Christmas Memories (Sagira) ●

[Sudi Nazari]

Christmas was fast approaching and while most other boys his age were busy playing video games or goofing off in general, Sudi was in the mall looking for decent cooking supplies. His favorite skillet was wearing out for one and he desperately needed a new set of knives...maybe some cutting boards too. Biting his lip as he looked at the various pots and pans available, Sudi wondered which one the head chef at the restaurant might have chosen. Maybe he should've asked for the brand name of the cookware they used at the restaurant after all. Ah well, he could always ask one of the salespeople here what they would say is restaurant quality. Cookware and other utensils were one of the few things that Sudi spared no expense for no matter how expensive the latest gadgets might be.

Truth be told, Sudi already had quite the collection back at his apartment for that very reason. After all, he simply couldn't do his job or learn if he was lacking even one important tool. He even had a fondant roller and a mixer with every attachment that he could find for it. Still, one could never have too many gadgets, or at least Sudi believed that was the case. He had everything from spatulas to waffle griddles and pastry bags. It made cooking that much more fun and he loved experimenting with anything and everything he could. After this he needed to go to the grocery store and see if they had the spices he needed but first he was having trouble deciding on knives. There were just so many that when compared to the selection of the pots and pans that he had been looking at moments before, and had finally decided on a non-stick skillet and a couple stainless steel pots, there was a vast selection. They had everything from steak knifes to specialized filleting knives among other things.

Furrowing his brow, Sudi looked at several knife sets to see if they would meet his standards. After looking over several knife sets and asking a salesperson several questions about the quality, Sudi finally decided on a deluxe set and a couple smaller sets to make sure he had every knife that he needed. Sure it was expensive, but it was well worth the investment if he expected to be of any use in the kitchen whatsoever. Now he wanted to see what new gadgets they had, if any. Humming along with the Christmas song that came over the in-store radio, Sudi walked through the aisles, wondering absentmindedly if he might see Sagira sometime before Christmas this year. He hadn't seen her since she ran away from home a while back and sincerely hoped that she was doing well. Unfortunately, Sudi had no idea where his older sister was and Georgia was certainly large enough that he may never find her.

A soft sigh escaped him as Sudi remembered the last time he had seen Sagira. Or rather, the time he had found her note explaining why she had run away in the first place. Since then, Sudi must've read it at least a dozen times to the point that he had every word memorized. It had said nothing about what she would be doing or where she would live...and why would it? Sagira probably didn't know what would happen after she ran away from home herself. All the same, Sudi still hoped that he would be able to find her sometime and show her just how much better he had gotten at cooking. He had run away from home too after all and had come to Georgia hoping to find her again. However it seemed that finding Sagira after all this time was no small feat.

"I hope you're alright, Sagira..."Sudi murmured, more to himself than anyone else as he looked at the wall of gadgets and gizmos on display. Somehow the new 'toys' didn't seem so appealing anymore. Besides, many of the gadgets he might never even use...and he certainly was spending more than enough on the knife set. Well...he did need another spatula, and one of those all in one teaspoons and such...a few more items wouldn't hurt, right...right.

Words: 712 | Notes: --- | Tags: Sagira Nazari

[Sagira Nazari]

The very person Sudi was thinking of was as alright as she could be – if utterly freezing could be considered alright. Though she had prepared well in advance for the shift in season and even manufactured herself a warm jacket amongst various knitted garments, Sagira still couldn’t quite stand the cold. It sifted its fingers into everything chilling things to the bone, and no matter what she tried, Sagira always found herself cooler than what was comfortable. She missed the summer and even the fall even if the prospects of the cold brought a new shift in fashion.

Speaking of fashion- the winter dresses were quite cute this season. Stopping in front of the particular store that hosted the newest line of winter garments, Sagira allowed her gaze to flicker over them carefully. She noted how the boots they were paired with went all the way up the legs acting as insulators that were otherwise not there and how the scarves and hats carried accessory colors bringing everything together. They were cute- but maybe too little girl cute rather than woman cute. “Is there even a difference with you?” the question popped into Sagira’s head, and the critical expression of Aziza reflected once more in the reflective surface of the window.

