Chapter 31: THIRTY(Skate)
"…Why isn't it snowing in Tokyo, and why are we at Hibiya Park again?" Mia questioned as she followed Noel and Ethan closely.
Ethan paused then pointed to a tall wooden structure in front,
"…You ask too many questions, that's where we're going."
"What's over there?" She questioned curiously,
"Oh don't worry, you'll see." He smirked,
---
"....Oh, it's a Christmas market." Mia said dryly as she tucked her hands into her pocket,
Ethan had already purchased their tickets online, so it was much easier to enter.
"Welcome to the famous Tokyo Christmas Market." Ethan announced as they strolled in,
"Yay!" Mia replied sarcastically,
"Can you at least try to be excited—"
"You don't sound excited yourself." She retorted,
"But I am—"
"Well then, you do have a weird way of showing excitement." She scoffed.
The entire place had this very festive atmosphere, a line of several Christmas trees had been illuminated to create a fairy tale atmosphere. As they walked in, there where stalls everywhere, on the either side of the path too, selling Christmas decorations, handmade goods, mulled wine and sausages.
"It's like Christmas day already." She shuddered,
"It's December, the festivities are near." He retorted,
"Mhm! You probably care a lot about Christmas then?" She smirked,
"Everyone loves Christmas Mia—"
"Not everyone Ethan—"
"You mean you?" He retorted,
"....Well? I guess." She shrugged,
"Why do hate Christmas?" Noel suddenly asked,
"....Um, hate is a strong word.... I just don't feel it's worth celebrating for me." She shrugged,
"And why's that?" Ethan asked,
Mia paused in her tracks and let out an exasperated sigh, meanwhile, Noel quietly left them and walked off to a nearby stall.
"....You remember when I told you I lost my parents to an accident?"
"Yeah?"
"It was Christmas day, we were returning from our last minute Christmas shopping, we were going to have dinner that evening, my dad was driving, my mom was there too, I was 17, senior year and in the back seat, and that's when it happened. An incoming drunk driver, dad suddenly lost control of the brakes, the road was slippery from all the snow, and we crashed down the woods to a large oak tree…They died from the impact of the crash."
Ethan turned and stared at her,
"Don't give me that look...." She shook her head, "Please don't try to sympathize with me—"
"I didn't say anything." He replied.
"Daddy, can I get a cup of hot chocolate?" Noel interrupted.
---
Later on, as they walked through they came to large transparent plastic tents erected to create an outdoor atmosphere, in a smaller tent in front of the bigger one were musical performers, and each band got their turn to play.
While getting Noel the hot chocolate, Ethan decided to get them dinner so they could seat under the tent and listen to the performers for a while.
"…But you have to admit, it's beautiful here." Ethan told Mia,
"…Yeah, I guess." She shrugged,
"…So you haven't celebrated Christmas in over eight years?" Ethan suddenly asked,
Mia chuckled,
"You make it sound strange, there are people who don't even care. Every holiday when everyone's supposed to be with their families, I sit by myself mourning their death…And somehow, I'm always alone." Her voice cracked,
"…Would your parents be happy seeing you mourn them every Christmas?"
"…It's not all about them, bad things happen to me on Christmas." She concluded,
"Bad things like what, just because it happened on Christmas doesn't mean it'll happen again—"
"I can't tell you, you won't understand."
Ethan wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words, so he didn't. Instead, he asked,
"There's a small bridge on the other side where you can see the entire market, would you like to—"
"No it's fine, I'll just sit here and wait for you guys." She smiled,
"Okay then, see you later." Turning to Noel, he said," C'mon Noel, let's see the world."
After they left, Mia let out a small sigh and stared at the night sky.
"…It's not all about them, she died too…Sh....She died." She sobbed.
