Monsters under the tree
It was a cold and silent night, and all through the shop Watanuki cursed his employer's custom to make him clean the strangest things. From weird sticks to eyeballs in a jar- he still hoped that it was a glass one-, Watanuki could say that he had seen all kind of weird stuff. This particular time, the object of his annoyance was a huge statue of a woman singing, completely covered in dust as if it had been all that was left after a demolition.
It was late already when Watanuki finished. He was getting ready to return to his apartment and had just put his coat on when, out of nowhere and scaring the hell out of him, Yuuko appeared, holding a colorful package of regular size. It took him a little while to remember the date, Christmas Eve, so the thing the witch was extending to him was most probably a present.
"Why are you giving me a present?"
"Because it's Christmas." She said nonchalantly and smiled as Maru and Moro chanted "Christmas!" on and on.
He stared at the package, barely resisting the urge to rattle it to hear what it sounded like. It was elaborately wrapped in purple and blue colors, with a small card clearly stating the present was for him. Maybe it was just a present, something to make up for the ridiculous and strange tasks, but you never knew with Yuuko.
Still, it would be extremely impolite to refuse a gift, so Watanuki sighed, secured his coat and walked towards the exit. He was almost past the door when he heard Yuuko's voice whisper softly at his back.
"Don't open it before midnight."
And with that, the witch returned to the darkest depths of the shop, to prepare for whatever she did on nights like this. Watanuki stood there, neither inside nor out, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand as if a freezing wind had passed.
Finally, he placed a scarf around his neck and walked home as fast as he could.
The package in his hands now seemed to be a lot heavier.
- - - - - - -
He had just finished dinner when he heard a noise. It was almost like a tapping, soft but insistent. At first he had thought it was coming from the outside, someone still celebrating or a stray cat passing under his window. But the sound continued and he realized there was only one place where it could come from.
The sound was definitely coming from the present.
He had left it in a corner of his room, planning on opening it tomorrow morning when things were less sinister. He had put it exactly in the corner and, horrified, Watanuki noticed clearly that the package had moved towards his bed.
The sound intensified for a moment and then stopped completely.
He was almost sure that this time the present had stirred. Or, more precisely, something inside it.
Don't open it before midnight
If there was something Watanuki had learned about Yuuko's warnings is that it was best to follow them if you wanted to stay alive. Not that he felt particularly enthusiastic to opening it.
He sat there, in the middle of his bedroom, intently looking at the present. It never moved again or made a sound and, after a few hours, Watanuki started to wonder if it hadn't been all in his mind in the first place.
Somewhere, a clock announced midnight. His alarm clock signaled the same time, as did his wristwatch, so Yuuko's warning was no longer effective. He could now open the present. He had to; otherwise he'll never be able to sleep.
He approached the package, wary of making any sudden moves that could frighten whatever that was inside, and slowly extended his hand to untie the ribbon on top of it.
Maybe he should grab a frying pan, just in case.
Carefully, he lifted the lid of the box...
...and the monster inside leaped at him with all his ferocity.
"Merry Christmas!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
- - - - - - -
"WHAT KIND OF PRESENT IS WRAPPING A BOX WITH MOKONA INSIDE?!"
"Aww, did Mokona scare you? I thought you would appreciate the company."
" COMPANY?! The little monster jumped and sang all night, the neighbors complained and I didn't get any decent sleep. This has been the WORST Christmas I ever had!"
"What did you do last year?"
"Who cares what I did last year?! I wasn't ATACKED by a black round thing that sprouted from a present!"
"Present! Present!"
"Mokona wants a present too!"
And with that Yuuko walked out of the room, apparently not tired of last night activities which, judging from the amount of empty bottles in the room, had merely involved getting drunk.
And now it was his job to clean it.
Cursing under his breath, Watanuki started the long task and considered the witch last question. Last year hadn't been so different. He hadn't even realized it was Christmas until he had seen all the people celebrating on his way home.
When he was little, his parents had liked the celebration, even if none of them had been raised with the custom, and his father would usually cook something special that night. His mother liked the decorations the most. In all the time Watanuki had lived alone, he had never bothered doing anything special, neither cooking nor decorating. It only made things worse, because the food he made was never as good as his father's and as much as he wished for it to change, it would always be just him, alone in his apartment.
Last year, he realized, had been miserable.
And this year, somehow, hadn't been so bad. Between the fear of the package and Mokona singing carols all night he had completely forgot what things used to be. It was not logical, but after considering it for a while, Watanuki finally drew the surprising conclusion that Yuuko had done something nice.
Of course that was extremely creepy. Because Yuuko just didn't do random nice things. And if she did, there was always a prize, like a leg or an arm or something. It was a rule.
Still, he couldn't help humming as he cleaned the bottles cluttering the room.