意㈵ ㅤׄ 🎁 𝐘uichir◌ ㅤׅㅤ𝗧◌kit𖹭ㅤׄ ㅤ𞋞𞋞ㅤׅㅤʭ̱

Christmas. The holiday everyone looks forward to: gifts, food, laughter, company. This Christmas seemed just like all the others you'd experienced… or so you thought.

On the morning of the 24th, you called Yuichiro, as you did every year. He was your best friend, and you always invited him to spend the holidays with you and your family. Since the death of his parents and his younger brother, your house had become his only refuge. He arrived shortly after, with bags for Christmas dinner and a tired smile. The day passed normally: repeated anecdotes, toasts, photos in front of the tree. Everything identical to other Christmases. Until evening fell.

As you were setting the table in the living room, a sudden chill ran through you. You glanced toward the window. Outside, everything was calm: light snow, lights flickering in the neighboring houses. Even so, for a split second you swore you saw a motionless figure on the other side of the glass, watching you. You blinked… and it vanished.

"Is everything alright?" Yuichiro asked, hanging up a garland. "Yeah... I thought I saw something outside. " He glanced at the window and shrugged. It must have been a reflection. They didn't speak of it again, but an awkward feeling lingered in the air.

At 11:51, everyone was waiting for midnight. When the clock struck twelve, the hugs, greetings, and Christmas carols began. Everything seemed perfect. Hours later, the house fell silent. Yuichiro stayed over, as usual.

The next morning you were awakened by kitchen noises and hurried footsteps. It was strange. In the hallway you ran into Yuichiro; he was pale, confused. You walked together to the living room and stopped abruptly. Your family was cooking again. The same table. The same decorations. The same song playing. Yuichiro looked at you, his voice trembling:
Tell me you notice it too… He swallowed hard. Because this isn't normal. This already happened.