Inside the store, absolute chaos rampaged.

Helicopters whizzed by Amber's head, threatening to chop off her shiny locks; racecars jammed frequently in the corners of the room before their owners decided to right them; a Nerf Gun spat a foam bullet directly into her abdomen; a BB Gun provided a nasty punch in the form of a small plastic pellet. She stumbled forwards, breathlessly drinking in the sights and sounds of a busy toy store on Christmas Eve.

The toy store appeared to be overrun by a large number of bickering creatures, constantly arguing and yelling. It was reminiscent of an anthill overrun with ants after the infiltration of an enemy.

 Little girls argued and fought over the latest Barbie Dolls while their exhausted parents bickered amongst themselves; if any form of Christmas kindness and generosity existed, it was surely absent from this store. It seemed like every individual was cutthroat in their attempt to purchase the latest plaything. A stack of lesser-popular toys were shoved into the farthest corner, abandoned in favor of more exciting games that provided cheap entertainment, and dear reader! How could one ever express such distaste for the horrific events occurring in this room?

Exhausted and eyes cloudy to the pandemonium, Amber's legs borne her to an area abandoned by the others- this particular spot was surrounded by a few clusters of children, angrily squabbling over some hidden toy, yet the argument remained in words for now. This deserted corner was where Amber decided to sit down and observe as it had a decent vantage point of the entire pandemonium.

It took a few minutes, but the realization quickly settled in.

The "abandoned" toys were actually toys that promoted education, intelligence, creativity, and other positive aspects, while the popular toys endorsed violence, gender-roles, and other various negative stigma. The amount of aggression and hostility present in the room was nearly enough to send Amber running; as a pacifist, she vehemently opposed any form of violence.

Boys were running around the room, shooting at each other with plastic guns and kicking those that fell down. Rather than sympathy for the children who weren't as physically adept, the unfortunates were cast away and tossed about, neglected even by their oblivious parents. A nearby cluster of adolescents huddled around a single object revealed to be children playing with a toy bomb, a game that would 'explode' if one was too hasty or careless when placing tokens into the appropriate slots.

Leaning towards the group to get a better perspective, Amber received numerous dirty looks and cruel comments about her ragged and filthy clothes. Hurt, she recoiled backwards and decided to leave her warm spot in search of a more accepting location. The children merely sent a barrage of insults to hurry Amber along her way.

Disappointment colors Amber's cheeks as she retreated.

~*~

Henry was driving home as fast as he could, but it was too fast as he was pushing nearly 80 mph. He didn't care, though. Henry's thoughts were centered around greeting Amber, watching the way her eyes would light up when he walked in the door, seeing how her warm, brown eyes would fill with tears as he knelt down, carrying her off to a night of- wait, he was getting ahead of himself. He had to make it home first.

The lights of Seoul whizzed by outside of Henry's glossy window and created a dreamy mirage reflected in the sky, but he paid it no attention. It could have been raining, snowing, or even hailing and Henry wouldn't have noticed anything. His mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of Amber to be distracted. He was a plain man with a one-path mindset, and such trivialities that threatened to distract him were quickly brushed away.

Except for the little girl.

Oh, that petite cherub forever lost in the distance- a glimpse was all that Henry caught before she, too, whizzed out of his sight. Henry considered sacrificing the impending warmth expected at home to return to his angel struggling in the snow. He almost considered abandoning the little girl, but realized that it wouldn't be reminiscent of the Christmas Spirit. Amber would have to wait, but soon she would be his for eternity. Henry was sure she wouldn't mind.

Sighing gustily, Henry swung the car around at the nearest traffic light, probably violating a dozen traffic laws in the process. Luckily, the roads were completely absent of any lingering travelers or potential witnesses to Henry's traffic infraction. Spinning the steering wheel sharply to the left, he executed a perfect U-Turn and quickly accelerated to top speed, ignoring the patches of wet covering the road, hidden threats in the form of black ice.

The tires of his car left skid marks all across the road as Henry careened backwards, all the way back to the snowdrift where he saw a flash of bright red and a disheartened face. Miraculously, the little girl was still struggling as she was blanketed in snow, eyelashes glittering with small diamonds as her eyes were clenched shut. It appeared as if she was drowning in the pure white river that threatened to pull her under and encase her body in a coffin of ice.

It was snowing harder now, with the small white flakes raining down upon Henry from the heavens above. The breezy air gently diffused the larger chunks into soft white feathers that tickled his face as Henry jumped out of the car and dashed over to the girl. Our valiant hero swiftly leaped into the drift and waded his way towards the child. Grabbing her by the scruff of her jacket, Henry towed his way backwards and onto higher land.

She was quite the young child, appearing no older than nine years of age. How peculiar it was for her to be outside during such harsh weather.