An unintentional step back was taken before a huff escaped from Sagira as her gaze held on the window. “Go away I’m looking,” she grumbled simply shifting from one side to the other to see through. Aziza responded by reaching upwards, pulling her eyelids down, and sticking her tongue out. Gritting her teeth, Sagira turned and huffed before walking away rather loudly towards the next store. A shriek of laughter vibrated in Sagira’s mind but would be inaudible to everyone else there. Lucky them. The next store was a department store, and though she preferred small businesses, Sagira stepped inside. Drawing in to the cooking section first, she stomped passed numerous pots and pans only to accidentally knock a precarious one from the shelf causing it to crash loudly to the ground. A startled ‘EP’ sound echoed from the woman before she had a chance to silence herself. A huff escaped thereafter.

[Sudi Nazari]

By the time Sagira had entered the store, Sudi had all but filled his cart with some of the new gadgets he clearly couldn't live without like the new seasonal cookie cutter shapes he had looked everywhere for. Oh! And they even had the special blow torches too that were actually meant for cooking. Maybe he could make baked Alaska now or just make a bunch of cookies...mmm gingerbread would be good too. Did he even have enough mixing bowls for all this? Well...he could always use a few more, maybe some more pans too... Sudi was about to go back to where he had seen the mixing bowls when he heard the crash and grimaced before turning to see what had happened to make such a racket. It sounded like it had been from the aisle he had left not that long ago too.

He had just turned the corner when he saw the fallen pot and gasped, rushing to it as if it was an injured child and cradling it in his arms. Thankfully there was no scratches or dents on it which was a relief, that meant it could still find a proper home or...did he need one of these? Looking back at his cart, Sudi sighed and carefully put the pot back on its proper shelf and turned to the offender. He had every intention of telling them off for being so clumsy and almost hurting such an important utensil. That was until he saw who it was and all thoughts stopped for a brief moment as Sudi stared rather blankly at Sagira...or was it her? Of all the places to be, what were the chances that she would wander into this particular store. Hadn't he been just thinking about her and what she was doing?

"S-Sagie...?"Sudi managed finally, hardly believing his eyes. Well, if this wasn't Sagira, it was someone who looked exactly like her...almost like she hadn't changed a bit. Questions filled Sudi's mind about what she had been doing, why she hadn't called him, and so much more but words failed him at that moment. After all this time...he had found her, he had finally found her... Tears welled up in Sudi's eyes as he waited for some sort of response until he couldn't contain himself any longer and rushed Sagira...or her look alike, it didn't really matter anymore, and hugged her as tight as he possibly could. It was like he was a child again instead of the young man he was today with how desperately he clung to her as if he was afraid she was going to disappear. He was never going to let her go again, not now...not ever.

Words: 464 | Notes: --- | Tags: Sagira Nazari

[Sagira Nazari]

Wincing down at the pot where it now rested on the floor, Sagira briefly wondered how hard she would have to hit her head on the shelf in order to pass out right then and there. It would be a better story for whatever store employee came running from the noise. “Very hard,” Aziza commented sarcastically. Sagira groaned. This is your fault she mentally commented. No reply was given back. Sagira sighed softly once more bending down to retrieve the fallen pot. Before she could pick it up, however, two arms had seized it, and Sagira found herself glancing up to find a form now looking over it carefully. Oh jeeze… she stood mounting an apology to whatever store employee this was until seeing that the boy before her was not dressed in employee clothing. No, instead, it was his familiarity that caught her.

