Chapter 47: Last Christmas

Puzo had been secluded at home recently, focusing on his writing, and *The Last Christmas* was his latest creation.

It was a multi-linear narrative novel that combined violence, crime, and dark humor.

Its style was very similar to the later film *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels*, written and directed by Guy Ritchie.

The story revolved around a master thief known as "Soap," who planned to steal a natural ruby on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. With extreme arrogance, Soap issued an ultimatum, announcing that he would steal the jewelry precisely on the night of Christmas.

To counter the threat posed by Soap, the museum director hired a renowned detective named "Bacon" at a high salary to hunt him down.

Having received a hefty advance from the museum director, Bacon, a former detective from the New York Police Department, began his investigation, oozing a hard-boiled style.

Meanwhile, the New York Police Department learned that Bacon was searching for Soap. Although they despised Bacon—a detective who had been fired for alcoholism and police brutality—they also knew that despite all his flaws, his professional competence was formidable.

Not wanting to lose face by letting Bacon find Soap first, the NYPD also began operating in secret.

Just as Bacon and the police department commenced their respective operations, three criminals who had previously suffered from Bacon's brutal policing finally tracked him down, vowing revenge. At the same time, they heard about the master thief "Soap" preparing to steal the priceless gem displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Consequently, the three criminals devised a plan to "sit back and reap the rewards," deciding to tail Bacon secretly. Once Bacon captured Soap, they would kill Bacon and seize the jewel.

Concurrently, Larry, a night watchman at the museum, was a middle-aged man in his thirties who had achieved nothing in life. His parents had both passed away from pneumonia a decade ago, leaving him alone to eke out a meager existence in the vast city of New York on a security guard's modest salary.

A lifetime of poverty had made Larry a cowardly, timid, and hesitant person. He had encountered numerous opportunities to make a fortune, but deep down, he always believed he was destined to fail, so he resigned himself to living the status quo. Occasionally, he felt he should lead a successful life, but his inner cowardice gave him a sense of security only when he was submerged in "failure."

One day, on his way home from work, Larry ran into Soap in disguise. Soap paid him a five-hundred-dollar advance, instructing him to pretend to make a mistake on Christmas night and leave the museum's back door unlocked. If successful, another five hundred dollars would be paid to Larry.

Larry was terrified that this action would land him in prison, but a voice inside told him he had to seize this opportunity!

On the night he received the five-hundred-dollar check, Larry bought a bunch of liquor and meat to celebrate in his apartment. Living in the adjacent apartment was an equally impoverished family, consisting of a couple who constantly argued and their cute little girl, "Jenny."

Time advanced to Christmas Eve... Returning to his apartment, Larry heard the familiar sounds of fierce shouting, smashing, and crashing coming from next door. Little, skinny Jenny, frightened and alone, ran out of the apartment, wrapping her small hands around her knees, resting her chin on them, and shivering in the cold draft seeping into the hallway.

Larry invited little Jenny into his apartment—something he often did. Helping the little girl gave him a sense of helping his past self. Little Jenny also liked Uncle Larry very much. Fed by the food Larry provided, she slowly warmed up and grew full. She looked at Larry and asked, "Uncle, do you believe in Santa Claus? Tomorrow is Christmas, and I hope to get a pretty present."

Larry had never believed in hope, so he didn't ask Jenny what kind of gift she liked. Instead, he simply said, "Dear Jenny, there is no Santa Claus in this world. Santa is all fake, just a lie to fool kids."

Seeing the hope gradually fade from Jenny's clear, big eyes, he felt a twinge of regret. So he decided in his heart that after tomorrow night, he would buy Jenny a gift—though he hadn't yet figured out what it would be.

When Christmas night arrived, Soap, Bacon, the police, and the three criminals all went into action. Meanwhile, following his agreement with Soap, Larry opened the back door and patrolled the museum as if completely oblivious. But as time wore on, timid Larry finally began to panic, terrified of going to prison or being killed by the cops. Then Soap arrived and, unnoticed by anyone, stole the ruby.

