The Christmas Tree...

"So…Umm…." Jun spoke up as he took the apron in his hand.

Nana, Grandma and Mia's mother, all of them looked at him.

"….Umm…Mia is leaving in the evening?" He asked casually but only he knew what kind of whirlwind of thoughts was going on in his mind.

"Yes sweety, she is." Mother said but she didn't sound sad. "I am happy that she came today!" She smiled.

"Yeah. My little girl has grown up so much now. She is going to work extra on the Christmas so she came here today to meet us." Nana said proudly.

"She cares about all of us." Grandma added. "We all thought that we wouldn't get to see her, but in spite of her busy schedule, she took some time for us."

"I am really happy today. Jun and Mia both are together in the house. Just like old days. I was missing their chaos in the house so much."

"I didn't tell her that you were coming here Jun." Nana said. "We wanted to give her and you a big surprise!"

"But it didn't work I guess..." Grandma said with a disappointed tone. "When I saw them two, they acted like strangers! What is wrong with these two, I really don't know."

As all of these ladies were talking, Jun had gone deep into his thoughts. 'So she didn't know I was coming…That's why….Otherwise, she wouldn't have come…..Huhhh…..I remember her face…..She wasn't happy or excited at all…..Why would she be happy though….After what I did, I hate myself….'

As he was thinking that putting on the apron, Mia entered the kitchen with a huge box in her hands.

Everyone turned around to her and found her looking at him.

He quickly avoided the eye contact.

"Mother…" She called, "I'm going to decorate the Christmas tree."

"Okay honey." Mother said.

"I would appreciate some help." She said as she was continuously staring at him.

"We all are busy here sweety…" Nana said. "But you can take—"

Before Nana could complete her sentence, Mia had charged towards him and she handed him the big box.

Startled Jun caught that box somehow and balanced himself.

"Come on. Let's go!" Mia said as she took the lead and started walking towards the living room.

He was still confused and surprised with Mia's sudden actions.

He just stood there, kept staring at her.

From the door she turned back and looked at him.

"Junaaa?"

His eyes opened wide as he heard her gentle voice calling for him.

It has been so many days since he had heard it. Listening to his name coming out from her mouth, just like she used to do it; made his heart skip a beat.

But he held his emotions back and walked towards Mia.

"Let's go and decorate the Christmas tree together…Junaa.." She said as her eyes were looking at him softly.

With that gaze of hers, he could feel his heart racing faster.

'Did she…did she just call me Junaa?.....She is talking with me?....She is talking with me!....'

He looked around and found all the three ladies, Nana, Grandma and Mother looking at them only.

'Oh!' He realized something. 'She is just behaving that so others won't feel anything weird…She just doesn't want to make them feel bad or worry about us….' The thought of his own sunk his heart .

He looked at her.

She smiled at him and started walking towards the living room; he closed his eyes for a second, controlling all his thoughts and emotions and then followed her quietly.

Nana, Grandma and Mia's mother, all three of them exchanged glances and giggled.

.

As Mia and Jun came into the living room they saw a small tree kept in the corner which was neatly packed into the paper.

Mia walked towards it and started opening the knots of the packaging strings.

Jun kept the box down and he also went to help her.

Both of them opened it and removed the paper around the tree.

"Ahh!!Nice!" She said as she rubbed both of her hands together getting ready.

"Let's set this up, okay?" She said as she rolled the sleeves of her shirt up and bent down to lift the tree up.

"Ughh…It's heavy…" She growled. "Don't know how Jina got it here?"

Looking at her, struggling to lift up the tree, Jun bent down hurriedly and kept his hands below the stump of the tree. Holding it up easily, he lifted it up.

"There…There…" She pointed towards the direction where she wanted to put the tree.

He went there and carefully kept the tree down.

"Nice!" She exclaimed.

By that time, Charlie had also become a little curious about what they were doing and so he was observing them from the couch only.

Soon, they started their work of decorating.

Mia kept instructing him what to do and how to do but Jun was still silent and hadn't said a single word. He was just doing what Mia was telling him to do.

