Page 26 of A Siren Song for Christmas

He wanted to impress Malachi.

Chapter

Fourteen

Malachi stared ahead at the glow of the markets. Christmas trees towered over wooden stalls decorated with greenery, tinsel, and candles. As they drew closer, the smell of mulled wine, hot chocolate, smoke from wood fires, roasted meats, candied nuts, and fried dough lingered in the air.

A smile played on his lips as they entered the markets. Snow continued falling, contributing to the magic of it all.

Children’s voices singing a Christmas carol grew louder as Malachi and Trent approached. Malachi watched the children’s choir. His vocal cords tingled as he remembered the act of singing. His lungs filled with breath. He looked away.

“You can make wreaths at that stall there.” Trent pointed. “Over there you can buy wooden Christmas decorations. You can buy lots of decorations here at the markets.”

Trent spoke rapidly, making Malachi think he was probably nervous. Which made sense considering what he’d said about not spending much time with people who weren’t family.

Again, Malachi wondered why Trent had decided to befriend him. After all, he was significantly older. They had different backgrounds and no clear commonalities. But perhaps theyoung man was particularly perceptive and could tell Malachi needed a friend too.

“It is all very beautiful.” Malachi examined the stalls they passed.

“It is, isn’t it?” Trent asked. “Are you thirsty? Hungry? Over there you can get hot chocolate. And that stall sells mulled wine. Or maybe you want to walk around a bit first.”

“Let’s walk around.” Malachi smiled at Trent, hoping to put the man at ease.

“All right.”

For a couple of minutes, they strolled amongst the wooden huts selling jewellery, knitted goods, and other knick-knacks.

“The markets are a great place to buy Christmas gifts,” Trent said. “I often buy my siblings’ presents here.”

Malachi nodded. And as they moved further into the market, the busier and busier it became. Where they entered the markets, there had been only a few people around.

But now people bustled against him. Voices grew louder. Heat from bodies chased the chill of the air away. Malachi began to sweat. He clenched his hands. He’d forgotten how much he disliked crowds.

“Let’s get more mulled wine!” a fairy cried out.

“And I want some candied almonds,” another fairy shouted right in Malachi’s ear.

Someone bumped into Malachi. He gritted his teeth. His muscles coiled. Everywhere he looked there were throngs of people.

“There is a stall that sells glass baubles,” Trent pointed out, clearly unbothered by the cacophony of people enclosing them. But of course, he worked here. He was used to the bustle.

Meanwhile Malachi spent his days in his quiet emporium, serving a slow stream of customers. He spent his life closed off, living in solitude.

I don’t belong here.

The crush and noise of the people grew louder still. Boisterous laughter and drunken yells filled the air. Malachi hunched his shoulders, wishing he could be somewhere quieter.

But Trent just kept talking and smiling. “Up there is my family’s stall. We could go say hello.” He stopped walking. “But they look pretty busy at the moment. Perhaps we’ll come back later when there is less of a queue.”

Malachi forced a smile, trying to hide his discomfort. “All right.” He followed Trent’s gaze to a stall. On one side stood an oven, smoke rising from it. From here, he could scent the freshly baked bread. Indeed, a large line stood before the stall.

But all the stalls had large lines. Everywhere he looked there were crowds.

“Is it always this busy?” Malachi took a step backwards, trying to get away from the constant stream of people.

Trent shook his head, coming up beside him as he scanned the masses. “Tonight seems particularly so. But this is the busiest time of the day. People come straight from work.”

“I see.” Malachi had been nervous about coming out. He’d been nervous about doing something new. It seemed that he’d been right to be.