Bacon tailed the escaping Soap, the three criminals tailed Bacon, and NYPD officers subsequently surrounded the museum. Cowardly Larry, assuming the police had come to arrest him and driven mad by his own inner cowardice, fled into the night, preparing to take his five-hundred-dollar stash and escape to live in another city.

Amid the remaining hours of that Christmas night, through a series of bizarre coincidences and absurd misunderstandings, the priceless ruby—after Soap fumbled, the three criminals and Bacon knocked each other out of commission, and the police ignored the jewel to keep chasing Soap... actually ended up in Larry's hands.

Yet, timid-as-a-mouse Larry feared the jewel would bring about his violent demise, so he casually tossed it onto the roadside and fled New York amidst the snowstorm... leaving behind only one regret: failing to give a Christmas gift to Jenny.

On that very night, because they were three months behind on rent, Jenny's family was finally evicted from their apartment, wandering the streets and begging. Jenny's parents spotted the ruby Larry had discarded on the roadside, laughing uproariously as they assumed it was merely a cheap plastic toy, certainly not the gem from the news, otherwise why would anyone throw it away?

They tossed the jewel to Jenny—"Hey, take your present and stop nagging about Christmas"—they told her. Jenny's small, dirty hands grasped the large, beautiful gemstone, claiming her first and most precious Christmas gift in her life. She would cherish this cheap yet invaluable present, knowing that no one would ever give her a gift again. This was her last Christmas.

*[...Jenny lowered her head, the gemstone's magnificence mirrored in her clear gaze, and she smiled softly. She knew that no one would ever give her a gift again; this was her last Christmas.]*

Inside Puzo's home, amidst the noisy commotion of his boisterous siblings, Ennio finished reading *The Last Christmas* intently.

"How is it written?" Puzo asked, feeling somewhat nervous.

"Very well. Quite a brilliant novel," Ennio nodded, still immersed in the emotional aftershocks brought by the story.

Gathering his thoughts, he continued, "This novel is nearly flawless in building suspense and driving plot tension. The transitions between the various character perspectives are also very smooth, basically mastering the writing essence of multi-linear storytelling.

The only flaw is that the pacing in certain parts feels slightly unbalanced, and it could be streamlined further. But to construct such a complex plot so seamlessly while expressing the thematic core of the story is quite remarkable."

Hearing Ennio's evaluation, the heavy stone in Puzo's heart finally dropped, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, what he feared most was not writing a poorly received novel, but rather messing up the story structure Ennio had provided him. When Puzo first set out to write this novel, he struggled with how to properly handle the intricate plot in his mind to fully shape each character, so he had turned to Ennio for advice.

Following the style of Guy Ritchie's *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels*, Ennio had proposed this "web-structured" multi-linear narrative approach. By using four core storylines—Soap, Bacon, the three criminals, the police, and Larry—constantly intersecting through unexpected accidents, the complex story was framed into a perfect closed loop packed with dramatic tension.

Handling the narrative through this multi-linear approach not only allowed the complex story to be fully expressed, but also reduced the difficulty of character development. At the same time, it magnified dramatic conflict, bringing an ultimate sense of gratification during the "closed-loop resolution" at the end, making the audience realize that "all the earlier foreshadowing was meaningful," delivering a tremendously powerful impact.

Meanwhile, this "dark humor" puzzle-solving storytelling style was also an exceptional way to deepen the thematic thought, allowing the audience to feel the "absurdity of human nature" even more deeply through the story.

In truth, when Ennio first proposed this "web-structured" narrative and "dark humor" style, Puzo had been utterly awestruck.

After all... although the genre of "dark humor" had been proposed as early as the 1930s by the French surrealist André Breton, back then it was merely introduced as an aesthetic concept.

It was not until the 1960s that "dark humor" was formally established as a literary genre used to depict an absurd, meaningless, and out-of-control world.

Prior to that, although many authors had utilized the core elements of "dark humor"—namely, using humor, satire, and absurdity to address story themes—*The Last Christmas* was entirely unique in simultaneously combining "dark humor" with a "web-structure"!

P.S.: The author used the term "dark humor" earlier simply for ease of reading. Understand the spirit and don't nitpick, thanks or2~~