Chapter 8
It was two days after the trip up to Skullbury. After the incident with the Golden Guard, Luz had gone back home and laid low to be safe. She could only come to the conclusion that he must've been after her because of the new portal. So as an additional precaution, she had made sure to use the portal in the presence of Eda and Lilith and within the Owl House when she left the Demon Realm.
Regardless of the unexpected turn of events, Luz wasn't going to let herself be kept from traveling freely about in Bonesborough when she got the chance. As well as bringing her friends to the Human Realm to spend time with them when she could. She owed it to herself, her mother and her friends to do so. Her holiday plans were still on and that day would be her first time bringing Gus and Willow over to her house to let them join in decorating the tree. Something which Gus in particular was greatly looking forward to doing.
The plans were set for close to evening, just after sunset. He and Willow would head to Eda's and Luz would bring them over to her realm, to her house. They'd share in one of the traditions of the holiday and get to see some of the human realm for the first time. Gus could hardly wait.
Gus had spent the better part of the day up in his room, reviewing his knowledge of humans. Specifically he was going through everything he knew and listing it according to whether he considered something a fact or just a rumor. From there he began writing down a list of questions into a small notepad for when he went over to Luz's home. He'd take advantage of the opportunity to piece together an article on the human holiday for the Hexside Free Press. Something he could brag about in front of Mattholomule the next chance he got.
"Augustus!" Perry called from downstairs. "There's someone here to see you. A young lady."
Gus stowed his little notepad away in his pocket and hurried down the stairs. To his surprise, the young lady wasn't Willow or Amity like he had been expecting. The lady in question was Amity's older sister, Emira. She gave him a wave and a smile, one devoid of her usual mischief.
"Hey." She greeted.
"Um, hey." He replied. "What are you doing here? Did you need something?"
"You guessed it!" Emira answered. "This whole gift giving tradition Luz has us doing gave me an idea. I want to get a present for the girl I like too, something really special. And what could be more special than something from another world?"
"Okay, but why come see me? Wouldn't Luz be a better choice?"
"She would be, if I could go and see her. Amity already left to go spend time with her and I didn't get to tag along." Emira explained, sounding a little annoyed. "But she mentioned that you'll be going over to Luz's house, right?"
"I am." Gus replied. "I'll be leaving pretty soon too."
Emira grinned. "Great! Then I'm going with you. Maybe you can even help me find something, so I don't have to intrude on my baby sister's alone time with her girlfriend. You know a lot of human stuff, right?"
"Well, yeah. I've been learning even more ever since I started helping out Eda to get her stand going again. We just got a huge pile of things to add to her inventory a couple of days ago out of a Trash Slug!"
"I am not giving a piece of half-digested garbage to the girl I like." Emira stated firmly, crossing her arms. "I am going to get her something new and nice from a store in the Human Realm."
"That makes sense, I guess." Gus noted. "So do you need time to get ready or are you all set to head out?"
"All set to head out right now." Emira replied without a moment's hesitation. "If you don't need to do anything first, that is. And don't think that I'm expecting you to help me for nothing. I'd be happy to help you out with getting the attention of someone that you like." She told him with a wink.
Gus blushed a little. "I um… don't really have a crush on anyone right now." He sheepishly admitted. "But maybe you could help me with something else. I got Edric's name out of the hat back when we went to Skullbury. I still haven't figured out what to give him, so I could really use help with that."
"Deal. So do you need a minute to get ready or not?"
"I just need to grab a couple things." Gus told her. "I won't be long."
He hurried back up to his room and got some warm clothing. From what he remembered Luz telling him, it was much colder in her part of the Human Realm at this time of year. She had even mentioned that it snowed, something that he was very excited to about. It only ever snowed in places like the Knee on the Boiling Isles, so this would be a good chance to see it in a populated area.
Almost ready to leave, Gus just needed to get some spending money to take along with him. However, as he grabbed his snail pouch, something occurred to him. Something very important, which he hoped that Emira had already thought about before she made her plans.
Returning to the entrance of his home, Gus approached Emira. The older teen turned to leave, but Gus got to the door first, placing his hand on the knob. Emira gave him a mildly puzzled look, but after a moment it quickly turned into her usual playful smirk.
"Oh, I see what you're up to." She said. "You have a beautiful girl in your house and you don't want her to leave."
"Ha-ha, very funny." Gus dryly replied "No, I just needed to ask you about money. Ours isn't going to be any good in the Human Realm. How are we going to pay for anything in a store there?"
