Veronica remained in line at the supermarket. Everyone went out to buy gifts for Christmas at the last minute and she was no exception.
She wanted to give Frank something to get him out of his depression. Among all the objects on the shelves she find a stuffed rabbit that Lucia liked so much, but remembering how Frank would feel if she gave it to him, she preferred to buying him tools.
Frank spent it in his workshop fixing his motorcycle to amuse himself but every time he saw how it looked, the image of his late wife would appear smiling and asking when they would go for a walk again.
Such was his remorse that he disarmed and reassembled it over and over again. He only take Lucia for a walk around the port once. They had just gotten married and she was very quiet, fearful and ignorant of the outside.
Hae thought they wouldn't let her get out of it because she was always sick, or that's what his in-laws told him and he believed it. She was so fascinated by her walk outside that she began to smile more often and from that moment on, Frank decided to take her everywhere to see her happy, because it was that smile of hers that made him fall in love with her.
Every time her in-laws came, Lucia got sick and in order not to see them, he used excuses for outings or meetings to prevent them from talking to her, making her happier. One afternoon he arrived early and his in-laws were with his wife talking about him, in silence he listened to what they said and how they agreed to try to get her pregnant as soon as possible.
Lucia just said yes to everything and his anger made him leave without finishing hearing the meeting. He talk to his parents and it was clear to them that they were just using him and his anger poured into her, so much so that he stopped treating her like he used to.
He thought that he would come to cajole him but to his surprise, she began to behave strangely and avoided him at all costs. One night he arrived drunk and wanted to take her by force, but she defended herself against him and hit him in the crotch, from that moment she slept in the armchair and every weekend she returned to her parents' house to do not cross it.
They treated each other like strangers and the solution he saw was divorce. His childhood friend, Verónica, was a lawyer and she guided him in legal matters, by that time he no longer wanted to continue with the marriage farce.
He was going to tell her that he wanted a divorce but lacked more time to prepare, so he arrived at house later than usual so as not to speak to her. Lucia had returned from her parents' house and now she was sleeping curled up on the couch, he went to lift the pillows from the floor and what she saw infuriated him.
Lucia's pajamas rose a bit exposing the mark of a blow on her back that when he touched it, she writhed in pain, moved the pajamas more and found whip marks and scratches. He kept silent about it and asked for help from Verónica who helped him to watch Lucia to know what was happening.
His fear came true, her family abused her and would seek to drive their away. He plan a trip but she refused, so took her to meetings but she always ended up in an accident or a lawsuit that left her badly in front the others.
He kept gathering evidence to use it to his advantage and pretended, so no one would suspect him. When he always asked Lucia if she wanted to say something to him, she did not answer and only smiled, he did not want to force her, and preferred to endure until the day that his in-laws and his brother-in-law were arrested. She distrusted him and tried to get away when he was nice.
Everything overflowed when Lucia fought with her mother-in-law for calling her a bitch in front of everyone. Lucia left the house and he began to fear the worst, but she called him again to speak and his hope of taking her away returned. Verónica helped him with the final tests and when they were going to reveal their plan to Lucia, she got up and left.
They thought she went to the bathroom but she ended up going back to her house. Verónica received the call from her warning her about the kidnapping and that she wanted to talk but did not arrive at the meeting. Frank got upset and in the face of repeated unanswered calls, he sensed the worst. He arrived and saw Claude fleeing, then the house exploded into a thousand pieces. His brother-in-law made fun of Lucia's death and anger blinded him.
Claude ended up dead for being stupid and that made him happy but Lucia no longer existed. A void made him feel uneasy and he blamed himself for her death. If only he had taken her far away, he maybe he today he would be enjoying and giving her wife happiness. He didn't feel like anything, he just wanted to see her without forced smiles.
A year had passed, and the Christmas season only brought back him bad memories. The unfulfilled promise of taking her on a motorcycle came to nothing.
His mother had to ask Verónica to accompany him for a walk to get him out of his confinement, and she did.
As he walked the snow began to fall and when he saw Veronica for a brief moment he visualized Lucia. It was a magical memory under the snow, where her red hair turned white and her nose changed shape, she really looked like a very beautiful rabbit that he wanted to hug.
He was crying and Veronica began to comfort him. A very soft voice reached his ears and left a message for him.
-Live and be happy-
He turned to look for the origin and the fireworks exploded.
-It seems like it already started. Let's go before they start without us- Veronica took him by the hand
Among all that glow and shine for an instant he saw a person who looked like a white rabbit looking at them and smiling. Despite the distance he knew what he was saying and he answered.
-Bye, take care of yourself-
-Thanks and goodbye-
Lucia came to say goodbye to him and Frank was able to thank her and say goodbye. The weight on his chest finally vanished.
Veronica thought she had seen the same thing and she supposed that Lucia's spirit came to free Frank from her pain.
After that day they both decided to start dating. They would try a relationship and if they were successful perhaps they would go further to formalize.
Although for Frank the image of the rabbit smiling that Christmas Eve will always be at the bottom of his heart.