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"Wait up!" Kyrra shouted to her brother. The Kyrii's ocean
blue hair waved behind her as she ran through the woods. Footprints littered the
snow where the Kyrra and her brother, Lex, had been playing.
Among the trees she spotted a red shape and
changed her course. Lex was resting, his back to her. Kyrra slowed her pace
in order to sneak up on him. Once she was within arm's distance, she pounced.
The red Lupe jumped up from his spot, shocked.
"Don't scare me like that!" Lex shivered for
a moment. The cold was beginning to penetrate his thick coat. He sat down, and
Kyrra sat opposite of him.
"It is getting late," she said, "maybe we should
head home."
"Yeah," panted Lex, "let's just rest a little
longer. I can't believe tomorrow's Christmas, can you?"
Kyrra's eyes became distant. "The year has gone
by fast. I wonder what we'll get tomorrow."
Lex suddenly spoke, "Do you think there's more
to Christmas? More to it that getting gifts?"
Kyrra had a puzzled look on her face. "Well,
I've never thought about it before. I suppose there's more to it."
A long silence followed. "Let's go", said Lex.
The red Lupe got up and shook. Snow crystals
gleamed in the fading sunlight as they fell. Kyrra brushed off her coat. As
they walked home, Lex's pace began to quicken. "Wanna race home? I'll give you
a head start", he prompted.
Kyrra grinned and burst into a sprint. Not long
after, a red streak passed her by. She quickened her pace, determined to catch
up.
"Slow down", she called. Just then, her foot
hit a root. She fell over, and slid forward into a bank of snow. When she emerged
from the bank a couple of minutes later, there was no sign of Lex. A new snow
had begun to fall, covering his tracks completely. Darkness was settling in,
and Kyrra whimpered. She stood up and looked around, completely disoriented.
I think that's the way home, she thought. She smiled a little, and trudged
on.
"Haha! I won, Kyrra." Lex was standing on the
hill overlooking their house, "Kyrra?" Lex looked around but there was no sign
of his sister. "Oh no," he whispered.
Lex took one last glance at the house and turned
around, following his path. It wasn't long before he reached the spot where
Kyrra had tripped.
"This is where I passed her up. She has to be
here," then Lex saw the bank of snow and the root, and began digging frantically,
"No, she has to be here, oh Kyrra, I'm so sorry. Kyrra…"
***
Lex began to sniff around the area. There was
a faint scent of her. As Lex followed the smell, he saw that she had gone deeper
into the woods. He turned back for the house to get his owner, Devin.
Kyrra shivered as she passed unfamiliar trees.
In the distance, she saw a green lump on the ground ahead. She approached warily,
and through the snow she could make out the form of a green Shoyru, huddled
up, trying to keep warm in the snow. Her cold-blooded nature could prove fatal
in these conditions.
Kyrra walked up to her, and saw the Shoyru was
sleeping. Kyrra slipped her warm coat over the Shoyru, and the shivering began
to subside. When Kyrra lay down next to her, offering some body heat, it stopped
altogether. Kyrra quickly fell asleep.
***
Lex was scratching frantically at the back door, panting heavily. He winced
in pain as the cold air entered his lungs at the quickening rate. Finally, Devin
opened the door. Her warm smile disappeared when she saw Kyrra was missing.
"Where is she?" Devin asked apprehensively.
"Deep into the woods," Lex panted, "I caught
her scent. Come on!", Lex immediately began to run for the woods.
Devin rushed out of the house and followed Lex
to the snow bank. The root explained much that had happened. Lex pushed his
nose into the freezing snow and caught her scent again.
"This way." The red Lupe lead his owner faithfully
through the chilling night. The trees cast ominous shadows around the woods.
The wind gently ruffled Devin's hair, and she pulled further into her coat.
As the darkness closed in, the two friends walked
blindly. "Maybe we should rest until morning," Devin suggested, "it's too dark
for us to keep going.
Lex nodded, but Devin didn't see. He began to
dig a cave in a fairly large snow bank. They crawled inside and lay down. Lex
stayed up longer than Devin, watching the cave entrance blankly. He was deep
in thought, hoping Kyrra was okay. Finally, he fell asleep by Devin.
***
When Kyrra woke up, she saw the Shoyru looking down at her quizzically. "Who
are you?" she asked politely.
Kyrra sat up and saw that the snow had stopped.
"I'm Kyrra. Who are you?" The Shoyru shuffled her feet and looked embarrassed.
"I don't have a name."
Kyrra thought for a moment. "Where is your owner?
Whoever it is, they shouldn't have left you out here."
Red was clearly noticeable among the Shoyru's
green features. "I don't have an owner."
"I'm sorry," Kyrra mumbled. Then it hit her.
It was Christmas day. She looked back at the Shoyru, smiling. "Do you know what
today is?"
"No," the Shoyru replied plainly. This shocked
Kyrra the most. "Should I know?" asked the Shoyru curiously.
"Today is Christmas! The day when you get lots
of presents," Kyrra explained excitedly.
The Shoyru cocked her head a little. "But, who
gives you presents? Don't they have to give for you to receive? And don't you
have to give so they can receive? Christmas is beginning to confuse me."
"Well, I've never really thought about Christmas
that way," Kyrra replied.
"And sometimes, around this time of year in
the past, I've seen people helping each other a lot," the Shoyru mused, "maybe
that has something to do with it? And I've seen people come together and play
a lot."
Kyrra looked in awe at the Shoyru As she was
about to speak, a twig snapped behind them and the bushes began to rustle. Kyrra
turned around and her fear turned into happiness. She ran towards Lex and Devin,
who had been tracking her since dawn. They had found her. They had a joyful
reunion, and the Shoyru looked on sadly.
"Who is this?" Devin asked kindly when she noticed
the Shoyru
"This is my friend, Devin," she replied proudly.
The Shoyru looked up, never having been called a friend before.
"Hey there," Devin coaxed. "Where is your owner?"
"I don't have one." The Shoyru had begun to
shuffle her feet again. She was looking at the snow.
"Well then, I guess you'll just have to come
with us," Devin decided, offering her hand.
"Please don't take me to the pound. I didn't
like it there," the Shoyru pleaded.
Devin laughed. "I'm no taking you to the pound.
I'm taking you home."
The Shoyru looked excited. "Really? You really
mean it? I can have a family? I can go home?" The last word tasted strange in
her mouth. Home.
"You'll need a name," Devin explained, "what
do you think about Eve? Kyrra found you Christmas Eve, so I think that would
be appropriate."
Eve nodded excitedly in agreement. As the family
walked home that beautiful Christmas morning, Kyrra turned to her brother. "You
know Lex, I think I finally understand what Christmas is about."
The End
Author's note: I would like to dedicate this story to my science class,
as we spent most of the time we should have been studying debating the true
meaning of Christmas. Also, a belated Merry Christmas to everyone and a happy
New Year!
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