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Christmas time in London was hard to miss.
The streets were always covered in snow and the shops always had festive decorations up: wreaths, lights, what have you. One year, a local candy store near Charles’s house had a snowman that was nearly two stories high. It had been a Christmas miracle that the giant thing didn’t fall over and smash someone’s car. It was impossible for anyone to not know the 25th was near… unless they weren’t in London.
“I never thought we’d take a case in Romania,” Charles said, brushing himself off. Mirror travel hadn’t been very smooth this time. The whole walking through mirrors thing was still completely foreign to him. He needed to master walking through walls first. Edwin, on the other hand, had been staying up every night for the past two weeks practicing. He could go short distances with ease but international travel required a lot more concentration and energy.
“Neither did I,” Edwin said, sinking wearily to the ground. He’d taken them to the abandoned room they’d been working out of. It had been his idea to establish an office of sorts so that clients knew where to find them. He was smart like that.
“You alright?” Charles asked. Edwin was usually all prim and proper; it was unnerving to see him sitting on the floor.
“Fine, thank you,” he said curtly. He said a lot of things curtly. Hell had made him prickly and quiet, something he apologized for at times. “The vertigo should pass momentarily.”
Charles sat on the desk—partially because they didn’t have any chairs yet and partially because he liked sitting on desks—and watched as Edwin took deep breaths. Then, a sudden flash of light caught his eye. He glanced out the window and saw that it was fairy lights, dozens of them, alternating green and red. “Holy shit,” he breathed. He turned to Edwin. “What’s today’s date?”
Edwin frowned. “I do not know.”
Charles phased his head through the floor, hoping he’d be able to pull it back out again, and read their downstairs neighbor’s calendar. “It’s Christmas Eve,” he exclaimed. He sat up and grinned. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize it.”
“Christmas,” Edwin echoed, his eyes faraway. Charles’s smile faded.
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories or anything like that.”
“You did not,” Edwin insisted. He pulled at the cuffs of his sleeves. Always straightening himself out, that one. “I love Christmas. I had simply forgotten its existence.”
“I take it you didn’t celebrate it in Hell, then,” Charles said carefully. He tried not to press the topic too much because he knew no one liked to talk about horrible experiences, least of all Edwin, but he couldn’t help being curious. He still didn't know where he was supposed to go for his afterlife so he’d been trying to gather information about all of them. Just as a precaution though. He had no intentions of moving on anytime soon.
“We did not.” Edwin stood up and steadied himself on the desk. “Tell me, how
do
you celebrate it these days?”
Charles shrugged. “I reckon it’s not too different from when you were alive.” He began listing things on his fingers. “We put up a tree, open presents, watch Christmas movies, and eat loads of food.” He looked at Edwin expectantly.
“That sounds-” He swallowed. “Wonderful.”
“It is.” Charles winced. “Was,” he corrected. For some reason, it suddenly hit him that he’d never have another Christmas with his family. He’d never have a snowball fight with his cousins, never sneak into the warm kitchen and steal biscuits. He supposed all of that would still happen this year, just without him. Being dead was fun until it wasn’t.
He scowled. He’d already mourned his death in his own way (though he’d probably never get over it fully) and now he just wanted to have a peaceful afterlife. “We can do all that,” he said confidently. “Minus the food part.” He pushed himself off the desk and stood up. “Why shouldn’t we celebrate.”
“Christmas is tomorrow,” Edwin reminded him. “I hardly think we could prepare in just a few hours.”
“It doesn’t have to be perfect,” Charles insisted. He grimaced, realizing he didn’t have a gift for Edwin. No matter what anyone said, Christmas was all about presents. Edwin came to the same realization and they nodded at each other. “Be back in an hour?”
“Yes.”
The two went their separate ways before Charles realized he had no idea what to get his mate. On top of that, he had no idea where to go. He always felt a little bit guilty about stealing from stores but they usually didn’t notice when one or two items went missing. He wandered around London aimlessly until he stumbled upon the alley a case had taken him and Edwin. It was pretty empty but there were a few ghosts milling about. He glanced at their merchandise but didn’t find anything particularly interesting. He might come back for that Rubik’s cube though.
Just as he was about to leave, a glint of gold caught his eye. He leaned down to inspect the object.
Perfect
. “How much?” he asked the ghost selling it, who was half-asleep.
“Hmm?” The ghost looked him up and down. “Just take it. I’ve got no use for it.”
Charles pocketed it. “Cheers.” He walked away, smiling. Kind ghosts were rare to come by. Most of them were bitter over their unfinished business. He whistled as he walked down the street, ignoring a passerby who somehow heard him, and headed into a Tesco. As expected, festive decorations were everywhere and he grabbed a little evergreen tree, along with some lights, and walked back out. Whoever checked the security cameras tomorrow would be very confused. He readjusted his haul in his arms. He really needed to get a backpack or something.
Edwin was still out when he got back to the office so he took the opportunity to decorate. It wasn’t much but it was enough, at least for them. He was just hanging up the last light when Edwin tumbled through the mirror. He smoothed his hair in embarrassment.
“Should we wait to open them?” he asked, pointing to the small box he was holding. He looked so hesitant and unsure of himself. It was unlike him. Charles glanced at their clock. It was 3 in the morning but it was technically the 25th.
“Yeah.” He sat on the floor, pressing his back against the desk and Edwin followed suit, sitting cross legged. He handed him the box bashfully. Charles opened it and nestled in soft fabric was a pair of earrings. “Oh, mate,” he whispered. He lifted one up and saw how it caught the light. “They’re brills.”
Edwin shrugged. “I have seen boys wearing them nowadays,” he explained. “I figured they might suit you.”
“Hell yeah.” Charles ran his hand over the silvery surface. It kind of looked like a cross, or maybe a star. Either way, they looked cool. “Thanks.”
“Of course.”
Charles reached into his pocket to grab his present. It was nice, sitting on the floor with Edwin, their legs almost touching. It was cozy in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. “It’s a fountain pen,” he explained as he handed it to Edwin. “Never runs out of ink.”
“Truly?” Edwin flipped it over in his hands, inspecting all sides of it.
“I’m pretty sure, yeah.”
He smiled. “Thank you.” His grin seemed to grow wider by the second. It was such a rare sight, to see him all happy with no worries. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”
“What are friends for?” Charles replied. Edwin put his new pen away very carefully. Charles watched him until he was distracted by the window. He got up and pressed his face against it only to realize there was something they’d forgotten to do. “Let’s go play in the snow.”
“Pardon?”
Charles tugged on his coat even though he didn’t need it anymore. “Come on,” he begged. “When was the last time you built a snowman or made snow angels?”
Edwin blinked. “Never,” he said, sounding taken aback. “I was never very fond of the outdoors.”
“Then you missed out.” Charles clasped his hands together. “Please? It’ll be fun.”
Edwin sighed through his nose. “Oh, alright.” He grabbed his coat and followed Charles out the door, tugging on his gloves.
Snow at night doesn’t feel real. The sky was a light purple color, thanks to the bright white reflection of the snow, and everything had a muffled feel to it. It was almost like they were in their own little bubble, immune to everything, including time.
They stayed outside until the sun came up. Edwin was stiff at first and preferred to watch as Charles got up to his antics. Then eventually, he loosened up. They managed to build an incredibly lopsided snowman that rivaled all the other ones the local kids had already built. It took forever, but somehow Charles managed to convince Edwin to have a snowball fight with them. Neither of them had laughed that hard since they’d died. It was wonderful.
Eventually, they collapsed onto the ground, side by side. If they were alive, the both of them probably would’ve had bad cases of frostbite. Being dead definitely had its perks. Edwin sighed in contentment.
“Thank you.”
Charles propped himself up on an elbow. “For what?”
Edwin gestured vaguely. “All of this.” He pressed his knuckles together, a nervous habit Charles was beginning to recognize. “I know today must be difficult for you but you still chose to spend it with me.” He looked up at Charles. “I needed it.”
“Believe me,” Charles began. “This is the best Christmas I ever had. I’m not doing it just for you, you know.” He laid back down and watched as the sky began to brighten. His heart hadn’t felt this full in a long time. He glanced at Edwin and somehow, his heart grew even fuller. He’d definitely chosen the right person to spend his afterlife with.