The best Christmas ever

A young girl, with long white hair and black eyes was in a coffee shop, dressed with warm clothes and a scarf surrounded her neck. Her nails hit slightly against the hot chocolate cup, she was nervous, today was going to be very special, well at last to her. She looked outside the coffee shop towards the blurred window because of the cold in that December evening, one week left for Christmas and she could see people running forward and backwards as they did their last Christmas shopping. Kanna looked at her wristwatch and sighed, she drank some more hot chocolate while waiting, and then she saw a boy with lavender hair passing by the window running and entering in the coffee shop. Kanna shook her head and called the boy who immediately saw her and walked to her, and then he sat down in front of her.

"Late as always"

"Sorrrryyyyyy I tried to come earlier but I was obliged to go to the Christmas shopping" he said while pouting, Kanna started laughing as she saw her friend's face.

"You will never change"

"Well I'm sorry "Miss I-am-in-the-right-places-at-the-right-time", it's not my fault that I was dragged to the Shopping"

Kanna rolled her eyes and shook her head

"Well then tell me what you wanted to say to me that was so urgent?" asked the boy as he drank some hot chocolate, Kanna kind of blushed and started caressing her cup, showing that she was very nervous.

"So? What's wrong the cat eat your tongue?"

"It's nothing like that...it's not easy for me to say something like this..."

"What's the matter? Oh..no don't tell me you're going back to your family, you're not going away are you?"

"No, of course not" said Kanna

"Then what's wrong?"

"I...well I..." then Kanna noticed the ring that her friend had on his finger of his left hand

"What's that?"

"That what?"

"That ring you have on your finger"

"This? Oh yes! I also have news for you!"

"News...?" she asked, she had this bad feeling that these news weren't good, at last for her...

"Yes, you see next week...I'm going to get married!"

Kanna's eyes widened in shock as she heard this

"You're...getting married...?"

"Yes, I'm getting married on Christmas Eve"

"O-Oh...who is she...?"

"It's Aya, you remember her, that red haired girl with blue eyes that was on our class in the university"

"O-Oh yes...I see..." she murmured as she looked down

"Are you okay?"

"I'm...I'm fine..."

"So what did you want to tell me?"

"Nothing...forget it...it's nothing...important..."

"How come it's nothing important? Back there you were pretty nervous and anxious to tell me"

"It's nothing...."

"Kanna what's the matter?"

"There is nothing wrong, I already told you, don't insist..."

He felt that she was mad with something but he didn't want to get her madder so he stopped insisting

"Well...take this" he said as he took off his clothes an envelope and gave it to her

"What's this...?"

"It's an invite for my marriage, what would I be if my best friend wasn't present in my marriage?" he said with a smile. Kanna tried to not look at him in his eyes; he would see the sadness in her eyes.

‘Is that all...you feel for me...?' she thought

"Kanna?"

"Sorry...I can't go..."

"Why?"

"I can't...I already have plans for that day..."

"Oh come on Kanna, don't do this, can't you cancel them?"

"I already told you I can't! Don't keep insisting!" she yelled, she paid the employer that was approaching and left the coffee shop running.

"K-Kanna!" he yelled, he stood up from the chair, paid as well and run after her. She was already pretty far away from him but he was able to grab her hand.

"Kanna wait"

"What?!"

"What's the matter with you? Why you are like this with me?"

"Do you really want to know?! Do you want to know why I'm like this?! Because I love you!" she yelled while tears run down her face

"W-What...?"

"That's what you heard...I love you...but it doesn't matter anymore...you're getting married next week...you will be happy, you will have kids...you will have a perfect life..."

"Kanna..."

"Sorry...I can't go to your marriage...I'm afraid...I'm afraid of what I can do if I go...but anyway...congratulations..." she leaned in and kissed his face

"Be happy...I'm sure you will have a perfect life...bye..."

Kanna tried to give him a smile even though the tears were still running down her face, she turned her back on him and run away, Hakudoshi stayed there with no reaction.

"Kanna..."

Kanna walked inside her home and locked herself there, she stayed laid against the door and slowly she slid down and then she stayed there curled, crying the pain in her heart.

