so you take care of each other, right... I'm sorry to ask, I ended up listening to your conversation on the phone, it was another language you spoke, right? Where did you come from?

— Ah... okay, he was Portuguese, we came from Brazil.

Before the conversation could continue, the two were already outside the library, locking the well-designed wooden double doors, and a motorcycle was stopping next to the sidewalk, already covered in snow. The young man with black hair and blonde roots took off his helmet, showing a firm and careful look towards the two girls.

— Ready? Can we go, Kaia? — he said, holding out a pink helmet to her.

— Is everything okay, Miss Megan?

— Uh... ah... y-yes, of course, until next time — she replied, hiding her reddened face with a black scarf.

As soon as Kaia got on the bike, with her pink helmet and no visor, the young man waved to Megan and put on his helmet, started the bike, silently, turned around and started following the street, towards the city center, where There was a winter fair. The brothers walked along the road for more than a minute in silence, with a light snow falling on them, as the sun finished setting, among the pine trees on the mountain that surrounds the small town. Warm lights began to light up at the top of the English-designed poles and small Christmas decorations, such as garlands and pine cones, stood out from the blurred figure due to the speed at which they moved. The city center was already visible, with its colorful stalls and warmly dressed crowd, when the young man in charge spoke.

—Was that your boss?

— Megan? Well, not exactly, it's voluntary work after all, but because the interest — she questions him shouting into the wind.

—She just... seemed cool — he replied, a little sheepishly, but without taking his eyes off the road.

Before they could continue the conversation, about the beautiful and interesting librarian, who played the role of boss, the motorcycle was already stopping and the young man began to maneuver to park it next to the central square. A beautiful rectangular-shaped park, with a small fountain in front of a Gothic stone church in the center, surrounded by some pine trees and with four stone paths extending to the corners. Colorful stalls stood on the snow-covered grass, some selling typical and seasonal foods and others, artisanal products, such as knitted rabbits and cinnamon sweets, people, mostly young couples, gathered around the frozen fountain, or burning barrels, close to the chapel walls.

— So, brother, what are we doing here?

— Huh, weren't you the one who wanted to buy a gift for your mother, while you took the opportunity to enjoy the Christmas market a little?

— Huh? It is serious? Can we really? — she asked, almost jumping excitedly, with her hair flying over the collar of her coat.

— But of course, last year we couldn't enjoy the festivities, but now, things are calmer, and our mother will finally get some real rest, so why don't we prepare a surprise for her?

The girl smiled, with a shine almost as bright as a star, and ran towards the nearest candy stall, while her young older brother walked behind her, with his hands in the pocket of his dark jacket and a satisfied expression. in the face. A small band started playing Christmas songs while the blizzard didn't seem to give up, but continued softly through the night that had already taken over the city's sky.

— Hey, brother, look at this, how cute... would mom like these dolls? — she said, pointing to a knitted set of a "snowman" dressed as Santa Claus, alongside two bunnies and a Christmas tree, also made by knitting.

— I'm sure she'll love it, do you want to take them all?

- We can?

- Clear. Friend, let's take these, and those green clogs too... oh and that hat too.

— Everything will be ninety euros — the man at the stall replied happily, wrapping the gifts.

The two brothers walked away from the stall with a full bag and were already heading towards another one, full of sweets, when a beautiful young girl, with short black hair, an athletic body and thick sportswear underneath a fuzzy coat, approached calling and waving.

— Heyyyy, Ruuunneeeee...

The brother turned around, without changing, as if he had already expected something similar and waved back with a smile, while his sister remained quietly next to him, eating a pink marzipan. The girl approached him with open arms and hugged him without hesitation.

— How good it is to meet you here, Rune — she said, with the cold wind hitting her face.

— Hey Anne, I say the same...

— Eh... Brother, who is she? — the girl asked, appearing around the corner.

— Oh, right, I didn't introduce them... Anne, this is Kaia, my sister and Kaia, this is Annelise, my co-worker, at the coffee shop.

— Oh, so you're the kleine zus — she enthused, speaking with a strong accent.

The atmosphere remained comfortable for a while longer, although the cold of the night was strong, and the girl now spent most of the time quiet while the other two seemed to be talking nonstop. Until the sound of the clock on the church tower chimes, forcing Kaia to remind her brother that they should return home soon.

— Hey... Brother — she said, pulling on the sleeve of her jacket — Brother. We have to go...

But he didn't seem to notice his sister's voice or action until — Brother Rune, we have to go!

Anne was startled by how loud and high-pitched the girl's voice could be, but seemed more surprised by the time on the clock, saying that she was already late and needed to go, she got up from the bench where they had sat for the last fifteen minutes. She brushed the snow off her shoulders and hair, bent down before young Rune could get up, and kissed him on the cheek as she brushed the snow off his shoulders as well. Rune just returned her with a tight hug and let her go while she turned to her sister, who was starting to look like a tomato, her face was so red.

— Huhuhu — he laughed, somewhat restrained — you're already sixteen years old, Kaia, and you're still embarrassed by these things... huhuhu, when are you going to grow up, huh?

— Hey, I wasn't the one who wasted the time by flirting, and by the way, we better go quickly, you know how mom worries when we don't arrive before her.

