by The Eurostar and Tobias Christopher
Edulcore Cicciotto:
I look out the windows of the van, the one owned by Lorelei, a girl that showing me hospitality until we -- the "Sardella Brothers" -- are able to afford a new van. "Afford" meaning Tobias finally finding another nearly destroyed vehicle to repair, like the previous one.
I look out the van's windows, I was saying, and I see only fog. What a sad Christmas Eve. No snow, no cold, bright winter days. Here, everything seems... without character. It's not cold, and it's not warm; it's not sunny, yet is not cloudy. The people are the same: not friendly, nor unpleasant.
I have been watching them, nearly invisible, for some time this morning of Christmas Eve. In every other town of the western world, the street would have been busy with people doing their last-minute shopping for gifts. Here, everyone looks normal, like any other day.
The trees, the Christmas trees, all look similar. The decorations are different, yes, but every ball, every candle is put on the branch in a regular pattern, like a computer would have chosen the right place to hang them.
And then, at the show in the afternoon, the public most impressed me. When they clapped, they all did it at the same moment, like it was only one person. Scary.
There is really something evil behind this. It looks like a city of the damned. It could only be my impression, but... no, there is something strange. This city needs help.
Then, Lorelei returns in the van. "How are you, Guido? Have you slept well?" she asks. Guido is the false name I gave to cover my identity.
"Yes, but I didn't need it. We're all very well. Tomorrow we'll do the show."
"Good. The Christmas show is the best moment for your return. We had great reviews at Chicago -- the people are expecting you and your friends," she says. Then she puts a CD in the player, and an old Christmas song begins to play.
"Frank Sinatra?" I ask.
"No. Bing Crosby." I have never heard the song before. Santa Claus is coming to town.
M'xy and Tobias were having a coffee in a restaurant. "You hate Christmas?" M'xy repeated.
"I've never actually had a real Christmas," Tobias said. "Can't enjoy something you never had."
"That's... so sad!" M'xy said as he started crying.
"Except one year," Tobias said. "When I was twelve and living on the streets, I was living with a bunch of other kids in an old run-down apartment. We all looked out for each other, almost like a family. We called the youngest kid 'Tiny Tim' because he was so small. He was only about seven or eight."
"And living on the street?" M'xy asked.
"It was a tough city," Tobias said. "No one cared. Anyway, all of us got together and got Tiny Tim a brand new coat with the money we made on the streets. And for the first time we actually saw him smile."
"That was touching," M'xy said. "You made a little boy's Christmas really special."
"He was killed later that day by a street gang. They stabbed him to death," Tobias said. "And they stole his coat."
"And that's why you hate Christmas?" M'xy asked.
"There's no reason to celebrate," Tobias said as he walked out of the restaurant. "There's no such thing as happiness."