"Shoot. That's a good point. I hadn't thought about that." Emira admitted. "So how likely is it that the Owl Lady has some?"
"She doesn't." Gus answered without even needing to think about the matter. "Out of all the things she's collected from the Human Realm, money isn't one of them."
Emira took a moment to think, her expression becoming completely serious. "Luz is our only choice then. But I feel a little awkward about tagging along to Luz's house and just asking for money out of the blue like that. Is there any chance you could ask her when we get there? Please?"
Gus sighed but nodded in agreement. He didn't know all of the details regarding the problem that had only recently been resolved between Emira and her sister, but he wasn't about to pry. If Emira didn't want to risk annoying her sister by pestering Luz for money, then that was all there was to the matter.
The two set out, the sun starting to set as they traveled to the Owl House. As they made their way through the woods near their destination it became twilight, the first stars appearing overhead in the darkening sky. Emira looked up to admire the sight through the spaces between the branches of the trees. While she was stargazing, she saw movement in the branches of one of the trees, a pair of eyes gleaming at her from the darkness.
Suddenly something came lunging down at her, coiling around her like a massive serpent. Emira let out a cry as she was lifted up into the air. Gus began to draw a magic circle, but stopped partway when he saw that he knew the creature. A certain door dwelling house-demon.
Gus began waving his hands back and forth in the air. "Hooty, wait! It's us! Gus and Emira! You know, Amity's big sister?"
"Oops, sorry!" Hooty said, setting Emira back down. "I thought you were someone else. There was a trespasser sneaking around here earlier today, I just guessed whoever it was came back. Sorry again."
Emira took a deep breath and managed a smile. "It's fine. At least you didn't swallow me like that time you abducted my sister. She complained about smelling like an owl pellet for a week."
"Yeah, it's a good thing I wasn't planning on doing that." Hooty said as he let out a nervous chuckle. "Yup… wasn't planning on doing that at all…"
Hooty slowly retracted back through the trees. Gus and Emira continued on their way, following him until they reached the house. He let them inside where they saw Eda and King relaxing on the couch. Eda had some spiced apple blood and King was nibbling on some gingerbread men that Luz had baked for him. As the two teens stepped into her house, Eda gave them a half-hearted wave before returning her attention to her drink.
"Sorry kids, if you're looking for Luz she isn't here. She and Boots just left to go on a romantic walk back in her world."
"Dang, if I had know they hadn't left yet, I would have gotten ready sooner." Gus said.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Emira told him before looking at Eda. "How long ago did they leave?"
"You just missed them." Eda said. "Why do you ask?"
"We were kinda hoping to ask Luz for a favor." Gus answered.
"Well she has the portal now so until she uses it to come back, you'll just have to wait. Not that it would matter if I still had it, I wouldn't send you along to crash her date."
"That's okay." Gus replied. "Willow and I were invited over her house today anyway, so we agreed to wait here until Luz came to get us."
"Oh yeah, Luz mentioned she was doing something like that before she left." Eda mumbled, getting up from her seat and stretching. "So what sort of favor were you planning to ask Luz for?"
"We want to go to a human store, but we don't have any human money." Emira told her.
"Is that all? I got some of that world's weird money if you want it. Hang on a minute."
She went upstairs to her room, leaving Emira and Gus to wait. They settled down on the couch beside King, Emira smiling as she watched him bite the heads off of the little cookie men one by one. After a couple of minutes Eda came back down with a small, metal box in her hands. There was a lock built into the lid which had clearly been tampered with. When she got back to the couch she dropped it into Gus's lap and he lifted the lid. Inside there was a small stack of green paper slips with a human's portrait in the middle and the number twenty in each of the corners.
"There you go. Do what you want with it." Eda told them. "I don't really have any use for the stuff, it's completely worthless around here."
"Where did you even get this?" Emira wondered out loud.
"I dunno. I coughed it up once after I had turned into the Owl Beast and made a nuisance of myself in the human realm." Eda admitted. "I completely forgot I even had that until I found it while digging through my closet the other day."
"And you're really okay with just giving it to us?" Gus asked, seeming very surprised.
Eda smirked. "Oh Goops, you really should know me better than that by now."
"This is going to be the payment I get for helping you out with getting your stand ready again, isn't it?"
"Yup. Now go ahead and make yourselves comfortable." Eda suggested. "I doubt that Luz will be long."
