Dear Santa,
Please I just want my father back for Christmas
A single child, a boy, sat with his head in his hands and his tears staining his cheeks red. His older brother stood in the door way with his arms crossed. "Face the facts Gaara! Dad's never going to come back. Santa Clause doesn't exist and it doesn't matter anymore. Christmas is all faked! Get over it and stop crying!"
With those words he left his little brother heart broken and sobbing even more. His sister ran through the door after yelling at his older brother. She wrapped her arms around him and he cried on her shoulder. That was ten years ago.
Now that boy is now sixteen and he can't stand the thought of Christmas. His older brother even got back into the thought of Christmas again and his sister never stopped.
"Gaara! Come put the Angel on the tree!" his sister yelled at him.
"No." he said as he tossed his bag on the couch and walked to his room. He put his phone on his iHome and blared his music. He turned it up as loud as it would possibly go, shut his door, and collapsed on his bed.
He froze and didn't even think about moving. His face down in the pillow and the rest of his body useless. After that Christmas he gave up on it. His mother would buy him presents and they would just sit under the tree, unopened, but she continued on. She still buys him presents, hoping that one day he'll finally get back into the Christmas spirit and open them and she can finally see him smile like he used to.
He hasn't really smiled since that night. He hasn't really done anything, and it was making her worried. She walked through his door and turned his music down. "Gaara?"
"Go away." he mumbled into his pillow.
"No. I am still your mother and you are not going to speak to me that way."
He sighed and rolled over. "What do you want then? I thought you guys were decorating the damn tree."
"Gaara what is with you!? You've changed. You used to be so happy, this was your favorite time of the year." she walked over and sat beside him and pushed his hair out of his face gently. "I miss my little baby."
"I'm not a child anymore. Christmas is useless. It's a Hallmark holiday stores use to get money. I see no point in celebrating something that is only used for money." It was his mother's turn to sigh that time.
She dropped her hands in her lap and looked down at them. "Gaara, that's not what Christmas is about. Christmas is about spending time with your family and getting everything you want. It's about miracles that only happen when someone really wishes for them. It's about wishes coming true."
"Stop right there. Because that's bullshit. Wishes don't come true."
"Yes they do Gaara.."
"No they don't. Otherwise when I was a six you wouldn't have made dad leave, and you'd have yourself a merry little fucking Christmas. They don't come true. It's all just lies that parents fill their child's heads with to make them happy. It's not working. If you want to lie to someone, then go lie to Temari. I'm sure she'll listen to you. It's useless to sit here and try to talk me back into Christmas."
"Gaara. I swear if you ever talk to me like that again-"
"What are you going to do? Ground me?" she raised her hand and slapped him across his cheek.
"Mom?!" Temari yelled from the living room. "Is everything ok?!"
Gaara knew it would break his sister's heart if she knew what went on behind closed doors. "Yes Temari everything is fine." he yelled back. "I accidentally smacked my hand on my bed frame." He never looked back to his mother as she got up and walked out of his room turning his music back up on the way. He got up and opened his window. The brisk air felt good and his blew against his face. He ran his hands through his hair and turned around.
He quickly replaced his phone with his iPod and shoved it in his pocket before slithering out his window. He closed his window as soon as he was out and hopped down into the snow. He jumped over the fence and continued to walk down the streets. He got his headphones from around his neck and plugged them into his phone.
He walked to the park and rubbed his arms from the chill. He sat in a clear spot under a weeping willow. He rested his head against the tree and let himself get lost in the music. He let himself get so carried away that he hardly felt the cold anymore. He had goosebumps but he only felt them if he happened to rub his arms against each other.
He bobbed his head with the strum of the guitar. He mouthed the words and hummed the chorus.
"He wakes up haunted, with voices in his head. Nobody know it, but today he won't go, unnoticed. He can't forget, can't forgive, for what they said. He's never been so hurt but today, the screaming, is over." He sang the words to the song along with the lead singer quietly. "Blame the family. Blame the bully. Blame it on me. Maybe he just needed to be wanted. Blame the family. Blame the bully. Blame it on me. Maybe he just needed to be wanted."
