"Wake up, Wake up, Wake up! Santa's been here, Santa's been here!!!" Dual's little sister Note Bell shouted, waking him up, the morning sun shining in his face. As he heard his sister keep shouting, Dual got up and looked out the window, seeing that all evidence of the train being here was gone.
The turquoise blue colt got up from the bed and grabbed his fleece blue robe but he got jerked back a bit when he heard the robe rip again. He took the robe off the bedpost and put his hand in the pocket he ripped, seeing the hole has gotten bigger, that all of his fingers could go inside it. Which made the colt even more confused.
Downstairs, there were presents and ripped wrapping paper everywhere along with a small Polar Express toy train circling around under the tree.
"This has been the best Hearths Warming ever!!" Bell said before she saw another present under the tree and grabbed it. "Hey Dual, there's one more...it has your name on it."
Dual looked at the present and saw it was a small green and red box that was wrapped in a blue ribbon that had the same color as his fur. On the name tag, it just said 'Dual Blade'. The colt gently grabbed the present from his sister and undoes the ribbon, putting it on the floor before taking off the lid and putting it under the bottom.
What he saw in the box...he didn't know if he was seeing things, what he pulled out of it...was the sleigh bell that he lost.
Dual was mesmerized by the bell that he thought he would never see again. He shook the bell near his ear and smiled when he heard the bell ring beautifully in it. He gave the bell to his sister to ring it herself and it responded to her as well.
There was also one more thing in the box and Dual saw that it was a note after he took it out, he began to read it to himself.
I found this on the seat of my sleigh
better fix that hole in your pocket...
Mr. C
Dual now knows for sure...The Polar Express, The North Pole, Santa, and even Virtus were all real, it was never a dream...all of that actually happened. Note Bell gave Dual back the bell and he rang it in his ear again, their mother saw them with it and smiled. "Aw, what a lovely bell...who's it from?"
Dual reached up and gave it to his mother who took it in her hand. "Santa..."
"Santa? Really?" She shook it near her ear but it didn't ring for her, Both siblings' smiles faded. "Oh, that's too bad..."
"What's this?" Dual and Note's father grabbed the bell and shook it near his ear now, the bell didn't ring for him either. "Broken...hm...sorry about that Dual..."
He gave Dual his bell back, the blue colt looking at it with confusion. He leaned closer to his sister and shook the bell, the sibling's smiles returning when they heard the beautiful ringing sound perfectly in their ears.
Their mother then called from the kitchen. "Come on kids, we don't want to be late."
Note Bell got up on her feet and walked to where her mother was, leaving Dual alone to sit with his bell for a while, before getting up and moving the empty cookie plate and putting the bell there in its place on the coffee table with a smile. Walking out of the living room and leaving it there.
At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as time went on...it grew silent for everyone...even my sister Note Bell found one Hearths Warming where she couldn't hear it's sweet sound. I surprisingly found Virtus one day and we got together, she remembered everything that happened on the train too, which was amazing. I showed her the bell and she was so shocked at how I got it back.
Virtus and I eventually grew a life together...though we're all grown up now...the bell still rings for the both of us...and for everyone else...who truly believe...