Wind and Snow
(a Mother vignette by Wasuremono)
It was almost a normal Christmas, Ninten thought, except that everyone was smiling too much. Everything was shining and clean, from the lights on their little tree to
Mama's place settings at dinner, and while he knew it was just his family's enthusiasm to have him home at last, something that he couldn't quite name lurched restlessly in his chest. He excused himself as soon as he'd finished dinner, pleading a headache and managing a sickly smile to Mama's furrowed brow, and went upstairs to lie down and think. It had been a nice day, after all; why did he feel so strange? Had he forgotten something?
The answer was on his desk: Great-Grandpa's diary and, on top of it, the onyx hook. In the few months since Ninten had arrived home, he hadn't moved the hook from its place of honor, and yet it hadn't collected a spot of dust over all the months. Today it almost seemed to glow, and when Ninten picked it up, he felt power crackling within it.
But it couldn't -- there wasn't --
Never mind that. It wanted him to go, and he wanted to go, didn't he? Ninten picked up the diary, closed his eyes, and tried to remember the way it had looked.
***
When the flash cleared from Ninten's eyes, Magicant was as he had left it, a few blasted columns the only sign of the city that had once occupied this wasteland. The wind was fierce, whipping by his ears and nearly blowing his cap away. Ninten had to remind himself not to cry -- to be a brave boy, always, and especially today. He raised his eyes to stare into Magicant's vast, empty sky. "Hello? Great-Grandma Maria, can you hear me?" Only the wind answered him, cold and harsh, as if saying no, no, go back, there's nothing for you here. It was probably right, Ninten knew, but didn't he have to try?
"I don't know if you can hear me, but this is as close as I can get to you, so it'll have to do. I just wanted to let you know that we did it, Great-Grandma. Giegue's gone, and everything's finally back to normal. Even Mt. Itoi's safe to climb now, and it's all because of your song. If it wasn't for that song... I don't know where we'd be."
It was less a speech than a stream of words, and Ninten knew it, but he couldn't stop now. "I almost brought Ana to see you, but she's been so busy -- her mom's home now, and they had a big holiday gathering, with all their relatives from Reindeer and
Merrysville. They're so glad to have her back. Ana's dad really thought that..." Ninten trailed off; there were some things he didn't need to trouble his great-grandmother with.
"Loid's doing well, too," he continued, more slowly. "He says his mom's feeling better every day, and she might be able to come home from the hospital soon. Maybe his dad'll come home, too, but even if he doesn't, they'll get by. Loid's really strong now; he can do it. And Teddy... I don't know if you remember him, but he's back in Ellay, working on cleaning up the gangs. A lot of those kids were like him, kids who got hurt by what was

happening, and now that it's different, he thinks they can change. He says there really is peace now."
Ninten's words echoed back to him in the wind: peace now. There was only too much peace in Magicant, still silent except for his voice and the whisper of wind. "I know it's not much," he said, raising his voice in some vain hope of shutting the crushing silence out, "but I thought you'd want to know that things are all right now, and that it's Christmas, and that..." He paused, trying to keep from choking and knowing he'd cry if he wasn't careful.
"That we haven't forgotten you, Great-Grandma, or Great-Grandpa either. We remember EVE, and the song, and... and everything! Really, everything!" Ninten glanced down, sweeping over the plain where Magicant had been. "The houses that were there, and there, and there -- and over there, where the lady had the trouble with the spoon! And the bard in the forest, and the cats, and the fountain, and the clowns..." Ninten could almost see the buildings where they had been, the citizens in their robes walking the streets, and the flickers of the things outside the gates. Had they been Queen Mary's nightmares, or had they been just for him, so he could learn to fight somewhere safe? "I remember everything, Great-Grandma -- Queen Mary. We all do. When we got tired or hurt or afraid, Magicant was there for us, and we'll never stop being grateful."
Ninten walked a few steps towards the place where the central column had stood.
When he put his hand to the ground, he could just trace the indentation left by its presence, a perfect circle. Gingerly, he set down his great-grandfather's diary there, smoothing the worn cover. "I know you and Great-Grandpa are both gone, but if there's any part of you still here, I thought you should have this back. Papa made a copy for the family records, and I know it by heart anyway, so it should go back to you two now. A lot of it's really technical, but most of it's easy to understand. If Great-Grandpa's there with you, he can explain it, and if he isn't, you can read it and know how much he missed you." He stood and looked back at the sky, just a touch darker than it had been. In the distance, something was floating, growing bigger and bigger. Clouds? It couldn't be.
"Merry Christmas," said Ninten.
All of Magicant was silent. Even the wind had stopped, and Ninten stood stock-still, watching the growing bank of clouds flowing in from the horizon. Finally, even they stopped, and for a moment nothing moved at all. And then it began: snow falling briskly from the newborn clouds, huge flakes in the lavender-pink Ninten remembered so well, sparkling as they descended. A few blew into his open mouth, evaporating instantly and leaving a sweet, light taste. Something inside Ninten, the dam of be a brave boy that had held for so long, broke, and he laughed and dove into the swift-growing Magicant snowbank. Of course! It was all right, at last, to be just a boy again, nothing more and nothing less.
***

Loid didn't start his walk home until after dark, an hour past the end of visiting hours, when even the most understanding nurse on the floor cleared her throat outside the door. His mother had just smiled at him. "Go on, dear," she said; "it doesn't do the house any good to be left empty." But now the streets were empty as he trudged home, half-heartedly whistling a carol just to kill the silence. At least there were the lights to guide him home, and his house was only a few blocks away, a beacon of green and red in the darkness. But as he got closer, he could make out the shadow of the figure on the lawn, a dark human shape that waved and rushed to his side.
"Loid! Loid, I'm glad I caught you!" Ninten closed the distance between them almost before Loid could recognize him. Something in his hair and on his clothes glinted, and his smile was huge, almost ridiculous -- and, Loid realized a moment later, contagious. "There's something you've got to see!"
"Really? Right now?"
"Of course right now! It's really special, and I don't know if it'll still be there in the morning. C'mon, let's go!"
"Okay, okay, but... where?"
"You'll see." Ninten grinned wider and offered Loid his hand. "Just as soon as we go get Ana. Ready to try a teleport?"
"As I'll ever be." That was all the affirmation Ninten needed, and they took off running. Maybe, thought Loid, there was still a little room for Christmas surprises.