A mane of light hair reminiscent of her own, tan skin, and light eyes reflected in Sagira’s eyes as she regarded the figure before her. A look of startled wonder had clasped her amethyst spheres, and the attempt at an apologetic smile had fallen flat. Shoulders had tensed uncertainly, and very briefly, Sagira’s hand had risen to seize the fibers of a shirt. She stopped as the boy turned to her. Sudi. She wanted to say something, but in an instant, her mind was void aside from his name. Sudi. He was almost completely unchanged from when she had last seen him what felt like ages ago right then and there. Sudi you came… Unspoken realizations passed through Sagira’s mind right then and there. You’re here… in the toybox…

The word, her undesired nickname, snapped Sagira back into reality, and a sharp scowl grasped her features. Her lips parted, but words vanished as arms wrapped around her tightly. For a second, Sagira was stunned. It had been far too long since she’d been hugged especially like that. Arms lowered, and hesitantly she returned the hug. “Hey there….” she mused briefly. “It’s been a while, Sudi…” Reaching up thereafter, she made to pinch both of his cheeks— hard. “What are you doing, little brother?”

[Sudi Nazari]

Honestly, after all this time, Sudi had forgotten how much Sagira hated the nickname but it had been the first thing that had slipped out of his mouth nonetheless. At first, he thought that he had to be dreaming, that he would wake up and realize that he had imagined the entire thing. This was no dream however, it felt too real and you couldn't feel in dreams, right? Or at least, that was what he had been told and Sagira's arms around him were definitely real enough. Of all the places to run into her, the last place he expected to find her was in a department store. Of course, it was in the mall after all and there had to be some clothing stores nearby. It had just been a lucky coincidence it seemed really, but after all this time searching for her, Sudi didn't care how it had happened, just that it had.

Sagira's quiet words brought a smile to his features. How long had it been since he heard her voice...it had been years at the very least. "I missed you so much...Sudi began before she suddenly pinched his cheeks hard, causing him to yelp and try to pull his face away, flailing slightly. "Sagira!"Sudi complained before rubbing his cheeks when she released him,"I was shopping... Needed more knives and well, I think I went a little overboard but there's so many cool things in here!" he continued, running off to grab his cart that was indeed filled to the brim with various odds and ends, knives, pots, and yes, even the pot that Sagira had knocked over moments before. He certainly couldn't have too many pots after all, right...right, besides, it had led him to his sister so he simply couldn't just leave it here.

