As Christmas draws closer, the fact that the group becomes smaller every day is becoming more and more noticeable. Previously, the whole living room was filled with people. Now, there are only 9 people left. 10 including myself.

    And after today, there will be one person less again. And that person appears to be Sarah, who quietly steps towards the calendar before anyone else can.

We send these out to those we love, messages from here to there

‘Happy holidays’ or ‘Merry Christmas’, sending well wishes everywhere

“Oh, I know. A holiday card, right?” says Chloé.

    “Uh… you’re not gonna send me out before I can turn back, are you?” says Sarah concerned.

    “What, you don’t want to suddenly appear in a stranger’s place?” says Luke jokingly.

    “No, thank you!” For a moment, Sarah looked to be entertaining the idea but then quickly changed her mind. However, as she looks down to her body to see whether there are any changes happening already, she feels a little disappointed that nothing appears to be different.

    “Did the calendar break?” she asks.

    I shake my head with an amused smirk on my face while I simply point to something behind her. Something that everyone of us has already seen aside from Sarah herself.

    “Huh?” Curiously, the soon to be transformed young woman peeks over her shoulder  to find what looks to be an oversized yet empty Christmas card.

    “What the-” Before she can even react, Sarah’s words are cut off as the card snaps closed, with Sarah inside. It is quite reminiscent of Helen’s transformation, instigated by the wrapping paper. And, much like Helen, Sarah initially appears to try and fight against what is happening. A fight that is ultimately entirely pointless. She will transform regardless of what she does.

    But of course, she doesn’t really want to get out of the transformation. She and all the others consented to their transformations before we started.

    From outside the card, all we can really see is that the card that has enclosed Sarah is slowly flattening and that her movements are getting less and less noticeable. Inside, however, there is a lot going on. Slowly but steadily, Sarah is pulled into the paper. She places a hand on the card to try and push it open again, only for her hand to push into the paper, furthering her conversion into nothing but a drawing.

    There is a pressure pushing down on her body hard but it is not painful. After all, it is simply guiding the transformation along. It is actually starting to feel nicer and nicer as time goes on. Eventually, Sarah just ceases her struggles and simply lets it happen to her.

    And that becomes apparent to us on the outside as well as the card has now closed up completely. Completely flat, the life-sized card quickly shrinks down to a more suitable size before finally, it opens up and folds inside out to reveal what has become of Sarah. We can see her in full 2D, wearing clothing much like my own in a decorated living room not unlike the room we are currently in. She is sitting by the fire with a happy expression on her face and the text ‘Happy Holidays’ written above her.

    “Wait… something is written inside,” says Liza.

    I open the card up to find what must be Sarah’s thoughts, written down. “I’m really just a drawing! I hope I look nice to everyone. Wait, they can read what I’m thinking?!”

    I chuckle while her words fade from the paper again to make room for new thoughts. However, the drawing that Sarah is in remains unchanged. It is just a drawing after all.