"This is so stupid," Matti muttered to herself, knowing that she was right.

It was the diaper she was taping around her waist that made her think that. That was, after all, not even her choice, really. Valerie had sent her home for Christmas break with a handful of diapers, and the assignment to wear, and use, them all by the time the break was over, and send selfies of herself in them to prove it. Matti had whined about it, of course, complained that she couldn't do that around her family. And yet, here it was, well before Christmas Eve, and she was already almost out.

The PJs were closer, since that had been all her. She'd forgotten she even had them, shoved way in the back of her dresser, but as soon as she'd come across them, she'd been flooded with memories, and hadn't been able to resist the urge to try them on, see if they still fit. Her sister, Kelsey, would tease her relentlessly if she saw her in them, especially now that their parents had told them that they were taking them on a Polar Express train ride, since they were printed all over in colorful toy trains and rocking horses and other childish toys, but with any luck, she wouldn't see.

Even wearing the two together wasn't really the full reason for her statement. As old as the pajamas were, they did fit, mostly. The legs didn't quite go over her ankles anymore, and, more importantly, the top was too small now for it to even hope to cover the waistband of her diaper. She knew she looked silly like that, but she could remember several Christmases spent wearing these PJs, and they, more than anything, filled her with the Christmas spirit this year, too, when she struggled into them at night, particularly when they were stretched over one of her diapers, hugging the padding close to her.

No, the thing that was stupid was doing all of that and, rather than staying hidden away in her room, as she had every night she'd done this so far, sneaking down to the Christmas tree. The idea had come to her that afternoon, while she lounged on the couch in the living room, staring at all of the wrapped boxes. She'd been shameless, back when she was younger, back when she'd worn the pajamas last time, always shaking boxes, trying to guess what was in them, sometimes even managing to stealthily unwrap them to take a peek. It had gotten so bad that her parents had kept all of her gifts hidden until Christmas morning for a few years, until she grew out of it.

They didn't do that anymore, though, and rediscovering her old PJs seemed to have re-awoken that urge. She could have done it before she diapered up, but, after doing it once, the PJs didn't feel complete without diapers underneath, even though she knew she'd never done that before, that she had never been padded when she wore them as a kid. And she didn't have to be in her PJs at all, except that was always what she wore when she'd done it in the past, since she'd had a bedtime then, and had to wait, squirming impatiently in her bed after being tucked in, for everyone else in the house to go to sleep.

She had to pray that was what her parents and Kelsey were doing now, or that they wouldn't hear her, come to investigate. If anyone showed up, there was really nothing she'd be able to do. She couldn't pull her shirt down, or her pants up, enough to hide her diaper, and unless she managed to dive behind the couch and stay there the whole time without whoever caught her questioning it, they were going to see the plastic waistband peeking out.

Or, of course, she could just not do it at all. She could stay in her room, snuggled up under her covers, and go to sleep. That would be the smart thing to do, after all, and she was smart. Wasn't she?

Apparently not enough so to resist the temptation. She finished taping up her diaper and getting dressed, sitting on her bed for as long as she could stand it, then tiptoeing across her room to listen at the door, heart pounding, before pulling it open and stepping out into the hall, which seemed, suddenly, to stretch on forever, the faint glow of the Christmas tree's lights at the end, spilling out from the living room, so far away. Every step she took, she had to remind herself, she was going to have to do again to get back to her room, headed right for the bedrooms of everyone else in the house. It would be so easy for her to get caught. This was, very much, a stupid idea.

But as soon as she got to the living room, she no longer cared. The tree didn't look any different than it had an hour or two ago, before she'd 'gone to bed', yet, somehow in the darkness, lights gently twinkling, it seemed so much prettier, so much more festive. And she, in her diapers and train PJs, felt so much smaller, younger than she'd ever been when she was able to wear these pajamas regularly.

She sat down with a crinkle, unable to stop herself from giggling as she rifled through the packages, searching for one with her name, then greedily picking it up, giving it a shake. She heard nothing at all, annoyingly, so she did it again, listening harder, ear up to the side of the box. That should have been the end of it, but she couldn't help it. She set the box down, turning it over, searching for the tape, wishing she kept her fingernails longer so it would be easier to slide one underneath. Still, with some work, she managed to get a grip on it, carefully peel it up.

Her heart lurched in her chest when she saw movement from the corner of her eye, her head lifting, stomach churning, wondering which member of her family it was, who she was going to have to try to explain her diaper to, regretting this whole affair. What she actually saw was, somehow, even worse.

She let out a gasp, clamping her hand over her mouth with a wince, not wanting anyone to hear her, blushing as she felt a trickle of wetness in her diaper. This wasn't her family, nor was it anyone she'd ever seen before. It was an old woman, hunched over, twisted, in a torn, formerly white robe, her face heavily wrinkled and misshapen, a large, old-fashioned broom in one hand. She hated that it was where her mind went, but right away, she was certain it was a witch, and a very different kind than Sierra.

