"Cookie break," Mummy announced into the snowy backyard, "c'mon, while it's hot-hot. I made hot chocolate for y'all also." She displayed the try with a bowl and two mugs with steam curling off their mounts, in her oven-mitted hands.

"Yehet~" Sehun cried, dropping everything he was doing, and ran towards the French Windows. Long haired Kai followed not too far behind, calling out, "Dident you mean yay~??"

"No, it's Yehet~" Sehunnie corrected, in an all-knowing-wise-for-his-age tone; yanked both mugs off the tray, and opened his mouth, indicating that Mummy should put the cookie plate in his mouth full of plate, walking off. 

"'Mon, ah knohwa goo' peace hood ee' deez," he said with his mouth full of plate, walking off. "Ah lead oo the direcshun to a goo' spoh!"

Kai nodded like he fully understood Sehun's mouth-full-of-plate-talk, so without further ado, Sehun led the boy, now always seen in red, blue and yellow, to the swing set at the back of the yard. When he spotted the swings, the primary colored bundle ran towards it with a cry of the "Yehet!" newly added to his vocabulary: "I love swings!"

"Ohorat~" Sehun agreed, climbing on, and Kai knew what it meant without Sehun having to explain like he had to explain to all the other stupid people -
See! This was just proof that Kai was his bestfriendforlife.

Neither boy spotted Mummy sigh as if an ingenious plan of hers had just failed, and that look of more-confused confusion spread once again on her face.

~
 

The evening floated into night with fireflies fluttering about like the reflection of the stars above taking a swim in a murky lake. Crickets chirped outside as snow softly fell, turning the land into a magical place.

"It's bedtime, Sehun, c'mon," Mummy called out to the boy whose nose was plastered against the window, looking through the little mist-hole his breath had created, “Come to bed, I'll read you a story."

“Don't want!" Sehun's usual reply came. He squinted his eyes till he could properly make out the not-coloured-anymore, gray with distance figure, and waved frantically.

"Who you waving at?" Mummy asked, curiosity getting the better of her, despite her knowing what the answer would be: “Kai. My bestfriendforlife." 
Sehun's smile lit up the room, and broke Mummy's heart a bit more at the same time.

"Doesn't he go home?" Mummy asked, hiding her feelings from her son, "Does he ever go?"
She sighed heavily - she didn't want this to turn into a problem that would follow her son into his teen years. She turned her back to Sehun, and for a split second her face broke and revealed the underlying worry; the unasked question:

"Will he always be here?"

~
 

It had always been the most important question to Sehun:
"Will he always be here?"

Mummy gulped, as the image of hot roasting chestnuts on a crackling fire, radiating warmth, and a happy family gathered around it flashed across her vision. A happy, *whole* family, sharing Christmas stories in the dim glow, laughing merrily and exchanging gifts....
Where had all that disappeared?
Why had it gone?

She had never been able to erase from her mind the look her innocent five year old had given her when he asked her, "Where ith Daddy?"
She could do nothing bit bite her lip and whisper, "Gone. He's gone."

"When's he gonn come back?" the child persisted, and the lump lodged in grew larger.
How could she tell him the truth?

How could she break him, her own son?

She saw the hope that made his eyes shine, and felt terrible when she said the words:
"He's not coming back, Sehunnah. Not ever."

"....Why?" Sehunnie couldn't understand, "why did he go? Yesterday you promisthed!! You said he will alwayth be here.... why....?"
His small voice trailed away, large tears forming in his eyes, threatening to spill any moment. 

She could only turn the other way, not even able to comfort the child who was cracking apart, because she didn't want him to see the tear-stained cheeks and the completely broken soul beneath.
She could only hide.

~
 

It was when she needed a moment to herself, a moment to drop everything and to hide from life itself, a moment to curl into a corner and cry - it was when she needed this the most, that that boy, Suho, had shine his light into her life, and had taken Sehun under his wing. He had been a shoulder for Sehun to cry on; he had been there for the boy - A Guardian not just by name but by nature as well.
She was immensely grateful, and her son, no less. Suho was the first real friend the shy boy had ever made.

After their first meeting in the park, that snowy evening, Sehun had come home with his tears wiped away, and a smile sparkling on his face instead. He kept smiling when he told her of the boy who'd told him "Exo-k"

That night, he had asked her that same question:
"Will he always be here?" 

That night, Mummy had been too scared to make the same promise - the same mistake, which she had made before. She left the room, leaving Sehun's unanswered question hanging in the air.

~
 

Had that been the right decision?

Not answering the boy?

Not telling him anything when he asked if Suho oppa would always be there?

At least this time she wouldn't feel the heavy sinking feeling of guilt, of lying and of breaking promises, in the put if her stomach.

She hated how right she was, though. She hated that it had turned out that Sehun's group of friends had broken apart and had grown distant. She hated how it had happened again - how people who were a part of his life had just ...gone.

And now... 
Kai. 
The boy only Sehun could see.

When was the question going to arise?
When was his imaginary friend going to go? - Because going was inevitable, right? They had both learnt that the hard way. Her son having an imaginary friend may be a problem, but she felt that him getting close to Kai was worse, for one day, the day that even his imaginary friend would leave, would arrive, and for some reason, mummy didn't want to - *couldn't stand* seeing Sehunnie going through that... again.

Sehun deserved better.

~
 

The world outside transformed into a brilliant white paradise as snow fell prettily. Like any boy of his age, Sehun was unable to resist running right out the moment he saw the small flakes fall from the sky.

"Your boots!" Mummy, whose eagle eyes missed no detail, called after the boy, "And your coat! Don't go out without them."

"Yeah yeah..." muttered the hurried child.

"And your scarf," Mummy added, continuing to list, "beanie and gloves -unless you want to catch a chill!"

Sehun decided to risk the said chill, and ran out, hardly patient, as soon as both feet were planted in his boots - as usual, left one in right, and right in left, resulting in him having two left feet in quite a literal manner. Tripping his way out, Sehun finally made his way to the swings, where he knowed Kai would be, and just as he thoughted, Kai was there.
A large grin spread on Sehun's face. 
~Play time!

"I got a big snow!" giggled Kai, as a snowflake melted in his mouth.

"Well, I got bigger and fatter snow," boasted Sehun, mouth full to the brim with melted snow. At that, Kai pushed the other, with a cry of "Don't care! I race you to that slope!"

"You're on!" Sehun yelled back, and took off.

"Sehun!" Mummy called from inside, but her voice was drowned out by the laughter of children, and she went unheard.

Kai was the first to reach the top of the slope, thanks to his dark, lean and long limbs; Sehun emerging around a whole minute later, held back by his wrongly-put-on-boots. When he saw Kai making a prettiful snow-angel, he wasted no time flopping in the floor and making an angel right next to Kai's.

The clouds, fluffy and not too gray, crowded in bunches in the sky, allowing just the tiniest glimpse of sunlight to peep through. The warm light played on the boys' faces, making their smiles grow. Sehun turned his head to the side to look at Kai's tanned face, and dark, smiling eyes, surrounded by a halo of dark curled locks. Kai broke into a wide smile at Sehun's intense gaze; white pearl-like teeth in that precious smile, that made Sehun's heart beat twice as fast. Unexplainable happiness coursed through his body, and Sehun grabbed at Kai's hand and held tightly; although his mouth remained in a straight line, his eyes beamed a smile brighter than the summer sun. Kai made him happy; Kai made his heart beat - made him tick, made him want to live and play another day. He made him smile.
And before he knew it, he was asking himself:
"Will he always be here?"

{End of part three: “Christmas Day"}

~