"See? I have a lot more back at the dorm, I'm in culinary school now and it's great! I'm learning a lot of new things and it's so much fun!"Sudi explained excitedly, practically beaming from ear to ear as he spoke,"What about you? What have you been up to? I haven't seen you in so long, Sagira, are you happy here?"he asked eagerly, wanting to know anything and everything. He had so many questions to ask her in so little time but they could wait, he wanted to know exactly what she'd been doing since she'd left home all those years ago.

~~~
Sagira Nazari

[Sagira Nazari]

Sagira couldn’t even begin to describe how much she had missed Sudi. Like white wash, all the uncertainties were being bleached out, and for her at least, it felt as though things could pick up where they left off. It was strange how aware she was that time had passed yet how little she cared in the seconds she held him. He was there, right there, and she was happy.

When her hands grasped his cheeks, she couldn’t help but grin a little as he flailed slightly and complained. Releasing his face shortly after, Sagira hummed softly leaning right up to Sudi’s face again. “Sorry your baby face is still too cute, Su,” she giggled softly at him. He hadn’t changed too much, and she was thankful for that, in fact. If he had grown too tall or begun to look too masculine, he might have stopped looking like her little brother. Sagira didn’t think she could deal with that as easily, to say the least. It would have distorted her fantasy a bit too much right then and there.

As Sudi explained what he had been doing, Sagira blinked before slowly smiling warmly. Knives, instruments, gadgets, she knew where in the store they were. You still love cooking… Their father hadn’t ridiculed it out of him. Before she knew it, Sagira’s eyes had welled. Thankfully, Sudi had retreated to grab his thing giving Sagira a moment or two to regain herself. By the time he had returned, she’d wiped a few tears from her eyes expertly avoiding the destruction of her makeup and was standing there ready to smile at his things. Listening intently as he explained that he was in culinary school, Sagira beamed. Before he had a chance to ask what she was doing with her life, Sagira had pulled Sudi into yet another hug. “I’m so proud of youuuuuuuu!” she sung lightly. “You’re doing it, Su, you’re doing what you want.” The last was quieter than the first, but Sudi could probably hear it regardless.

When the question was returned to her, she smiled a bit. “I’m in college, going to transfer to University in a few more semesters and get a BA in arts maybe. I’m already designing my own clothes and making them! People are wearing them!” she whispered excitedly at him.

[Sudi Nazari]

Sagira's explanation as to why she had pinched his cheeks in the first place earned a brief frown from Sudi. "I do not have a baby face!"Sudi pouted before he went on to answer her question about what he was doing there in the first place. It took only a few moments to get his cart that happened to be filled with the latest gadgets and new pots, pans, and well, anything else that he thought that absolutely, positively could not live without. That included the pot that Sagira had caused to fall but then again, it was still a good pot and he couldn't just leave it lying there, waiting for some other person to just grab it. What if it got dropped again! There was no telling who might mistreat it again or maybe even dent it. Sudi shuddered at the thought, no...it would be better if he just took it home where it would be safe and he knew nobody would mistreat it ever again.

In his excitement over explaining just what he had been doing, Sudi was rather oblivious to Sagira's thoughts as he oh so very carefully put the pot in his cart, treating it more like a newborn child rather than something used to cook food with. What he wasn't expecting was how suddenly Sagira had pulled him into a hug, nearly suffocating him in the process moments after he had asked her how she was doing. He couldn't help the surprised squeak that escaped him before flailing again as he tried to pull away, "Sagira!"Sudi complained,"I can't breathe!"

When Sagira did finally release him, he gave her a shaky smile as he just tried to catch his breathe. Sudi had heard what she had said, and it did mean a lot to have his big sister say that she was proud of him. It seemed that she was the only one, besides their one who was proud of him after all. Even when dad had beaten him for refusing to be an obedient lap dog like his eldest sibling, Mother had still said that she was proud of him. That had meant the world to Sudi and if there was one person that he missed terribly outside of the toy box. She had been the only person that he had written a note to and left it in a place he knew that Father wouldn't look.

As Sagira explained what she had been up to, Sudi couldn't help but grin. It seemed that she was doing what she had always dreamed of as well. That was good....that meant running away hadn't been for nothing after all. "That's great Sagira! You did it! I'm so glad you're happy,"Sudi replied excitedly, this time hugging her as tight as he possibly could,"I'm proud of you, sissy..."he continued in a much softer voice then before. Ever since he had realized Sagira had run away he had hoped that she would be happier, that she could be herself without their father trying to suffocate her and keep her in a box. It didn't matter that Father had turned his attention to him after Sagira had fled, it didn't matter that he had turned into Father's personal punching bag after that. All that mattered was that Sagira was here, she was safe, and she was happy. He couldn't ask for more than that.

~~~

Sagira Nazari

[Sagira Nazari]

A small shrill giggle escaped from Sagira when Sudi had assured her he didn’t have a baby face. She could argue that fact. She could argue it for days and weeks at a time. However, she let it be for now, not saying any more before he had retreated to get his things. It was still pretty obvious either way when she had gripped him so tight in happiness. She would release him again, however, laughing a little to herself as a step back was made. Hands found their way into pockets, and Sagira allowed herself to look over Sudi again. How was he not a ghost standing before her? How had he come all this way to meet her? She couldn’t answer those thoughts, nor did she really need answers when he was right there in front of her anyways. Sagira couldn’t have been happier.