The woman scowled at Matti, pointing a long, gnarled finger at her. The girl dropped the present, scrambling back, not knowing what to do. Should she call for help? It wasn't like her family would be able to deal with a witch, if that truly was what she was. If it was some lost old woman, and her imagination was getting the better of her, then they probably could, but they'd also surely find her there, sitting under the tree in a now soggy diaper.

Fortunately, the woman narrowed her eyes at Matti once she'd let go of the present, nodding and walking away down the hall. Matti gulped, forcing herself to stand up, to shuffle out to the hall, bracing herself to shout out a warning if necessary. Deep down, however, she wasn't nearly as shocked as she perhaps should have been to see that there was nobody there, that, in the few seconds it had taken her to get to the doorway, the woman had vanished completely.

Matti had considered saying something about it at breakfast the next morning, but she wasn't sure what she'd say, or how she'd phrase it to not make it obvious what she'd been doing. If she said she'd seen the woman when she was just going to the bathroom, that made her sound even more crazy, since then, if the woman was headed towards the other bedrooms, she'd have been only steps away. More than likely, either way, they'd tell her it was a dream.

So, instead, she'd stayed quiet as she made herself a bagel, until Kelsey came out of her room, eyeing the baggy old sweatshirt and jeans Matti had thrown on skeptically. "Is that what you're wearing?"

Matti rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

"Is that what you're wearing all day?" Kelsey clarified, rolling her eyes.

Matti almost shot back another snarky reply before it hit her what, exactly, her sister meant. "I guess I can put on something a little nicer, if you're going to be embarrassed to be seen with me in this," she sighed dramatically.

"I don't think a change of clothes is going to help with that," Kelsey teased.

"Kelsey!" their mother scolded. "That's not very nice!"

Kelsey rolled her eyes again. "I'm joking, Mom. She can wear whatever she wants."

Matti was tempted to test that claim, but she knew this was going to be bad enough without running the risk of getting dirty looks from Kelsey every couple of minutes, so she dressed up a little, at least putting on some clothes that weren't covered in old rips and tears and splashes of paint. She had also considered calling this off, since she had her own car now so they didn't have to do this together, not to mention a credit card so she could have done it all online, but this was a tradition.

"You did make a list this year, didn't you?" Kelsey asked as they got into her car and buckled up. "I don't want to have to go back to a store a second time because you forgot..."

"Yes, I did," Matti cut her off. "It's on my phone."

"Did you remember to charge your phone?" Kelsey nagged. "I'd hate to think you forgot to plug it in after snooping under the tree last night."

Matti froze. "I-I didn't," she lied.

"Please," Kelsey snorted. "I heard the pitter-patter of little feet running up and down the hall. And I know you. Mom and Dad might believe you outgrew that, but I know better."

Matti squirmed, nervously eyeing her sister. Obviously it hadn't been her she'd seen. She might fight with Kelsey, and make fun of her, but she was far too young, and pretty, for Matti to have mistaken her for that old woman. More importantly, she didn't see any sign that Kelsey had peeked in and seen her, that she was hinting at knowing what Matti had been wearing.

"M-Maybe I took a little peek," she admitted.

"Sure," Kelsey smirked. "'Maybe.'"

They went to the mall first, as they always did, and, as usual, despite Kelsey's grousing, they stopped to get coffee, then walked around first, looking at the decorations, before they actually started their shopping trip. They paused when they got to Santa, a line already beginning to form, despite how early it was in the day. "Do you want a picture with Santa?" Kelsey teased. "I bet Mom would love it!"

Matti stuck her tongue out at her, not dignifying the question with any more of a response than that.

"You're getting a lump of coal for sure with that kind of behavior," Kelsey shrugged. "And sneaking into your presents early? No wonder you don't want to talk to Santa!"

Matti knew Kelsey was only playing, but she couldn't help wondering if she had a point. Not that long ago, she would have been confident in saying Santa wasn't real. Now, after everything that had happened over the past few months, she was less certain. Even if he was, he wouldn't be taking photos with kids at her mall, though she did catch herself glancing in his direction anxiously as they passed by. What would happen if she did go visit him? Would he spank her for being naughty, right in front of everyone? Would he put her in a diaper, where she belonged, and send her off to her sister, sniffling and squirming, rubbing her bottom?

He didn't, of course, but it was hard to get the image out of her head as they shopped for presents for their family. Matti wasn't a fan of shopping in general, and the Christmas crowds didn't help matters. It was one of the rare times when Kelsey wasn't too annoying, however, since she was always good to bounce ideas off of, and make suggestions when Matti didn't quite know what to get someone.

The fantasies got the better of her, and she couldn't help herself once they were finally done with the mall, and headed off to another store. "Huh," she said as they stepped inside. "I think they've moved stuff around since the last time we were in here."

"Really?" Kelsey raised an eyebrow. "It looks the same to me."

It did to Matti, too, though she'd hoped her sister might go along with her. "Maybe it's just been too long," she shrugged. "Or I'm used to the one by the college. A-Anyway, I think what I'm looking for is down this way."

