Merry Christmas to all my followers, friends and all whom support me on this site!
I don't own the characters. I only toy with their feelings, attach strings to their bodies and make them act like marionettes for my own amusement. It's quiet enjoyable and therapeutic.
"Green." My grandfather said as I shouted that the gold-digging tramp could go jump off a dock and drown in the lake for all I cared. "I am trying to do you a favor. The family elders have been coming down on me to get you to choose a wife. Normally, the Oak heir would choose a wife the day he turned twenty. You are nineteen as of last month and you haven't even begun to look. I am giving you a chance to choose a wife instead of forcing one on you. If you would like, I could just choose one for you and save us all the headache."
Jessie, who was obviously not crying any real tears, tried to touch my arm. I pulled away. "I know I may seem like some woman who wants you for your money, but I just want to find a husband who will love me. Please, at least try and get to know me."
I would have believed her had I not seen her draping herself over some other man with blue hair.
So I did what I had to do. I turned around and walked out.
So that was how I got here, on the streets, cold, with snow seeping into my boots on Christmas Eve.
My best friend, Red, was the town minister. He always told me to go to the cathedral whenever I was upset or needed a place to stay. The idiot always left the door open to people who wanted to pray, but he always insisted there was nothing wrong. The only thing worth stealing in there was a large golden cross that hung on the wall about fifteen feet in the air, and how was someone going to steal that? I couldn't have gone to his house. He and his wife, Yellow, deserved to spend the evening together without me ruining their night.
I couldn't have gone to Gold's house. As the town play-boy, he was number one on almost every girl's hit-list in town. The only girl who didn't hate him was his fiance, Crystal. How the town pub owner had gotten together with the town's librarian no one really knew. All we know is that one day, he just announced he was in love with Crystal and they were to be married next spring. I didn't want to be at his house if one of his ex-lovers decided to stop by and put a knife in his gut.
Definitely not Ruby's. He and his wife, Sapphire, had gone to the next town to spend the holidays with their relatives, so no one would be home.
If I really had to choose, I guess I could go over to Platina and Dia's place. As their father was town mayor, they were both raised with silver spoons in their mouths. That didn't stop all of us from becoming friends or from Platina marrying Pearl, who was a candle-maker's apprentice and Dia's best friend.
For some reason, I felt compelled to walk a quarter of a mile to the large church.
I walked along the stone bridge that led to the cathedral. It was an impressive building with enormous colored glass windows, ivory towers with withering ivy crawling up the building and brass bells. Mass had ended hours ago and I was free to wallow in silence alone.
Except I wasn't alone.
Sitting on the front bench was a girl. I couldn't see much of her, only her hair. As the doors suddenly closed behind me, she stood up abruptly and turned around.
She was certainly a pretty thing. Bright blue eyes, fair red lips and shiny brown hair that went down past her waist. The strangest thing about her was that she wasn't dressed in day clothing or nightwear. Instead she wore a white nightgown that covered her figure and arms while exposing her shoulders. Around her neck was a blue satin choker with a large blue stone in the middle. The light of the moon that shone through the colored glass seemed to make her look like an angel. I gathered she was some high-class woman who was sleepwalking. After all, that was the only explanation for her being dressed like that.
We stared at each other for a while. She looked at me with bare curiosity in her eyes while I looked at her as if she had grown a tail. She suddenly began to giggle.
"What?" I snapped. She abruptly stopped and I immediately felt bad for snapping at a woman who had nothing to do with my current homeless status. "Sorry. I'm just having a bad night."
"On Christmas Eve?" Even her voice was beautiful.
I mentally shook my head. "Unfortunately. My grandfather seems determined to have me married by next year." Wait, why was I telling her this?
She nodded, whether in understanding or in sympathy I couldn't tell. "I'm sorry."
"Why would you be sorry?" I asked. "It was no fault of yours. You had nothing to do with...me having the worst luck in women."
She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry because I was laughing earlier. To tell you the truth, you kind of looked like a drowned cat when you walked in here." She smiled and I could feel my heart trying to escape my chest. I didn't know what to say to that, so I began to walk over to her. Except I stopped when I got closer to her.
