Just a few inches of snow covered the ground as Dimentio made his journey to town, so thin that his footprints revealed the paved road beneath him. 

He decided to dress more casually, adorning a purple scarf and yellow sweater instead of the cloak he had been wearing for the past few days. The houses he passed each had a very old, homey appearance. They were very charming and quaint, with melting icicles hanging from the eaves, occasionally dropping and shattering against the ground like glass. Frosting-like powder covered each rooftop. The way the houses were decorated reminded Dimentio of gingerbread houses. They were each unique, yet had the same base and shape. The overall style matched that of old Bavarian villages.

A few kids were running about. One boy was ringing a bell and trying to sell a stack of newspapers, likely a local. Another group of kids was singing together, walking from door to door with a list of winter songs. School must have been out for them, although it seemed a little early for that.

Did the town even have a school? Now that he thought about it, he never saw one. 

Along Main Street, there were various sweet shops with open signs perched in the windows. He could hear the bells sing from doors opening and closing. 

Initially, Dimentio had been worried that his rather unusual appearance would be frightening to the locals. He feared that his completion and eye colors would draw unwanted attention to him. However, everyone in town seemed unique. It's true what they say; when everyone's special, no one is. There were people from all across the dimensions visiting. Humans, ancients, toads, koopas, Bob-Ombs, and more. 

It was like the town was some kind of peaceful paradise where all these varied groups of people could meet and coexist in peace. 

It reminded him of a place he had been before.

The library was quite massive inside, far bigger than he expected. He couldn't recall the last time he saw so many books in one place. The novels were each sectioned by genre and sorted in alphabetical order by author. Dimentio didn't have a specific story he was searching for, so he strolled over to the closest section and did what he liked to call "book tasting." It was like wine tasting in the sense that he took a small look at a variety of different books to see which ones would catch his interest. 

"Mister, are you looking for the Christmas books?" a small blue toad asked from beside him, adjusting his glasses as he did so. "Because you're in the wrong section."

"I'm not sure what I'm looking for yet," Dimentio replied, keeping his gaze on the books shelved in front of him, making sure to keep his voice kind and patient so he wouldn't appear rude. He took one novel from the shelf and started reading the short introduction on the back while taking a brief glance at all the awards the author had won. 

"Oh. Because it's officially Christmas time! The tree lot just opened up! My mommies are buying us a Christmas tree today. You should get them while they're still cheap!" the toad explained. 

"Didn't your mothers tell you not to talk to strangers?" Dimentio asked with a small chuckle. "You know, stranger danger?"

"Huh? No. Why would they say that?" the toad asked with a small head tilt and a childish giggle. "Strangers are just friends we haven't met yet. That's what they say."

Dimentio frowned for a brief second, then shrugged. That seemed about right now that he thought about it. He wasn't sure where the idea of "stranger danger" even came from. Maybe it was just something he made up because the words rhymed. 

"Letters from Father Christmas," the little toad suggested, taking the book he was holding and gifting it to Dimentio. "It's by Tolkien. You know, the Lord of the Rings guy! This book is my copy, so you don't have to worry about returning it!"

"What?" Dimentio asked. "No, no, that's quite kind of you, but I don't-"

"Oh, please accept it," the kid begged. "If you accept, then that means I gave you a gift, which makes us friends."

"Friends?" Dimentio asked, glancing around himself briefly before bringing his mismatched gaze back to the child. "You don't even know my name."

"And you don't know mine," the kid smiled. "Let's meet here next week! We can talk about the book! Okay? Okay!"

"What? No, kid, your mothers will think I'm some kind of creep."

"Some kind of what?" the kid asked before bursting out in laughter. "Relax. Only good people are here. Anyway, you seem like a fairly fast reader. I'll see you next week! It's okay if you haven't completely finished the book yet. I can talk about the beginning with you! See ya!"