Back in the Human Realm, Luz and Amity were strolling down one of the side streets in Luz's neighborhood. The couple was enjoying their pre-planned date to enjoy hot cocoa while out admiring the holiday lights that had been set up in people's front yards. A recent snowfall had laid a light blanket of snow over the area, helping the many colors of the lights stand out even better.
Luz led Amity around the corner and back onto her street. She had wanted to make their walk last longer, but since they had also planned to decorate the tree in Luz's house that evening, they agreed to keep it short. They were still a few blocks away from Luz's house though, so they took their time the rest of the way back.
As they returned to Luz's house, Camila was stepping outside to plug in their own lights. She had opted to save it for when Luz and Amity returned, as a way to end their little trek with her own personal touch. While she didn't have the biggest or fanciest display in town, Camila did pride herself on a presentable setup each year. Just as the teenagers arrived, she turned the lights on and illuminated her little piece of the town in a charming display.
The eaves of the Noceda residence had been adorned with icicle lights which cycled through different colors gradually over the course of time. The bushes and the railings in front of the house had been decorated with a long string of multicolored LED lights. In each of the windows facing the street was a single, electric candle and sitting in the middle of the front yard was an inflatable snow globe with a polar bear cub inside, nursing a bottle of name brand soda.
"So, what do you think?" Luz asked her girlfriend.
"I think that this holiday is really starting to grow on me." Amity replied, admiring the yard. "I can see why you love it so much."
"Well you're about to get to help me with one of my favorite traditions." Luz excitedly told her, starting to head towards the front door. "Just wait until you see what a Christmas tree looks like!"
Luz, Camila and Amity went inside and removed their winter clothes. Camila went down into the basement to bring up the decorations, having Vee and Luz lend her a hand. Amity seated herself in the living room, looking at the pine tree that was now standing in the corner. Less than a minute later, Luz came into the room with a medium sized box in her hands, followed by her mother and adopted sister, who each carried their own boxes.
"I don't think I've ever been this excited to decorate the Christmas tree." Luz said. "Thanks again for letting my friends come over to join us for this, Mamá"
"Of course, Mija. This is long overdue." Camila commented. "I've been hoping you'd have friends over for years. I am so happy this is finally happening! Now you kids get started with taking out the decorations and I'll get some snacks and refreshments for you all."
She set the box she was carrying down and went into the kitchen. Luz and Vee set their own boxes down onto the floor and began unpacking them. Luz went for the largest one, opening the flaps and finding the star-shaped topper for the tree. Beneath it were layers of old newspapers with various different tree ornaments. She began taking everything out, arranging them neatly on the coffee table. Once she had finished, she grabbed another box which held the lights and garland for the tree. As she took the lights out, she found they were badly tangled and set to work trying to fix them.
While Luz struggled to sort the mess of lights out, her phone alarm went off. She had been so distracted that she had forgotten all about it, getting a start when it sounded. Luz went to dismiss the alarm, discovering she had somehow managed to tangle herself in the lights a little bit. Vee and Amity helped her get free and Luz shut off the alarm, then retrieving the portal case and key.
"Mamá, I'm about to use the portal to bring my friends over!" She called.
"Hold on a moment, Mija." Camila called back. "I'll be right there."
Camila returned, wanting to be there to greet their guests. Luz opened the portal in the middle of the living room, Eda stepping through the doorway a couple of moments later. She greeted Camila with a casual wave and got an indifferent stare in return as she approached the human woman.
"Hey, so hope you don't mind, but there's an extra stopping by with the other two." Eda told her. "She kinda showed up with one of them and wanted to tag along."
"Oh, sure, why not just invite someone else without giving me advance notice?" Camila asked, not even trying to hide her annoyance.
"Don't blame me." Eda replied. "It's not like I have a way to contact you from another realm or anything like that. Besides, like I said, I wasn't expecting an extra kid showing up at my place. It was a last minute sorta thing."
"I guess that you have a point." Camila admitted with a sigh. "But does this child's parents know where they are?"
"She's the older sister of Boots over there." Eda answered, jabbing her thumb in Amity's direction.
"Emira?" Amity asked in mild surprise.
"So it is your older sister?" Camila inquired. "Well if that's the case then I suppose it's alright. But we need to establish a way to communicate so we can avoid this situation in the future."
"Yeah, sure, I'll see what I can do about it." Eda said, turning around to head back through the portal. "Thanks for being so cool about this, Cammy."
"Please don't call me that."
