Chapter 3
As Adora boarded the train, she saw the red velvet seats that looked comfortable and soft. As she walked over to one, she sat down and giggled as Glacier came and leaned over her.
"Comfortable?" He smiled.
"Very much so," she smiled. "It's so warm in here."
"Hopefully it's not too warm; we snowmen don't always enjoy the
heat," he said, now looking at her with a smirk.
"Okay, Mr. Jack Frost," she laughed, now seeing him get closer to her face.
"Ah, ah, ah…I am not he. But let's just say, he and I have a special history," he chuckled, now sitting down next to her.
"Really? You know THE Jack Frost?" She asked.
"Of course. Let us just say that I know more about him than most people; he and I met under very unusual circumstances," Glacier laughed. "But that is a story for another time. In the meantime, our journey is about to begin." And with those words, he pointed out the window and motioned for her to take a look.
As Adora turned, she saw the winding twists and turns of the mountains that surrounded them and they were getting ready to get going down the invisible tracks.
"Which town are we going to?" She asked.
"We are going to towns all over the world," Glacier said. "That way you can see how Christmas is spent in all of the different places."
"I am not a real fan of Christmas, though," she said, now looking away.
"I know and that's why I am here to help," Glacier smiled, now sitting a bit closer.
"H-Hey," she giggled, now blushing.
"You know, the Christmas spirit really helps if you smile and laugh more." He grinned, now giving her a toothy smile.
"What do you mean? I laugh," she said calmly.
"Not that much. You smiled earlier with the cookies and festivities, but I want you to smile more just because you are worth smiling about," he soothed.
Adora looked away for the moment, unsure how long it's been since she's had real joy and happiness. But as she did, she didn't see him prod her side with his strong fingers. She let out a squeak and covered her sides, clearly in shock about what just happened.
"Oh, my…is the serious one ticklish?" He smirked deviously.
"No way! I'm not ticklish at all," she said, clearly being untruthful. He rolled his blue eyes and then leaned more over her.
"Listen you…I have not lived all of this time to NOT understand humans. You all are definitely not able to lie to beings such as myself," he said. "And by the way, you are not the best when it comes to lying."
"Oh, please! You make it appear as if I have lied to you before," she said. He only smirked and pulled her closer as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"As I said before, I know more about you than you know," he said, now making her think over his riddled words. But before she could respond, he began tickling her sides and her cheery laughter began to ring through the air and the snowmen that were sliding up and down the train could only smile their coal covered smiles. Hearing Adora's musical laughter gave them pleasure as Glacier went to town on her sides. It ended up where both tumbled on the velvet carpet floor and he pinned her down under him. She weakly pushed on his chest and he only smiled at her.
"I will release you for now because soon we will be heading to a small town in Nevada," he chuckled, now getting up and helping her up as well.
"G-Gosh, you're brutal," she said, now holding her sides.
"Oh come now; it was all in fun," he chuckled, now seeing the train thunder through the dark night but heading towards the lights of a small town in the distance.
"What are we gonna do when we get there?" She asked.
"We are going to see what these people do when it comes to celebrating Christmas," Glacier responded, now seeing the train stop in the distance. As he slowly made his way out, she followed the tall being into the night and pulled her white coat more around her. The wind was blowing hard, but the snowmen were enjoying the cold weather.
"As we go through these towns, the people will not be able to see us. We will be able to observe them from an invisible state," Glacier explained.
"Cool! I've never been invisible before!" She smirked, now about to walk ahead of him. But at that moment, she was blinded by a big blast of snow in the face. "HEY!"
"Easy…", Glacier chuckled, now walking in front of her and wiping her face gently.
"What was that?! That was like a blast of snow!" She huffed.
"Stay near to me…it is possible to get separated when the snow is blinding," Glacier said, now walking closer to her and taking her hand. She stiffened at the touch, but he continued to gently squeeze her hand. "Relax~"
"I'm trying," she said, through gritted and cold teeth. But as she followed the path that Glacier made, she noticed that this town was rather poor. It was more in the hillside and these people did not appear to have any money. In fact, this village seemed far from other civilizations. Her eyes began to water as she saw children playing in the dirt and using sticks and stones for toys. "This is terrible; why are they living here?! They need to live somewhere else."
"Some of them can't afford good living conditions," Glacier said sadly. "These are travelers that spend most of their time together and traveling from place to place."
Adora was about to respond, but she then she choked on her own tears as she saw the children trying to share new stones that they found in the middle of the nearby lake. They were ranging from pebbles to stones that were the size of a baseball and the children made sure to wrap the stones in leaves that were wrapped with string to resemble a present. But those were the only presents that they had to give.
Hot tears began to string down her face and she then let out a small gasp as she saw the food that was being brought out! The people began to sit around a small fire and pass the food around to each other. The food was comprised of old biscuits, old pieces of chicken and turkey, half rotten spinach and carrots, and apples that were partly eaten.
"T-That is all they can eat?" She said, now saying it in almost a whisper.
