Chapter 1: The Magic of Christmas Time

*Please Listen to “The Magic of Christmas Time” While reading the following words ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTbhpYc8NUQ )*

Tis’ the season to be jolly, holy and blessed with the magic of Christmas. As we speak, millions of people prepare for the winter months ahead and the inevitable family gatherings that will commence. However, some people are not as fortunate. Although it is the season of joy and happiness, some people haven’t received those blessings from the spirits of Christmas. These people, much like yourself are lonely, wishing that this season would brisk passed like a winter’s storm. The spirit of these people has been shattered by heart aching events, so naturally they wish to end this year quietly and without celebration. They wish to end this year without the spirit of Christmas by their side, but of course, this will not do. Miracles still wait beyond the horizon, so stand! And rejoice, the night is alive with the spirit of Kindness. If you believe, you will find it, yes, if you believe you will indeed find it, the magic of Christmas Time.

(Let the song finish)

Our story begins at a quiet hospital, where you sit patiently by an unconscious individual resting upon the hospital bed.

It was hard to sit there at 11:50 pm on the 23^rd of December. It was too hard to look at you without hope, without faith that a Christmas miracle was about to happen. Why now? Of all the times you could have left me, why did you choose Christmas? I know, it’s selfish to only consider my happiness, but can you blame me? After all I’ve been through this year, you… you were my only joy. After all the painful heartaches, hardships and hopeless situations, I honestly believed that spending my last few months with you would lighten my year, bring inspiration back to my darkened soul, but alas, you’re fixed on to this lousy hospital bed. No one knows if you’ll awaken, the doctor himself already explained how your slumber may never end, so why? Why do I come here every day, still hoping you’d open those damn eyes so we can enjoy Christmas together?? Ugh, I hate you… sis. No, I take that back, I hate myself… I hate myself for all the stupid things that have happened this year, my break up, my unemployment and then my debt. All of it, was my fault. I guess, it was only a matter of time before my unfortunate luck finally rubbed on to you, but for this to happen, I never expected it. You don’t deserve this bull, sis, you have people who love you, care for you and miss you while you’re gone. I should be the one lying lifeless on a hospital bed, after all no one would miss me. I bet most people wouldn’t even realize I ever existed.

I turned my head away from her gas masked covered face and glanced over at the clock once more. There was only five minutes remaining until it was confirmed that I would be alone for Christmas eve. At this point, it was already certain. At this point, a Christmas miracle would need a miracle to happen, there was no hope left. The dim light in my heart that had been flickering through the cold winter nights was not gone and the freezing realization of absolute loneliness engulfed me. I was one of them, one of those people who was forced to spend the happiest time of the year alone. ERRR, ERRR, ERRR. I slammed the snooze button of the alarm clock beside her bed. The force was so hard, that it sent the clock flying off the bedside table. I slowly faced down to see a disfigured alarm clock below me and I slapped my hand straight on to my face. “You idiot!” I scolded myself. Honestly, could I do anything right?? I picked up the shattered pieces with my hand and could still read the numbers glowing from the screen, 12:01 am. “Merry Christmas, sis. I know you usually tell me about now that it’s not really Christmas yet, but… only twenty-four hours remaining, right? Please wake up before then… Don’t… Don’t let me celebrate alone.” I could feel emotions slipping through my eyes and knew that it was time I left for the day. For the past week, this was all I could do, it was all I could muster from my dampened spirit. Wake up, eat breakfast, visit the hospital. Then rinse and repeat. It’s not like I had a job to worry about and I was currently living at my sister’s place, so I didn’t need to worry about rent either. Everything she had was paid for in contrast to me who is pretty much owned by the bank at this point. Initially, when I slid under the covers of the bed I assumed that I would wake up and resume my daily routine like usual, but things didn’t quite go to plan.