The more he sang, the more he got lost in the music. As he sang and sang the louder and louder he got. "She takes the long way home, fighting her emotions. She's a loner but tonight she won't go, unnoticed. If she can't remember, when she loses her temper. Nobody knows her but tonight the silence, is over."
He didn't realize how loud he was singing until a girl walked through the limbs of the tree and tapped his shoulder smiling. He turned down the music and looked at her. "Your really loud you know...?" She said as she put her gloved hand back in her coat pocket.
"I didn't realize. Sorry." he looked at his phone and saw he had a few texts.
"Your pretty good though so I guess it's ok. What are you doing out here with just a t-shirt on?"
"Chilling."
"That looks pretty obvious." She held a cup of steaming liquid out toward him. "Want some? I haven't drank out of it and you look pretty cold. I can just go buy another one."
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen. Why?"
"Because fifteen year old's don't just walk up to random people sitting in the snow and offer them their drink."
"Well, I guess that just in my nature." He took the drink and held it to his nose. "So you are cold." She smiled and sat on her knees by him. "So what's your name?"
"Gaara."
She pulled her gloved hand from her pocket and held it out towards him. "I'm Hinata."
"Well Hinata, it's nice to meet you. I didn't know people could be this nice. Are you sure you don't want this?"He said as he tried to hand the drink back to her.
"Don't worry about it. Hey I have an idea! Why don't you come back with me to get one. I can get something warm and you and I can sit in the cafe and warm up." she said as she stood up and offered him a hand.
"Why not. It's pretty cold right here anyway." He stood up and paused his music still ignoring the text messages he had.
She tightened her scarf and walked next to him. "So why are you just sitting out here all alone under a weeping willow? I mean their pretty and all, but it's freezing outside. Shouldn't you do this in the summer or something?"
"I'm out here all the time because I like it here. It's nice to be able to just get out here and think. I didn't even notice the chill until you said something and gave me this.." he said before taking a drink of the now almost hot, hot chocolate. "I do this all the time. Cold or hot. But normally I have a jacket on."
"Can I ask about what happened to your face?"
He looked at her astonished. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you have a sort of pinkish hand print on your cheek. Can I ask what happened or is it a touchy subject?" She looked away sort of bashfully as if she was embarrassed to find out the answer. He reached up with a free hand and touched his cheek to find out it was pretty sore. "Did you make a girlfriend mad or something?"
"No. My mother and I got into it about Christmas again."
"Do you not like Christmas?"
He shrugged. "Well, I actually haven't celebrated Christmas in about ten years. When I was six my dad kinda walked out on us. I wrote a letter to Santa Clause when I was six and again when I was seven saying that all I wanted was for my dad to come back. When I went to send my letter to Santa again when I was eight my brother told me to face the facts that Santa wasn't real, dad was never coming back, and that's all Christmas was, fake."
She looked at him with a very saddened expression. "I'm sorry. But Christmas really is a great time of year. Everything is so pretty, and most people have a lot of fun around Christmas."
"Not trying to kill your buzz here or anything, but it's cold and wet and everyone only has fun with the idea of Christmas and presents."
"You're right. People do have fun with presents and the thought of buying things for themselves and for the people they love." She bought herself another hot chocolate and they sat in the corner of the cafe. "Little kids love the thought of Santa Clause."
"I don't know why, he's just a fat man that slips down your chimney in the middle of the night and steals your cookies."
She laughed a little at this. "But he leaves you presents!"
"Presents..." he said as he put air quotes around the word presents. "You never know what's going to be in them."
"Exactly! It builds up anticipation and excitement."
"But what if you don't like what he brings?"
"That's why you write letters to him. So that way he knows what to bring you. And you're not supposed to lie on the letters." she smiled. "If you could have anything for Christmas this year what would it be?"
He thought about it for a little, "I haven't really thought about it. No one even asks me anymore."
"Well if that's not depressing I don't know what is." that sad look was back on her face.
"It's ok. Like I said, I wouldn't even know what to say if anyone asked. What do you want?"
She blushed, and he could tell because they were in the cafe and it was so warm she actually took off her big coat. "I don't know. I saw this really gorgeous necklace in one of the old down town stores. I would ask my parent's to get it for me, but they are helping my older brother pay for his books for college and his dorm and his food. So money is a little tight."
