"Do you know what I know?

(Do you know what I know?)

A child, a child

Shivers in the cold"

Cold

​Jenissi & Nakta

"It's Christmas Eve, dudes! Par-tay! Whew!" I winced.

"He's drunk, isn't he." Xero flinched instinctively as A-Tom, laughing hysterically at himself, stumbled off the sidewalk and slammed into a telephone phone. 

"Lil' bit." He pressed his thumb and forefinger together to show just exactly how drunk the idiot was, which struck me as a tiny bit inaccurate, considering the redhead was running himself into the forementined pole over and over, still laughing in that high pitched giggle that scratched my eardrums.

 Xero squeezed his eyes to slits when the sound of A-Tom faceplanting on the pavement could be heard from behind him. 

"Okay, maybe a lot." He relented. "But it's Christmas Eve! That's what youse do! Get drunk, do stupid stuffs that you regret later and would have never done if you weren't drunk! It's the true, awesome meaning of Christmas!"

Now I squint at him. "Are you drunk?" He looked insulted, and then switched to like it was obvious that he was.

"There was eggnog, duh..." I rolled my eyes at him and made to shut my door, but he stuck his foot in the crack. 

"C'mon," he whined. "Go out clubbing with us! It'll be fun, I promise. Hansol and B-Joo are gonna come down later, and, an'... Seogoong! Seo's gonna come, an' I haven't seen him in like... seven years, Jeniiiiiiii, an' if ya don't come it'll be totally ruined 'cause... 'cause.... PLEASE JENI I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER." 

I have friends that are idiots. Idiots that I, unfortunately, can't say no to. I roll my eyes again, then open the door and close to behind me. This is going to be a long night, I can already tell. 

"Fine. I'll go out. Happy?" 

Suddenly A-Tom's in front of me. "Really? Really? Like, really? Jeni's gonna go out? Yayyyyy we saved his life!" He shouted energetically. "Yayayayayayayayayayayayayay!" I start down the path to the waiting car, ignoring the two idiots behind me. 

"Stop calling me Jeni," I yell over my shoulder, but they don't hear me, or they don't care. 