"Yes, unfortunately so," Glacier said sadly. Now having a terrible flashback, Adora let out a small sob and turned tail and ran! "ADORA!"
But she didn't stop! She kept running as fast as she could. But that didn't stop Glacier from running after her. He ran past his snowmen, but nodded to them to follow him.
"Come! After her! Don't let her out of your sight!" Glacier commanded, now gaining on her relatively quickly. The snow was falling even harder and she could barely see ahead of her!
"This is a nightmare…this is why I can't stand Christmas!" Adora said, her eyes widening as Glacier ran in front of her and she went crashing into his open arms.
"Halt! Please wait!" He said, now catching her.
"Glacier, let me go! I wanna go home!" She said, now trying to hide her tears.
"Hey…," he said gently, now trying to look at her face. "Look at me."
"I'm fine!" She said, trying to hide her face. She never liked anyone seeing her cry.
"Adora, sadness is not weakness. It is alright for people to see your tears…," he soothed quietly in her ears.
"I'm not crying." She protested.
"Adora…you can't fool me," Glacier said, now gently taking her face as the other snowmen crowded around them. She tried to pull her face from him, but he had a firm grip on her. "No…you're not escaping from me."
"I just wanna go home!" She said, now looking at him and letting some tears escape. Glacier only wiped her tears from her face and placed his forehead against hers.
"Listen to me…I know that this place may appear sad and discouraging, but there is more to these people than you know," Glacier explained gently.
"How?! How can people be content when they have so little!" She said, now pointing into the distance. "They are giving each other rocks as presents! Does no one see a problem here?!"
"Relax…this isn't about items, Adora. Some people rely on their love for each other and family more than things," Glacier said, now turning her around and leading her back. "Come. Finish watching with me and then we will go."
"No! I don't want to see anymore!" She said.
"Adora…you won't be able to understand what I am trying to show you if you don't open your heart up to things that may even be painful," he cooed in her ear.
Adora hung her head, letting more tears fall down her face but she finally nodded. Glacier then led her back in the trees and walked back to the small campsite. As she walked back, her mouth dropped as the people began laughing and smiling as they gave each other presents and began eating food.
"And see? The night is not yet over," Glacier smiled, now waving his hands and fresh apples, potatoes, chicken, and grapes appeared in small bundles under the snow.
"Y-You're going to feed them?" She smiled, now happy tears forming.
"Of course I am; I am not able to always intervene but on Christmas I am able to do some things," Glacier said, now making sure the trees created more covering to keep the snow off of the people. He then grinned as he created a gust of playful snow that made the small children chase it. "Yes…come, children…,"
And with those words, the children began to chase the small gust of snow and then stumbled upon the parcels of fresh food! With squeals of joy, the children shouted for their parents! In a few moments, the adults followed their children and uncovered the fresh banquet from the snow. The food appeared as if it fell off of nearby trucks or passing cars, so the parents weren't too suspicious of the 'mystery' parcels of fresh food. Adora grinned even more now seeing them having a pleasant meal together.
"At least the food is better now," she said, now hugging herself.
"And do you feel better?" Glacier asked, now hugging her to his chest.
"Yeah," she said gently, now leaning back on him. "At least they have some kind of hope on Christmas."
And with that, tears began pouring down her face. As the snow began to fall, she looked up into the sky. It reminded her of the Christmas that someone left food for her family when they had no money and they had a real banquet.
"It's going to be alright; I'm here," he cooed in her ear.
"You don't understand….you're a real friend to me. Once this night is over, I will never see you again," she said, now looking away.
He only turned her to face him and he kissed her forehead softly. "Don't cry, Adora…I have something else that I have to tell you."
"Yes?" She asked, now looking at him.
"I cannot explain it now…but you will see it soon. Now dry your eyes and smile! We are going to be headed to another place that is quite common for happy holidays." He smiled.
"Where?" She asked.
"New York." He winked, now leading her back towards the train. Feeling she needed cheering up as she got on the train, the snowmen crowded around her more and began to give her milkshakes made of their snow, fresh milk, and delicious cane sugar. Once she was seated, they all began to give her choices of chocolate, strawberry, white chocolate, or French chai!
Adora smiled as she picked the delicious chocolate and began to enjoy her treat.
"Thanks, guys…I hope this adventure never ends," she said. The snowmen only smiled and began to parade around her and sing Christmas songs to her as Glacier watched with a smooth smile.
"Oh, Adora…you don't need to be concerned. This adventure is still not over." Glacier chuckled, now looking at the snowman in the front of the train. "Hey, Adora," he said, now looking back at her.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"Are you ready? It is your turn," he said calmly.
"My turn? For what?" She asked.
"Why, to drive this train, of course," he said calmly. Adora's eyes opened wide and she was in shock; was she going to drive the Polar Express?!
guestsurprise's words: Yes, there are some that don't have much but they still have a wonderful time because it isn't about things; its' about love and family! :) What do you all think will happen?
To guestsurprise: Very true words, Amigo! :) Love and family will always be forever, especially on the holidays. :)
To everyone else: Please leave guestsurprise a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418