"Hm.. Well.. Let's go to the store. You can show it to me." Her face lit up with excitement and she smiled happily. "Come on." He stood up and tossed his empty cup in the trash and waited for her to stand up and put her coat back on.
"Okay! Let's go!" without noticing she was really doing so she grabbed his hand and held it the entire way to the store. His other hand was in his pocket feeling his phone go off over and over again. He took it out of his pocket to see several missed calls from his sister and mother. He growled under his breath and turned his phone off. She pointed to the necklace through the window with her free hand. "Beautiful isn't it!?"
He laughed a little and nodded slightly. "Yup. It really is. I bet it would look good on you too." She blushed darker and pulled her hand away when she finally figured out she was holding his.
"It's been in the store for a long time, I remember when I first saw it a couple years ago..." She pulled her phone from her pocket. "Oh no. I have to go. If I don't I'm going to be late..."
"Here." he took her phone and put his number in it really quick. "Text me some time."
She smiled and said okay then just as quickly as she appeared in front of him, she left. He looked around and put his headphones back and walked back toward his house. He turned on his phone and started playing music again.
He read his texts from his sister asking where he was and replied On my way back. Don't worry. I'll be there soon. He turned his music off and walked through the front door.
"Where the hell have you been?!" his mother demanded the minute the door was closed.
"It's been, what? An hour? Two? I was in the park, then I met a girl, we went and got hot chocolate and then she showed me a necklace she has wanted for Christmas for the past two or three years. I'm sorry I'm late, and I'm sorry I didn't text you back. I didn't want to seem rude by being on the phone while I was with her."
His mother had a very pleased smile on her face. "You met a girl?"
"More like the girl met me. I was sitting under the tree like always and I guess she heard me singing. I didn't think I was that loud but apparently I was. She saw I didn't have a jacket and gave me her hot chocolate. Then she suggested that we go to the cafe that she got it so she could get another. We sat there talking and she asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told her I hadn't really thought about it. Then I asked her and she told me that her parents were in a tough spot with money. Then she showed it to me."
"Are you going to get it for her? What's her name? Is she pretty? What does she look like?"
"Did I just hear Gaara say he met a girl?!" Kankuro said as he burst through the door from the kitchen. "I can't believe it!"
"Okay, one, don't sound so shocked. I know plenty of chicks. Two, her name is Hinata. Three, yes, she is gorgeous. Four, I don't know if I'm going to get it for her! Five, it shouldn't matter to any of you. I don't even have her number." As if on cue his phone buzzed in his pocket.
"Hey, it's Hinata. I just wanted to text so you have my number to :)"
"Okay, maybe I do have her number. Now." His mother squealed and hugged him.
"And all along I thought my little brother was going to be gay."
"In your wildest dreams Kankuro."
"Incest. And nasty. I mean look at you."
"I'm not your type Kankuro trust me. I can tell because, one my hair is red and you like blonde's and two I have a penis and you don't like dudes. Do you?"
"Nope. Am not, was not, and will not ever be." He said as he took a drink and walked back into the kitchen.
"So I'm off the hook for sneaking off?"
"Nope. You're still in trouble." his mother said with a wicked smile. He sighed.
"Well, I'm cold. So I'm going to take a hot shower and change my clothes before you decide my punishment."
"You're going to help me wrap your sister and brother's Christmas presents."
He groaned. "Really?"
"Yes really. You have to help me and sign your name on a couple cards."
"You know they aren't going to believe this? They're going to know I was forced into it. I have never done it before, I have no reason to start now."
"Except the face you practically ran away, you ignored my calls and texts, and didn't let us know where you were going in the first place."
"Right. There's that." She waved him off to the bathroom and he took his shower before texting Hinata back.
"It's about time! I thought I was going to have to wait forever!" he said to her as he shook his head into a towel in the middle of the living room.
"Damn Gaara! At least put on a shirt!" Kankuro said as he covered his eyes. "You're just, so damn white! It's blinding!"
Gaara dropped the towel and his phone and tackled Kankuro. He flipped them over the back of the couch accidentally knocking over the table behind the couch.