By the time Camila had finished her statement, Eda had already crossed through the portal. She stepped back into the living room with Gus, Willow and Emira all following her. Luz introduced her two close friends to Camila, Amity introducing Emira to her afterwards. Willow quickly noticed the tree and went over to admire it, a bright smile on her face. Camila quickly returned to the kitchen and brought back a tray with fresh baked cookies and hot cocoa for them all to enjoy. As a courtesy, she offered some to Eda as well, but Eda declined.
"I've got a couple things I need to take care of around my own place. " Eda said, heading back to her own living room. "Have fun with the kids, they're your problem now. Byeee!"
"You're still responsible for making sure they get home safely!" Camila called just before the portal closed and she walked out of the room, muttering to herself as she went.
"It seems like they are getting along a bit better than before." Amity noted.
"Just a little." Luz agreed. "It's kinda like I have two moms now. Except that they're separated when they never even got together in the first place." She added before turning to face their extra guest. "So what brings you here, Emira? Wanted to join us with decorating the tree?"
"Sorry, but no." Emira answered. "I'm here on a quest to find something to buy for a certain someone. And Gus is coming along to help me since he needs to still buy a gift too. Any chance you could recommend a place where we can go shopping?"
"Oh, that's easy. The mall has lots of stores." Luz replied. "But it's kinda far away and the only way you could get there is if my mom gave you a ride. And I don't know about asking her to take you there last minute. Sorry."
Emira giggled. "You know we can fly there, right?" She asked, bringing out her staff which had a fox palisman. "All we need is directions."
"Did you forget that we're in the Human Realm?" Amity asked. "What happens if you're seen by humans while you're flying?"
"Mittens, did you forget that I'm an illusionist?" Emira countered. "I mastered invisibility a long time ago. We won't be seen until after we land."
"She makes a good point." Luz said. "But humans have a lot of devices that they can use to record you, so be extra, super careful, okay?"
"Relax, Luz." Emira told her confidently. "I've played more than enough pranks to know how to keep myself from being seen. We're going to be fine."
"Sorry to say that I won't be participating in the tree decorating." Gus said. "But I don't want to ask you to wait up when we don't know how long we'll be gone."
"Are you sure?" Luz asked. "I don't mind waiting for you to come back."
"Unfortunately, Mittens and I can only stay out for so long as it is." Emira told her. "If we get back even a little bit late, our mom will keep us up half the night with a lecture. So you do your tree tradition and we'll be back with a little time for us to hang out before we need to get going. Sound good?"
Luz nodded, although she couldn't help but show her disappointment. She gave Emira instructions on how to get to the mall as well as a brief description of what to expect since neither she nor Gus had been to one before. Gus had taken some notes on his notepad and then brought out his staff as well. They put on their winter coats, hats and gloves and went to the front door with Luz.
"Good luck out there you two." She told them. "Be safe and try not to cause any trouble."
"We will." Gus said.
"No promises." Emira stated at the same time.
Emira drew a large circle, causing both her and Gus to vanish from sight. Luz got the door, stepping outside momentarily and pretending to check the mail. The sound of snow crunching under their invisible boots could be heard and then there was only silence. Taking it as a sign that they were gone, Luz went to go back inside. She found Willow waiting for her there however, blocking her way.
"Luz, please explain something to me." Willow requested, sounding a bit cross. "Why doesn't that poor tree have its roots?"
"Uhh….."
While Luz was left to answer the question under Willow's deprecating gaze, the two illusionists were well on their way to their destination. Following Luz's instructions, they arrived faster than they could have if Luz's mother had brought them over. They found a space to land, somewhere away from all the human vehicles and not in the line of sight of any of the cameras which Luz had warned them about. From there it was a short walk to the entrance to the large structure, the two finding themselves walking in on a feast for their eyes.
For starters there were humans everywhere. Dozens and dozens of them all hurrying about, carrying bags from the many, many stores all around. The stores were all lined up, one beside the other going as far as either teen could see. And as they had expected, the whole inside of the building had decorations for the upcoming holiday, giving the surrounding atmosphere a whimsical feeling.
"Wow, look at this place!" Gus said, looking around in amazement.
"I know." Emira replied. "This place is way cooler than Luz made it sound. And it sounded pretty cool to start."
"How do we even begin searching?" Gus wondered. "There's just so much to see! Oh, look! A bookstore! Let's go check that out first!"
Gus rushed over towards the store, a little shop by the name of Mae's Book Nook. Emira let out a sigh and followed him, albeit reluctantly. It was easy enough to find him with the small amount of space that the store had. He was browsing through a section of history books when she found him, his nose already buried in between the pages.