The sun bled through the gaps of the blinds and straight onto my bare face, the warmth was somewhat comforting, but not even the sun could brighten my frozen heart. I tossed and turned in my sister’s bed until I finally felt the urge to rise. As I walked through the empty halls, it occurred to me that I hadn’t really looked around her house. I had been here for a week and didn’t really know much about the house. Through further inspection, it came to me that she had numerous pictures scattered around, but I never bothered to check whom was in the frames. The pictures were mostly her and her friends which were out of town visiting their own families at the moment. I couldn’t help but admire all their smiles and joyful expressions. But at the forefront of it all, was my sister of course. She was already a beautiful girl, but when she exposed that natural smile, there wasn’t many people who could with stand it. It truly could melt the winter season away. Originally, I thought these pictures were helping soothe my longing heart, but it only proved to me how lonely I truly was. Hundreds of pictures around me of you and I would still spend Christmas without you.

 (Queue music, Christmas Without You: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27HElIrUvGk )

I grabbed my phone, desperately searching for your name along my list of contacts. My finger trembled as I tapped your name, but the trembling didn’t cease there. It continued over to my heart and then to my breath as I waited for an answer. Ring, Ring, Ring. I don’t know what I was expecting, I don’t know why I was being so thoughtless in that moment, but I pushed forward nonetheless. Ring, Ring, Ring. Come one sis! Please! Answer my calls, I need you… PLEASE! Ring, Ring, Ri… I gasped at the sudden halt of the endless ringing, could it be, that she had indeed woken from her coma? Was a Christmas miracle truly on the horizon… Hello, I’m currently not there to pick up the phone, but if it’s urgent leave a message after the tone, BEEP. It was obvious that nothing was going to happen, anyone could have seen the phone moving on to voice mail, so why was I so distraught? Of course, you wouldn’t be there to answer, you’ve been lying in that bed for a week now. You couldn’t say a word to me then so why would you now! Ugh, I’m so stupid! The emotions were beginning to slip through my eyes once again, but there was nothing I can do. The tears were flowing now, my heart was pumping and my fists firmly clenched. Before I knew it, blood was dripping down the front of my fists as the glass shards embedded into my skin glistened in the sunlight. The last picture I glanced at was no shattered into a million pieces, just like my Christmas spirit. The guilt immediately rushed over when I realized what I had done. I carefully cleaned the picture of any glass and then focused on my own hand. The pain from extracting the shards wasn’t as much as I initially anticipated, but I guess when you’ve been hurt that many times, it explains why my tolerance to agony was increased. I washed myself off, covered the wound and packed my things to visit the hospital as usual. I honestly hoped that they wouldn’t ask about the bandages, explaining it would only bring shame to me. The only exit I could take was through the front door and in order to access this I had to waltz through the living room. Just like I said before, I never took the time to inspect the pictures within the frames that my sister had hung. Curiously, there was a theme to these pictures, one common variable that appeared throughout all the frames. One was obviously my sister’s bright smile, but another was the property on which the pictures were taken. They were taken at a club, seemed like some sort of mock 1920s Jazz club. The front of the building had an enormous neon sign that read “Girls’ Club”. There were a few more pictures that captured the interior and I couldn’t deny the vibes were definitely jazzy. My sister was smiling in every picture, did she go here often? Originally, I assumed that it was just a place of interest for my sister during her time in the U.S., but through further inspection, there was this unshakeable feeling that I had seen this place before. Would such a club really exist in South Korea? And if so, what about it made my sister so happy? It was quite the mystery, my sister had never show any massive interest into jazz, nor the aesthetic that came along with it. So why so many pictures? I had to find out. For the first time that week, I decided against visiting my sister and instead was on the hunt to find this club. A quick google search should make… ah, it’s… wait a second… It was hard to believe at first, was I blind? Or did it simply not matter to me until now? Whatever the reason was, I couldn’t believe that the club was actually a few streets away from my sister’s house. Not only was it only a few streets away, it was also in the direction of the hospital, so there was no doubt on my mind that I would have passed it on multiple occasions. It was settled, I was going to enter this club and seek out what fueled my sister’s happiness.