The little toad then ran back outside, nearly tripping over his little feet. Dimentio could see him run to his mothers through the window, tugging on their jackets. He got them to look inside directly at Dimentio, which made the jester shy away slightly. However, the mothers didn't glare at him for speaking to their child. Instead, they both smiled and waved. One of them was purple while the other was a light pink color.

It took Dimentio a moment to process the fact that they weren't freaked out or upset with him before waving back himself. The child wore a grin on his face, as if he was smugly saying "I told you so." Dimentio could only smile and roll his eyes in response. 

With the book in hand, there was no reason for him to continue hanging out in the library, so he decided to leave and continue to get a first impression of the town. There was a small tea shop located right next to the library that was tempting to go in, but Dimentio hadn't brought much money, and drinking tea alone seemed a little sad. They did have a variety of different sugars inside though, which seemed interesting. Perhaps he could come back later with one of his friends. It might be funny to take O'Chunks.

Next to the tea house was a small store. Nothing of much significance, but there was a very thin, clearly worn-out blanket situated in the window display. He had no idea why it was there since it didn't quite match the quality of everything around it. Perhaps that was why it caught his eye. 

There was a familiar feel about it. Something that drew him in until his hands were practically pressing against the glass. He wasn't sure why, but just looking at it filled him with this heavy feeling. 

"I know you," he muttered to himself. 

He didn't, though. There was not one memory in his mind of that blanket. 

Perhaps he was simply feeling the connection because of its old and tattered appearance. It looked like the kind of blanket someone would get when young and keep throughout their whole lives. The kind lucky kids received. 

Dimentio had never been one of those kids. 

He shook his head and continued onward, leaving any lingering thoughts of the blanket behind when he noticed a fenced lot filled with greenery. His mind immediately went to the tree lot that the small toad mentioned to him. It was earlier in the season, so the lot wasn't all that crowded. In fact, it was completely empty. 

It wasn't some super fancy tree lot, either. He expected a big tent-like setup, but this was outdoors with a chain fence around it and a trailer attached to the entrance, likely placed there for the people who sold the trees to hang out in while customers weren't present, that way they wouldn't need to be out in the cold all day. 

Curious, Dimentio decided to walk inside. There was a big sign labeling all the different prices for different kinds of trees. The Douglas Fir trees were each thirty coins regardless of the height while the Noble Fir trees were forty coins if they were under six feet tall and fifty coins if they were taller. Any Noble Fir trees above ten feet tall were seventy coins, but that was far too massive for Dimentio's taste anyway. 

The tree lot wasn't exactly a high-quality lot. There weren't any flocked trees or branches covered in fake snow. He liked it just fine, though. The air smelled of pine. Each tree was real. 

"Hey, Dimentio," a familiar voice chimed from behind him. "You're the first to visit! If you have any questions-"

"Mr. L?" Dimentio asked without even turning around. 

His shoulders grew tense and for a moment, chills ran up his spine. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, louder and louder by the second.

He recognized the voice in an instant. Even so, it caught him off guard. He thought he'd never hear that voice again. 

He forgot Mr. L even existed. 

"Yeah?" Mr. L asked while Dimentio slowly turned around to face him. The man in green laughed, placing his hands on his hips. He looked almost the same as Dimentio remembered him, still wearing his black mask over the top half of his face, but his black jumper had been replaced with a black sweater and his bandana had become a long green scarf. He also wore a green beanie instead of his usual hat. 

"I... wh... how are you here?" Dimentio asked, forgetting how to put words together for a moment. He didn't usually stutter. 

"Oh, surprised I'm working here?" Mr. L asked with a chuckle. "Well, I know we're all on vacation, but the tree lot needed volunteers, so here I am!"

"No, how are you HERE," Dimentio corrected. "Like, here in this town?"

Mr. L raised an eyebrow at him, then looked around himself as if confused. "Um, the count took us all on winter vacation. I've been here this whole time. We all went sledding the other day. I was up on the big hill with Mimi and O'Chunks. Dimentio, we were literally on the same team during the big snowball fight."