In the moonlight streaming through the cathedrals large windows, you could faintly see the light that surrounded her shape. You could see that she was a ghost.
I yelped in surprise and backed away. I startled her, making her jump a bit. "Is something wrong?"
I shook my head in disbelief. "You realize I can see right through you?"
Her face was overcome by sadness. "Yes. I know."
"Why?"
She shrugged. "I do not know. I woke up on there," She pointed to the golden cross. "and I got scared. I lost my balance and started to panic before I realized that my fall hadn't killed me. At mass," She teared up. "I tried to make people notice me, but nobody heard me. When I tried to walk out it was like walking into a wall. So I've been here ever since."
"Can anyone else see you?"
"I have no idea. When I woke up I was alone." Her voice broke at 'alone'. "It's been so lonely. I can't remember anything. Not even if I was once human."
I suddenly realized that I wasn't the only one who was having an unhappy Christmas Eve. "I'm sorry."
She looked surprised. "Why?"
"Because here I am burdening you with my problems when you...well, you know."
Her smile was enough to light up the town. "It's alright. Everyone has problems. Some just have it worse than others."
I smiled and sat down next to her. We began to talk. I would ask questions about herself to see if she could remember anything. But try as we might, we only managed to figure out that she had a brother, of whom she could not remember anything about.
She suddenly began to sigh. "I wish I remembered everything, Green. I wish I had a body again," She laid her hand on mine. "so I could feel this. Feel your warmth."
My heart sang for her. "I wish it too. Then I would show you the outside world and everything I think makes it worth living on Earth."
She smiled. "Thank you for being here with me, Green. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come through those doors."
With a start, I realized that she was beginning to fade. "Why are you–"
She shook her head. "I can feel myself waking up."
"Waking up?"
She smiled and leaned in to peck my cheek. "Look for me Green." She vanished, leaving no trace she had even been there.
I could not stay in that church. It was too lonely and quiet. It didn't have my ghost.
I wandered the streets for a few hours. Everything was closing for Christmas. Shopkeepers were putting on closed signs and locking their doors. Couples roamed the streets to enjoy their time alone together before heading back to their families.
I felt my heart ache every time I saw a man kiss his girl on the cheek.
After deciding that I was fed up with looking for her, I ended up home. Before I could enter, the door swung open with a sharp bang. My sister stared at me for a moment before huffing, grabbing the sleeve of my jacket and pulling me inside the house.
"Just where were you, young man?" She crossed her arms in an attempt to look stern. I could see the worry in her eyes though. "You've been gone for three hours Green. What happened?"
I frowned. "I'm nineteen Daisy, and I refuse to be treated like I'm a measly six year old."
"Then don't disappear for three hours and I won't have to! I don't care what the elders say or if you are to be the next head of the family; you are my little brother and if you leave, without a word to anyone as to where you might go, of course I will be angry!" She sighed harshly. "If only I were a man. Then I could punch you like you deserve it!"
Daisy's husband, Bill, put his hands on her shoulders. "Now now. He's back and safe and thats all that counts."
Daisy sighed again and hugged me as tight as she could. "Don't do that again, Green. Okay?"
I smiled and hugged her back. "Okay."
I woke to the sound of a voice shouting through the town. "She is awake! Miss Blue is awake!"
I grumbled and put on my coat and slippers before rushing outside. The messenger of the town was a boy named Emerald. He was Crystal's childhood friend. "Whats all the rush, Rald?"
"Green!" He rushed to the spot where I stood. "The owner of the perfumery next to the square, Miss Blue, is awake!"
I yawned. "All the town is awake thanks to your yelling. What is so special about this woman?"
He stared at me in shock before hitting himself in the head. " Thats right! You were in the capital! Miss Blue got into a carriage accident while you were away and has been asleep for weeks. She was being looked after by her brother and it was only this morning that she managed to open her eyes!"
I frowned. As a member of the royal court, it was my duty to oversee this town. How could I have missed this? "Take me to her."
