Page 34 of Christmas Eve with Krampus
Then, in accented English, Ruprecht asks me, “How long will you stay, my Josie?”
I tried my best to learn German for him. Running his note through the online translator on my phone, I knew that’s what it was. I wanted to be able to talk to him in his language, even if it’s an older dialect. It became pretty clear that languages are not my thing, but I purposely memorized that sentence for him.
Just like I did one other one.
Clutching him around his powerful back, clinging to him, knowing that I made the right decision in returning, I smile into his hair.
How long?
“Für immer.”
Forever.
Because that’s how these legends and stories go, isn’t it?
They all lived happily ever after—and that’s exactly what my Christmas demon and his not-so-broken, not-so-mortal Josie do.