She took off, glad now for the crowd to slip into, ignoring Kelsey's shouts as they got separated. She knew she wouldn't have long. Pretending to forget where everything was might excuse her ending up in the completely wrong aisle, and maybe she could stall for a minute, pulling up the store's app to see if there was a map or something, but Kelsey would definitely know something was up if she lingered too long.

And it wasn't like anything was going to happen anyway. She didn't have the guts to buy anything there in front of her sister, nor could she think of anyone she could believably claim she was buying them for as a gag. All she was going to do was look, but, with her supply for Christmas break nearly gone, and visions of Santa spanking and diapering her at the mall running through her head, she just wanted to see them, to bask in those shameful fantasies for another moment.

The diaper aisle was right where she knew it would be. It was, she supposed, maybe an indicator that this desire had been somewhere deep inside of her, hidden, long before she'd ever heard of Sierra and found the stories about her, that she'd taken note of that. It wasn't like she'd needed to know the location, like she'd ever even gone down the aisle, that she could recall, but she had seen it there, knew exactly where it was.

The feeling she got when she stepped into it was not unlike the one that had come over her last night, in front of the tree. There wasn't anything particularly Christmasy about them. It wasn't even the first diaper aisle she'd been to, since Valerie had taken her diaper shopping before. It was the first time here, however, at the store in her hometown, where she'd been a million times over the years, and actually standing there, in person, made her feel so very small. And, somehow, despite how busy the store itself was, she had it all to herself.

Maybe it was her imagination, but she was certain she could smell the scent of baby powder all around her as she took it all in, as she stared at the nearly endless shelves filled with padding, more brands than she had ever thought could exist. She was wearing regular underwear, yet she could practically feel the bulk of a thick diaper under her pants, could almost hear it crinkling as she gawked.

"Oh, my goodness!" an unfamiliar voice exclaimed, making her jump. She turned, blushing, to see that she was no longer alone, her embarrassment only growing when she saw who was there.

It wasn't anybody she knew, as far as she could tell. There was something oddly familiar about her, even if she couldn't quite put her finger on where she'd seen her. The young woman was absolutely gorgeous, however, and so tall, towering over Matti, clad in a spotless white dress, trimmed in fur. Matti felt even smaller now, more insecure, unsure how she was going to explain why she was here. It didn't even occur to her that she hadn't been asked, that it would be just as strange for this woman to be here, as she didn't seem much, if any, older than Matti. She could, theoretically, have had a baby, or a younger sibling, and Matti could have lied and said the same, but all she could think about, in the moment, was how obvious it must seem that she was here because she wanted diapers for herself.

"Is that you?" the girl asked. At first, Matti was positive that meant she was right, that she should know who this was. And then, the lady in white raised a finger, pointing past her. Matti turned her head uncertainly, letting out a squeak as she saw a picture of herself plastered across one of the packages of diapers, a picture that nobody should have been able to take.

There she was, in her too-small pajamas, sitting under the tree, shaking a present, diaper peeking out. In big, pink, sparkly letters, the apparent brand name 'Bratties' was written across the top of the package, with the slogan, 'For the naughty little girl in your life,' underneath, slightly smaller.

Next it was another package from the same brand, this one a picture of her in her cheerleading uniform, kneeling down beside a pair of legs she knew belonged to Valerie, holding a baby bottle in front of its crotch, Matti obediently sucking on it. That was, somehow, not the worst, however. There were other packages there with pictures of things she didn't recognize, that she hadn't done, her in a onesie, the bulge of a large, pink from what she was showing through the legbands, diaper underneath, shoving over a large pile of blocks, one of her in an apron and pink diaper in a kitchen, covered in flour, and, perhaps worst of all, her in a cropped t-shirt, coming nowhere close to hiding the pink diaper she was wearing, printed with what was clearly a baby doll version of herself and baby blocks spelling out 'Mathilda', straddling one of the other packages of diapers with her on it, face red, very obviously humping it.

"N-No!" she squealed, scrambling in front of the humiliating display, throwing her arms out, trying to hide all of them, knowing it was a futile task.

"It isn't?" the woman smirked, easily reaching past her, picking one of them up, examining the picture, and then Matti behind it. "It looks just like you! There's no need to be shy, sweetie! I think it's cool that you're a model! Let's see." She began to read the back of the package while Matti's cheeks blazed, praying that Kelsey didn't show up to see this. It would have been embarrassing enough to be in the diaper aisle with her, but being there while they were pictures of her all over these packages, as if she'd modeled for them, showing what was really happening at cheerleading practice, and how she had, indeed, been looking at her presents early, was almost too much.

"'The thickest diaper on the market, so you can keep it on her as long as you like,'" the girl read. "'Extra sticky tapes, so she doesn't try to take them off. Best applied after a thorough spanking, and/or a warm, soapy enema, and used alongside corner-time or line writing. We may not be able to cure her brattiness, but at least she won't be able to forget the consequences of her behavior as long as she's in her Bratties.' So, is all that true?"

"I-I don't know!" Matti nibbled on her bottom lip. "I-I told you, i-it's not me!"

"A liar, too, huh?" the woman shook her head. "They really picked the right spokesbaby, I guess."