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It's December 23rd & the city of Goth Haven is blanketed under a 2 to 3 foot sheet of snow. The City wasn't expecting such snowfall so almost all sorts of motorized transportation are at a stand still.
It's getting late in the day & a trudging through the snow was a woman. She was dressed, started from the ground up: a pair of blue Chuck Taylor All-Star high tops. On her feet are argyle socks. Her pants are a well worn & ripped in places pair of blue jeans. She wore a greying black Hoodie. The hood was up & her hands were shoved in the jacket's pockets in attempt to keep them warm. Slung over her right shoulder was her olive drag colored messenger bag.
She is walking to work, her bus got stalled. It was making it's way down Robinson Ave. but their was a stopped minivan on the side of the road, the bus tried to avoid it, got a little to close to the side of the road & got stuck in the snow.
She didn't mind walking the rest, she was only a few blocks for City Hall. Just before she got there, she turned down a side alleyway to a back entrance. She took her hands out of her pockets, the black nail polish was cracked & chipped in places (partly due to the fact she has the habit of chewing her fingernails). She began to fishing around her pockets for something. She wasn't finding it so she then started to check her bag. After searching all but two pockets, she found it: her ID Card. It was also her key card.
She swiped it through the card reader, nothing happened. The lock was frozen. She put her card in her jacket pocket & began to blow on the lock trying to warm it up. She also tried to pick off the snow & ice. After a few minutes, she wiped her card again. It lit up one of the two required lights which would signify entry. On a small screen a question appeared. She wiped away the snow & pressed hard on the keypad to type in her answer, the other light lit up & their was the accompanying buzzing noise. She pulled hard on the door to open it & entered the building.
She was Catherine Gillespie, night Morgue attendant & just stood there on the landing in that back stairwell. Just taking in the warmness of it all, she had never been so glad that City Hall had back-up generators & central heating. Before he headed on down the stairs, she stamped off some of the snow on her shoes. As she did, she pushed back the hood & shook out her shoulder length sandy blond hair which was pulled back & into two small ponytails, one on each side of the back of her head. She also restituted her pair of black plastic glasses, they had got a bit crooked on the way over.
She was early, her shift not scheduled to start for at least 2 hours but she got a call earlier that day from Chuck, one of the day Attendants. City Hall was closing early for the day & he wanted also wanted to leave so he asked if Catherine came in early. She could & wasn't sure when since she was at the whims of public transportation.
Catherine goes down the three flights of stairs & opens the door to the 3rd Subfloor, a floor devoted to one thing: Death. Well, actually two things: Death & Storage. On the floor is the Coroner's Office, the Morgue & a few dozen of the building's storage rooms. Catherine has often wonder what was stored there on her floor but her ID Card didn't open those doors.
The sound of her shoes make an echoey thump thump sound as she walked down the empty, marble laced hallway. She was also leaving behind vaguely shoe shaped puddles behind her.
As she walked down the hallway, her mind wonder around random thoughts. Nothing of all the real consequence. Those thoughts stop as she stops just before Doctor Jones', the Coroner, Office. She takes a deep breath & then walks past. As She does, she looks in the office & then lets out a sigh of relief: he already left. Probably shortly after they said the building was going to be closed. Jones is an ok boss but he always smells weird. It's a mix of workplace odors, a bit too much after shave & the smell of his beloved curry on his breath. He also has a habit of staring at her chest which isn't all his fault since it is at his eye level. But, he could at least be a little less obvious about it.
Catherine pushes open the large black plastic doors & enters the Morgue's sparsely furnished waiting room. The beat up old couch, the couple of miss matched leather chair. The coffee table with it's massively out of date magazines laid out a top of it, the sadly looking green ficus which was now wrapped in a few strands of lights & the few posters on the walls which haven't changed sine she started working there.
Catherine walked through the second set of double black plastic doors & there on a stool sat Chuck. He was using one of the examining tables as a work surface, he doing some paper work.
