First Christmas
He couldn't remember the last time he felt warm in the cold season where everyone bustled around.
If he could remember correctly, it was nearing Christmas. Not that many Asians would know what it is anyways.
Barely anyone wanted their wonderful old traditions to be ruined by white people's ways, also noting that the peasants never heard of this so-called Christmas.
He remembered before his family's patron went corrupt, that he used to run around happily in the court, naming all the herbs he could remember (oh, how hi family was so proud of him) and much more.
His family worked in the medicinal business. None of that western pansy stuff that they would use, no, what his family used was the traditional herbal medicine, techniques, and acupuncture.
The maids would play with him, since he belonged in a middle-class family. He would catch butterflies in the court grounds. His favourite part was sneaking out, and playing with the commoners during his study time.
Those were the good old days.
Though he often wondered what would happen if his family's patron didn't belong to a (once) wealthy business man with several restaurants under his wings, but to the Emperor himself.
That would have been great. His family wouldn't have been kicked out of the house (because his family actually lived with the patron), he would have as much fun as he want. He wouldn't be ashamed of his name, he wouldn't e sitting here out in the cold snow, his family wouldn't have died from a cross-fire between two gangs fight the night after they were kicked out. Most of all, he wouldn't be starving, while begging for money in thin rags.
He wanted a warm bed to sleep in, not the cold ground, not the scratchy straw in abandoned temples, he wanted a bath, he wanted a set of new clothes, he wanted to live a normal life. He was tired of being picked on, last to get in line for donated food (and never get any left), tired of being mugged by other homeless boys, tired of being beaten up, tired of being looked down upon, tired of accepting money from strangers by begging, tried of stealing, he could name more things that he was tired of.
As the boy who abandoned his name, reminisced about the past, and his needs. There were screaming going about.
He looked up to see people; lots of people, but dead.
They were all massacred, some were headless, some were blown to bits, and some were ripped into shreds (like grated cheese). The list continues on and on, at what the boy saw within the sight he was seeing.
He was horrified, couldn't move, because he was traumatized by the scene.
Good thing he was sort of used to bloody scenes, since he was a doctor's son, his father attended to many patients with many injuries of all kinds.
But that wasn't the scariest thing, oh no, what he did was look up; which was a stupid idea.
There he saw monsters, things with guns and barrels sticking out of them, disgusting. All of them had mask on, all of which had mourning looks engraved on.
Every thing was a blur after that.
He only remembered that after that, a strange white man in black clothing approached him, and gripped his shoulders reassuringly.
The man said perfectly in Chinese,
"Boy, you have the skill that all exorcists require. You have innocence. A thing to purify the demons, just like ones you just saw and eliminated by your skills with those needles you threw around. Would you consider joining the black order? We will you provide with enough food to satisfy you for every meal, warm clothes, and a home. What do you say?"
It took the boy some time to register the things he said.
Did the man say that he destroyed those monsters… with the precious acupuncture needles he planned to sell, that he smuggled when the men cam in to take all the things his family owned? The very needles he planned to sell in desperate measures? There was food, clothes and home? He's in!
With that, the nameless boy agreed to join this black order. He was later taken in by another strange man as an apprentice for being a Bookman.
Life was becoming better for him; all because one man offered him a second chance in life.
It was the first an greatest Christmas present that Bookman ever received.