A week passed and 24th December came, Kanna was around there...walking around...alone...she looked at the other people, all together with their families, friends, lovers and she...nothing...completely alone...

"Looks like my Christmas will be like this...alone..."

The snow fell and the young girl passed by the church where a group of boys was nearby, she looked there and only one of them she recognized...the rosary eyes of the boy looked at her for some minutes and saddened as he saw her completely alone, no friends, nobody by her side...Kanna's sad look got even more sad when she saw Hakudoshi's friends pulling him inside the church as a black car approached the church but the boy didn't take his eyes off her until he was completely inside the church, Kanna saw a beautiful girl with long red hair, caught in a pompon, dressed as a bride.

‘She is beautiful...I could never compete with her...' Kanna thought very sad and started walking away from the church, towards the park.

Meanwhile in the church, Aya, Hakudoshi's future wife entered in the church graciously along with her father. Hakudoshi was there waiting for her in the altar but he had no smile in his face, not after seeing Kanna like that. The young red haired girl arrived to the altar and stayed by Hakudoshi's side and smiled at him, Hakudoshi tried to smile at her.

‘Why I am feeling like this...? I'm getting married...I should be happy right...?' thought Hakudoshi

The ceremony started and prolonged for an hour, finally it came the time to say the "yes"

"Aya you accept this man as your husband, you accept to love him and respect him and be by his side in happiness and sadness, in healthiness and illness, in every day of your lives until the death separate you?" asked the priest

"I do" said Aya without hesitating

"And you Hakudoshi, you accept this woman as you wife, you accept to love her and respect her and be by her side in happiness and sadness, in healthiness and illness, in every day of your lives until the death separate you?"

Hakudoshi stayed looking at the priest for a while, then looked at the people in the church and finally looked at Aya who stared at him confused

"I...I..."

Everyone stared at him as he hesitated in giving his answer, they thought it would be the nerves but then widened their eyes when he gave his answer:

"I can't..."

"What are you saying Hakudoshi? Stop with the play" said Aya

"This is no play Aya...I can't marry you..."

"Why?!"

"There is a person who needs me..."

"More important than me?!"

" Yes...more important than you...more important than every person here present...sorry but I have to go"

"Hakudoshi don't do this!"

"It's already done"

Hakudoshi run down the altar and run outside the church, leaving Aya shocked and alone in the altar. He run down the stairs of the church and run to the park, hoping that he still would find Kanna there.

"Kanna!" he yelled her name, running between the people that walked around with their families in the park.

Meanwhile Kanna was leaning against the grid that separated the park from the magnify view to the ocean, the snow fell and covered the floor and the trees.

"By this time he is already married..."

She looked at the sky as a tear slid down her cheek

"...I should have leaved... it would be better than spending the Christmas alone...at last I was with my family..."

"You're not alone..."

Kanna recognized immediately that voice, slowly she turned around and saw him...she saw the person she most loved in the world right in front of her, Hakudoshi walked to her while trying to recover his breath.

"W-What are you doing here...? Shouldn't you be getting married...?"

"You say well...I should...but I'm not...I...I run away..."

"But...but why...? You looked...so happy..."

"No...I wasn't happy Kanna...I was very unhappy..." said Hakudoshi as he placed his hands on her face and she blushed

"I saw you...so sad...so alone...I didn't hang on..."

"So...you just came because...you felt pity of me...?"

"No nothing like that...I...I came because...because I love you..."

Kanna's eyes widened in surprise as she heard those words coming from his mouth

"Y-You love me...? What about...what about Aya...?"

"Maybe I loved her but...I never loved someone like I love you, I was stupid and didn't see it earlier...I almost lost you..."

"Hakudoshi..." she murmured while placing her hands on his face as well

"I love you..." he said

"I love you too" she said

Hakudoshi approached his face to hers more and more and finally kissed her, which Kanna returned very happy

"Merry Christmas...my love" said Hakudoshi with a smile

"Merry Christmas...this is the best Christmas I ever had" said Kanna while smiling back at him and kissed him again.

THE END