Chapter twelve | Happy holidays


The holiday season came; here on Danika, we have holidays similar to your Earthen Winter holidays, except that ours are in the Autumn. It was a festive time of year, the leaves were changing color, the weather was cooling down, and everyone was going home to visit their friends and families.
I found myself quite alone those days, with no classes during Autumn Break and all of my companions gone. Even Stesha had left; I had to wonder who, exactly, he was visiting, as I had thought he had no living relatives. I assumed he was probably just off signing autographs for fans or boinking some groupies behind his girlfriend's back or something. In any case, I didn't mind the free time so much; it was quiet, and I was able to relax and catch up on my reading. Besides, I had just acquired this great new invention-- it was called a video game. Now, I've heard tale that on Earth, there are lots of video games. Not so on Danika; it was a very new thing and was very hard to get. But I had made plenty of money making wands for people, so I splurged my money to get myself a gift... seeing as how no one, except for maybe Jasper or Kesava, would really get me anything.
It was a fun little game, and I spent most of my time playing it over the holiday season.
On the eve of Bohdan (the main holiday), Stasia came to visit me.
"Happy Bohdan!" She greeted as she phased through my door.

I smiled up at her. "Happy commercialized holiday to you too, Detka!" Detka was a pet name I sometimes called her, "Isn't this great? The school's empty and there's no class. This is the best time of the year EVAR. I bet I could plant explosives in really obvious places and no one would be around to notice!"

She giggled. "Oh, don't do that."

I laughed. "Naw, I'll wait until after I've graduated. THEN I'll blow this place to smithereens. And it'll ROCK."

She ignored that remark. "So why are you still here, anyway?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Asked I, "Selanio is TOO GOOD to travel around for holidays!"

"But doesn't your family miss you?" She asked.

"Aww, that's not a problem," Said I casually as I turned on my video game, "They're all dead anyhow."

"... Oh," Said she, "I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "Don't be. Not like you knew any of them."

She sat in silence for a moment, and the room was quiet except for the beeping of my game. Eventually she asked, "How... how did they die?"

I sighed, and she frowned.
"If... if it's not my business," Said she, "I understand. I was just--"

"When I was ten, my homeland was invaded," Said I, turning off my game. "As the enemy troops reached our town, we fled. My father died trying to stall some soldiers so that my mother and I could get away."

"I see...," She was saddened, but I could tell she was trying to hide it. "At least... at least he died honorably."

I nodded. "My mom died five years later. When the war ended, she hopped a ride on an airship to see if any of our relatives had survived. She didn't have money to take me along, so she went alone. But the damn thing crashed in the middle of the ocean."

She floated over next to me. "I'm so sorry. It must have been terrible for you."

"It's in the past," I said, acting as though it were nothing.

She attempted hugging me. Her body floated millimeters over mine, so close but unable to make contact. Although I really didn't care for physical contact all that much, the sudden reminder of my sad past coupled with the fact that the woman I love, like everyone else important in my life, is dead... well, it just kinda made me feel like crap.
"I love you," I said, hoping to change the subject.

"I love you, too," She replied. "I'm sorry I can't do anything for you. I can't get you any gifts for Bohdan, I can't even hug you....," She sighed. "I wish I were alive. I could make you so happy if I were alive."

"Stasia, you know that doesn't bother me, I--"

"But if I were alive," She argued, "I could give you children. I could give you a NEW family," She sniffled, "But... I'm just so useless this way."

I shook my head. "No, Stasia, don't be upset. I don't need family! It's all overrated anyway, you know? All Selanio needs is you. I just want to be with you... nothing could make me happier than that."

She smiled weakly. "You're so optimistic."

I grinned. "It ain't optimism-- it's truth!"

"I'll never understand you," She told me, "You've endured so much tragedy-- probably more than you're even telling me now. But... you're still so happy all the time."

"But that's all the PAST, Stasia," I told her, "I don't care about the past. It's done and gone, there's nothing I can do about it now. All I care about is the future!"

"That's a good way to look at things, I suppose," She looked happier now, "What do you have planned for our future, Selanio?"

I shrugged. "I dunno yet. But it's gonna be awesome, whatever it is! Our future together is going to be bright and happy!"

"You really think so?"

"I KNOW so!" I stood up, "C'mon. I think they're playing some cheesy holiday movies in the media room. Let's go check it out."

"Alright," She replied, enthusiastic.

And so we ran off to watch some terrible movies.
That night, I thought back to all the Bohdans I had spent with my family when I was a wee little Selanio. I compared those happy memories with how I was feeling now.
And I decided that, despite all I had lost, I was happier now than I ever had been.