Makota Suzin threw herself onto the couch and watched as her mother hung a red and green garland over the window. The apartment had been decked out in Christmas decorations, entirely prepared for the wave of relatives who would come on the 25th.

"Suzin, come wash windows. I'll bring some crisps from store," her mum said, turning from the sagging garland to look her daughter in the eyes.

"Moomm, it's not 'crisps' it's 'chips', get it right." she pulled a limp pillow over her head and faced the back of the couch.

"Honey, I'm trying. Sister Juno said I need start speaking towards you in English, your grade is down." 

Suzin grumbled and sat up, "I speak better English than you."

 ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Suzin was not looking forwards to Christmas, but like everyone else, Suzin could not stop time. Christmas would come whether she liked it or not. And Christmas was definitely coming, it was 11:48, Christmas Eve.

Suzin must have dozed off because she woke up to a ringing doorbell and a clock that read 12:04. She pulled on her coat and raced downstairs to see who it was.

"Sister Bethany! It's late..." she exclaimed when she saw who was standing outside the apartment door.

"It's Christmas. I came to give you a gift." she proclaimed.

"It's midnight, couldn't you come in the morning?" annoyance flared inside her as she stood in the snow.

"It is the morning," Sister Juno offered.

"Hmph." she grumbled, "Come inside..."

Suzin led Sister Juno into the apartment building and up the stair to apartment number 17. She offered Sister Juno the best seat, but she declined. I will only stay for a little while, she said. Though she did accept a glass of water. It was a long walk, she said.

After making small talk for a bit, she procured a package wrapped in caramel-colored paper. Brown-paper packages tied up with string, Suzin thought as she took the package in her hands. 

"I found this in the church archives. It is an object that meant a lot to an important person in our church's history," she said looking pointedly at the old picture of South Christian Church hanging on the living room wall. "It's from one of the founders of the Hakodate branch. His name was Suyga Hon. He was in alliance with our missionaries to build a church here in Hakodate; the academy and university were built later."

Suzin stared at the package and started to rip the paper open. "Tut, tut," the nun scolded. "You are not allowed to open it until he comes for you."

"But- isn't he dead?" Suzin asked, quite confused on her part.

"Does that make a difference?" Sister Bethany questioned, putting her famous raised eyebrow into action.

 ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

At 8:00, guests started to arrive, making themselves at home as Suzin rushed around cooking, cleaning, and helping her mum in any way necessary. 

"Suzu, run along and tell the nuns that we are hosting a gathering," her mother said, dropping her mangled English around the guests.

"Whhyyy, moomm? I'm busy," Suzin grumbled.

"No, you're not. You're just pretending to wash those dishes." Her words hit her mark and Suzin looked up, shocked.

"How- how did you-" she sputtered.

"Mothers always know... also, you've been washing that same dish for 10 minutes," Suzin's mother countered. 

"Fine... I'll do it," Suzin grumbled.

"Suzin!" called Oba Makota Akari, "Come kiss me before you go!"

Suzin groaned softly, dragged herself over, and gave Oba Akari a quick peck on the cheek.

She turned and flew out of the apartment only briefly stopping to shut the door.

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

In half an hour, a small group of nuns congregated in Suzin's small apartment. The space was so crowded that the party moved out onto the street and neighbors were invited. The children even started a soccer game.

Suzin's neighborhood was commonly called Little Nagasaki because Nagasaki was where most of the Japanese Christians live. Her neighborhood was mostly made up of Christians and their families. 5/6 of the neighborhood children went to South Christian Academy and 1/2 of South Christian Academy's students lived in Suzin's neighborhood.

Suzin wove through the ever-growing crowd, making her way towards the distant figure of Sister Bethany. She finally got near enough to tap her on the shoulder and say, "Can we talk?"

Sister Bethany looked surprised then she took hold of Suzin's hand and led her to the edge of the street. "Come. Let's sit," she said, motioning to a neighbor's doorstep, a few inches away. 

Suzin ran to grab Calpis and prepare what she was going to say. Sister Bethany, I wanted to know more about this Suyga Hon. Do you think you could give me some more information? And then she would say, Of course, Makota! What would you like to know? Suzin would then go on to ask all her possibly irritating questions that the nun would (hopefully) not find annoying.

Suzin made her way back to Sister Bethany, trying not to spill their drinks. She gingerly sat down and handed one of the drinks to the nun who took a sip and then set the can on the ground. Sister Bethany turned towards Suzin and said, "What were your questions? I'm sure that you have more than one."

Suzin, who was about to launch into her planned conversation, was caught off-guard. "I- Oh, yeah, I had quite a few questions," she held her breath and continued on, "Can you tell me more about what hid accomplished in his lifetime? Oh, and also why did you say that him being dead didn't matter? Also, can I please open the package? And-" Suzin shut her mouth and looked at her clenched hands.

Sister Bethany smiled and joked, "Well, which question should I answer first? You seem to have so many."Suzin looked up and open her mouth. The nun gave her no chance to speak as she continued, "Nevermind, I shall start with your first question."