I'm willing to bet they don't care.

~~~

15 minutes later, we're pulling up on the curb, music blasting at full volume and voices also blasting at full volume. I, being the only one sober, even though it was only ten at night, had volunteered myself to drive since I really don't want to die tonight, so it was me that had to drop everyone off at the door of the club and then go find a parking space. The five of them unloaded with much whopping and a sympathetic pat on the shoulder to me from P-Goon as he tumbled out. 

I watched them, weary, as they made their way into the building, and checked the time. Okay. Only, what, five hours left until I got to sleep, I thought, as I pulled away, skimming the long train of cars as I did. I can survive five hours. 

When I finally found a slot, a mile down the road, the count of minutes had lessened 15. I slide out of the front seat, slamming the car shut and locking it. Outside, the air is cold but not brutal, the first snowfall still not yet come and gone. Everything was quiet, shushed by the moon and the shadows and the stars. I take a breath, watching it puff out like steam, in the night. Here, it's quiet. Unlike my friends, I've always liked quiet more than the other. I've always liked peace more than the opposite. 

I start the long walk to the club, stuffing my hands in my pocket, hiking my shoulders up to my ears. My steps are slow though; I can't help it. Usually, I'm fine with going wherever they want to go. Often, I'm even happy. I enjoy myself. But tonight, I feel like I would get a splitting headache the second I get the pounding beat into my skull. Tonight, I would rather be alone, cold, silent, then in there. But I don't have an excuse to not go. So I'll go. 

It was just then that my eyes caught on a small figure in the shadows of a building. It was just then, that faithful Christmas Eve, that I got the first glimpse of my future. 

It was a boy, no more than six years of age, sitting in a puffy jacket with his knees curled to his chest and his little fingers locking and unlocking above his knees. That wasn't what made me stop, though. It was the fact that this boy, this little boy, was all alone. 

No parents. No other kids. Not even a pet. Nothing. He was alone. And that was the first thing that made me stop walking towards the club and, instead, walk toward the boy. 

I knelt down next to him, not caring that I might look threatening to him. "Hi," I said, not knowing what else to start with. 

The boy looked up, his eyes widening. "Hi." 

"Are you all alone?" I asked him, figuring he's know better than anybody. 

"Yeah." His big eyes peeped up at me through his tousled locks. "But my daddy's gonna come back for me soon." 

In that moment, I made a split decision. To go, have fun, drink a little, or to stay with this little boy, just to make sure. Just to make sure he's safe tonight. 

I slid myself down next to him, back to the wall. "Can I stay with you until your daddy comes?"

He puckers his lips in deep though. "Okay." His voice is squeaky, but serious in a way that makes me wat to laugh. I don't. I just sit there. 

"My name's Jenissi," I say. "What's yours?" 

"Aj. My daddy likes to call me Jay, though." I smile. 

"I'll call you Aj."

30 Minutes:
The wind had began to blow, breathing on us with great billows of a giant's exhale. With it came the clouds, heavy with frozen tears, advancing slowly across the greyed sky like a reaper's scyth. 

"I'm cold" were the first words that came out of little Aj's mouth. So I gave him my scarf, not really noticing the loss of a layer. But with the strip of fabric wrapped up to his ears, the little boy looked slightly warmer, which makes all the difference. 

At first, we just sat there, but slowly Aj overcome his shyness for me. Me, a stranger who desided to sit next to him and give him his scarf and tell him my name. Aj didn't question it, and neither did I.

He asked about my name, my car, everything that he could see. 

And so we sat. And so we waited. 

And so his dad didn't come. 

45 Minutes:
B-Joo texted me 46 minutes after I had stopped for Aj, and an hour and a minute after I had drove away. Asking where was I, what happened. I just told him that I was fine, I had decided to go home, that they would have to catch a ride. Then I slid my phone back into my pocket, because Aj was telling a story about his daddy. 

1 Hour, 20 Minutes:
Through this boy's endless chatter, I got to know him. I got to know Aj, and how his life has been so short, and yet so sad.

His dad had adopted him when he was little, just months old with his other dad. 

They raised him for three years in peace. 

But cancer. 

Cancer struck, cancer swept in like a tidal wave, and his other dad was dragged, kicking and screaming and crying, into the sea. His other dad, the one who hasn't come, fell into grief. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't drink, he wouldn't sleep. 

And so Aj was put into his grandmother's care, as his father was put into his own mother's. A year passed, and Aj's dad started to heal. Slowly, painfully, and so, so sadly, but he was healing. He ate more. He talked more. He slowly, gently, eased himself into caring for Aj again. Another year passed, and Aj's father began to laugh, began to smile. Another, and he was almost as good as new. 

Almost. 

Aj only says that, but I think he knows more, he's seen the grief, but it's right of him not to say that to me. Throughout his telling, I stay quiet. After, I say:

"Thank you for telling me." Aj only looks lost, but he nods after a second. 

"Welcome." 

And still we waited. 

2 Hours:
Two hours is too long. Too long to leave a six-year-old on the side of the road. Too long to let him see what the world is like alone. Too long. 

But at least he came. 

He came. 

He came, tall and bewildered and gasping with fear, only to find Aj, curled up against me in the winter, just starting to fall to sleep. But his father's pounding steps snapped him out, enough so he could blink open his eyes and see his father hugging him, crying with relief. That made me like him more, to see him that distraught over the amount of time it took. 

"Daddy," Aj finally said, his squeaky little voice muffled by his dad's coat. 

"Oh, god. Aj I'm so sorry, I didn't think... I didn't think the lines would be so long, oh my god, Aj. Thank you. Thank you so much." The last two sentences were directed at me, and I smiled and nodded in response. "Oh, Aj. I'm so sorry." He rocked his son back and forth, breaths just starting to come back to normal. 

"It's okay daddy," Aj said when his dad finally let him go. "Jeni stayed with me." 

And now the father was turning his attention to me, wariness in his dark eyes, but gratitude, also. "Thank you. Thank you so so much." 

I shrugged, embarrassed. "It was nothing, really." Aj grins up at his dad, and I feel the need to introduce myself. 

My name's Jenissi, by the way." The man studied me with those dark eyes of his, and seemed to come to a decision. 

"My name's Nakta, and you've already met Aj. Look... you've been so kind, helping us. I would feel horrible if I didn't do something for you." 

I start to refuse. I didn't do it for something; I did it because I could. "No, no really it's fi-"

Nakta waved it off. "No, seriously. It's not a big deal. Just name anything." 

I hesitated, and finally gave in when I realized Nakta wasn't going to budge. "Well... I guess... Coffee?" 

Nakta grinned. "Coffee it is. On me." 

And that night was the beginning of many things. Beginning of a friendship, beginning of a love, beginning of a family. 

Beginning of us. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was written on a phone at l at night. An idiotic ohone, no les. Can you tell? I think you can tell. 
I had absolutely no time today but I really wanted to write one because ITS CHRISTMAS so thats what Im doing now. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY <3