The Christmas Gift

What's going on...?

After dropping Sebastian, Chris headed towards home. 

The Johnson's Mansion was in a remote place - away from the city, nearer to the forest; Chris had clearly made many animal-friends and so was Ava doing it.

The Mansion stood tall above the trees and had moss grown over some parts of it, which were either never visited or cleaned. 

It was rather very neat and glamorous when Chris' mom was around and after her it was all just more concentrated on increasing the property rather than managing what was in possession. 

Mary, Chris' stepmom was a see-through craver of money and riches.

You could say that maybe because of her The Johnsons received the wealth they have today. Always on a run for 'more', Mary also made sure she took care of Peter and Ava, making them feel safe and loved. She was quite peculiar, I say.

With the qualities of a strict boss (more bossy on employees than Mr. Johnson himself), she was a mother. Believe me when I just say 'mother', it needs no more emphasize... A mother as we know, is the embodiment of every nice things in the world. Mary was a mother. A loving one indeed.

The problem rose when Chris didn't get to experience this side of Mary, till the time he was at The Mansion he only saw a woman stealing his dad away from the memories of his real mother.

He saw someone who didn't care about him...not yet.

"I'm happy she's dead...just glad for it!", Chris said to himself, "I wouldn't have stayed in The Mansion with her in it anyways!".

It was now getting late, and let me tell you - The Johnson's Mansion at night was not quite the sight to look at. 

The trees in the area surrounding would start to look like hands, starting to crawl right up the Mansion. 

The Mansion was made such by the ancestors that, when the moon would be in it's full phase, it would be seen balancing right on the top of the tallest tower of the building.

Right on the very top of the same tower, was a spyglass. Which was totally in bad condition now, but when Chris' mom was alive she would make sure it was clean and in brand new condition. The reason to which, was completely unknown. Till date it was a mystery, but no one quite paid much heed to it.

One side of Chris which no one was aware of was, that he was totally scared and creeped by this Mansion, especially at night. Maybe because of the size of it, it looked as if his ancestors had made it so that every royal in the world could live in it. 

The Johnsons were no royals, but they would fancy the royal blood visiting them.

He quickly parked his car and threw the keys at their butler who was waiting for him to join the dinner which was about to start,

"Quite late for a family night, aren't we?", The Johnson's butler - Frederick, said in a hushed tone.

"I'm sorry Fred, I was out with Sebastian for some work", Chris explained himself. 

The Johnsons surely respected their butler a lot, mostly because he had trained under Annalise - Chris' real mom.

His personality was a bit matching with her.

The Mansion being this huge, no one got to know if Chris had come late or already in his room.

He freshened up and put up a sleepy face to add to his 'explanation' of him getting late because of a small nap.

"Hey Uncle Frank... so, what's for dinner?", Chris asked in a sleepy voice

"Oh, come and see for yourself...", Uncle Frank replied in a sleepy voice too and looked at Peter.

After sharing a few glances, him and Peter laughed. Chris understood that they probably knew he wasn't asleep.

"Oh umm... ok! haha", Chris laughed nervously while shaking off his act.

He looked at the table, which was of course, too big for just four people having dinner. The dining room was quite lavish as it would host a lot of royals once upon a time...

"Honey roasted duck!", Chris exclaimed as he tasted it, "Oooh! Uncle Frank you're quite a chef!" 

"Oh...eheh...it's just a hobby", Uncle Frank said while feeling proud for himself.

Chris remembered how Annalise used to make this dish a lot! For him this dish was a souvenir to good times.

Looking at how Chris ate the duck so delicately, remembering and visiting many memories - Uncle Frank said,

"I know, I miss her a lot too...", he wiped a tear, "She actually made the best you know..."

"She was the best", Chris said while rubbing his Uncle's shoulder.

Ava who had only a small hint of who they were talking about - interrupted, 

"You're talking about mom right?", She said with her eyebrows frowned

"You...You wont get it", Chris said while patting her head.

"I do. My mom is Annalise, not Mary...", She said in tone which seemed underestimated.

"Ohh, looks like I have a supporter!" Chris said to himself.

"Then you do know who we're talking about", Uncle Frank said smiling.

"Oh Peter! Do you mind closing your mouth while chewing!", Chris lightly slapped Peter who was totally unaware of the moment taking place.

"Yeah? And how do you want me to breathe then?", Peter exclaimed

"That...that doesn't even make sense stupid! We got a nose...", Ava shouted

"Well, my nose's blocked... so ya'll deal with it", Peter said angrily and continued his chewing session.

"Uncle, could you tell us how Mom really was? I don't remember much about her now...", Ava asked Uncle Frank while resting her chin on her hands.

"Oh yeah, sure...why not? She was the most - ", Uncle Frank started while he wiping his hands.

"Umm Uncle, do you mind if I and Chris go in our room?", Peter interrupted, "I wanna talk to him", he said as he looked at Chris.

Uncle Frank who was already in his storytelling mode, turned around and smiled, "Yeah sure, go along...and remember", He still smiled, "No disturbing while talking, okay?"

Chris and Peter laughed and went upstairs.

As Chris was about to enter his room, Peter pulled him in his room and shut the door.

"What's going on!?", Peter asked loudly.

"What do you mean?", Chris said in a voice which showcased a talk-with-me-like-that-one-more-time-and-I'll-hit-you, "This sentence of yours, it's vague!"

"Oh is it? Come on sit here", Peter said while pointing his hand towards the sofa, "Let's talk, shall we?"

"Sure, kiddo", Chris said in a confused voice.

"What the hell's going on for real?", he said to himself. 

Writer here, yoo-hoo!

Yeah I know, it's fast... but that's as I told in the earlier chapter...

anyways, I hope you like this chapter...it's written a bit without editing but totally clear.

Don't forget to vote, your votes are appreciated!

And comment which part of the story you liked (I'm open for critics too!)

Adios!