Leaning in again with a grin, Sagira divulged what it was she’d been doing. The stars in her eyes were obvious to just about anyone who walked by, but her words were for Sudi. He was the only one who understood exactly what it meant. He knew what it was like at home and how liberating it was to be free. As he replied, she offered up a bright grin. “Isn’t it?” she practically squeaked out clasping her arms in front of herself in an effort not to wrap them tightly around Sudi and squeeze him again. When arms instead wrapped around her, she paused briefly before smiling and resting her chin on his shoulder. Someone was proud of her.

Violet eyes laden slightly, and a soft hum escaped from somewhere deep inside. “Sudi, we have to celebrate,” she whispered quieter, a bit calmer now. “We should go out to eat or something. We gotta catch up. It’d be really nice.” She could only hope it would be. And yet you’re worrying about what you might here a voice quibbled somewhere deep inside. Sagira took a deep breath before slowly pulling back from Sudi, only to reach up and set her hands on either side of his face. “That sound good?” she asked warmly after.

[Sudi Nazari]

When Sagira told him about how well she was doing with her designs and fashion, Sudi couldn’t help but grin as he hugged her as tight as he could. He was just so happy that Sagira was here, that she was safe and happy and doing what she had always dreamed of doing. Even if she had to run away from home to do it, it seemed like all those years apart had been worth it after all. As long as Sagira was happy, it didn’t matter what their father had done to him in her absence.

At Sagira’s next words, Sudi nodded and smiled,”We should, definitely,”he agreed readily. Of course they should celebrate, they had finally found each other after all these years and they had a lot to talk about. Like Sagira, Sudi had a lot of questions of his own about why she had decided to run away and why she hadn’t taken him with her. She had to have her own reasons, but Sudi had always wondered why she had just left without a word of warning to him or anyone. The letter had provided some explanation, but it still had been hard for Sudi to accept the fact that she had just abandoned him here to deal with their father alone. Did she know what would happen? Sudi didn’t want to think about that right now. All that mattered was that Sagira was here, and she was happy…that should be enough, right.

After Sagira pulled away, Sudi shook his head at her last question,”How about I cook instead? I want to show you what I can do. Besides, the dorm is plenty big enough for the both of us if you want. Or I could go to your house…but that means I need to get groceries, too…”he replied easily before chewing his lip in thought as he tried to think about what he would make for Sagira if she agreed. Well, at any rate he still needed to get the items that were in his cart first before he could do anything so it would be easier if they went to his dorm in hindsight.

”Either way, I need to buy these before we head out and then we can decide what we want to do, alright?”Sudi replied before wheeling his cart to the check stands, looking back every once in a while to make sure that Sagira was following him. Once he got there, Sudi meticulously placed each item onto the conveyer belt, making sure to handle them with care, especially the poor pot that Sagira had knocked over earlier. Unfortunately, the cashier didn’t seem to think that the precious pots, pans, knives, and other instruments were worthy of being handled gently. The look on Sudi’s face was nothing short of horrified as he watched the employee practically slam the precious utensils into the bags. It was all he could do to watch the atrocious way the cashier was bagging the items and practically throwing them around. By the time they had finished scanning all the items, Sudi looked like he was going to be sick to say the least of things. Didn’t they understand that they were handling something precious?!

Sudi wordlessly paid the cashier and took the bags from them before walking out of the store as quickly as he possibly could, not checking to see if Sagira was following them this time. As soon as he was out the doors, he dropped the bags before checking each and every one for any damage. Somehow they had escaped unscathed but that was certainly going to be the last time he came shopping here…or at least he wouldn’t go through that ignorant employee’s line again. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sudi smiled at Sagira albeit sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck,So umm…what do you want to do, Sissy?”he asked after a moment, ”Should we go out to eat or would you like me to cook?” he continued briefly. In all honesty, Sudi wanted to do the latter just so Sagira could see just how far he had come since the last time they had seen each other. That had been years ago and Sudi was excited about the prospect of seeing what she thought of his cooking even after all these years.