Shu Hu finally saw the human child again.
But it never got its gift.
The night was deep and dark. A chill touched its nose, and it looked up at the sky.
Flakes of white drifted into its eyes.
It was snowing.
The deep sky had taken on a faint glow beneath the flurry of snowflakes.
A hazy, dreamlike feeling.
Suddenly, it sensed something and lowered its head.
The human child was being carried out of the car.
He was bundled up from head to toe, with only his eyes and brows showing.
Even in his sleep, the curve of his smile showed how happy he had been earlier.
The human child's father parked the car.
The headlights went out.
"It's snowing."
"Yeah. Too bad the child fell asleep. He would've been so happy."
"Heh, at dinner, he was saying how disappointed he was that it hadn't snowed this Christmas."
Shu Hu listened to the footsteps coming from the stairwell beside it.
There were two sets.
One was heavier, the other lighter.
The sounds drew closer and closer.
Then the footsteps stopped.
It heard the clear clink of keys knocking together.
"Click~"
The door opened.
The room in front of it lit up.
The human child was carried to his room.
The living room lights soon went dark again.
Shu Hu stared at the ornaments on the Christmas tree, glowing faintly in the darkness, its gaze dazed.
It lowered its eyes, and the beautifully wrapped gift box came into view.
A gift...
In the end, it hadn't received a Christmas gift.
This Christmas... was already over.
After one last look at the quiet home, Shu Hu let its ears droop and moved its lips slightly.
"Shu Hu~"
Liar.
He'd said himself that he