Empath And The Red-Nosed Reindeer/Part 1

Empath woke up on December 24 to a bright and snowy Christmas Eve morning. He was watching as the village was making final preparations for Christmas Day, one of his favorite days of the year. He knew that that day was a custom mostly celebrated by humans that coincided with the Smurfs' original celebration of the Winter Solstice, which was a few days earlier. However, that day seemed special to humans because it was the day that legends say the Savior of all mankind, Jesus Christ, was born in a stable in Bethlehem, as his fellow Smurf Tapper had explained to him. This Savior had grown up to do all sorts of miracles -- healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding a few thousand people with only a few loaves and some fish -- that rivaled and even surpassed what any wizard could do. However, His greatest miracle was being able to raise Himself from the dead after three days of being laid in a tomb when He was crucified for the sins of mankind. And one of His promises that He will return to set up His kingdom here on Earth when the gospel has been shared all around the world as a witness to all the nations.

Empath sighed as he watched from his doorstep all the activity going on, happy to know that this will be his first Christmas in the Smurf Village as a free Smurf. He couldn't think of a gift that was more worthy to be thankful for other than his freedom, where he no longer had to spend similar holidays being locked up in a place where it was all work and study with no time or place for any celebrations or feeling anything. Now that he thought of it, another gift he was thankful for was knowing who and what he truly is, after years of being told that he was a Psyche.

Just then, Smurfette showed up at Empath's door. "Morning, Empath," she greeted as she gave him a kiss.

"Salutations, Smurfette," Empath greeted back. "That is an unusual way to greet your fellow Smurf in the morning, particularly this smurf."

Smurfette giggled. "You're smurfing under the mistletoe, silly!" She pointed to the sprig of mistletoe hanging over Empath's door. "It's tradition that whoever smurfs under the mistletoe around this time of year must smurf a kiss by someone who loves him."

Empath looked at Smurfette suspiciously. "This smurf can only wonder which Smurf put the mistletoe there in the first place!"

"Just you wait until you smurf what I have smurfed you for Christmas, Empath!" Smurfette said slyly.

"This smurf only hopes that it's in this smurf's size, Smurfette," Empath responded playfully.

Then the scent of something delicious tickled their noses. "It smells like Greedy is making up his Christmas gingerbread Smurf cookies," Empath noted.

"Mmmm, how smurfy they must be," Smurfette said. "Let's go and smurf if Greedy will smurf us a sample!"

"Hold on, Smurfette," Empath said as Smurfette pulled on his arm to go with her to Greedy's kitchen. "Don't you think it would ruin Christmas Day if you have one of Greedy's cookies now?"

"And let's not forget Tapper's eggnog with a little bit of sarsaparilla in it," Smurfette added. "And a smurfing cup of hot chocolate with a minty smurf of a smurfberry candy cane. Something to smurf us up on a cold winter's smurf."

"Great Ancestors, Smurfette, you seem very excited about this holiday," Empath commented.

"How could I not be this excited about it, Empath?" Smurfette said. "It's only about the sixth Christmas that I have smurfed since I was made into a real Smurf by Papa Smurf. Moreover, how could you not be this excited about it? This is your first Christmas away from Psychelia, where you don't have to worry about smurfing back there ever again. You're with your friends and your family, and more importantly, you're with me, and I don't want you to ever smurf a Christmas apart from me. Isn't that worth being excited?"

"Now that you've put it that way, Smurfette, there's just not enough days in the year to celebrate those things," Empath said. "But this smurf will be happy for the day when you will decide which Smurf you're going to marry someday."

"Well, that will have to be a surprise, Empath, but for now I'm happy enough to be smurfing with you," Smurfette said. "By the way, do you have any idea of what Handy may be smurfing us for Christmas?"

"This smurf doesn't use his minds-eye to invade somebody's private thoughts without their permission or when such may be necessary, Smurfette, so this smurf actually doesn't know," Empath replied. "All I know is that it's something similar to what the human enchanter Homnibus has in his hovel, and that it's going to take some time to build it, so we won't be able to see it until sometime early next year."

"Hmmm," Smurfette said, feeling a little disappointed. "Well, whatever it is, I am sure it will be smurf waiting for."