She composed herself and began to lead the way, her face still very pink, perhaps due to the cold winds. The snow was now beginning to increase, the sun had already set for a long time, it was seven in the evening, the fair was still in full swing. But the two brothers were moving towards the street, where they parked, when the wind blew strong, surrounding them with snow. Music and whispers disappeared, suddenly they were in a white void, the wind stopped and a strange sensation took over Rune's body, who ran to hold her sister's hand, who had stopped a few meters in front of her. Soon the white disappeared and a warm breeze enveloped them, messing with their minds, and then they realized, the environment around them changed, they were no longer in a snowy square in the middle of western Europe, they were back in São Paulo, Brazil, in the backyard of the old house. The damp grass felt real and the uncomfortable hot summer breeze would have been unbearable if they had still had their coats on.

— Go... Brother, what happened?

— It's okay, Kaia... but we better go inside.

Taking his sister's hand and pulling her towards the house where they once lived, they both left the hot night behind as they passed through the apparently new metal door and began to hear the sound of the fan turned on full blast. The television illuminated the dark room with its screen without signal, just white noise, the girl ran to press the switch, almost falling to the floor in surprise, when she noticed the reflections of the large mirror attached to the wall.

— Go... Brother — she stuttered, turning to him.

—...

Rune seemed frozen, facing the mirror, where he saw a younger version of himself in his reflection, while Kaia apparently saw one of hers. After a few seconds, he turned to her and quickly looked at her, but he only saw his sixteen year old sister. Before he could say anything, a strong and serious sound startled them and took both of their attention away from the mirror, it was an old wall clock, showing eight o'clock, right below it, a calendar, for the month of December, with an expression of expression. understanding of Rune and Kaia's faces. But before they could do anything, they were back in the middle of a light snowfall, standing in front of Rune's navy blue motorcycle.

The brothers spent a few minutes in silence, on the motorcycle, traveling along the well-lit road, amidst the white snow, until the sight of their house on the horizon, far from the others, made them relax a little and start talking about the strange and vivid vision they had.

— Hey... Kaia, is everything okay with you?

— I... I don't know, I don't know what to feel... I don't understand, what was that?

— Haaa, so you saw it too, right? I don't know, but for a few minutes, it seemed like we had returned to Brazil — Rune continued, without taking his eyes off the road, as they climbed the hill.

— ... — Kaia stopped for a few seconds, seeming to gather the courage to ask — brother, do you... remember that night? About anything specific?

— Are you talking about Christmas, when our mother rushed us out of the house without suitcases straight to the airport? No, I think I remember the same thing as you.

Rune opened the garage door and put away his motorcycle while Kaia remained with her arms crossed, with a melancholy and thoughtful expression, staring at the ground. The wind blew strong, along with the snow, almost pushing the young girl a few steps forward and making her face the house, very different from the one they had in Brazil, not just because of the presence of snow, the house was big, almost three floors, count with the attic. But it wasn't like the house they lived in before was small, but if they didn't know that they had inherited it from a distant relative, they would probably never expect to live in such a big and fancy place in Europe.

"We'd better get inside soon," Rune said, taking the pink helmet off his sister's head.

— Hm... Ah, right, you're right.

He lowered the garage door, while Kaia went ahead to open the side door, which led up a small flight of stairs straight to the living room, spacious, with two sofas, one large and one smaller, a fireplace, a TV and a large window overlooking a forest.

The night, already well established by darkness, continued with a calm snowfall and strong cold, freezing the edges of the window, while the brothers, now, seemed to enjoy a mug of hot chocolate, each, sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace. Kaia continued with a lost look, now focused on the flames, while Rune seemed to take a moment to drink her mug, looking at the clock every five seconds. It was already past eight at night, and they had already taken their baths and separated the gifts for their mother from the souvenirs they bought for themselves.

— Hey... Rune — Kaia called, turning her attention away from the fireplace and taking a long sip of her warm chocolate.

— Any problems, sister? — he asked quickly, shifting his entire focus to her.

— Don't you feel like we're forgetting something? As if someone was constantly knocking on the door.

As soon as she commented, their conversation was abruptly interrupted by three spaced knocks on the door of their small house, simple and full of noise, coming from the fan and the TV with no signal, which they quickly noticed was the sight from before.

"Again," Kaia whispered.

"But why tonight?" asked Rune, looking at himself in the mirror.

And again 3 knocks sounded from the door through the house, but now the television had regained its signal, showing a frozen image of a cartoon, attracting Rune's attention. While Kaia seems to freeze her gaze on the metal door with a small window with cloudy glass, where she now distortedly displayed a figure.

Three more beats, the drawing now moved, with a 4-second loop and the smell of roast chicken began to fill the air, on the TV it was possible to see the frightened expression of a young lion, while, in the house, the young boy He approached the door, leaving his little sister sitting on an old sofa. The brothers stared at each other for a while, each unable to move from where they were, until, as if in a fog, the vision disappeared and they were both back, sitting on the plush rug, facing the fireplace. , the lights half off. The night was still calm, with snow still falling outside the window, when Rune looked at the clock, and it said 9:56, he quickly looked around and a terrifying tightness appeared in his chest, when suddenly, the doorbell rang, and soon For some reason his worry melted away and he calmly opened the door.

— Ah... I'm sorry for the delay, children — said the beautiful girl with a tired expression and slightly wrinkled face, who ran to hug the young adult and then started stroking the girl's hair — when I left work it was almost eight hours, and only halfway there I realized I had forgotten my keys...

— ... It's okay, mom — said Rune, with a face that went from surprised to calm, very quickly, and closed the door where a cold breeze was coming from.