You awake to discover 4 or 5 presents stowed away in your abode, all of which have been boxed in pristine, vibrantly wrapped boxes adorned with bows. Some of these boxes contain: bottle of nice sake, a pack of his favorite cigarettes, a locket with Katherine's picture inside, a pack of ant traps, socks . (This is not to be published or responded to until the 25th. Happy Holidays!)
         Holidays â how could he forget? The last time he received something undeniably related to what people call Christmas was when he was a kid and he still believed in the existence of that man in red. Somehow, to find all these random gifts by his bed made him positively wonder, albeit being obviously suspicious of what it was and who was it from. It could be a bomb or a poison for all he knew, but he gave his roommates the benefit of the doubt and proceeded to check the contents out of curiosity with a deadpan expression as always.
               His fingers fiddled with the ribbon to reveal what was inside the first box, saw a bottle of his favorite alcoholic drink that made his eyes shine for a few seconds â few because he quickly moved his arms to take the second box. Well, there was still a possibility of the contents of the bottle being poisonous, so he didnât know if it was safe to drink something he received from someone heâs not certain about. The second box was small, making it rather easy to guess that it was indeed a box of sticks â finally, after dealing with a bunch of nicotine packs. He deserved this.
               Not wanting to overwhelm himself, he ignored the third box and lifted the fourth on his lap. It was bigger than the third one and had a nice wrapping to it. Part of him didnât want to ruin the beautifully cared present, but it was made to be removed. Pulling the ribbon and opening the box, the previous gleam in his brown eyes dulled â vanished. Ant traps and socks? Not as good as the earlier ones but⊠he couldnât say he didnât appreciate it. Someone spent their time for this stuff, better not waste them. The socks looked comfortable enough.
               With the lowest amount of expectations, the final box was taken care of. It took him a lot of energy to avert his eyes from the gift. It was not as if it was embarrassing or anything. Hell, it takes a lot to render him flustered and all, but it was Katherine â a picture of her and⊠Does she know about this? Ah, heâd rather not show her this or she might think heâs some obsessed creep whoâs still not over her. The last part may be true but⊠some things were best left in the dark.
