Hometown Holidays

A light snowfall trails behind Pru as she hops off the Baolar Express. She waves at the train until it is completely out of sight. The sound of the winter wind blowing and her heart beating breaks the stillness. Earlier in the day, Pru had departed from New Bao City to spend the winter holidays in her hometown. Now she feels somewhat forlorn standing alone in the light of the setting sun.

With luggage in paw, Pru eventually makes her way across the deserted platform. She is greeted by a snow-covered signpost bearing the words “Welcome to Plum Pudding Station” in a quirky but timeworn font. It is accompanied by a picture of her all-time favorite food: plum pudding! She takes a moment to stare up at it, breathlessly. 

 Much of her winter holiday is going to be spent eating delicious and hearty meals! In fact, she had already warmed up with a signature drink from the train's menu: Bao’s Hot Choc. The cute foam-shaped bear floating on top of her mug was almost too cute to consume. Almost. 

In an attempt to snap out of her dessert-filled daze, the gluttonous bear shook her head from side to side. The motion awoke her pocket-sized travel companion, Peppermint, the candy cane frogbert, who was napping in the warmth of her cherry red scarf. “Sorry, Peppermint. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Pru apologizes, but Peppermint perks up at the sound of her voice. 

Pru crouches down and gently places Peppermint in a pillow perfect pile of fresh snow. It lays there for a few seconds before vigorously shaking the cold powder off of itself, like a Puppeach after a bath. Pru lets out her signature giggle-snort, her breath fogging up the frosty air in the process. She cups a bit of the scattered snow in her hands and forms a snowball of equal proportions to her candy cane friend. Peppermint seems pleased by the offering and proceeds to roll it into a bigger shape.

“Do you want to build a snowman?” Pru questions, while joining in on the fun.

“You’ll see, Peppermint. Our winter holiday is going to be filled with all kinds of fun adventures! We will go sledding, skiing, and Reinbell watching! Maybe we will even find somebao special to enjoy our time with…” Pru begins to daydream, but then quickly adds in, “Oh, but I’m also happy to just spend time with you, of course!” Peppermint has no brows to raise, but somehow manages to give her a doubtful look. Pru is a bear who only has two things on her mind: finding food and finding love! Yes, she would surely find someone lovely, dapper, and utterly charming… someday! She doesn’t have high expectations, really! Lucky for her, frogberts are too polite to point out when their friends are living in denial.

In no time at all, they have created snowballs of varying sizes. Pru assembles each one on top of the other, with Peppermints contributions serving as the two ears. For the finishing touches, Pru adds a carrot from her snack pack and a handful of pebbles. Voila! The pair beam in unison at the Snowbear they’ve created. 'Building a snowman’ can be crossed off Pru's holiday to-do list.

“It’s getting late, Peppermint. Let’s head to the cabin. If we’re lucky, we might see a shooting star!” Pru gently nestles her pet back into the safety of her scarf. She takes one last look at their creation, more or less posing happily under the signboard. Hopefully, her snowy bear friend would still be here upon her return. She would eventually have to go back to New Bao City. After all, she cannot miss the opportunity of finding love in this year's Baonding Bites!