"I'm here!" she said.
Chuck looked up from his paper work & smiled. "Cool."
"Yes, it is. Outside." Catherine said with a smirk & a laugh.
Chuck then looked Catherine over & then asked "That's what you wore out in the snow?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Doing you have any winter gear?"
"Yeah. But it's in storage & I didn't think I had time to go get it. Someone wanted to go home early." Catherine said rather pointedly.
"Ok. Ok." Chuck conceded. "How is it out there?"
"Ok. Not a lot of traffic or people around. Kind of ghost town out there."
"I'd ask how driving was but you don't drive."
"Well, not legally but there are cars & buses scattered around on the streets. It's almost like the rapture happened."
Chuck had to thing about that for a second but then said. "Ok. How's the ice?"
"It's there."
"You don't know?"
"No. But I'd think that it would be what you'd think what with the cold, then warmer temps that start to melt stuff but then freeze once more when the new cold front comes in."
There was few brief moments of silence & then Chuck said. "Thanks for coming in early."
"Sure, no problem. I wasn't doing anything." Catherine said with a smile.
"Well, I didn't want to get stuck here. I've got some last minutes shopping to do, I hope places are still open. Then tomorrow I'm going to my parent's place out in New Jersey."
"Where? If you don't mind me asking."
"East Walton."
"Ok. I have not idea where that is."
"Central Jersey. What are you doing for the holiday?"
"Not much of anything."
"What about Chaz, Charlie, Chet.."
Catherine stopped him before he could go on any further. "Chad."
"Yeah. What about him & his friend?"
"They don't celebrate Christmas."
"They Jewish?"
"No."
"From what I've heard they doing sound black, so Kwanzaa is out."
"Yeah. They celebrate a holiday that's a bit of a mix of all 3: Chrismahannaqwanza."
"Chrismahanna-wha?"
"yeah. It's kind of an obscure holiday."
"When is it?"
"It changes from year to year. I know it's been anywhere from October till into January."
"When is it this year?"
"Not sure. I've not been told & I kind of doubt it well happen this year."
"Why?"
"Well, in talking to Chad & seeing what I've seen from his friend, Ronnie: the holiday just doesn't seem to be a real priority. They don't even have their traditional Holland Daze Bush up yet."
"Holland Daze Bush?" Chuck said somewhat confused.
"yeah. That is normally up for a few weeks before the celebration."
"Is Chrisma..uh.. anna.. uh..."
Catherine interrupts again. "Chrismahannaqwanza."
"Yeah that. Is it religious?"
"Not from what I've seen. But there I do know there is a group that has folded the holiday into their religious practices."
"ok." Chuck said. He looked at his watch, Catherine noticed.
"If you have to leave, do so."
"Ok. Well, today has been a real slow day. Much has come in, I doubt much will over night."
"It's ok. I'm prepared. I got some Nog, a few cookies, my iPod is filled with christmas cheer. Plus, I have.." Catherine said & then paused to get something from his bag.
"This!" Catherine said as she pulled out a video tape.
"Paul & Amber's Wedding?" Chuck said as he read aloud the tape's label.
"Well, yeah. But about an hour & forty five minutes into the tape someone tape over it with one of the best holiday specials ever."
"Which is?"
"The only aired once, much maligned Star Wars holiday special! Two hours of pure Gold!" Catherine said with excitement.
"Uh.. Ok."
"yeah. I bought this copy off of eBay a few years back & pull it out every year to watch. I hear there are now bootleg DVD's of this but I have yet to find one of those."
Chuck looks at his watch once more.
"If you have to leave: Go. I'll be ok."
"Ok." Chuck said.
He got his stuff & then headed out.
As he left, he wished Catherine a Merry Christmas & she did the same. Once he was out of sight, Catherine went to find the VCR she had seen a few weeks back, she had a movie to watch.
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THE END
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