Page 18 of Scary & Bright

I watched as he padded away on two stuffed feet before I had the chance to pressure him for any more information. Before he was out of earshot, I slammed the door shut. There wasn’t a lock on the door, so I slowly pushed the dresser in front of it as the now tepid cocoa spilled over the sides of the mug and onto the wood finish. It likely wouldn’t do much in the way of keeping me safe, but it made me feel better.

My heart was pounding with a combination of rage and fear, and I buried myself in the blankets of the sunken bed, trying to slow my heart rate and rest up. My instincts were begging me to leave, and I wasn’t going to get comfortable in this elaborate trap. As soon as I felt ready, I would make a break for it.

8

KRAMPUS

“I’ve officially met the object of your desires, Krampus,” Mister Bear announced as he climbed the steps back up to the study. “And she is quite the spitfire!”

I had been watching Holly on pins and needles as she selected her room. The concept of leaving the safety of my study and risking actually running into her was one I was far from ready for. So, I intended to keep myself hidden away until I found the courage to do anything else. I was, however, entirely unsurprised when she chose the green and gold. When I’d made it, it felt special, like I was creating it for some greater purpose. Of course, by some strange twist of fate, that was the exact one she chose.

“I saw your meeting in the ornament,” I said with wide eyes, hoping Mister would be kind enough to tell me every detail of their interaction. I rose from my seat and began to rub my hands together nervously. “How did it go?”

“How do you think it went, Kramp?” the bear said sarcastically as he took a seat on the top step, facing back down the way he came. “She’s frightened but putting on a show like she’s not. She asked twice if she was going to die.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her I hoped that wouldn’t be the case,” he said with a sigh.

“Why would you say that!?” I snapped. I couldn’t even identify why I was mad, and I knew that anything the bear said wouldn’t be good enough. “Now she probably thinks I’m some murderous psychopath who can’t wait to sink his teeth into her.”

“Is that incorrect for her to think?” Mister said sarcastically. “Or were you just in a silly, goofy mood when you were talking about you absolutely, without a doubt, needing to fulfill your task?”

Damn. He had a point.

“All I wanted was for her not to live in fear for a while,” I lamented, sinking back into my chair. I looked down at the ornament I still held in my hand and watched with a pain in my chest as she shoved the dresser in front of her door. She was building a barricade to keep me out, and I didn’t blame her one bit. “But it’s clear that ship has sailed.”

I lazily dropped my arms over either side of the chair, allowing the ornament to fall to the floor.

“If you don’t like it, you still have the option to do something about it,” Mister Bear added softly. “I told her that there were things better to be explained by you. I left the door wide open. All you have to do is choose to step through.”

“I’m certain she closed the door for you, Mister.” I sighed, slumping deeper into the oversized chair. “I saw how she looked at me in the basement. Even if I opted to go speak to her, what makes you think she would give me the time of day? What makes you think she wouldn’t scream, run, or hide her face away?”

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told her,” Mister said, leaning back on his paws and turning his threadbare face toward me. “Keep an open mind. Nobody would ever get anywhere if we lived exclusively by the rules of our own assumptions.”

I felt like I was talking in circles. Worse yet, I felt like I was thinking in circles. There was no reason for me to be contemplating if she would be willing to talk to me when I had nothing meaningful to say to her. Or, at least, nothing that would change the circumstances.

What would I even say? “You see, Holly, I have to kill you because the literal magic of Christmas relies on this mystical balance being kept in check. Oh, and also, if I don’t do it, Santa Claus will strangle me to death with this iron collar that has been locked around my neck for centuries. You understand, right?”

What garbage.

“I think I’d like some time alone if you don’t mind, Mister.” I sighed as I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “I’m exhausted.”

I knew the teddy bear would sit there for hours, trying to convince me toward his cause until he was blue in the face, and I was just not up for it. Not even a little. Everything had moved so fast since she arrived that I craved some extended peace and quiet to sort through this influx of emotions.

“I can leave you alone, Krampus, again,” Mister said as he rose to his little stuffed feet. “But I’ll remind you that doing nothing is, in itself, making a decision.”

Mister Bear. One part floppy stuffed bear, one part philosopher, but entirely the pain in my ass I knew I needed. As he hopped down the stairs one at a time, I watched in silence, counting my breaths to keep me grounded.

One. The feeling of fondness and intrigue for someone like this was a miraculous feeling, and I didn’t want it to stop.

Two. If I did as I always had and took her life, I was certain that would push me over the edge of the cliff I was barely clinging to.

Three. If I challenged the routine and went against the status quo, there was always the smallest possibility that Mister’s hypothesis was correct, and I could be liberated from this heinous way of life.

Four. If he was wrong, Christmas wouldn’t come. The North Pole would cease to function, and I would be sentenced to potentially a lifetime of near-death pain and torment.

Five. For the chance at a genuine connection and not being entirely alone—was that a risk I was willing to take?

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