Were they? 

Dimentio stilled, then slowly nodded. 

That's right. The snowball fight had been three on three. Nastasia, O'Chunks, and Mimi versus Count Bleck, Dimentio, and Mr. L. How could he have forgotten?

"You're right," the jester muttered, shaking his head and quietly laughing to himself. "Sorry, I guess I'm still a little tired..."

"That's better," Mr. L teased with a familiar yet foreign playful grin. "I was about to be offended. I mean, how dare you forget the Green Thunder himself?"

"Oh stop," Dimentio laughed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. He shifted his gaze to all the trees. "So... volunteering, hmm? I didn't take you for the generous type."

"What are you talking about?" Mr. L said, smiling and shaking his head. "I've always been the generous type. I volunteer to do literally everything for you people. Remember? Count Bleck considered giving me a raise. Even though we're not getting paid."

Dimentio laughed, but something felt slightly wrong. The Mr. L he was thinking of was a bit rude, self-centered, and arrogant. Volunteering didn't seem like the kind of thing he'd do. 

Then again, the more he thought about it, the more this DID seem like the kind of thing Mr. L would do.

Mr. L was compassionate, helpful, and kind. All he ever wanted was to help others.

"I suppose you're right once again," Dimentio admitted. He didn't like being wrong twice in a row. This was starting to get embarrassing. 

"Wow, you really are tired," Mr. L chuckled, placing a hand on Dimentio's head, which felt slightly strange. "Here, why don't you get a tree? I'll pay! To make up for making you act like a fool. I do have that effect on people..."

"Oh, shut up," Dimentio breathed, gently pushing the man in green away from him. "Don't give yourself too much credit. And I don't need your pity tree."

"But what about this one?" Mr. L asked, picking up one of the Douglas Firs and holding it up for Dimentio to see. "It's a Douglas, so it's cheaper. Plus, look how fuzzy! Come on, you know you want it!"

Dimentio crossed his arms, but Mr. L was right. The branches looked soft. A part of him wanted to fall into it and allow the branches to cushion him, even though he knew realistically that falling into the tree wouldn't be quite as comfortable as he had imagined. It would probably end with him covered in scratches. 

He took a small step closer to the tree. It smelled strongly of pine. Dimentio could almost detect a hint of orange as well. 

The tree smelled of Christmas, that seemed like the best way to describe it. 

"Here, I'll put thirty dollars into the register for you," Mr. L smiled. "You can pay me back by not forgetting me next time. Deal?"

"I have money, you know," Dimentio pointed out. "I don't need to be treated like some charity."

"Just let me do this nice thing for you," Mr. L hissed in a jokingly harsh tone. "I know it's hard for you to accept gifts, but it's Christmas season, so you're going to have to swallow your pride and suck it up."

"For your information, I can accept gifts just fine!" Dimentio argued, thinking back to the book the small toad gave him. "I just don't need-"

"Too late. Tree's yours," Mr. L interrupted. "Need help getting it to the cabins? I know it's a bit of a walk and you didn't bring a car."

"No need," Dimentio replied with a quick finger snap. Not even a second later, the tree was gone, having teleported to his cabin with a quiet chime. 

Dimentio frowned slightly, then turned his gaze to his hand. His fingers were still pressed together. 

"Huh," he muttered, slightly confused with himself. "I forgot I could do that..."

He wasn't sure why, though. He teleported things with the snap of his fingers all the time. Using magic constantly was one of the main things people knew about him. He was Dimentio the Charming Magician. How could he have possibly forgotten that he had magic?

"You forgot?" Mr. L asked with a small, snarky smirk. "Wow, vacation is really doing a number on you."

Dimentio hesitantly nodded. He supposed it really was. He usually had a decently solid memory, but lately, it seemed he was being more and more forgetful. 

It was probably nothing, though. Nothing worth wasting time thinking about.