"Gaara! Kankuro! Cut it out now!" His mother yelled at them. Gaara quickly stood up and Kankuro crawled to Gaara's phone.
"Hey Gaara your little girly friend text you! Hehe, calm down don't want you dying on my now." he failed to mimic her voice. "Aww how sweet! She doesn't want you to die! To bad I do..." He started typing. "Oh Hinata! I want you now! You make me so-"
Gaara attacked him again before he could finish and send the message. "Delete delete delete." he said as he erased the message and sent one back.
"What did you say to her?"
"None of your damn business Kankuro." he snarled.
"Pick up your mess. Now boys." they did as they were told. "Good. Now, dinner is on the table. Temari! Dinner is done!"
"Coming!" Temari yelled from her room and walked down to join them. She was her usual chipper self. "Gaara you are home!" She said as she hugged him.
"I wasn't gone that long. Really." he hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. "But yes, I'm back."
She smiled at him. "You know, for being younger then me, I hate that you're taller."
"It's just because you're a girl. It's supposed to be that way."
"I know. I know. Shika says the same thing." she said as she turned toward the kitchen. "What did you cook? It smells great."
They ate dinner in silence and all went their separate ways. Everyone went to their bedrooms and shut their doors for the night. Gaara came out once before the night was over. He went to the bathroom, used it, and then washed his hands and brushed his teeth before he finally went to his room for the rest of the night.
He and Hinata text back and forth for most of the night until they were both to tired to send another message. They went over every topic imaginable. The discussed favorite colors, foods, movies, songs, birthdays, books, siblings, and future plans. Her birthday was coming up extremely soon, only a few days after Christmas, and not even a full month later would be his birthday.
He asked her what she planned to do with her life, and he wasn't at all surprised when he heard that her answer was to surpass her elder brother. He knew that feeling, Kankuro was his mother's favorite son and Temari was her favorite child regardless.
He loved the fact that she was so childish in the most adorable ways. Her favorite color was baby blue, her favorite song was King for a Day, by Sleeping With Sirens, her favorite movie was Finding Nemo, her favorite food was pumpkin pie and she absolutely loved to read. He was shocked to find out the kind of music she listened to. He had never found a girl that looked like her and listened to the kind of music he did. Her favorite band was Slipknot.
He woke up with a sense of pleasure. He finally felt pleased with life. He dressed quickly grabbed a jacket and yelled, "MOM! I'll be back later!" He grabbed his wallet and walked out of the door. He went to the jewelery store Hinata showed him the other day.
He slipped into the store and grabbed the necklace and went to the cashier. He turned around after purchasing the item and saw that there she was standing outside of the store sad that the necklace was gone. He shoved the box into his pocket and walked outside to meet her.
"Oh hey Gaara!" her mood seemed to brighten up. "It's great to see you again."
He smiled at her. "It's great to see you too. I didn't realize that you were going to be here.."
"Yeah, I was actually on my way to get some more hot chocolate. Do you want to go with me?"
"Sure. But this time, I'll pay." she smiled again and walked next to him. "So guess what."
She looked at him questioningly. "What?"
"Christmas is in two days."
"Finally excited about Christmas? That's awesome!" he laughed a little and slowly moved his hand to grab hers again like yesterday. But she grabbed his hand. "You were being to slow about it." and she giggled.
"Hey, so that necklace you really wanted was sold."
Her sad look was back and she looked away. "Yeah. Sad isn't it?"
He reached in his other pocket and grabbed the box. "Well, before someone else snagged it. I got it for you."
She gasped. "Oh my god really?! You didn't have to do that. I mean you hardly know me, and you got me this?!" she hugged him. He was sort of shocked and went wide eyed. He looked down at her and then to everyone walking down the street who were giving them funny looks. He shrugged off the looks and hugged her back.
"Oh well. I saw how much you wanted it and I couldn't let it disappear unless it was in a gift box for you."
She hugged him tighter. "I can't believe you got this for me..." She looked up and kissed him. He was taken aback by the kiss. "Miracles really do happen don't they?"
"Yeah, you got me into Christmas again."