Soon, they returned,
"So what was it like, Little Man?" Mia asked,
"It was awesome, Daddy and I played King and Prince." he laughed,
"King and Prince, eh?" Mia chuckled,
"It's a game Noel and I used to play, I would take him to the balcony of the mansion and say "Everything the light touches is our kingdom, and some day, it'll be yours." So he calls it King and Prince." Ethan chuckled,
"It's nice to see you two are having fun." She smiled,
"Hey they just lit up the fountain, and the 14m Christmas pyramid is a must see, you've got to see it—"
"You already showed me, remember?—"
"But you haven't seen it up close."
"It's fine, Ethan."
"So you seriously don't want to be here, no shopping, no snacking?" he laughed,
"Yeah." Mia nodded as she chuckled painfully,
"The night is still young, I know a place that'll make you feel better—"
"I really doubt that this time, you do have a history of not knowing what a woman wants—"
"Trust me, you're going to like it and it is just 10 minutes away."
"…Fine, let's go."
Ethan had taken the pains of driving around by himself, so it was easier to do things, knowing that nobody was waiting on his call. He led them back to the car park and drove to Tokyo Midtown.
During their frequent visit to Tokyo, he had noted the major routes, and navigation was quite easy.
When they finally reached their destination, Ethan went to make a few enquires and purchases then returned to tell them they could follow.
It was a large ice skating rink lit up with bight and colorful lights.
"…This is why you asked me to wear lighter clothes?" Mia chuckled,
"Yeah, c'mon, let's lace up on that bench, I bought us the necessary gears." He grinned as he led them to a small bench, and handed them their boots,
"…You bought ice skating boots! We could have rented—"
"You could donate yours to charity later." He smirked, as he laced up.
"…Um, there's one small problem, I don't know ice to ice skate, Ethan." Mia confessed,
"Oh, so there's something the all-knowing Mia can't do." He sneered,
"You don't have to be so dramatic about it." She replied with an eye roll,
"You two fight a lot, I'm just going to go." Noel told them frankly as he got up and made his way to the rink. Mia wanted to speak but she was tongue-tied as she watched Noel in awe.
"Surprised to see a kid who does it better than adults?—"
"Is there anything he can't do—"
"Oh, there's a lot Mia, c'mon, let's teach you how to skate."
He gently took he hands and led her the rink, Mia couldn't stand straight, so she nearly lost balance,
"You've got to take it easy…March forward two steps and let your body glide forward slightly—"
"I'm going to fall on my butt, Ethan!—"
"Don't be such a scaredy-cat, Panda, you won't fall!" He chuckled, "March on the ice." He added.
He made her do this step at the corner till she felt comfortable with it.,
"...You're getting there, now try stroking."
"Stroking?"
"It's like gliding, except the fact that you extend the motion longer…Like this," He demonstrated, "Now you try."
Mia being a quick learner got the step right and eventually got comfortable with it. The whole time, she had been holding Ethan without knowing.
"Now it's time to do swizzles, like this…Place your heels together then slide your feet apart, then point your toes together and repeat this motion." He demonstrated, "Now you try." He told her as he let go of her hand after the first round of motion.
"Lean forward and don't look down—"
"Lean forward and don't look down." Mia repeated, "Don't look down—Hey, what's down." She said as she suddenly had the urge to look down—
"No!" Ethan yelled, but it was too late, once Mia looked down at her wobbly legs, she lost focus, and the next thing she knew, she landed on her butt.
"Ouch! My butt!" She yelled, "I'm definitely going to need a massage after this. " She murmured.
"I told you not to look down!" Ethan sighed as he came to her side and helped her up.
"…Why would you even say that in the first place." Mia sighed, "It's like giving a child a candy bar and asking them not to open it." She added,
"Right." Ethan chuckled, " I guess I shouldn't have said that."
Just then, Noel skated past them and did a small eight,
"You're doing great Miss Anderson." He grinned as he gave a thumb up.
Ethan laughed, while Mia let out an exasperated sigh, and placed her hands on her back,
"That kid, He's just mocking me…Isn't he."
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