The next day...
It's Sunday, more specifically, the 1st of December.
In this day, the Schoppenboer family traditionally sets up decorations for Christmas. And, today, this was not different at all.
Maya woke up late in the morning, yet still early enough to be able to eat breakfast separately from lunch. She took a swing of her stroopwafel hooch, waited until it kicked in, and went to the kitchen to get breakfast. Her parents were there.
"Hello, my blossoming flower!", Mrs. Schoppenboer said.
"Hey, mom!", Maya replied.
"Do you know what day this is?"
"Oh, it's the 1st of December, right?"
"Yes, Maya! And you know what we do in this very day, right?"
"Decorations!"
"That's right! We'll do that after lunch. It would be nice if you participated this year too!"
"I definitely will! I've been wanting to try many old and new things, and I think that this will be awesome by itself!"
Mrs. Schoppenboer shed a single tear of joy.
"Oh, Maya, it's so nice to see you becoming the happy little girl you once were again!", She said. "It's truly miraculous!"
They then hugged each other, both of them feeling a connection they haven't felt in years.
"I know I don't say this a lot to you, mom...", Maya began, a tear starting to fall from her eye. "But I love you. Thanks for everything!"
They then hugged each other again, this time shedding multiple tears.
"I love you too, my butterfly!", Mrs. Schoppenboer said in absolute pride.
Maya then got her breakfast and ate it together with her parents. They discussed random stuff together, something that hasn't really happened since Maya was a child. She often finds herself amazed at how much her beverages break her social barriers. It transformed her into a new person, one that, in her personal opinion, is way better than her lame, shut-in sober self.
"This is me!", She thought to herself. "Fuck sobriety to the last circle of hell!"
Meanwhile, Mymy has been contemplating what happened yesterday. Not only was it has first deal, it was also her first time drinking alcohol. As much as she wanted to avoid it for the rest of her life... there was just something about it.
"Whatever...", Mymy thought to herself. "If I distract myself enough, I can overcome this temptation! I have to be strong!"
Still feeling somewhat hungover, she went to the kitchen, where Maya and her parents were.
"Hey, everyone!", She said.
"Hey, Mymy!", The parents replied.
"Guess what day this is?", Mrs. Schoppenboer began.
"Christmas season!", Mymy replied.
"Exactly, Mymy! We'll be setting up decorations after lunch. Don't forget to tell Coco about it!"
"No worries, mom!"
She got herself some breakfast and ate it with Maya and her parents. Then, after finishing, she and Maya went to hang out in the backyard. It was snowing, so Mymy had an idea:
"We should build a snowman, Maya!"
"Great idea, Mymy! I miss doing this after all..."
They then got to work. Maya felt nostalgic while building the snowman. It's like her inner child has been awoken, and is happy to be back after being away for so long. The final result was impressive to both girls. It's just like the snowmen they build in movies!
Soon after they finished, however, their parents called them to eat lunch. After that, the decorating began. The parents brought in a christmas tree and boxes filled with decorations. They began by setting up the Christmas tree. The usual glass balls and lights were set up like normal, but, when getting to the star at the top, the parents suddenly stopped and had an idea:
"What if we decorate the star too?"
They agreed and began laying out ideas. Maya then came up with something on the fly:
"What if we paint each extremity of the star with our own colors? It will perfectly symbolize our uniry as a family!"
"Great idea!", Mrs. Schoppenboer replied.
They then got some paint and selected which colors to represent themselves. The pattern was layed: the top left corner was painted orange, symbolizing Mymy. The top right one was painted a brighter shade of yellow, symbolizing Coco. The bottom left one was painted purple, symbolizing Mrs. Schoppenboer. The bottom right one, green, symbolizing Mr. Schoppenboer. The corner at the very top, though, was painted red, symbolizing Maya. She also got to write a simple word, yet one that meant a lot to everyone involved: Love.
They then put the star at the top of the tree. It was absolutely gorgeous. They all felt like they surpassed themselves this year.
Then, they took some rest, and Maya, as usual, went to her room. She thought of what just happened. She managed to bond with her entire immediate family to such a deep extent, and finally have her own part in this family tradition for the first time in years. Everything felt so... magical, to her. It felt amazing. It felt euphoric. It felt... overwhelming. She put her face on a pillow and began to cry for hours. There was nothing better to her at the moment.
And it was even better when they all got to play board games and did charades together. Maya even forgot to take her lunchtime and evening drinks due to how fun and personal this all was.
At night, however, fun was over, and everyone went back to where they once were. And this was finally when withdrawals kicked in for Maya. Not wanting to suffer after such a good day, she drank her strongest nightcap so far and slept the night away having sweet dreams...