The snow had begun to fall softly outside the apartment’s living room window in a powdery haze, collecting on the street below and beginning to cover the city in a beautiful glistening haze. Christmas carols played gently from the radio. It was a perfect Christmas Eve.
“Do you see that?” Sylvia asks in her calm trilling voice, staring out the window smiling.
“I do. It’s lovely,” you reply, “but you really should stay away from the window. You don’t want the neighbors to call the paper again, do you?”
Sylvia chuckles softly and steps away from the window, sitting back down beside you on the faded couch. In front of you sits the coffee table and next to that in the corner is your Christmas tree, decorated in blinking LED lights that make colors shimmer and dance in the candlelit room. The ornaments, which you and Sylvia selected yourselves of the internet, are little plastic dinosaurs hung by dental floss and more familiar holiday symbols such as Santa, angels, candy canes, and shiny metallic jingle balls. A paper mache parasaurolophus, red like Sylvia, dressed up as an angel, tops the tree.
Your hadrosaur lover’s smooth reptilian hand slips into yours and you turn to look into each other’s eyes. She smiles warmly, and you return her gaze with puppy love. You’re both six feet tall, your “normal” size, and about to open presents. You’ve stashed Victoria and her cage away in the top of the closet in the bedroom, not wanting her violent outbursts to ruin this night for either of you.
“I’ve haven’t got you much. I can only get so many things off the Internet.” Sylvia sighs sadly.
“Whatever you got me, I’ll love! How many dollhouses did you have to sell to pay for it all?” You gently mock her, and then the both of you giggle.
“A few!” She grins, and her tail wags happily. The silly dino started up her own online business in the fall building custom-made dollhouses for prospective clients. She’s been pulling in a good chunk of change from it and as a result life has been even nicer.
“I want to give you your big gift now!” You say excitedly, and hop off the couch to grab a small rectangular box from under the tree. Sylvia watches you intently and coos as you hand her the package, her eyes widening.
“That wasn’t there yesterday!” She exclaims, seeing the pretty bow you’ve tied the green box up in. You grin in delight as her eyes widen when she peels off the lid of the box.
Sylvia pulls out a gorgeous red cocktail dress, split down both legs, with gorgeous shimmering diamonds. “Oh my God!” Sylvia gasps, her eyes tearing up. “It’s beautiful!”
You smile insanely, knowing how she’ll react to the other present. “That’s not all! Check in the pocket!”
Sylvia examines the dress from top to bottom and holds it against her chest. “It hasn’t got a hole for my tail, though. And… and the chest is too big.” She checks the pocket and pulls out a glass vial filled with light blue glowing liquid. Her eyes widen.
“How am I supposed to take you out if your dress has a hole in it?” You ask.
Sylvia SQUEELS with joy and throws herself on top of you, crying. “It isn’t!!” She cries, gasping between sobs. “It’s the reversal potion!”
You embrace your dinosaur and feel yourself crying as well. “It is!” You reassure her. “It’s your ticket back to humanity!”
Sylvia sits up and hugs you close, wiping her eyes. “But… how did you get her to…?” She suddenly frowns and looks at you in shock. “Her leg! You… didn’t!” Suddenly the moment of joy turns sour.
“I…I…” you stammer, but she’s found you out. You have to tell the truth now.
Sylvia frowns even more and shakes her head in disgust. “I thought you were better than her. Now I’m not so sure.”
A woman’s voice clears its throat from the opposite side of the room and Victoria Hurley steps out of the shadows, full grown, and wearing a set of your old clothes.
“How fucking touching.” Victoria sneers, pointing the new ray gun, resembling a pistol, to aim at you and Sylvia.