Emira strolled up to him and gently pushed the book against his face. "We aren't here to read, you dork. I need to find an awesome gift for my crush."
With an annoyed grunt, Gus pulled his face away from the book. "Well there's lots of choices right here." He pointed out. "What kind of books does she like? Romance? Mystery? Perhaps a spine-chilling thriller?"
"I am not getting a book as my first gift for her." Emira replied, giving Gus an almost condescending look. "She should get something that's beautiful and unique, just like her. Something that will remind her of me whenever she looks at it. And it should be something that symbolizes how I feel about her. So not a book."
"I hear your point." Gus said, putting the book back onto the shelf. "But don't forget that I still need to find something to give to Edric too. So I'd like just a little more time to browse around."
"You aren't going to find anything that Edric would like here." Emira told him.
"Not even something like that?" Gus asked, gesturing to a nearby set of shelves.
Emira glanced over and noticed that the area he was referring to was a set of shelves full of books for younger children. In addition to the picture books were coloring books and sticker books. She stared at them for a moment before bursting out into a fit of giggles. It ended up gaining the attention of many of the other people in the store before she managed to stop. They left shortly after, Emira leading Gus back out into the middle of the ground floor.
"Okay, you are turning out to be more fun to hang out with than I thought." She admitted. "Maybe we could try to spend time together more often."
"Um… sure, that would be cool." Gus replied, a mild blush on his cheeks. "So, about finding that gift. It looks like there are a lot of clothing shops in here. Let's try some of those next."
"Hmm… no, I don't think so." Emira said. "Clothing feels like a more personal thing to get someone. The sort of thing you'd get for them one you've gotten to know them better."
"Jewelry then?" Gus suggested. "I'm sure there's at least one place around here that sells some."
Emira crossed her arms, a thoughtful look coming to her eyes. "I could, but would that seem a bit too much? I don't want to seem eager to impress."
Gus shrugged. "I have no idea. I suppose it would depend on how expensive it is. But it couldn't hurt to look."
The pair began exploring the vast building, bypassing many of the stores that didn't have any items of interest to them. Before they knew it, they had gotten through the entirety of the ground floor and went to move on up to the second. The escalators were a new and amazing experience for them, Gus marveling at how they could move without the use of an enchantment or demon-power. Unable to help themselves, they rushed over to get on the down escalator as well, enjoying it as if it were a ride at an amusement park.
After riding the escalators a few more times, Emira and Gus began exploring the second floor of the mall. They were very close to the food court and wound up distracted by the various different restaurants as well as the free samples which some of them offered. If not for the limited spending money they had available, they would have treated themselves to a few different things while they were there.
They continued their journey around the second floor, once again bypassing many of the stores as they were all selling mostly clothing. There was a store that sold strange discs for music and videos which seemed fairly interesting, but since they'd be useless back home they didn't stay there for long. Another store sold musical instruments, including a rug that looked and sounded like a set of piano keys. After distracting themselves for a little by dancing out a few poorly played notes, they left to venture up to the third and final floor.
"Alright, maybe I should take my crush here on a date." Emira thought out loud. "This place is so fun! Way better than just walking around the market back home."
She walked past the display window for a store, glancing at the items beyond the glass as she passed by. Then she suddenly stopped and quickly backtracked to look again. A gasp passed through her lips as her eyes widened, followed by an excited smile coming to her face.
"That's perfect for her!" She said, barely able to keep herself from raising her voice.
"You mean that bag?" Gus asked, peeking into the window as well.
The item they were looking at was a carryall bag, a fairly fashionable one at that. It was royal blue and had ample carrying space with many compartments. Gus looked to the sign set beside it which showed the price of the bag and tapped Emira on the shoulder, pointing it out to her. As she saw how expensive the bad was, she winced and let out a quiet groan.
"That's a lot, isn't it?"
Gus nodded. "More than half of what we have for spending money combined."
"Darn." Emira muttered, letting out a sigh. "Oh well. It was a nice idea anyway. Maybe there's something just like it in another store, but not so expensive."
"Just get that one." Gus told her. "Here."
He held out his share of their money for her to take. She stared at it for a moment and then looked him in the eyes, seeming unsure. Gus took her hand and put the money into it, using his other hand to close her fingers around it gently. Emira however grabbed his hand and tried to return the money to him.
"I couldn't." She said. "You need to still buy something too."
