Reunion

“Hey, wake up.”

I slowly opened my eyes to the sound of that soft voice. A girl smiled down at me. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back, and I saw joy in her beautiful blue eyes.

“Renata...” I called. She was taken by surprised.

“I’m sorry...” I said while getting up. I was no longer dreaming. “I’m sorry, Zero.”

“It’s fine.” She smiled again. “You can call me Renata, just for today.”

The name recalled unpleasant memories of the past. Yet she allowed me to call her by her old name?

“Just for today? Is there something special today?” I asked. 

“Oh dear. You forgot again, didn’t you? It’s Christmas Day today!”

My mind went blank for a moment. Then I snapped. “Right! I totally forgot!”

“You’ve always forgot about Christmas, it seemed.” Renata chuckled.

“I... It’s because the day always brings back sad memories.” 

We sat there in silence for a minute, then Renata said, “This year’s gonna be different. We’ll have a different Christmas!”

“Huh? How so?”

“You should get dressed. I’ll take you to a place. I’ll be waiting at Cassell gate.”

***

We walked along the streets in Chicago. It was cold but not snowing. I was curious all the way, but Renata decided to keep it a secret where we were going to. 

We stopped at a small, cozy restaurant. There was only one group of customers in this early morning. As we walked in, I could hear a familiar voice: 

“Why are they so late? Don’t they know that we’re waiting?”

I froze. That voice...

“They’re always the spoiled kids, remember?”

“Sit down, Khorkina. And you too, Anton. They’ll be here soon.”

The names rang bells in my head. I could not believe what I had just heard. Renata saw my expression. She held the wrist of mine with a smile and lead me further inside the restaurant.

My heart pounded.

There they were, sitting around a table. I recognized those faces; they had not changed very much from the memory fragments still left in me. It had been more than twenty years since that day. But they still looked quite the same, just like me and Renata. 

It was easy to recognize me - their friend in Siberia orphanage. They stood up and stared. We were all frozen in place.

“We’re here.” Renata decided to break the silence greeting. “Sorry if we’re a bit late. This sleepyhead didn’t want to wake up.” 

She nudged my arm playfully. 

“Ah... yeah...” I stroke the back of my head. I did not know what to say. “It’s been so long... I... I thought you guys didn’t make it...”

“Us neither.” It was Khorkina. She still had the same attitude, but she looked prettier than I could remember. 

“Let’s sit down first.” Ivan gestured us to come at the table and sit down. He seemed taller than in my memory, but his freckled face stayed the same.

When I came to the table, I noticed little Vera only then. She smiled sheepishly at me. “H-H... Hello... Pl... Please... sit n... next... to... to me...”

Words could not express how happy I was to see her again. I nodded and sat right next to her. I wanted to give her a tight hug, but that would scare her, I thought.

I looked around, taking in all the faces I once knew so well. Anton, Khorkina, Ivan, Vera,... and Renata. It felt like Chirstmas more than twenty years ago, before our home was destroyed and we separated. Though some of them might not be a good friend to me in the past, I was grateful that they were alive, and here with me.

We talked for hours. Turned out, me and Renata were not the only ones that saved by a mysterious rift in the ocean. Somehow, we ended up in twenty years in the future, in different places. Anton and Khorkina were taken into a well-known boarding school in England. Ivan did not want to have anything to with dragons and hybrids, so he decided to be a normal baker in America. As for little Vera, she was adopted by a loving family who has three other sisters that took care of her very well. I could see the radiance of happiness in her smile.

I met Renata in Cassell, not long after I woke up. We had been looking for the others for a few years, but there was no information of them. We thought about giving up hopes that they’re still alive.

I could not believe in what I saw anymore. This must be a dream, my most beautiful dreams. 

There was still a person who did not show up. But as I was about to raise the question, he appeared out of nowhere behind us, placing a large Yule log on the table.

“Merry Christmas, my dear friends!”

“Z! You startled us!” Khorkina yelled. 

And we all burst out laughing. Z sat down and we all enjoyed the Yule log he brought. He claimed to make it by himself.

All of this... it was unreal. I had this fear that I might wake up just any minute. But Renata reassured me. She placed a hand on mine and smiled. “I met Z by chance just a couple of weeks ago. I told him that we were looking for the others. He helped me contact with Ivan and Vera first, then we found Anton and Khorkina just last week. I kept this a secret because I wanted to surprise you. Merry Christmas!”

Tears were about to fall down my cheeks. I held them in and squeezed Renata’s hand. “Merry Chirstmas to you too.”

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