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December had come to Yakima. The evening fell on the streets like a black coat, long and heavy, shrouding them from the sun... and to compensate for the lack of daylight, the whole city shone with a million stars.
Stars buzzed high up on the poles, changed from green to red above the streets, decorated the shopping malls, hung from the outdoor stalls, blinked joyfully from the ropes between buildings.
Tray had never seen so much light. She had only got to see the canteen lamps in her world, a singular sun on the Plane, and then the real stars scattered on the night sky... but none shone as brightly and confidently as the city lights.
And while she had been getting accustomed to the regular, everyday lamps - like streetlights or traffic lights - today the city got brighter by a billion gazillion joules, judging by how many Christmas decorations were put up everywhere. It was awe-inducing, and kind of intimidating.
On the market, it wasn't only light that marked the city's prosperity. Sounds filled her ears: chattering, jingles, cheerful music from a Christmas train, deep humming of furry mascots narrating stories through a microphone. A smell of mulled wine and baked buns lingered in the air, promising a delicious meal to townsfolk and tourists alike.
In front of Tray walked Contact Lens... or, 'walked' wouldn't be the right word - he was pulling her after him through a crowd of people as they tried to keep up with Liam and Amelia. Tray felt disorientated, both by the lights and by the immense amount of people in this place. She and Contact Lens sometimes still felt nervous around large groups of humane objects.
But she focused on the touch of his hand. She loved how their hands linked together, how his skin pressed against hers so tightly, just in the right way. They were together, reunited on Earth, given a chance to live like people - and nothing could tear them apart again.
And even though Earth was foreign to them, it was unimaginably exciting. There were so many places to go, so many people to meet, so many traditions to learn. One of them was Christmas - Tray had known about it before, but she never got to celebrate it. Now she could spend it with Contact Lens, on an exciting new planet, able to breathe and run and laugh and do things together. What more could they want?
Her boyfriend eyed her briefly and saw a look of admiration and joy as she observed all the colourful decorations around them. Contact Lens smiled brightly and continued to speedwalk after Liam, thinking how much he loved seeing Tray happy.
"We're here!" Amelia suddenly declared from the front.
The group caught up and gathered in a circle. The two hidden objects tilted their heads up and both were struck with awe.
A few jumps from them stood the biggest tree either had ever seen. A tree that hit their eyes with even more lights, long fancy chains and baubles of such size they could probably fit a person inside.
"This is the centre of the Christmas market," Amelia explained.
"Wow... it's really..." Tray blurted.
"Breathtaking," finished Contact Lens.
"Yeah," she picked up. "I haven't seen such a big tree, or so many lights, or so many people gathered in one place in my lifetime..."
Amelia put a hand on her shoulder. "If it's too overwhelming, we can..."
"No no!" Tray protested. "Me and Lensy will be fine! I promise. We want to discover everything we can, right, Lensy?" She grinned at him.
"Of course," he smiled back, taking her hand firmly. "This will be a special evening."
Amelia reached to her side; soon a pack of banknotes appeared in her hand.
"Just remember not to spend too much on one thing, alright?" she reminded.
Bright and precious, banknotes also shone like the stars. But unlike stars - which were distant, faint and small, and you couldn't touch them, you could only admire their beauty from afar - banknotes, as they landed in Tray's hand, were thin, delicate, a bit rough; and they were real. She curiously moved her finger along them.
One star, one wish.
Tray smiled and gave the stars to Contact Lens.
"Don't worry!" she assured Amelia, "we'll be responsible with it!"
She could already feel the excitement seeping into her body, making her impatiently sway up and down on her legs. Contact Lens also seemed elevated with the papers he just received, his eyes gleaming.
Amelia eyed them both with a motherly expression. "Make sure not to get separated. There's so many people here, it's easy to get lost."
"You've already told them that at home," gently reminded Liam, who stood next to her. "I think they know that. Let them go, they're gonna burst if they wait any longer."
She sent him a half-hearted glare. "I'm just making sure they're safe! But okay. Tray, Contact Lens, remember this place: this is where we meet when we're going home."
The pair nodded.
"Alright then. Have fun, you two!" Amelia waved to them, then disappeared in the crowd alongside Liam.
Tray turned to her boyfriend. "So, what do we do first?"
Contact Lens already knew the answer. He knew what Tray would like the most. "Let's go to the food stalls."
Her face lit up with surprise and joy.
⇀ ❁ ↼
"This one is very dry," commented Tray, chewing a nut doused in caramel. "Try it."
Contact Lens took one from the paper bag she held, which was filled with different kinds of nuts - walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews, pecans and macadamias, all hidden inside caramel coats. They took turns guessing which is which by taste: each type of nut tasted differently.
He popped one into his mouth. "Mmm... you're right, it is drier than the others. I think it's a hazelnut."
"Maybe," she agreed.
"You must be in heaven, huh?" he hummed. "All the food you could only hold, now you can taste."
Tray smiled. "Yeah! I've never thought I could discover so many flavours. It's good that you spotted these food stalls on the way."
He snuggled at her side. "I knew you'd like it."
Before buying the nuts, they had tried a few other snacks. First they ordered a packet of Belgian fries with mayonnaise: they were crispy and sprinkled with grated paprika, so they tasted spicy. Then Tray found a stall selling Kürtőskalács - Hungarian spit cake rolled in sugar and cinnamon. Both of them had fun trying to untangle the Kürtőskalács to eat it. Finally, they went over to the drink stand and bought two types of hot chocolate - Contact Lens wanted a regular one, while Tray picked a lavender chocolate. It tasted sweeter and fresher, but in the end, not too much different.
