CHAPTER 6
WU AND GARMADON IN THE ATTIC
WU`S POV:
The day was cold and freezing. It was below thirty-two. It was only eleven days until Christmas. Everyone was up and about to get ready to go shopping. Everyone decided to wear nice clothes because we decided to go out for lunch. I was sneaking up to take some gifts up to the attic. I had bought some for my family after the many holidays that we missed together. I climbed inside the attic to put them away. Once I had them stored away, I heard somebody walking up the stairs. I pretended that I was trying to find something. The only person climbing the stairs was Garmadon. He was carrying bags in his hands. Probably gifts from the many years he was split apart from his family as well. He set them down and walked up to me.
"After so many years, we just had to get the amount of presents we missed giving to our families," Garmadon said.
"Christmas is known as the season of giving," I said, "It is mainly our job to give tan to get. The only thing I would want for Christmas is to see my whole family happy on Christmas morning."
"I agree with all that."
We heard footsteps coming towards the stairs of the attic. We also heard a voice. "Why is it so cold in here?" It was Kai`s voice. He groaned as we heard the stairs of the attic door began to close, trapping Garmadon and I inside.
I tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Hello? Can anyone hear me from under there?"
"Wu, everyone's leaving," I heard Garmadon say.
I ran over to my brother, who was staring out the window. I look to see that he was right. "Lora!"
"Misako!" Garmadon shouted.
"They've left us behind."
"Now I remember that you and I were suppose to ride with the boys. They're not gonna wait on us."
"At least we still have the spare car in the garage. We'll just catch up with them."
"If we can ever get out of the attic. It locks from the inside."
I pulled on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. We would need someone stronger to open it from the inside. If Garmadon and I were strong, we would get it open and be out of the attic in no time, but we were stuck. We were old men and our bones were becoming fragile as the days passed by.
"If only Borg placed a security system on the attic," I said, "I may not know how to use it, but it would be helpful to at least have a code."
"Brother, everybody know that you need a digital key, not a security system," Garmadon said.
"Did I forget to tell you that I'm old and I don't remember things very well?"
"You've said that plenty of times, but you have more knowledge than I do."
"So you admit that I have a higher intelligence than you?"
"I suppose you won't let me give you a simple complement, huh?"
"You can if you want to. I will always say something about it." I looked to see that Garmadon had many wrapped gifts next to him. "Why must you have so many presents? Have you already done your share of shopping for gifts?"
"I've missed so many years of spending time with my family during the holidays. I thought maybe if I get enough presents, then it'll make up for every Christmas that I missed."
"Christmas is about giving, but it's not about wrapping something nice up and giving it to someone. Christmas is about family and what comes from your heart."
"I suppose I've been wrong about Christmas all these years."
I took out an old dusty photo album from an old box. I looked at it to see that it was mine and Garmadon`s old memories. "Garmadon, look at this. An old photo album of ours."
Garmadon took it in his hands. "It looks like an older one. Must be from when we were kids." Garmadon opened the album. "I remember these. We had these taken of us when we were young. It was before I was ever bitten by the Devourer." He sat down next to me. "I remember these. They were from earlier times. I was about two when you came along. All those moments when I was playing with you."
I pointed to the far left corner of the even number page. "Wasn't this my first Christmas?"
"Oh, yes. You had just turned six months old. Those presents surrounding you were the first toys you ever got as gifts."
"It seems that many Christmas memories will live on in our hearts. It makes me feel as though that bad day for the both of us was only yesterday. I feel as though maybe I could turn back the clock and go back for my own sword. After all, I was the one that lost it."
"No, Wu. It wasn't your fault. I understand why you didn't go over the wall. You were too afraid of the snakes back then. I did whatever I could back then to keep my younger brother protected. I vow to continue doing so until the day of our passing."
"Before you became evil, you never kept your promises. Now that you are good again, those promises from our childhood are still kept deep within your heart."
"I wonder if father is even proud of me anymore. I've spent most of my life trying to make Ninjago into a darker image. I may be good now, but the future is still undecided for me. Where will I go? To the Realm of the Remembered or the Realm of the Forgotten?"
"The Great Sensei would never place you in the Realm of the Forgotten. Father would not go for it. You know that as well as I do."
"Father seems to be making a lot of choices for us in these moments of our life."
"Well, he is our father. No matter what."
Garmadon sighed. "Remember the last good Christmas that we had before I was bitten?"
"It has never slipped away from my mind."
"What a great holiday that was. Father did all he could to make it the best celebration of the year. A bigger tree, new stockings and so many candy canes. It made me think that father knew what would happen in the future. Although, I'm not sure he was able to read minds or anything."
"It was a great Christmas. I'm pretty sure father didn't know you would be consumed by evil."
"Trust me. I think he did."
I looked in a box and found an old video camera. "What kind of video camera is this?"
"You don't remember. Our old aunt Grace used to make movies about us. When she passed, the camera was given to father."
"I wonder how many videos she made on this thing."
"There should be some tapes in the box. She wouldn't give father the camera if she didn't have the tapes."
"Is there a projector that we can watch these tapes on?"
"There should be one around here somewhere." Garmadon dug through the pile of mess until he found something. "Here it is. I always wondered what happened to this old thing."
"As long as it still works, it can still show movies. Let's start playing these on the screen."
Garmadon and I set up the projector and camera. I placed the tape inside the camera and used my staff to turn it on. We both sat down on the floor as we looked through old memories.
The tape that we looked at showed Garmadon and I to be very young. It showed us from the beginning of the year. I had just learned how to ride a bike. My brother was standing next to my father. It showed other clips. Clips about birthdays, my first day of school, the day of the Great Sensei when he came upon us all, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Christmas clips were most enjoyable to watch. My father had just returned from Christmas shopping for the entire family. Relatives were included. The funny part was when Garmadon and I tried to look, but Father told us that even the wrapping paper was a surprise. The final part was when our entire family came over for Christmas Eve dinner. It's a season that nobody could ever forget.
Suddenly, Garmadon and I fell out of the attic and landed on the floor upstairs in the hallway. I had fell on top of Garmadon because I heard him groan in pain. The entire time we were up their watching old childhood memories, we didn't even notice that we were sitting on the door. I removed myself from the door to see my wife, Lora, and my sister-in-law, Misako, standing right in front of us.
"You couldn't try to open the door, Wu," Lora said.
"It was locked," I told her.
"It never used to lock," Misako said, "Looks like someone pushed it close too hard. That's the only way someone can get stuck in there."
"Who closed the attic door?" Garmadon asked.
Kai walked upstairs, gift bags dangling in his hands. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean for you guys to get stuck up there."
Kai walked away, not looking me in the eye. I gave him a stern look as he placed himself inside his room. There are times when I just don't get him. I walked away from everyone else and went downstairs. It was a joy to be out of that attic. I don't think I could stand being in there for another moment.
WHOA. TWO BROTHERS GOT STUCK IN THE ATTIC. OH, WELL. I DON'T THINK THEY'RE THE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING TYPES.
SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. I'VE GOT THREE MORE CHAPTERS. I SHOULD HAVE MORE TIME BECAUSE I'M FINALLY FINISHED WITH EXAMS. I HOPE I PASSED THEM. PLEASE PRAY THAT I DO. I'M TRYING TO KEEP MY STRAIGHT A'S.
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