Counting Down the Days for Christmas

Over the course of that year, Kellin and Vic had gradually became inseparable. Their mums were very happy at this; it meant they could visit each other more often now.

So naturally Kellin was filled with delight when his mother told him that Vic would be staying over for Christmas.

Kellin and Vic themselves were upstairs in Kellin's room, entertaining themselves for a little while, leaving their mothers to have a catch up.

"So how's Kellin at the moment?" Vivian, Vic's mum, asked Mary, taking a sip from her cup of tea.

And with that Mary let out a long sigh, rubbing her temple in thought. She was rather worried about her son. Kellin was almost three and he had still never spoken a single word. Vic could speak by now, all of Kellin's other little pre-school friends could speak, so why couldn't Kellin?

She spilled out all her worries about Kellin to Vivian, who listened curiously to what Mary had to say.

When Mary had finally finished speaking, Vivian had nothing to say except for "I'm sure the day he speaks will come soon."

Shortly after she'd spoken, both mum's heard the sound of their sons running down the stairs, probably wanting their presents.

Vic burst into the room, pushing the door open, Kellin soon following suit. They both looked so young and happy, with big smiles plastered across their faces.

"Can we open presents please now mummy?" Vic asks Vivian, giving her the puppy-dog eyes, looking so cute that neither mother can resist. Kellin stood next to him, giggling quietly.

"Go on then!" Vivian said with a smile, causing both boys to run towards the tree, trying to work out which present was for them.

Kellin sat by the tree, suddenly getting the magical Christmas feeling that he remembered experiencing last year. He picked up a big blue box, as his mum told him that the blue presents were for him.

His chubby little fingers ripped off the blue wrapping paper, revealing two Power Ranger action figures; the green and the yellow ones to be exact.

He looked up at his mum with a smile, sending her a mental note of thanks. Mary smiled back at him softly. She knew that was his way of thanking her.

But while Kellin was absorbed in his new action figures, he didn't notice his best friend. Vic was staring dumbfounded at the tree, trying to find his own red present.

"Mummy, where's my present?" Vic asked his mum sadly. Had she forgotten about him? Kellin had a present, so why didn't he?

Vivian gasped after realising that she had forgotten to bring Vic's Christmas present. How could she be so forgetful?

"I'm so sorry honey, you'll have to wait until tomorow to open yours." Vivian replied slowly, not wanting to look at Vic's face, as she knew it would be in an expression of pure sadness.

Vic's lip wobbled before the fat tears started trickling down his cheeks. He wanted a present too!

Kellin tore his eyes away from his new present, taking a glance at Vic to see what he had got. But when he saw the tears rolling down Vic's cheeks and that he was without a present, something inside his stomach lurched. He hated seeing his best friend so sad.

Kellin crawled over to Vic and gave him a quick hug. When Kellin pulled away, he wiped away Vic's tears with his thumb and placed the yellow Power Ranger in his lap. Giving a person a hug would always make them feel better Kellin thought to himself with a smile.

"V-Vic." Kellin stated, his voice wobbling a little seeing as that was his first word.

Mary suddenly turned around to face Kellin, a large smile spreading across her face. Had Kellin just said his first word?

"What did you just say Kellin?" Mary asked Kellin slowly, just to make sure she hadn't imagined him speaking.

"Vic," Kellin said boldly, sounding a lot more confident than when he'd first spoken. After a minute's pause, he began chanting "Vic!" Over and over again until everyone was laughing. Once the laughter had died down, the atmoshphere in the room was a lot nicer.

"Thanks Kellin." Vic spoke quietly to Kellin later when they were both laying down in Kellin's bed to go to sleep.

"Vic." Kellin replied, as he couldn't say anything else. He wrapped his little arms around Vic, giggling sleepily into his shoulder. Vic snuggled into Kellin happily, letting out a small sigh of content, before they both fell into a peaceful sleep.

They remained in those positions thoughout the night, their bodies tangled up together under the bed sheets. That was also how Mary found them in the morning when she was about to wake them for breakfast. Her face broke into a huge smile, as she brought out her phone to snap a quick picture of them both. She would make sure to send it to Vivian later.

The yellow Power Ranger still remained Vic's favourite toy for a long time after that.