The transparent object took another treat from the bag. "Hey, by the way, did the kids at your school celebrate Christmas?"
"They did," said Tray. "There was a gift-giving event and a feast at the canteen. Oh, and I think Santa also came sometimes!"
"Santa?" he questioned.
"It's a kind, old human who gives presents to the children if they behave."
"Ohhh. That's cool!" he said. "I haven't heard of him, though. There were no children in my owner's family."
"Really?" Tray was surprised. "That's kinda sad."
"I think he was content with it." Contact Lens put a finger to his chin. "It's just a shame I didn't get to see any children."
"Don't worry, Lensy," she chirped, grabbing some nuts. "There's still a chance!"
Only a few treats were left in the bag, so they both finished it. Tray looked at her partner. "Wanna go to the souvenirs now?"
"Sure."
⇀ ❁ ↼
"Ooooooh, look at this one!" Tray exclaimed. She picked a bracelet with a shiny blue gemstone. Holding it up to the light, she admired the gleam reflecting on its surface.
"It's aquamarine," said the shopkeeper. "A symbol of purity and innocence."
Tray liked the sound of that. When she looked at Contact Lens, he seemed interested, but not entirely convinced into buying it. He took the accessory from her hands and judged it.
Tray sent the shopkeeper a polite smile and continued looking at different bracelets. She moved a bit along the stall, to see the whole selection, and found some other captivating patterns - feathers, birds, dragonflies... and a lot of abstract ones. She put some of them on, enjoying the feeling it gave her: to have something pretty on her body.
Some girls pushed past her to the stall, which made Tray stumble to the left. She huffed and picked herself up. Checking if all of the bracelets were still on her hand, she carefully put them back to their places and circled the girls group to come back to Contact Lens.
But where he was previously standing, now there was only empty space.
"...Lensy...?" Tray muttered, looking around for her dear one, but even though there were other people around, none of them was him.
He wasn't near. Did she lose him? Did they get separated?
Tray felt an uncomfortable, familiar anxiety tighten her chest. Memories of that one fateful elimination flooded her mind. This could not be happening... not again!
"Contact Lens!" she yelled. She ran into the crowd, searching for him.
"Tray!" a voice called behind her, "Tray, I'm here."
She turned around and wrapped her arms around his small frame, pressing him tightly to her chest. Tray felt like she was learning how to breathe again.
Contact Lens stared up at her, reciprocating the hug. "Hey... you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah..." she murmured. "I just thought I lost you... It was scary."
He rubbed her back comfortingly. "Scenty was right, huh? It's easy to get separated here..." he hummed. "But I'm with you. We're together, remember? Nothing can take us apart now."
They stood like this for a moment, just to calm their hearts.
"Anyway... I wanted to show you something," whispered Contact Lens. "I found something even better than that aquamarine bracelet."
He led her to the stall again, just more to the right, behind a corner. He picked something up from the table and held it out.
"Look," he beamed.
In his hands hung two bracelets - one red, one blue - connected with each other by a magnetic heart. When Contact Lens pulled them apart, the halves of the heart unlinked with no problem, and when he brought them closer, they attracted each other and linked again.
Tray gasped with amazement. "Lensy, this is so pretty!" She was so excited that she instantly went to hug him. Contact Lens chuckled.
"Now we can have couple bracelets!" he announced proudly after she let go. "They come in different colours, but I picked those that match us."
"I love it," Tray praised. "I can wear the blue one and you'll wear the red one. This way, we'll always think of each other!" She flushed happily and clapped her hands together.
Contact Lens could not restrain his smile when he was handing the money to the shopkeeper.
⇀ ❁ ↼
On the side square of the market, there stood a three-story building, resembling a Bavarian house - filled with Christmas lights, beer, and people cheering. It radiated with the festive atmosphere perhaps the most out of all the attractions around it. On the top balcony, among other objects, stood a pair from a different world... and in their own world.
They gazed at the market square, observing the crowds, the attractions, the people screaming in the roller coaster, the kids running around. With their hands linked, they smiled at each other.
"It's a bit calmer here," remarked Tray. "It's good that there's a place like that, where you can just get away from the crowd and have a second to admire the market."
Contact Lens nodded. He was happy they found it. Now they could chill out after all the running.
He took out the photos they'd got themselves in a photo booth. They had picked three backgrounds: with a tree and baubles, with snowflakes and with a cozy fireside. On each one, they did a different pose - but on each, both were smiling and standing close.
"I really like how we came out on these photos," he said.
"We gotta hang them somewhere," Tray agreed. "Maybe even frame them?"
"Backpack probably knows how to do that," he hummed. "I'll ask him."
They stood together, leaning lazily on the railing. Tray snuggled closer to Contact Lens.
"I'm so glad we're here," she whispered. "This was an amazing experience. I'm so glad we're on Earth together."
Contact Lens gazed at her affectionately. They both flushed, love warming up their hearts.
"Do you want to visit anywhere else before we go home?" Tray asked.
Contact Lens looked briefly at the market below, a smile on his lips as he shook his head. "We can just stay here. I don't need any attraction to be happy: all I need is you."
He didn't even catch a breath after finishing when he was pulled into a kiss.