Finally, after continuous work of a whole hour; Mia and Jun were standing in front of the fully decorated tree and were looking at it.

"HUhhh…." Mia sighed out loudly. "Now we just have to put the star up there."

Saying this she went towards the box and brought out the last thing in it.

A shiny, glassy star.

Walking towards the tree, she stretched her arm to fix the star on top of it.

But as the tip being on a greater height, she couldn't reach it.

She started tip toeing and then her hand was able to reach at the top but still she wasn't able to fix it over there.

Being frustrated as she was about to take her hand down; she felt someone else's hand approaching hers and taking the star.

Startled a little she looked over her shoulder and found Jun standing next to her holding the star.

Without looking at her, he stretched his arm and put the star on the top.

"Done…" He whispered to himself.

As he was about take his hand down and turn back, she quickly went and grabbed his hand.

He twitched in surprise and looked at her with surprise.

"…"

"…"

No one said anything for a couple of seconds.

Jun's surprised face and Mia's confident expressions didn't leave their faces.

"Junaa?" She said.

"…." He swallowed.

"Please let's stop this…" She said as she got his hand down still holding it tightly.

"…." His uncertain eyes were still showing that he wasn't comfortable with this conversation.

"Please let's stop being like this and go back to our normal selves."

He lowered his eyes which were filled with the guilt.

"I don't care what you did two years ago and I don't want to think about it anymore. You not talking to me is way more hurtful…" Her gentle voice echoed in his ears.

He quickly looked up at her and met her eyes which were a little moist.

"Mia…." Only this word escaped through his mouth.

"I can't see you like this anymore Junaa….I really can't….." Her eyes started tearing up. "Please just start talking to me….Just like you used to do….Use mean words, be cold towards me, tease me….But at least say something…" The tear slid down her cheek and dropped down.

"But what I did—"

"I don't care. I really don't care. I don't know why I stopped talking to you. It was so stupid. Such things shouldn't affect our friendship, right?" She said the exact same words Jina said to her.

"….." He said silent for a while and then said, "Mia, I'm really sorry…I'm really sorry for what I—"

"Shhhh!" She shushed him before he could finish his sentence. "I don't want to listen to it anymore…You did that, you already said sorry to me….And not talking with me for such a long time was like a punishment….Not only for you but for me also….So please just stop all this and get back to our older selves…"

"…..You really mean that?" He asked again.

"I do!"

"….."

"You know what?" She asked as he looked at her in response. "I missed you Junaa…."

Those words just struck his heart and melted away all the guilt ice which was covering over it.

His confused eyes turned into a gentle and lovable gaze and met with her truthful eyes.

"I really missed you…" She said again.

"….I missed you too…." He said. The first proper words after all this time were saying that he missed her.

Her eyes started tearing up again.

"…."

"…."

Then suddenly, all of a sudden, all the lights of the Christmas tree lit up and brought both of them back to their senses.

Startled by it, they quickly moved away from the tree.

"Huh?"

As both of them turned back, they saw Jina standing near the switch, leaning to the wall with a smirk resting on her face.

"I was just checking if everything is fine or not." She said standing straight.

"Huh? What?" Jun asked being confused.

"Nothing. It seems everything is perfectly fi~ne here!" and saying that she looked at Mia who knew what she was talking about.

"Thank you~" Mia mouthed towards her sister.

Jina smiled and winked at her.

And then without saying anything further, she went inside, towards the kitchen.

As she did, Charlie who had been lying on the couch quickly got down and ran behind her.

"Now I see…" Jun said. "Just like they say; a pet is a complete resemblance of its master!"

"Huh?" Mia raised an eyebrow.

"Charlie, being lazy, sitting on the couch, doing nothing and just getting up for the food; all these things he could learn from only one person…"

Both of them looked at each other.

"JINA!" They said at the same time and started laughing.

"Hahaha…"

"HAhaha"

'It's been so long that we've been laughing like this….' She thought.

'I promise to you…I would never let go this smile away from you….I will never do anything which will hurt you ever….' He thought.

With a smile on their faces, both of them turned around and looked at the tree, which was sparkling with the lights.

~