One Complete Heart

Chapter 1

His heart raced as he pressed his fingers to the glass. 

He couldn't remember the last time he saw snow. All he knew was that it was special. It was the first snowfall of the year.

Snow was said to bring a sense of joy to people. It filled children with excitement. Kids would rush outside to enjoy their day off from school by playing in the endless white powder. Some would sled, some would make snow families, and others would throw snowballs. Dogs would hop around in the white powder and carolers would sing! 

Meanwhile, other people simply stayed indoors, cozy by the fireplace while holding a warm drink, wrapped in fuzzy blankets. 

There was a magic that seemed to fill the air whenever snow days came, or so Dimentio was told. 

There were no children out yet. It was still far too early for anyone else to be awake. The sun had not risen, but Dimentio was up. He wasn't sure why he awoke so early. Perhaps it was the snow. It was quiet, so it couldn't have actually woken him, but he sensed it. It was hard to describe, but the second his eyes opened, the flakes started to fall from the sky, fluttering past his window, like they had been waiting for him. 

They were on winter vacation. Count Bleck had taken Nastasia, Mimi, O'Chunks, and Dimentio out to some remote town for the holiday season. Apparently, it was the perfect place to spend the holidays. They were each given their own little cabin to stay in, which was quite nice. The cabins were close to the woods, but also near the small little town. The village was perfect for Christmas time. 

They had a few weeks to enjoy the town. Then, winter vacation would be over and they'd all have to go back to work. That was more than enough time, though. Dimentio wasn't sure what he was even going to do with all his spare time. He supposed he could read. It might be nice to catch up on some novels. Or, maybe he didn't have to plan anything. He could just wait for something to happen. After all, he was on vacation. There was no need for him to strategize his every move. That's what vacation was all about! Going with the flow and seeing what happens. 

The inside of his cabin was quite cute, just like the rest of the town. The walls were made from the wood of cedar trees. They still smelled of them, too. Still, it was insulated enough for him to stay warm. There was a rocking chair by the fireplace, enough windows for the natural lighting to generally keep the place bright (even though it was still quite dark out at the moment,) and a small kitchen so he could make meals, although he usually walked out to town or ate with his teammates instead of cooking. The bed was nice, far softer and warmer than any Dimentio had ever slept in. The bookshelf had very few selections that he was interested in, but there was also a library just a few blocks down, so that wouldn't be a problem for him. The floors creaked slightly beneath his weight whenever he walked, but not in an eerie way. It was rather charming, like the cabin was singing to him. Oversized armchairs were situated by each window and soft, fluffy blankets were scattered about. Usually, Dimentio wasn't a fan of disorganization, but the blankets felt like they belonged, so he didn't move them. 

He let out a sigh and flicked the nearest lamp off as the sun began to peak over the mountain pass. The ground was not yet covered in snow, but it had started to turn that pure white color. With each minute that passed, the ground became whiter and whiter until a few inches of powder had formed. 

O'Chunks was the first one outside. The large man wore an even larger winter coat with a red scarf wrapped around his neck. He waved at Dimentio from his porch. Dimentio nodded in return, surprised that O'Chunks could see him through his slightly foggy window. 

The jester held in a quiet laugh as O'Chunks stepped into the snow and started smiling like a toddler. It didn't take long for him to start practically frolicking. Soon after, Mimi came out from her cabin, dressed in one of her red winter dresses. She had to have spent at least an hour getting ready based on her face alone. Her blush was a bright rosy color, her eyeshadow was maroon, and she was wearing fake eyelashes. Dimentio had no idea who she was trying to impress by looking like that. Probably the count. Or Nastasia. Maybe even him.