Wu's first Christmas There was a tree in their house.
Wu found it when she came downstairs for breakfast on the third day she had been home for break. Her life with her family was generally a straight-forward, no-nonsense existence. But today, there was a tree in her house. A pine tree, to be exact, and about seven or eight feet tall. Or at least, it seemed that tall to her, but she was quite small herself, so her basis for comparison was a bit skewed. But there was one thing of which she was certain: there was a tree in her house, and it had not been there the day before.
When the confused paralysis wore off, she continued on toward the dining room to meet her family for the day. Peizhi was not one to ask questions, but she did hope someone would offer some sort of explanation. She was not necessarily a particularly curious child, but she felt that she had the right to some form of answers. Trees did not just rip up their roots and wander into homes, not even in the magical world.
“Peizhi!” called a high, chipper voice. She spun around to see Serenity, her elder sister, coming through the front door. Serenity did not live with them, but when she could get away from her life in America, she stopped by. Most of the time, that meant joining them for breakfast, which was her dinner, thanks to the time difference.
Wu jarred slightly, less than she might have otherwise having had some time now to adjust to Serenity’s bubbly and electric ways. “Yes?” she said, her voice soft both with timid nature and early morning.
“Did you see it?” Serenity grinned. “The tree, I mean. Did you see it?”
Perhaps in her excitement, she did not realize, but Serenity and Peizhi stood only about thirty feet from the tree, its branches visible through the doorway. The younger sister leaned slightly to look through the doorway, once more spying it. “Yes,” she answered after a moment.
“I brought it,” cheerily stated the woman born Yenay. “It’s for Christmas. You know Christmas. You go to Sonora. It’s the Western holiday. It’s fun. I’ve celebrated it all of my life.” She paused, looking Wu over. “I was hoping after we ate that maybe you, Huojin, and Bohai might help me decorate it. Usually, Christmas trees have lights and ornaments and stuff. And I’m bringing presents over in the next few days to put underneath it.”
“Yes,” Peizhi repeated. She still was a bit foggy on the whole Christmas thing, although it was the theme of their first team challenge at school, plus it seemed to be a big deal to almost everyone there. But why they put presents underneath a decorated tree which they put inside their houses made little sense to her. What inklings she had heard of a man named Santa, who, by report, snuck into people’s houses at night to drop off untold mysteries, did not exactly lead her to believe it was a normal, healthy celebration. The Wus’ biggest celebration was usually the New Year, which, by the Roman calendar used elsewhere in the world, was usually not until February. But this December festiveness was apparently something Peizhi had to adjust to, and since Serenity was her superior, she had little choice but to agree to this seemingly silly routine.
“Great! I’ll ask the boys at breakfast-dinner, and then we can get to it when we’re done.” Serenity seemed very happy, so Wu decided she would try to be happy to, even if interactions with her long-lost sister still felt a bit forced and uncomfortable. At least Bohai would be there too, or so she hoped; as the eldest, he had less obligation to satisfy Serenity’s whims, but he did know how desperately Peizhi wished for his company in matters like these. Usually, he would oblige her, for which she was always very, very thankful.
*****
Her Western calendar informed her that it was December 25th, although just barely; midnight had courted her timezone in recent memory, perhaps two or three hours. Peizhi usually slept at this time, but she had heard something that woke her, a rustling downstairs. It had been longer than her lifetime since anyone had tried a direct assault upon her family’s home in the night, but the notion was the first to come to mind when the noise had stirred her.
She didn’t think anyone else was awake, which meant it was up to her to defend the homestead. Wu grabbed her wand off her nightstand and tiptoed slowly downstairs, armed only with trembling fingers and less than two years of magical training. At the bottom of the stairs, she could see motion in the dimly lit room ahead. “Who goes there?” she demanded, summoning all of her courage and strength, casting a pitiful shame of both.
The figure stepped closer to her and into the brighter light, causing her to fall back (literally, as her balance failed and she found herself sitting, after a short fall, on the step) until she realized that she could identify the intruder. “...S-Serenity?”
Serenity offered her hand, which Wu accepted, and the smaller girl was brought to her feet. “Actually,” she returned sheepishly, “I’m Santa Claus. Or at least I was trying to be. Have you heard about him? It’s part of the Christmas magic. Western kids grow up believing in a man who brings them presents on Christmas night. You’re probably a little too old for it--Huojin definitely is--but I just wanted you guys to have the kind of wonderful, magical Christmas I got to grow up having.”
Peizhi said nothing, only nodding a little. “Don’t tell Huojin it’s me,” Serenity asked softly, running an affectionate hand across her little sister’s hair. Wu did her best not to pull away and embarrass her. “You know,” she added, releasing her. “Santa Claus has little elves who help him out. Since you’re up, would you like to be my elf?”
“I, uh, am rather tired, but…” said Wu nervously, afraid to outright say “no” to her superior.
“Oh, no problem, then,” Serenity quickly cut her off, tossing a hand through the air to reiterate. “Go to sleep, kiddo.Enjoy those visions of sugar plums dancing in your head. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ve got a feeling you’re going to really like what Santa brought you.”
“Thank you,” said Peizhi with a short bow, a bit unsure, particularly about the dancing sugar plums. What exactly was a sugar plum, why was it dancing, and was she expected to dream of them? However did Western children control their dreams like that? It had to be some advanced magic, certainly. Still, despite the confusion, Wu thought that she rather liked this Christmas thing.
She stopped halfway up the stairs and looked over her shoulder. “Merry Christmas, Serenity,” she added gently. “Goodnight.”