Rald looked startled. "What?"
"Give me five minutes to get changed and take me to her house." I went back inside, leaving the young boy gaping.
It was only a ten minute walk from my own home, but my heart was pounding with every step I took. What if she was the one? What if she was my ghost?
We arrived at a simple looking house, only a minute away from the square. Rald nervously knocked on the door. Not even five seconds later, a boy opened it. He glared at us with cool silver eyes behind flaming red hair. "May I help you?"
I stepped forward. "I am Green Oak, adviser to his highness, our king. As a member of the royal court, I have failed in providing you and your sister enough resources to help her be well again. I have come offering my deepest apologies."
He was about to say something when a voice called out, "Silver?" My heart jumped into my throat. "Do we have guests? Show them in."
With a small grumble he opened the door to allow us inside. The house was small, but was decorated tastefully in warm browns and whites. Fire danced merrily in the fireplace. In front of the fireplace were two fabric chairs, one of which was occupied by a woman. Her hair was tied in a simple braid over her shoulder and there was a thick fur shawl around her arms. Her eyes were closed, as if asleep.
I walked up to her and knelt beside her. She opened her eyes and I sharply inhaled. It was her. Fierce blue eyes, blue jewel choker and lips as red as an apple.
She smiled. "Hello." For a moment I feared that she had forgotten me. Then she held her hand out. In an unconscious response, I held her outstretched hand in mine. "Good." She sighed in relief. "For a moment, I thought you had dismissed my appearance in your life as a figure of your imagination."
I smiled back. "How could I ever forget you?"
"Blue?" We turned to see her brother staring at us. Rald looked a bit frightened. "What is going on?"
She grinned. "Nothing for you to be concerned about, Silver. Would you do me a favor and make some peppermint tea for our guests? It is dreadfully cold outside and I'm sure they must be freezing. The tea will help them to warm up. "
Silver nodded. "If thats what you want." He tugged at the sleeve of the younger boy. "C'mon. I need you to help me."
Rald yelped. "But I–" His protests grew more quiet as he was dragged away.
I turned back to her. "I never discovered your true name."
She smiled gently. "Blue, owner of Le Bleu Perfumery and elder sister to Silver, my assistant. You are?"
"Green Oak, grandson to Professor Samuel Oak, of the Oak family. I am little brother to Daisy, brother-in-law to Professor Bill. I am a member of the king's royal court."
Her eyes widened. "A member of the court? Are you sure you should be associating with someone like me?"
"Someone like you?"
She blushed and turned away, refusing to meet his gaze. "Someone of lower status."
She tried to take her hand out of mine but I gripped it tighter. "If I wanted someone of a higher class I would have married a court lady." I kissed the top of her hand. "However, I'm afraid I have fallen in love with someone else."
The hand that was free gripped her heart. "Who?" She whispered.
I smiled. "A ghost with a heart more beautiful than the moon."
Blue smiled back softly. "She is a very lucky woman to have caught your eye. She must be very special."
I nodded. "More special to me than I'd ever hoped I would find in a woman." She blushed harder and I buried my face in her captured hand. "Marry me."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "What?"
I lifted my head to meet her eyes, her hand still captured in my grasp. "Marry me. I know I will never love another like I love you."
"I-It is i-improper to m-m-marry without t-the consent of our f-families!" She stammered. "T-There will b-be talk!"
I chuckled. "I could care less about old wives gossiping. However, if you wish, I will court you for as long as it takes to make you say yes."
We stared at each other for a long time before a smile broke out from her lips. "Has anyone told you that you're very stubborn?"
"I'm afraid I've lost track of those who have told me that, for there are much too many."
She giggled for awhile before smiling. "I guess I will have to put up with that."
My heart lifted with hope. "Does that mean..."
She nodded. "Yes, I will marry you."
With all the joy a happy man could show, I swept my fiance into my arms and kissed her with all the affection I had.
Outside there were church bells and the sound of joyful children singing in the streets, but all I could think about was that I was going to spend the rest of my life with this amazing woman.
Who knew miracles actually existed?
