Chap­ter 31 unfolds on Christ­mas morn­ing, where the still­ness of the ear­ly hours fills the air of Two Mills. Mani­ac Magee wakes before dawn, sens­ing the qui­et antic­i­pa­tion that Christ­mas brings to the town. He gen­tly stirs Grayson, care­ful­ly keep­ing the light off to pre­serve the ear­ly morn­ing tran­quil­i­ty. With a shared smile, they bun­dle up in their warmest cloth­ing, pre­pared for an adven­ture in the crisp, silent night. Mani­ac holds a paper bag in his hand as they step out into the world, which is still, save for the faint gleam of moon­light illu­mi­nat­ing the fresh lay­er of untouched snow. The park, with snow-dust­ed trees and a soft sparkle in the air, seems like a scene pulled from a hol­i­day post­card, the kind that comes to life in peace­ful moments like this one. The qui­et pres­ence of wildlife in the dis­tance adds to the seren­i­ty, com­plet­ing the idyl­lic set­ting that feels frozen in time.

They make their way to their spe­cial tree, the one that holds mem­o­ries of shared moments and sim­ple joys. As they stand under its branch­es, the qui­et beau­ty of the sur­round­ings envelops them, cre­at­ing a sense of mag­ic in the moment. The still­ness is deep, allow­ing the pair to savor the peace­ful­ness of the night. Their walk then takes them through the woods along­side the creek, and onward to the zoo, where the ani­mals greet them with the warmth of famil­iar­i­ty. The ducks, ever the high­light of their vis­its, seem par­tic­u­lar­ly hap­py to see their vis­i­tors, quack­ing enthu­si­as­ti­cal­ly in the crisp morn­ing air. As the first rays of dawn begin to creep over the hori­zon, they make their way toward the buf­fa­lo pen. Mani­ac, with­out hes­i­ta­tion, climbs over the fence to reunite with Baby, the buf­fa­lo. After a moment of bond­ing with the ani­mal, Mani­ac, filled with grat­i­tude, gifts Baby a scarf—a thought­ful ges­ture that sig­ni­fies the spe­cial con­nec­tion they share. The scarf, made by tying togeth­er three pieces of fab­ric, is a sim­ple but heart­felt offer­ing to mark the occa­sion.

By the time the town begins to wake up, they head home for a fes­tive break­fast, bring­ing the warmth of their hol­i­day cheer inside. The table is laden with treats like eggnog, hot tea, cook­ies, and the sound of hol­i­day car­ols play­ing soft­ly in the back­ground. It’s a cozy and wel­com­ing scene, one that feels as if the true spir­it of Christ­mas has set­tled with­in their home. Beneath the Christ­mas tree, a pile of care­ful­ly wrapped gifts awaits them, and Mani­ac, filled with excite­ment, presents Grayson with his gifts: gloves, a woolen cap, and a hand-made book titled The Man Who Struck Out Willie Mays, a book that holds deep sig­nif­i­cance for both of them. The thought­ful exchange of presents con­tin­ues, with Grayson reveal­ing his own gifts—gloves, a box of but­ter­scotch Krimpets, and a pris­tine base­ball, all of which bring a smile to Maniac’s face. The joy in the room is pal­pa­ble, but it’s Grayson’s final gift that car­ries the most mean­ing. Wrapped care­ful­ly in news­pa­per, Grayson gives Mani­ac a well-loved, worn-out base­ball glove—a gift that feels like a piece of his­to­ry. The glove, though old and tat­tered, comes to life when Mani­ac slides his hand into it, as if the leather remem­bers its past and the count­less games it has been part of. The moment is sim­ple but pro­found, remind­ing them both of the con­nec­tion they have and the mem­o­ries they’ve cre­at­ed togeth­er.

The room falls into a con­tem­pla­tive silence as they both share the weight of the gift. It’s more than just an item; it’s a reminder of the friend­ship and his­to­ry they’ve built over time. Yet, just five days lat­er, the joy of the hol­i­day sea­son is shat­tered by the news of Grayson’s pass­ing. His absence leaves a pro­found silence in the home, and the world they had so care­ful­ly built togeth­er feels sud­den­ly incom­plete. The Christ­mas they shared, with its laugh­ter, its thought­ful gifts, and its qui­et moments of con­nec­tion, will remain in Maniac’s heart for­ev­er. It’s a bit­ter­sweet mem­o­ry, one that holds both the warmth of their shared time and the aching sor­row of what has been lost. The sig­nif­i­cance of that Christ­mas, the last they would spend togeth­er, becomes all the more poignant in light of Grayson’s pass­ing, and Mani­ac is left to reflect on the fleet­ing nature of life and the impor­tance of the bonds they share.