Henry had to shake her shoulder quite viciously and repeat his question numerous times before a response was elicited from the girl.

 "Can you hear me? Where do you live?"

"Up on the ridge and around the bend," she whispered, voice fading in the bitter cold. "Please."

Henry carefully picked her up and immediately strode off towards the direction she had gestured. Any other option- such as placing her in his heated car, driving off to the police station, and reporting an abandoned child- had completely vanished from his mind.

Reiterating for the dear reader: Henry had a one-track mind.

As he stumbled up the long drive, he could feel the child's frozen fingers curl around his scarf. She had put her faith in this absolute stranger and entrusted him with ensuring her safety. It was a simple act, really- but the declaration of trust was prominent.

"It's an orphanage... Run by Ms. Kim," she murmured, cheek pressed delicately against Henry's chest. She was a scrawny thing- barely tipping the scale at 80 pounds and soaking wet. "My name is Sora."

"I'm Henry."

No further words were exchanged throughout the duration of their trip in the snow. The little girl simply laid against Henry's chest and rocked along to the motion of his walking, breath leaving a white cloud trailing behind them.

As Henry staggered into the warm and slightly shabby den of an orphanage, a middle-aged female fluttered around the duo and began wrenching off their wet clothes. Demands of "Bring fresh clothes now, Kwangsoo!" and "Tell Cook to make something warm to drink, Jeongsu!" echoed around the room as Henry shivered violently.

Somewhere between being swaddled in two thick quilts and given a mug of hot chocolate did Henry remember Sora. Standing up violently, he startled Ms. Kim, who was gently tending to the crackling fire. "Where did Sora go?"

"She is back in her room, why do you question?"

Henry remained silent at her query, choosing instead to conserve her body heat. His next question was targeted towards all of the children residing at the orphanage.

"How have the holidays been so far?"

Ms. Kim merely offered a pitying look towards Henry; her weary glance conveyed woe towards the young male. It was apparent that Christmas was a dreary event at the poor orphanage- barely being able to provide clothing and food to the sudden influx of homeless children, any presents were absolutely out of the question.

A sudden inspiration struck Henry as he pondered over Sora's future. Even though he would not be able to assist the children long-term, he could afford to offer what little he could.

As Henry hiked back from his car, deep inside his pockets were one hundred peppermint canes bearing a message of love. Even a small bit of Christmas joy would be gratefully received by the orphaned children, Henry believed. However, unknowingly to him, the small box of rings was still in his pockets, shoved to the bottom by the candy sticks.

Henry tucked away each peppermint stick into the children's stockings, saddened with the thought that these were the only presents they would receive this year. He solemnly promised to return next Christmas, bringing Amber and lavish presents along with him. As he was attempting to slip away unnoticed, Sora appeared in the den, yawning and rubbing at her eyes.

She was dressed simply in a white nightgown with her hair braided loosely down her back, an appearance that reminded Henry fondly of Wendy from Peter Pan. The only lacking object from her appearance would be a stuffed teddy bear, but considering the financial allowances of the orphanage, such trivialities would certainly foregone before primary needs. Her sleepy eyes gazed dreamily up at Henry, and her small, childish voice murmured, "I wanted to thank you, Henry-ssi, for earlier."

"It was no problem, Sora, I'm glad that you're safe now," Henry knelt down to her eye-level and grasped her small hands in his. "Take care, please."

"I will," she whispered.

As he stood up and treaded backwards, the small box tumbled out of his pocket and into Sora's waiting hands. Henry leaned downwards and desperately tried to extract the box out of her hands; but before he had a good grip, Sora managed to open the lid. Her eyes mirrored the sparkle and glimmer on the shiny surface of the rings, and she looked up questioningly at Henry for an explanation.

"It's for... someone special to me. Do you think it is pretty?"

A careful nod was her response.

"Do you think she will like it?"

Another nod.

The silence that formed from the one-sided conversation paired with the piercing gaze from the young child was enough to create an uncomfortable atmosphere for even the most gregarious individual, yet Henry was absolutely calm in his surroundings. However, Amber was waiting for him back at their home, probably anxious for Henry to arrive safely. He knew the time for them to part drew near, and he gently extended his palm.

 Sora delicately placed the satin box in the middle of Henry's palm and watched carefully as his fingers curled around the small box. She kept her eyes open throughout Henry's departure, and even though the snowflakes escaping into the warmth stung, Sora refused to blink.

She refused to forget him.

 

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A/N:

Hello my lovelies! I'm back with another chapter. This one is called "Obliviate- The Memory Charm", which is a spell in the Harry Potter Universe. Yes, I'm a bit of a Potterhead... *smacks self*

Anyway, thank you to my new subscribers! Yay! Hope you enjoy this update :)