It was Christmas Eve. Nny sat in the kitchen with a revolver gripped tightly in his hands. "I have no one, want no one, and care for no one. I'm not staying on this grimy, filthy planet just in spite of myself. I've gone THROUGH that revelation. I'm going OVER the stars…" He let one tear roll down his cheek and die on the corner of his lips.
Nny raised the barrel to his head. As he braced himself, something happened that would change the way that Nny would look at the world. He heard a sound.
It came from the family room. Nny raced in to see nothing except his bare, deformed, scrawny Christmas tree. But it was what was under the tree that did it.
A simple cardboard box with a letter on top sat there. Nny had never put it there, and there certainly wasn't' anyone who would have. Or was there?
He approached the box gingerly, as it conspicuously sat there, looking innocent. He reached out with one claw-like hand and slowly opened it. Inside was a spring of holly leaves and berries.
What the… Nny saw how ridiculous the gift was. But still, he felt inclined to read the letter. As his eyes scanned the page, his eyes filled with tears.
My dearest Nny,
I don't know if you will accept this, but I hope that you do. Holly is a mythic sign of renewal. I read it in a book in a store. I felt it was only right to send you this for Christmas.
I hope that you won't be mad at me for the wrongs I've committed. But I have to tell you.
It's me, Nny. Danni. I've missed you, Nny. But I guess that wasn't to be. Ever since the "event" occurred.
But I'm past that now. Where I'm going, there isn't any pain or suffering. After I go, you won't even remember me. And if you do, you'll never know it, because I'll be deep in your subconscious.
I know it will hurt, and it will hurt you too, but I never intended all this madness…never. And we really never understood the consequences of our actions until all is said and done.
So, Nny, I bid you goodbye, my dearest Nny. Forever and always.
Danni
Nny's eyes were red and misty. Danni…she'd been gone for years! Dead and gone! How could she have sent this to him…after what had happened…?
Forever and always, Danni…
