The day is Christmas eve. Mandy and Mattew sat with each other and were counting down the minutes until Christmas day. Mandy was particularly impatient because she knew what Mattew was getting her after doing some spying. At 9 pm she turned and said to Mattew, “I can’t want anymore. Can I have a go in the fish tank?” Matthew was shocked but not surprised. It was almost impossible to hide or disguise the thing. He said, “Sure, why not. I can’t wait either.”

Before either could indulge in the big glass rectangle, they had to lift out from under the Christmas tree to the centre of the kitchen room. Matthew positioned himself on one side of it and lifted it from the bottom up. As a warehouse technician, he was used to lifting things like this with the help of someone else. On the other side was Mandy who was struggling to lift it. They had to shuffle it away from the tree into the centre of the kitchen. Once in place, both grabbed the thin paper that contained it and tore it apart. Inside was a huge cardboard box. Matthew cut one side open as Mandy cut the other side open. Matthew then pulled the polystyrene that surrounded the glass container as Mandy pushed it. After almost two minutes of pushing and pulling it was separate from the cardboard box it was delivered in. Matthew then carefully slid it off the polystyrene and onto the tiles. Mandy stood and watched.

The thing was big enough to contain both ‘mons and then some. It even had realistic seaweed and rocks. The thing also had a lid to allow air from the water to rise up. Mandy grabbed the top of it and tried to pull herself over the edge and into it but failed. It was too big. Instead, Matthew picked her up and placed her in the middle. It felt surreal to be there, like a mammal born into the ocean. Matthew looked at his surrounded Eevee and said, “Hey, it’s still Christmas. Why don’t I tie my present with a bow?” Mandy giggled. He stepped onto the rocks and wrapped a big red ribbon around Mandy’s back and chest. Matthew then climbed out. As he looked at his precious Christmas present he said, “One more thing. I want to see you swim in here.” Mandy looked up and said, “But it will take quite a while to fill this fish tank. What will we do until then?”

Matthew said, “Huh, good point.” Mandy tried to climb out and Mattew went to lift her out again. Matthew then went to the cupboard under the sink and pulled out a short hose. He pushed one end into the hot water tap of the kitchen sink, then dropped the other end inside. He then turned it and said, “Let’s leave this for a few minutes.” Mandy wagged her tail and said, “Ohh, okay.”

In the living room, both went back to watching Christmas Eve TV. They focused their attention on that for a while. After 15 minutes of continuous watching, Matthew said, “I’m checking”, got up and left. Less than a minute later she heard him say, “Come here, babe!” Mandy then too got up and left. She saw Mattew standing proudly beside the water tank which had thin steam coming from it. She giggled and said, “Will you let me in?” Matthew said, “Of course, come here. You’ve still got your bow on.”

Mandy approached Mattew who picked her up and dropped her in. She floated for a second as she held her breath and then sunk to the bottom. Matthew stepped back and enjoyed the display of Mandy underwater. He then put on the big, heavy lid to make her feel trapped. Mandy swam up and tried to float with her mouth & nose poking out of the water, head tapping the glass top. From there she heard Mattew say, “Give me a minute, I need to go.” Matthew then crossed his legs and wobbled as he disappeared up the stairs. Mandy was shocked by Mattews sudden urge to leave. He had only gone to use the bathroom but left Mandy in a vulnerable position.

Mandy stopped floating and slowly sunk down. She tried to hold her breath as long as possible under the water to conserve her energy, but Mattew was too busy upstairs. “Has he just forgotten about me?”, she thought while under. Now was not the time for lifeguard training. She tried to hold her breath as long as possible but after only a minute, she let out some bubbled of spent air as her cheeks turned purple. She shook from the feeling of losing air. Would Mattew ler her out or would be forget about his gift?