"Don't worry, I can just use whatever is left over to get something for Edric." Gus replied, cracking a smirk. "Those kids books we saw downstairs weren't too pricey if I remember correctly."
Emira thanked him and rushed into the store to make her purchase. Soon the bag had been taken out of the display window and after a quick trip to the register, was securely in Emira's possession. She rejoined Gus clutching the bag to her body with a huge smile on her face.
"You are the best, Gus!" She exclaimed. "My offer from earlier still stands. If you ever need help with someone you like, I will play matchmaker for you in a heartbeat!"
"Okay, okay." Gus replied, blushing with a small smile on his face. "I promise that I'll keep that in mind. But for now, let's see if I can find something with what we have left for money."
"There isn't too much left." Emira said, holding out a handful of bills and some change. "Do you think we could find anything for this much?"
"We'll just have to find out by looking around some more." Gus said. "If we have to, we'll start checking all the stores again on the way back out." He added, starting to head over to the next store over where he stopped and stepped up to the window. "Or maybe not. Hey, Emira. What do you think of that? Seem like something Edric might like?"
He pointed to something inside of the store. Emira stepped up beside him and looked through the window. When she saw what he was referring to, she smirked and gave him a nod.
"Yeah, that'll work."
After another quick wait to get through a line, both Gus and Emira were ready to make their return trip. On their way back down to the ground floor, Emira had to step away to use the bathroom. She had Gus hold onto her purchase while she went, insisting he go and wait for her by the entrance to the mall.
A little while later, Emira met Gus at the doors and took her bag back. They exited the mall and went over to the same place where they had landed earlier. Emira scanned their surroundings, making sure there were no other people around and then swiftly cast her spell. As soon as they vanished from sight, they mounted their staves and took off into the night sky.
When they got back to Luz's house, they landed in the forest out back and Emira ended her spell. Then they walked back out to the front door, knocking on it and waiting to be allowed back inside. Luz got the door for them and they stepped into the house, removing their coats and kicking off their boots. Luz asked her mother to prepare some more hot cocoa while Emira and Gus made themselves comfortable on the couch.
"So how was the mall?" Luz asked. "Did you both find something while you were there?"
"We sure did." Gus answered. "That place was amazing!"
"I definitely need to go back there." Emira added. "Thanks for telling us about it, Luz. Sorry we couldn't be here to help with your tree decorating tradition."
Luz gave a shrug. "It's okay. There's always next year." She said, turning to look at the fully decorated tree. "But I just wanna say that you both totally missed out on a good time."
"Sorry again." Gus said. "But we still have the party to look forward to."
Camila came in with a fresh round of hot cocoa for everyone. She passed out the mugs to each of them and then stepped over to look at the tree. Vee plugged in the lights so Camila could admire the sight properly.
"It looks beautiful." Camila said. "You kids did a fantastic job."
"We saved the last decoration for you, just like you asked." Vee said, taking a sip from her mug.
"Gracias, Cariño." Camila replied. "It's my favorite, so I just can't help but want to put it out myself."
She knelt down and reached into one of the boxes, taking out a paper bag filled with decorative hay. Within the bag were a set of wooden figurines, a wooden manger and a framed, folding background. She began setting them all out on the floor, directly in front and center of the Christmas tree. All of the guests to the Noceda house looked at the display she was putting out with intrigue, Gus kneeling going over to kneel beside her on the floor.
"What's that diorama you're setting up, Mrs. Noceda?" He asked.
"This is called the Nativity Scene." Camila answered, continuing to put the little figurines down. "It is a very important part of the holiday. Didn't Luz tell you about it?"
Luz let out a sheepish chuckle. "I may have summarized it a bit." She admitted. "Maybe you could tell it to us now, Mamá?"
"Of course I could." Camila said. "I've was planning to tell the story to Vee on Christmas eve, but I don't mind doing it a little sooner. Let's get some more cookie to enjoy with our cocoa before I start."
Luz nodded and went off to the kitchen to grab some more of the baked goods. Camila finished putting out the last of the figurines, the little baby Jesus into his bed and then took a seat on the couch. After Luz returned with a plate filled with cookies, she and the other teens all gathered around in front of Camila on the floor. Once they were all settled, Camila used her smartphone to shut the overhead lights off, leaving only the lights of the tree and the candles in the windows for illumination.
"Now this story is about the birth of a little baby who would one day become both a king and a savior to his people." She began. "It all happened a very long time ago, in a place called Bethlehem…"
To Be Continued.